Review: MAICO 2010

As inconsistent as Cutey Honey might have been, later artists would prove that you could take the 'sexy android' concept and make an even bigger mess out of it.

MAICO 2010, by Toshimitsu Shimizu.  First published in 1997 and first published in North America in 2001.

PLOT:

Otari Masudamasu has used all of her skill, ingenuity, and money to create Maico, a beautiful android built for sex but possessing an innate understanding of the human heart.  Masudamasu wants to keep Maico's sordid purpose a secret, setting her up as the latest DJ at the failing radio station where she works.  Despite the threats of jealous coworkers and vengeful robots, the biggest threat to Maico might be the growing love triangle between her, her creator, and the handsome yet hapless assistant director of the radio station.

STORY:

Cutey Honey might have been confused, but it's got nothing on Maico 2010.  While the former was torn between two firm yet disparate directions, Maico is torn in multiple directions with no clear vision of what it wants to be.  Is it sci-fi? Is it a romance?  A workplace comedy? Ecchi nonsense?  Shimizu clearly isn't sure, and still isn't by the volume's end (although he seems to be leaning towards the romantic subplot).

Maybe the reason for that lack of focus is that the main cast feels extremely undersketched.  Maico is just a vaguely sweet girl, Otari is somehow both the mysterious mentor and the sexy older woman, and the assistant director is just another easily flustered goober.  This ends up undercutting whatever impact the love triangle may have had, as there's simply not enough between the three of them for any reasonable reader to get attached to.  That's likely the reason why Shimizu has to keep finding excuses to get the girls' clothes off or have them stumble awkwardly to expose their panties.

Then there's the plot's focus on radio which increasingly becomes a millstone around the neck of the plot.  It would seem strange to push Maico into a role where she is heard but not seen, yet also keeps finding excuses for the hostess of a radio advice show to end up in perilous yet sexy incidents where the reader can ogle her freely.  It's a gimmick that only gets more forced with time, as well as one that feels in conflict with the vaguely futuristic setting.  If Shimizu wants to contrast the old tech of radio with the new tech of fully functional androids, he's going to actually make some effort to make that clash feel like something other than an oddity.   Then again, if he had expended some effort on this manga in general, it might have had some personality or focus to speak of in the first place.

ART:

Shimizu's art is perfectly adequate.  His designs are as generic as can be, as if they were drawn from some cheap "how to draw 1990s anime" book.  His attempts at fanservice are equally half-hearted, with little detail and awkward staging.  It's the kind of art that's honestly hard to critique because there's so little to distinguish it in either a positive or negative manner. 

RATING:

Maico 2010 is proof that it's better to be distinctly bad than confused and vague.  Lacking in character with little idea of what to do, this series doesn't justify its very existence, much less any reason for it to be released in English.

This series was published by Comics One.  This series is complete in Japan with 4 volumes available.  All 4 volumes were published and are currently out of print.