He Is My Master

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He is My Master
これが私の御主人様 (He is My Master)
Genre	Comedy, Ecchi, Shōnen
Manga
Authored by	Mattsu, Asu Tsubaki
Publisher	Square Enix Seven Seas Entertainment
Serialized in	Monthly Shonen Gangan
Original run	08 February 2002 – Present
No. of volumes	4 (ongoing)[1]
TV anime
Directed by	Shouji Saeki
Studio	Gainax
Network	BSi (Satellite station of TBS)
Original run	7 April 2005 – 30 June 2005
No. of episodes	12 [2]

He is My Master (これが私の御主人様, Kore ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama^?) is a gag comedy manga which ran in Monthly Shonen Gangan, later spun off into a television anime series. The manga is authored by two individuals: Mattsu (まっつー) who does the story and Asu Tsubaki (椿あす) who does the artwork.

Seven Seas Entertainment announced on November 27, 2006 they now have licensed the right to the English translation of He is My Master and will begin to release the series mid 2007. ^[3]

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 2.1 Main characters 2.2 Minor Characters 3 Episodes 4 Trivia 4.1 Opening Sequence 4.2 Episode 4 4.3 Episode 5 4.4 Episode 7 4.5 Episode 8 4.6 Episode 9 4.7 Episode 10 4.8 Multiple episodes 5 Anime soundtrack 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot summary

A 14-year-old millionaire received a huge inheritance as a result of his parents' death in an accident. Later after firing the original maids, he needed to be looked after so he decided to hire new live-in maids. While originally expecting an elderly woman to take the job, two runaway girls, Izumi and Mitsuki, end up accepting the job as means for a home and income. Another girl, Anna, later becomes a maid as well, and all three live in the mansion with Yoshitaka.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

Yoshitaka Nakabayashi (中林義貴, Nakabayashi Yoshitaka^?)

• Voiced by: Junko Minagawa

Yoshitaka is the 14-year-old boy who inherits his parents' fortune. He is described by others (and an episode title) as "the boy in the midst of puberty who inherited his parents' fortune and was living all by himself with no supervision and has surrounded himself with tender young girls in a huge mansion, thus living out his fantasies and creating his own world of desire as he makes them serve him". He installed scores of hidden video cameras throughout his mansion, and can efficiently record or snapshot instances and events he finds pleasing. His media archive is routinely browsed by Mitsuki each night from the comfort of the sisters' bedroom computer. Yoshitaka is never addressed by his family name except by some of his classmates; he is addressed either as "Yoshitaka" (with and without honorifics) or "Goshujin-sama" throughout the story. Izumi hates him and often refers to him as an "inhumane pervert with a Lolicon fetish". He even has a closet full of extra clothes for the girls (i.e.: sailor suits and bunny costumes).

Izumi Sawatari (沢渡いずみ, Sawatari Izumi^?)

• Voiced by: Masumi Asano

Izumi is one of the three girls who get hired by Yoshitaka. While reluctant about working there she has to work for Yoshitaka as she has a huge debt to pay off. Because Yoshitaka is the way he is, Izumi repeatedly stamps on him and hands out pay to him.

Izumi never uses an honorific suffix (-san, -sama, -kun etc.) after Yoshitaka's name. While this usually means the speaker is very close to the person, this could also mean a grave insult. Izumi uses it to show her contempt and her complete lack of respect she has for him. As a result, Yoshitaka often places the more difficult (and often pointless) tasks on Izumi. Izumi was originally going to be the "normal" character of the series but she turned out to show violent tendencies towards Yoshitaka and became the "doll" of the household: Everyone, including Mitsuki, messes with her in some sort of sexual tendency much to Izumi's dread. Be it flipping her skirt or attempting to remove her bra, Izumi is constantly being harassed.

Mitsuki Sawatari (沢渡みつき, Sawatari Mitsuki^?)

• Voiced by: Ai Shimizu

Mitsuki is Izumi's younger sister, by one year, and is hired by Yoshitaka along with Izumi. By using photographs from Yoshitaka's media archive, she signs Izumi up for a "Net Idol" website, which later, with revenue from Izumi's performances, helps Izumi pay off her debt. Mitsuki herself actually becomes very rich because of Izumi's popularity. Mitsuki always (when under Yoshitaka's contract) refers to Yoshitaka as Goshujin-sama or "Master". She even has her own fan club from her own school and other schools as well. She frequently comes up with (weird) competitions whenever two characters have divided opinions, most of the competitions ends up with Pochi playing some kind of key role that results in a bizarre conclusion, she seemes to favor Yoshitaka during these competitions and usually requires Izumi (albeit unwillingly) to compete. She loves the maid uniforms while as Izumi thinks they are way too revealing. Mitsuki even sang a song at a festival entitled "I'm a cute maid at a pervert's house!"

Anna Kurauchi (倉内安奈, Kurauchi Anna ^?)

• Voiced by: Kana Ueda

Anna is the third girl hired by Yoshitaka. She was originally attracted to Yoshitaka, but because of bizarre circumstances, she fell in love with Izumi and became Yoshitaka's maid in order to follow Izumi. She even travels to Holland to arrange a same-sex marriage (later finding out that, being under 16, she cannot be married). Her inability to cook is the subject of many jokes in the story. She was originally going to be the "innocent" member of the group, but her personality reverted to that of Yoshitaka's. The authors describe her as the "Yuri supplier of the group" (Yuri is girl-girl romance). Anna might be even more perverted then Yoshikata: While Yoshikata tapes Izumi illegally and dresses her in suggestive outfits, Anna has once hugged on Izumi while she was naked. (Which went to a lolicon element of Izumi's breast popping up.)

Pochi (ポチ, Pochi ^?)

• Voiced by: Kyousei Tsukui

Pochi is an alligator which belongs to Mitsuki and the reason Izumi and Mitsuki ran away from home. Originally, Pochi's parents lived at Mitsuki and Izumi's home. However one of the alligators attacked Mitsuki, causing Mitsuki's father to have the alligators taken away and put down. Mitsuki finds an egg belonging to Pochi's parents, and discovers that she was partly responsible for what happened to Pochi's parents.

Pochi likes cute girls and, for some reason, always tried to rip off Izumi's clothes. He also strongly dislikes males.

Pochi is often used to name reptiles as if they were domesticated pets such as pet dogs, similar to the name Spot in western society. Similarly, Pochi is the name of the pet dragon in Keio Flying Squadron.

[edit] Minor Characters

Sawatari, Father (沢渡父, Sawatari Chichi^?)

Mr. Sawatari is Izumi, Mitsuki, and Karin's father. His given name is unknown. Upon hearing the rumors of Yoshitaka, he immediately approached the mansion to demand the return of Izumi and Mitsuki. All his attempts at retrieving Izumi and Mitsuki fail, usually when his wife, Mizuho, abruptly stops him. Like Yoshitaka, Mr. Sawatari is a lolicon pervert. Izumi even once said "I've seen how you look at us!" referring to herself and Mitsuki.

Mizuho Sawatari (沢渡瑞穂, Sawatari Mizuho ^?)

• Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

Mizuho is the mother of Izumi, Mitsuki, and Karin. Compared to her husband, Mizuho is very young, having Izumi at the age of 16 and being age 30 during the story. Also in contrast to her husband, she is not concerned at all with two of her daughters in the hands of a perverted teenager, and will allow a love relationship between Izumi and either Anna (stating that "love has nothing to do with gender") or Yoshitaka (stating that he should "feel free to go crazy"). She and Mitsuki are very similar.

Karin Sawatari (沢渡かりん, Sawatari Karin^?)

• Voiced by: Rumi Shishido

Karin is the younger sister of Izumi and Mitsuki. Unlike her two sisters, she stayed behind rather than run away. After learning of her sisters' whereabouts, she visits them occasionally, although Izumi discourages them in order to keep her away from Yoshitaka's grasp.

Shinji Kume (久米伸治, Kume Shinji ^?)

Kume Shinji, along with other upperclassmen, formed a bodyguard squad after being impressed with Mitsuki's appearance, and aid Mitsuki with difficult tasks on various episodes. He is addressed by his friends as "Kume Shin".

Alicia (アリシア, Alicia^?)

• Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani

Alicia appears in one episode, and is a sadistic French blonde. She owns a pet alligator, Ellen (エレン), whom Pochi becomes infatuated with. Alicia is responsible for bringing out Izumi's confidence through the torture of Yoshitaka, thus allowing her to complete her debut event to win the Net Idol competition.

Seiichirou Nakabayashi (中林誠一郎, Nakabayashi Seiichirou^?)

• Voiced by: Romi Paku

Seichirou was raised in a similar lifestyle as Yoshitaka, but was plummeted into poverty upon the death of Yoshitaka's parents. Upon finding Mitsuki's website, Seichirou made a financial comeback by forming a production company. Through a series of contests, he was able to take possession of Izumi momentarily. In terms of personality, Seiichirou is also a lolicon uniform fetishist who loves peeping pictures and playing girl simulation games like Yoshitaka, but also is a crossdresser.

Takami Sugita (杉田多可美, Sugita Takami ^?)

• Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi

Takami is the only daughter of the Sugita family, a family that has rivaled the Nakabayashi family for generations. As Yoshitaka hit bankruptcy, Takami seized the opportunity to claim the Nakabayashi estate. Her disposition is nothing short of arrogant and haughty. She also has an interest in Mitsuki's production ability, since Takami was runner-up in the Net Idol competition.

• Mattsū (まっつー, Mattsū ^?) and Asu Tsubaki (椿あす, Tsubaki Asu ^?)—Mattsū and Asu Tsubaki are the authors of the He Is My Master manga. Within the story, Mattsū and Asu are represented as an alligator and hamster, respectively. An image of them on a cloud in heaven appears each time Izumi (and once Yoshitaka) mentions kami-sama (神様), or God. This happens once per episode.

[edit] Episodes

Screenshot	Title	Original air date	#
	"He Is My Master!?" ((これが私のご主人様!?))	April 7, 2005	01
	"That Vase, it's 5,000,000..." ((あの壷、５００万。。。))	April 14, 2005	02
	"The Lolicon Uniform Fetishist Who Love's Peeping Pictures and Plays Girl Simulation Games" ((ロリコンで制服マニアで隠し撮りマニアのギャルげーマニア))	April 21, 2005	03
	Izumi and Mitsuki enter Yoshitaka's school, where they meet Anna.
	"Couples Formed Under Extraordinary Circumstances Don't Last Long, You Know" ((異常な状況下で結ばれた男女は長ろう続きせんじゃ))	May 05, 2005	04
	"There's a rumor that this boy in the midst of puberty who inherited his parents' fortune and is living all by himself with no supervision has surrounded himself with tender young girls in a huge mansion, thus living out his fantasies and creating his own world of desire as he makes them serve him" ((親の遺産を受け継いで一人暮らしをしている思春期真っ只中の少年が世界の目が届かないのをいいことに広大な屋敷にいたいけな少女を囲って欲望の赴くままに自分の趣味の世界を作って奉仕させているという噂))	May 12, 2005	05
	Izumi and Mitsuki's parents pay a visit, to get the girls back. A contest is made to see who gets Izumi!
	"The Sawatari Izumi Contest Series!! A Daring Test of Courage!! An Express Train to a Secret Hotsprings in the Northeast, a Mother-in-law Murdered in the Mist, a Madonna Teacher from an Elite Family Burning with Desire as They Watch a Housewife Battle For Control of Her Troubled Mansion!!" ((沢渡いずみ争奪戦シリーズ!! 絶叫肝だめし!! 秘湯特急東北湯煙姑殺人欲望に燃えるエリート家庭マドンナ教師の乱れたマンション経営の跡目争い家政婦は見た!!))	May 20, 2005	06
	"He Is Izumi's" (♡?♡!? (これがいずみの♡♡♡!?))	May 26, 2005	07
	"An Unbelievably Short Strike Zone" ((果てしなく低いストライクゾーン))	June 03, 2005	08
	Karin visits Izumi and convinces her to become an idol.
	"Although Izumi is Izumi, Izumi Won't Yield to Anyone" ((いずみはいずみでももう何者にも屈しないいずみ))	June 09, 2005	09
	The gang go to the beach for Izumi's photoshoot where they meet Alicia and Ellen
	"He is My Prince!?" ((これが私の王子様!?))	June 16, 2005	10
	Seichirou and Yoshitaka compete to have Izumi and Mitsuki as their maids but there seems to be something suspicious about Seichirou.
	"The Far-Away Boy Yoshitaka" ((遥かなる彼の義貴))	June 23, 2005	11
	Takami challenges Izumi to a contest.
	"He is My Master!!" ((これが私の御主人様！！))	June 30, 2005	12
	The final showdown between Takami and Izumi!

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Opening Sequence

• In the opening sequence, Yoshitaka tries to put some costumes to Mitsuki. One of them is the pilot suit of Asuka Langley Soryu in Neon Genesis Evangelion.

[edit] Episode 4

• In episode 4, there are several references to the Die Hard film trilogy starring Bruce Willis, including references to Simon Gruber and "Simon Says" from Die Hard 3. Kume also refers to Yoshitaka as "John McClane" (Bruce Willis' character). Finally, Yoshitaka mimics John McClane's clever technique of taping his gun to his upper back, in anticipation of holding up his hands in mock surrender.

[edit] Episode 5

• When Nakabayashi Yoshitaka proposes to feed his koi. He calls: come Rei, Asuka, Kazumi, Noriko, Jung and later Linda. These names come from, respectively, Ayanami Rei and Soryu-Langley Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Amano Kazumi, Takaya Noriko, Jung Freud, and Linda Yamamoto from Top o Nerae! Gunbuster.

[edit] Episode 7

• In episode 7, Pochi swallows several more koi named Kasumi, Naru, and Misese.
• Yumi Fukuzawa and Sachiko Ogasawara from Maria-sama ga Miteru are featured on the front cover of the yuri magazine which Anna is holding.

[edit] Episode 8

• In episode 8, when Sawatari Karin is exploring Yoshitaka's mansion, she sees a bookshelf full with figurines. One can see Asahina Arumi from Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Ayanami Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mahoro and Minawa-chan from Mahoromatic, Nadia and Jean from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, Takaya Noriko from Top o Nerae! Gunbuster. On the left, you can even pick out a plush version of Misato Katsuragi, Asuka in her sundress, and what is possibly her best friend, Hikari Horaki, also from Evangelion. Not surprisingly, all of these shows are Gainax titles.

• Also from the same episode, when Karin looks in a closet full of clothes, you can pickout the NERV and school uniforms from Evangelion, the uniform worn by Samejima Mamimi in FLCL, and several other school uniforms used in other shows by Gainax.

[edit] Episode 9

• In episode 9, during Izumi's tropical photoshoot, Yoshitaka appears and mentions that "the ones who want [her] photobook are the extreme maniacs anyway." Izumi is most likely 14-years-old, the same age as Yoshitaka. While frowned upon in the West, in Japan, girls under 15 years of age (sometimes as young as 11 or 12) who pose for photobooks are quite popular. Referred to as a gravure idol, or a Japanese idol and model who poses for photographs and videos, more well-known idols include Mao Kobayashi (born in 1992) and Saaya Irie (born in 1993).

• In the same episode, wine bottles appear at about the 12-minute mark, upon which there are writings such as "Goshujin sama" or "Konomini". These refer to animes of Gainax including "He is my master (kore ga watashi no goshujin-sama)" and "This ugly yet beautiful world (kono minikukumo utsukushii sekai/or short konomini)". There are two other bottles but these writings are not really readable.

[edit] Episode 10

• In this episode, where Seichirou and Yoshitaka have a contest to win over Izumi, when Seichiro makes expressions similar to Yoshitaka's, Izumi feels that she had seen this sort of expression before, and she tries to look up that expression from a book she is holding. If you look closer, that book is actually a He is My Master manga, complete with Izumi on the front cover. She probably tried to search the manga to locate Yoshitaka's perverted expression in one of the pages.

• Also in this episode, at the end of the "figure creation contest", Seichirou creates Izumi in the image of Mahoro from Mahoromatic, another maid anime by Gainax.

[edit] Multiple episodes

• The computer in the Sawatari sisters' room is an iMac G5, considering the case and the well-known boot chime. However, the appearance of the user interface changes from episode to episode. An interface resembling Microsoft Windows is even used once.

• "GOSHUJINSAMA" (Japanese romaji for "master") appears on various locations in the anime, such as pictures and wine bottles.

• In each episode (except 10, 11 and 12), there is a running gag. At night, the view shifts to Yoshitaka's room (a lighted window) located on the top-right end of the mansion. Here, Yoshitaka is seen drawing with a devilish expression on his face, forking out a new plan. This scene is complete with the same "danger music" which has a similar ring to the Phantom of the Opera. The scene is reused throughout the remainder of the series, with the few exceptions when Yoshitaka has no ideas. He therefore sleeps on his desk, does the exact same scene but with a swell on his head, or is missing from his desk due to injury and needs to rest in his bed.

• Almost every female character (except for Alicia) that has appeared more than once in the series is seen wearing Yoshitaka's maid clothes. This includes Izumi and Mitsuki's mom, although she is never seen actually wearing them during the show, but in an intermission. The rest are Karin and Takami Sugita.

• At the end of each episode, the amount Izumi is in debt is shown similarly to how many days Mahoro has left to function at the end of episodes of Mahoromatic, another Gainax anime; however, while Mahoro's days left decreased after each episode, Izumi's debt keeps piling up.

• Additional trivia: He is My Master page at AnimeNewsNetwork

[edit] Anime soundtrack

Opening theme song:

• Masami Okui - TRUST

Ending theme song:

• Izumi, Mitsuki, and Anna - 愛情のカタマリ (Aijō no Katamari)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official authors' website (Japanese)
• Official He is My Master website (Japanese)
• He is My Master webpage at Lolitron
• He is My Master page at AniDB
• He is My Master page at AnimeNFO