Ah, Maze. I tried watching it once upon a time and couldn’t even find it until recently. Now after just finishing it I’m ready to give in my two cents on this show. I wasn’t particularly expecting much. To be honest I was excepting the illegitimate child of Fushigi Yuugi and Ranma ½. I’m sure most people are after reading the synopsis. But no, this…strange but enjoyable show takes on a whole new twist that pretty much shattered those expectations for me. The story confused me. Not in the sense that I had no clue as to what was going on, more in thesense that it was just not what I expected. I can’t even begin to elaborate beyond the synopsis without giving spoilers, but I can tell you that it was a solid story. All loose ends were wrapped up quite nicely. I found myself unable to stop watching because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I was very impressed with the character development. For one Maze (female version) started off to be the type of character that I hate. The perfect, everyone-loves-me, goody two-shoes who refuses to fight and believes all violence can be replaced with kind words and compromise. Gag me. The second she started that I wanted to reach into the screen and kill her. Thankfully she out-grows that, which I find amazing since most characters who start off that way manage to keep it up until the last episode. I did feel some characters got left behind in the whole characterization train, Aster and Mill for starters. I especially wish Mill had gotten more attention, as the thought of her someday becoming a Queen horrifies me. She’s cute, but sheesh.

I’ll be honest, the art was gross. It wasn’t enough to turn me off the show completely but good grief. They were just outright lazy with the animation in this one. A couple of times I found myself stopping to ponder where their cheek bones stopped and their chin began, it was that bad. The animation does get better as the series progresses. It’s almost a bit jarring when that happens because you get so used to seeing their disproportionate faces, but in the end I’m glad for the change. I was impressed with the second to last battle, for the first time really since none of the other battles brought on that “EPIC!” feeling for me.

The music was mediocre. Nothing bad, but nothing to call home about. For the most part you will not notice it, especially since they’re good about not getting obnoxious with the add-in music. The opening song provided me with endless amusement. “MAZE IN YOUR FACE!” (Best or worst lyrics ever? I couldn’t decide) Moving on...

I did enjoy this show immensely. I was a little…wary at first. I had decided to marathon it and through the whole first and second episode I kept thinking, “What have I gotten myself into?” I expected watching this show to be one big chore, but no, I had fun. At one point I found myself all hyped up, partly from sugar and partly because that particular episode was just insane. There was one plot element that just…well I was confused. I refuse to spoil it, but I can’t say the ending fills me with joy. It’s not a bad ending at all. It just wasn’t the one I wanted. Regardless, I feel that I can recommend this show. I really doubt it’s for everyone. It’ll be hit or miss for sure, but try it anyway. You might be pleasantly surprised like I was.