Member Reviews
[Thanks to Kodansha and Netgalley for a copy of this manga in exchange for an unbiased review.]
Kiichiro is a corporate wunderkind and attractive to boot, the envy of all around him. Except he’s also a localized force of chaos that causes disaster at every turn. Fortunately he has his maid, Miss Kishi, to protect him, but is there more to it than that?
Yes, welcome to another one of these stories, the hook being that it’s basically <i>Clutzstairs, Downstairs</I> as Kiichiro would like as not have a plate glass window fall on him while being trampled by a herd of clowns than run a billion dollar company.
And, to the manga’s credit, this is very nearly enough to pull it all off. The mangaka leans way, way into this skid and my example is only slightly more ridiculous than some of the mayhem that Kiichiro causes through his clumsiness, which Miss Kishi has to clean up.
Miss Kishi, of course, maintains the absolute stoicism her job requires and rejects a lot of Kiichiro’s attempts to make things easier, which often result in nothing but even more chaos anyway. Probably the funniest sequence involves the “maid” he hires from a maid cafe, who is something worse than useless.
Now, the thing is, I have just described the entire book. There are minor variations within its pages and chapters, but by and large this is the same thing every time out. Kiichiro screws up, Miss Kishi is unreadable, she becomes slightly more readable in fits and starts, things continue.
Obviously, Miss Kishi is clearly attracted to her employer because that is exactly what you’re expecting to happen (are you expecting them to have known one another as children? I hope so!), even if you’d best not dwell on the power dynamics here, though the manga does throw this at least a passing acknowledgement, if not much of one.
Really though, it’s the sheer repetition. The story tries. It tries very, very hard. Miss Kishi gets revealed little by little over the volume, sure, and Kiichiro’s flailing is the kind of physical comedy to the extreme you’d want in this. However, it just runs that premise so hard for so much of the story that I was pretty done with it by the end.
Genuinely, I can barely think of another thing to say about this story. There’s just so little it’s working with, although I suppose getting an entire volume strictly from that is worthy of some faint praise alone, in a strange way. If you’re super invested in the two of them as a couple, I think you’ll be fine with this, but if they don’t hook you there’s precious little else.
3 stars - it’s perfectly fine. Like, no ill will towards a read that was cute enough in the moment and all that, but if I’d read half this book and stopped I don’t think I’d be in any different of a position than I am for having read the whole thing.
tl;dr
Incredibly light on plot, with very cute illustrations, and a reasonable amount of comedic moments.
About
Kiichiro is smart, attractive, and incredibly wealthy. Unfortunately, he's also hopelessly clumsy, and the only thing keeping him from accidentally breaking everything his maid Miss Kishi. But despite all the help she gives him, he feels like he can't seem to find a way to properly thank her.
Thoughts
This manga is exactly what it claims to be: A lightweight romance (?) about a clumsy billionaire and the cool-headed maid who helps him. Cute misunderstandings and over-the-top romantic gestures are the order of the day, with very little by way of plot to tie it together. Artwork is pleasantly shoujo, with Miss Kishi's design being especially attractive. If you're looking for some fluffy light hijinks with no strings attached, this is a good afternoon read.
Kashiwagi's art style is very pleasing to the eye and the character designs are cute. The story revolves around a clumsy, high-achiever billionaire, Kiichiro, and his kuudere maid, Miss Kishi. The story itself is a slice-of-life shoujo with minimal progression and formulaic episodes, which are ultimately working towards the endgoal of bringing the two romantic leads together. The manga is exactly what it says on the tin; light-hearted, cute, and easy.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.
So cute! I loved the relationship between Kiichiro and Miss Kishi. Each chapter was enjoyable and well formatted. I look forward to the next volume!
My Maid, Miss Kishi is a cute rom-com with the "he falls first trope." Kashiwagi's art style is very pleasing and would look rad animated. Our main male lead is a clumsy dude who just wants to make his maid smile.
Overall, the story is heart warming and gives readers a good chuckle. Can't wait for volume 2.
If Miss Kishi won't smile, I sure will while reading it!
Thank you to NetGalley & Kodansha Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this ARC on a whim because I hadn't read any manga in a while and haven't been in the mood to read much lately. This story is exactly what it says on the tin; clumsy billionaire meets tsundere maid and cute, funny moments ensue. It was a fun, lighthearted read that passed quickly. My only complaint would be the story's repetitiveness; we see many iterations of the same interaction between the two (I did appreciate the way Kishi's POV began to slowly appear in these exchanges, though). The story reminds me of a sitcom in that way; a little formulaic but building slowly to a long-awaited climax. I'd love to see more of the characters' backstory and motivations in the next volume - particularly Kishi's.
TLDR: cute story for lighthearted fun :)
I loved this series/story. It felt like each chapter was a short episode as they were each standalone, yet moved the overall story on. Our hero is a sweet yet clumsy chaebol who wants to make his maids life easier and make her happier, yet she kindly rebuffs him each time. It feels like this is moving towards being a romance series, and I’m gonna keep an eye out for the 2nd volume as I want to see how it plays out. I read this all in one sitting as soon as I got it as it kept me hooked throughout