Konnichiwa! Maid-chan desu!
To be more like a man, now that he is in middle school, that is the goal of Shiina Aki. But life is not easy, especially if you are a young boy looking like a girl that tries to be more like man. (Maid-chan does not understand why trying. Both human boys and human girls are unbelievably stupid, as are the adults.)
As such Aki, when reaching his new dormitory Sunohara-Sou, gets mistaken as a girl by the young caretaker Sunohara Ayaka. She even tries to bath with him (and does)!
After this basic introduction you likely already know the genre of this anime. It is a fanservice harem work based on a 4-panel manga. You will see lots of cute girls doting on the main character, with the difference that the main is a young boy here, and all the girls are older.
This is also true for Yukimoto Yuzu, the student council president who is a bit of a tsundere and very insecure about her height (and the size of certain body parts).
There is no reason for her to be concerned, though, because her friend (and fellow council member) Yamanashi Sumire is already head over heels into her. Bad girl Sumire likes to carry Yuzu around, because of the feeling. That perverse girl also buys secretly taken photos of Yuzu and gets her nose bleeding about once an hour.
And if you wondered who secretly takes photos of Yuzu, then you do not need to look farther than her childhood friend (ans also student council member) Kazami Yuri.
But that Yuri girl is not only selling (more or less) nude photos of her friend, she also puts poor Aki into cosplays like a maid uniform! The poor boy who wants to look more manly…
Who is the more perverse of those two, Maid-chan wonders?
But there are even more strange girls! Before Aki moved into his room in the Sunohara-Sou, the younger sister of the caretaker lived there. Sayaka’s younger sister Nana has all the bodily features of her sister and an even more assertive personality.
Where Sayaka just does what she thinks is best, and brings Aki in ear-reddening situations that way, Nana actively teases the young boy out of fun.
But maybe even worse than that are Nana’s two friends Maiko and Mea, who are always hunting cute young boys.
Let’s get them all!
If you wonder why Aki does not flee from the Sunohara-Sou, there are two reasons. One is the caretaker Ayaka, the carrot.
The other reason, the stick, is Aki’s sister Matsuri, who would await him at home. No wonder Aki has fled the house!
If possible at all, Aki’s sister is even more into doting on him as the others. She also likes to put Aki into feminine clothes and even calls him her sister.
Maid-chan is surprised Aki has survived that for years without getting mad in the head like a fan with with a broken wing!
At first Matsuri tries to take Aki back home, but even her determination crumbles under the unrelenting care of Miss Caretaker Ayaka. In the end Matsuri transfers to a nearby school to be close to the Sunohara-Sou.
Conclusion
Sunohara-Sou no Kanrinin-san is full of implicit (but no explicit) scenes and fanservice. But that does not necessarily mean that the story has to be bad.
Unfortunately in this case it is. While the characters are lovely to look at, their background and motivation episodes feel as flat as Yuzu’s chest. It does not feel like there is any motivation in them to stick out.
If Yuri wants to put Aki into a maid costume or in an iron maiden on top of the roof, there is no difference for the watcher. It only happens because Yuri stated she wants to and that’s all.
The same is true for everyone else in the series. Even Aki’s determination to be more manly does not get much backbone in it. And that everyone treats Aki like a toy boy gets boring after about half the season with Nana’s friends appearing. Somehow the shop owner of the liquor shop feels the most alive person in the anime, because she at least only cares about alcohol, and not much about Aki.
The series has a promising start and pleasing optical style, but the concept is not explored enough and the dull characters are not making anything memorable.
All in all Sunohara-Sou no Kanrinin-san gets a 6/10 on the totally objective Maid-chan scale and a pat on the head for all small boys who happen to walk by.
See you next time!