Even at the bottom of the Akiba maids, Oinky Doink Café can become the Ultimate Maid at the Akiba Maid Festival!
Episode 9 – “Akiba Creatures Go Wild! Let the Moe Festivities Begin!!”
Hmm.
In the prologue of the Akiba Maid War episode, we learned about the two primary traits that make up an Akiba maid: fighting and serving customers. Violence was always a part of Akiba maid cafés, which means Ranko’s pacifist streak in the past was out of the ordinary. Climbing Lady Omoe identifies the best fighting and serving maid at the Akiba Maid Festival. It’s Nagomi, despite Nagi’s threats of violence to reward profit-making. Recall the episode where the Sheep Maid Café kidnapped Ranko because she had shared the same birthday as their star maid. We saw how Creatureland Group members saw customers as bags of money. They were no longer maids who served masters.
That attitude has gone to the top of the “ecosystem.” Putting profits over fighting spirit was the issue that irritated Manami of the Maid Aliens. In slight contrast, the Creatureland Group puts collecting money over the heart of a maid serving her master. Neither gang had followed the example set by Lady Omoe. Violence plus serving the master is the spirit of moe, moe kyun, which makes Nagomi the fitting avatar of Akiba Maid culture.
Is there a hint at the next Otaku Enforcer? Nagi killed the current one for letting Oinky Doink fight to the top of the Creatureland Ecosystem. The underground rules of Akiba Maid War don’t match the outward appearances that customers expect. Nagi will find it difficult to reconcile the secret profit structure with the dingy exterior of the Oinky Doink Maid Café. The Red Headband Otaku Enforcer needed to pay for that mistake. But who will be the next one? The revelation that the trench coat turtleneck dude is Okachimachi hints at who could be Nagi’s successor. Did Otaku Enforcer betray Nagi by giving his allegiance to the current manager of Dazzlion? Hubris is the Greek concept of arrogant pride causing a downfall. Was underestimating Oinky Doink the fatal flaw for Red Headband? His fate was sealed when he unsuccessfully tried to draw Maid Alien into crushing the Oinky Doink Café in the first episode.
Heh.
Oh, come on. Akiba Maid War claims the first maid to originate the “moe, moe kyun” phrase had the name “Omoe.” The combination of moe and violent maids started in the Meiji period. That spanned from 1868 to 1912. I love it. Akihabara’s (秋葉原) original name was “akiha no hara” (秋葉の原, field of autumn leaves). After fighting and serving masters, the Akiba maids created a festival in Omoe’s honor, ending with the Lady Omoe Climb! Burning Maid!
The maid café managers trade rumors of drug pushing to keep each other down. The era of violence in Akiba Maid War is over again. It’s time for the Akiba Maid Festival, but there’s a difference from past versions. There’s only one maid gang organizing the event. The Creatureland Group has unified all groups under its banner. How long will that last? Ha! They’re rigging the winner of the Lady Omoe Climb! Nagi also manages her own café, the Dazzlion. They should win. Right? We’ll see about that.
Every anime needs a festival arc. Akiba Maid War is no different. The Oinky Doink veterans explain the tall statue to Nagomi. I wonder what the climbing event was like in Ranko’s past. The idea of fighting to the statue’s top doesn’t appeal to Nagomi. The prize is priority marketing to bring more customers to the café. There’s a staggered start where pole position is based on stall profits. Ugh. Mean girl maids. The festival placed the Oinky Doink café by the toilets!
Uh oh. Tenchou’s bad luck will ruin her café’s chances of following the festival rules. We’ve seen this plot before in Akiba Maid War. Things will look bad for the Oinky Doinks until it turns around, and they burn something to the ground. Who gets the shaft this time? According to the Moe Moe Hierarchy, I expect the Dazzlions to eat it. Of course. The Axolotls are already outpacing the Oinky Doinks in profits. Oh? Was the Otaku Enforcer a regular of the Dazzlion maid? There it goes. Tenchou lost the manual for the Akiba Maid Festival, so her maids will suffer indignities. For a short while.
Tenchou gone fishin’. She wants to avoid watching the upcoming disaster in Akiba Maid War. The maids went all out for the festival. Whoa! Is Ranko’s regular the man inside Okachimachi? Will he become the new Otaku Enforcer when the Oinky Doinks rise to the top of the Moe Moe Hierarchy? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Aw. Nerula’s regulars came to visit Nagomi. Here we go. The other maids start bullying Oinky Doink for not following the rules. I sense a plan coming together. Moe Moe Maids need to win!
Nagi is ready to watch her café’s victory from the Dazzlion pavilion. The other cafés read the rules, so they have to let the lions win. But the Oinky Doinks didn’t read that! Let’s go and fight, fight, fight! Climb, climb, climb! This is the Akiba Maid War I expected to see. Tenchou’s big catch is Nagomi! Where are Nagomi’s ninja skills? The one-liners the maids spout sound like they belong in The Running Man. Ranko took down the Dazzlion. Nagomi wins! The Creatureland Group can’t lie to the customers about this.
What will be the consequences? Another Akiba Maid War episode with a body count. Otaku Enforcer took Nagi’s wrath. Who will be next?
Akiba Maid War (Akiba Maid Sensou) streams on Hidive in Japanese and English with English subtitles for the North American region. Crunchyroll streams the anime worldwide elsewhere.
