Every season has a show or two that premieres inexplicably late (though the explanation is sometimes an odd episode count). Saikin Yatotta Maid ga Ayashii certainly has a major red flag against it – the “romance” tag applied to a series about an adult maid and an 11 year-old master. But the pedigree is pretty mainstream – the mangaka (Konbu Wakame, a fake name if ever I heard one) is the same woman who did Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!, and the director, studio and much of the team are the same as Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru. So I figured (correctly, for one ep at least) that this series would actually be pretty safe in that respect.
I’m not a fan of Jahy-sama but I don’t hate it or anything, and I find Saikin Yatotta Maid ga Ayashii to be a bit more engaging at first flush. It’s the story of that 11 year-old, Yuuri, who’s living in a mansion by himself. Why? Because his parents are dead, naturally – this is a manga after all. I was a bit befuddled as to why the servants all left their child master alone after the parents died but at least Konbu explains that – it’s kind of a second-tier mansion and they weren’t actually all that rich. Yuuri is determined to live on his own even if he can’t afford servants, but that proves to be a bit much for him.
I mean, “suspicious” is actually in the title, but a maid showing up at a child’s house (at night) and saying “I’ll work for free” is certainly suspicious. Lilith (we know her name because Bochama researched her after the fact) does just that, but I’m pretty confident what’s really going on here is she was sent by the relatives (who’re paying her). In any event she and Yuuri obviously have a prior connection too (who’d forget those eyes?), and he instantly falls in love with her. Being eleven and in way over his head, he chalks his feelings up to her being an enchantress of some sort – “Suspicious!” – and hijinks ensue.
The truth is, the relationship between these two – while it does have an “Ara, ara!” side to it – it pretty innocent. He’s alone and afraid, she’s obviously there to look after him. The whole “suspicious” angle actually works pretty well because Bochama gives as good as he gets. He’s in fact actually kind of a Chad – every time Lilith teases him Bochama blurts out something impossibly blunt about how beautiful she is or how smitten he is and gains the upper hand. This is obviously nothing especially deep but I could see this series having a modicum of emotional heft as their relationship develops, and it’s pretty innocuous and likeable for the most part.
