Android Ana Maico 2010 is another of those odd little shows that I seem to have a talent for finding. The anime is based on the Maico 2010 manga series by Toshimitsu Shimizu (who also wrote the original manga for 801 T.T.S. Airbats and Red Prowling Devil), which ran in Young King Ours magazine from 1997 to 1998. The anime was aired on WOWOWs Anime Complex omnibus block alongside The Adventures of the Mini Godesses and Neoranga from April to Septemeber 1998. The story is very simple. Japanese radio is on the decline, so the various stations are trying to think of new and exciting methodsto get people to tune in. Enter Maico, Japan's newest radio DJ - with a big difference. Maico is unlike other DJs as she is a state-of-the-art android, and her first appearance in the anime makes this fact very clear.

As Maico is a very new android though, she has had very little contact with humans. Because of this she doesn't understand concepts like love and hate, friendship, rivalry, etc. Her work as a DJ has the dual purpose of boosting ratings and hopefully bringing her one step closer to being human. Also, because she's very new, she has no knowledge of how a radio show is produced.

The story follows an episodic format for the most part, something which works well with this type of show. Many of the episodes are fairly lighthearted, and it's only the last few episodes that stray from this format, being more serious in tone, and following on from each other.

The art for Android Ana Maico 2010 is very derivative of it's manga predecessor, and rather dated at that. The character designs definitely show their age in comparison with some of the more "realistic" designs we see today. Animation is also fairly mediocre, and is sometimes jerky and uneven. Also, because almost all of the show takes place in a radio studio, the animators never really got a chance to show what they could do.

Sound is another area where the series shows it's age. Unlike the animation though, the fact that the series is about a radio show actually helps with the sound, especially as the various effects and noises used in the radio broadcast need to be inckuded in the anime.

There's not much to say about characters. The only real character worth mentioning is Maico, as the rest of the cast were no more than a collection of glorified side characters. However, the cast as a whole were enjoyable enough, especially with their various antics and shenanigans.

As I said at the start, Maico is a bit of an odd show, but it's not a bad one. It does fall short in comparison to the manga, as a lot of the more serious elements were purposely removed (Maico originally being built as a sex doll for example, never gets mentioned in the anime). It's a quirky little series that may or may not appeal to people, but your enjoyment of the show will probably depend on how seriously you take it.