365 Days of Manga, Day 118: He is My Master

HE IS MY MASTER (Kore ga Watashi no Goshujin-sama, “He is my Master”) ??????????? • Mattsuu (story), Asu Tsubaki (art) • Seven Seas Entertainment (2007-ongoing) • Square Enix (Gangan Powered, 2002-ongoing) • 5+ volumes (ongoing) • Otaku Romantic Comedy • 16+ (comic violence, constant sexual situations)
Two pneumatic teenage sisters (one girly, one feisty) run away from home and end up working as maids for a lecherous, super-rich 14-year-old orphan, whose idea of housework is flipped skirts, covert video surveillance and other harassment. The hapless pair are soon joined by a lesbian maid with a crush on one of the girls, and a horny, cartoony-looking pet alligator who chases the women around. Nonstop guns, chases, jokes and lunacy, He is My Master is (as the authors admit in the first volume) not a love comedy manga, it’s a gag manga; despite much sleazy behavior, little flesh is actually exposed. The humor is highly self-referential, with characters talking about the artist’s predilections and the content guidelines of the magazine they’re published in; one gag involve a loving close-up of the crotch of a skin-tight bodysuit, with the giant caption explaining essentially “It’s okay because it’s not nudity, it’s skin-tight fabric!” Though the series lacks any real character or plot and eventually wears thin, Mattsuu knows when to draw the line between “funny” and “just gross,” and the sleazy, jokey mood is refreshing compared to the soppy sentimentality and feelings of emotional entitlement which pervade most love-comedy manga like pancakes oversoaked with syrup. As of January 2010, the Japanese edition is on hiatus.

Today’s winner is Carrie M. of Florida. Congrats, Carrie!
And for those of you who haven’t won the random draw of manga, but who tried something more challenging… in other words, those of you who sent in your creative works for the King of RPGs “Tell Me About Your Character!” Contest… that contest is now finally over! The four winners have been chosen and are ready for viewing at the King of RPGs website.
In the end, picking the winning entries was a very tough decision. Some characters I liked just because of one little twist or image; others I liked because of the dedication and enthusiasm with which their creators wrote about them. The winning types span the whole range of tabletop, online and just-plain-made-up RPG characters. There were many almost-winners whose imaginative submissions I agonized over, until finally I almost (but didn’t!) considered rolling an 8-sided die to pick between the 8 semifinalists. The contest was tons of fun for me as the inavoidably biased judge, and I hope to do something like it again in the future! Till then, thanks for telling me about your characters, and keep on roleplaying!