Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

"'Infobox animanga/Header
name = Kaichou wa Maid-sama!
ja_name = 会長はメイド様！
genre = Romantic comedy, Slice of life storyInfobox animanga/Manga
author = Hiro Fujiwara
publisher = flagicon|Japan Hakusensha
flagicon| United States Tokyopop
demographic = shōjo
magazine = flagicon|Japan LaLa
flagicon|Germany Daisuki
first = December 2005
last = ongoing
volumes = 6nihongo|"Kaichou wa Maid-sama!"|会長はメイド様！ (lit. "Student Council President is a Maid!") is a shōjo manga by Hiro Fujiwara. It is currently serialized in LaLa magazine, and currently there are six published volumes released in Japan. In the Anime Expo 2008 panel, North American publisher, Tokyopop announced its various newly licensed series and "Kaichou wa Maid-sama!" will be titled as "Maid-sama!". [cite web| title =Tokyopop Announces New Manga Titles (Update 2)| url =http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-05/tokyopop-anonunces-new-manga-titles | accessdate = 2008-08-27 ]

Plot

Once an all boys school, Seika High, a renowned school full of reckless and filthy students, has recently become a co-ed school. However, with the female population still remaining a minority even after the change over the recent years, Misaki Ayuzawa takes in her own hands to change the school and allow a chance for the girls to feel safer in the rough environment.

Training, studying and even becoming the first female student council president of the school, Misaki has gained a reputation among the male students body as an uptight boy-hating dictator and as a shining hope for the teachers and fellow female students. However, despite her tough-as-nails appearance, she secretly works part-time at a maid cafe in order to support her family. Unfortunately, her secret is soon revealed when the somewhat impassive Takumi Usui, a popular boy at school, nonchalantly discovers her in a maid uniform after school.

Characters

eika High School

;nihongo|Misaki Ayuzawa|鮎沢 美咲|Ayuzawa Misaki: The protagonist of the story, Misaki is the first female Student Council President at Seika High and known for her extremely demanding and aggressive attitude towards boys and relentlessly reforming them to what she considers are acceptable standards of behavior. Her negative attitude towards males is mostly attributed to her father amassing with a huge debt and then disappearing; Misaki became determined to make sure her weak mother would not have to work so hard to support both Misaki and her younger sister. To this extent, she secretly and reluctantly works as a maid at Café Latte. Regardless of her endeavors, Misaki is always driven to her best and has a strong sense of justice, but has a tendency to forget her own well being in the process when she is helping others.

;nihongo|Takumi Usui|碓氷 拓海|Usui Takumi: One of the most popular boys at Seika High, Usui appears to take little interest in anything and prefers to observe things as they unfold, though proves to be extraordinarily talented in numerous areas. He develops an interest in Misaki and is the first to learn she is working at a maid café, but chooses to keep her secret and soon falls in love with her. While she dismisses his behavior simply as harassment, he continues to watch over and protect her, as well as offering insightful advice on how to deal with the boys at Seika effectively and fairly. He appears to be the only male student at school that Misaki is willing to speak to as an equal. Little is known about Usui’s background and he is reluctant to speak about it, though he reveals a willingness to tell Misaki. He has an older brother and lives alone in an apartment.

;nihongo|Naoya Shirakawa|白川 直也|Shirakawa Naoya: A male student at Seika High School who dislikes Misaki because of her forceful methods to make the male students acceptable. He and his friends discover that she works at a maid café early on in the story, but after she is defended by Usui, they quickly become her biggest fans and begin to frequent the café where she works often. His nickname is “Shiroyan.”

;nihongo|Ikuto Sarashina|更科 郁斗|Sarashina Ikuto: A member of the “idiot trio” who became big fans of Misaki not long after learning she was a maid at a maid café. A closet otaku, he is actually good at drawing manga illustrations and enjoys writing. His friends call him “Ikkun.”

;nihongo|Ryuunosuke Kurosaki|黒崎 龍之介|Kurosaki Ryūnosuke: The third member of the “idiot trio” who frequent Café Latte and are big fans of Misaki. After learning her secret, they choose not to tell everyone at school because Usui came to her defense. He is nicknamed “Kurotatsu.”

;nihongo|Shouichirou Yukimura|幸村 祥一郎|Yukimura Shōichirō: The Vice President of the Student Council, he is helpful towards Misaki and enjoys office routine. He and the rest of the Student Council are quite fearful of Misaki, but respect her because the changes she has brought to improve the school. Yukimura is competent, serious, and capable of doing most administrative work, but is physically weak, especially in comparison to Misaki and Usui. He has a seven-year-old sister named Rui.

;nihongo|Sakura Hanazono|花園 さくら|Hanazono Sakura: One of the few female students at Seika High, Sakura is friendly and cheerful and relies on Misaki, seeing her as an older sister. She is actually quite popular amongst the boys, but frequently rejects their confessions; in particular, she’s rejected ex-rugby captain nihongo|Masaru Gouda|剛田将|Gōda Masaru one hundred times.

;nihongo|Shizuko Kaga|加賀 しず子|Kaga Shizuko: One of Misaki and Sakura’s friends, Shizuko is a member of the flower arranging club. She often spends lunchtime with Misaki and Sakura. She is good at math, but isn’t very good at physical activities. She has an older brother in university and a younger sister in junior high school; according to Sakura, the three of them look very alike.

;nihongo|Soutarou Kanou|叶 爽太郎|Kanō Sōtarō: A male student who is against Misaki as the Student Council President because she is a girl. Not wishing for the female population to increase, Kanou tries to hypnotize Misaki, Usui, and the Student Council in order to ruin Misaki’s reputation. When his attempt fails, it is revealed that his misogynist attitude comes from his mother abandoning his family when he was young and his father warning him to be wary of women. Misaki’s aggressive and unfeminine behavior helps him overcome his misogyny and he begins to regard her in a friendlier manner.

;nihongo|Hinata Shintani|深谷 陽向|Shintani Hinata: A childhood friend of Misaki who came to Seika High in search of his first love – Misaki. When they were children, he was an overweight boy who Misaki saved when he fell from a tree. He fell in love with her, but soon moved away to live with his grandfather in the countryside when his parents died. When he returns, his appearance changed considerably from losing so much weight (supposedly from eating nothing but vegetables), though he remains a glutton. He is rather gullible and has a one-sided rivalry against Usui to win Misaki’s affection.

Café Latte

;nihongo|Satsuki|さつき: The manager of Café Latte and Misaki’s boss, a 30 year old woman who has a tendency to voice out her fantasies. She is a cheerful woman who enjoys her job because it allows her to make others happier. She is very understanding of Misaki’s circumstances, knowing that Misaki does not particularly enjoy working at a maid café, and is perceptive of other people’s feelings. Satsuki also ends up hiring Usui as a part-time cook, much to Misaki’s chagrin.

;nihongo|Honoka|ほのか: An employee at Café Latte. Despite her pleasant demeanor, she dislikes Misaki because Misaki’s good work makes her look bad. However, she does not mind that Misaki does the more difficult work in the café, so she holds nothing against her. Honoka does not have a full-time job and makes a living from part time work. She can become somewhat maniacal about getting in character for her job.

;nihongo|Erika|エリカ: A college student working at Café Latte. She notes that Misaki is strong and picks up work quickly, though she finds that it does not feel as though Misaki is younger than her. She has a tendency to eavesdrop and is described as having a “voice fetish.”

;nihongo|Subaru|すばる: An employee at Café Latte. Like Honoka, she does not have a full-time job and makes a living from part-time work. She considers Misaki to be hard working.

;nihongo|Sayu|さゆ, nihongo|Gon-chan|ゴンちゃん: Two other employees at Café Latte. Sayu is 18 and Gon-chan is 20 years old. They do not appear often.

;nihongo|Aoi Hyoudou|兵藤 葵|Hyōdō Aoi: Satsuki’s nephew, a junior high school student who enjoys dressing like a girl. His androgynous features allow him to pass off as a girl and he easily fools Misaki into believing that he is one. Aoi enjoys toying with the feelings of men, but is eventually exposed as a boy to Misaki by Takumi.

;nihongo|Nagisa Hyoudou|兵藤 なぎさ|Hyōdō Nagisa: Satsuki’s sister and Aoi’s mother, Nagisa is the manager of a beach house known as “Ocean House.” She asks for Satsuki and her employees to come and work at her beach house during the summer.

Miyabigaoka High School

;nihongo|Tora Igarashi|五十嵐 虎|Igarashi Tora: The Student Council President at Miyabigaoka High School, he initially appears as a gentleman who marvels at Misaki and the changes she has brought to Seika High, offering her a chance to come to Miyabigaoka with an exceptional loan. He is quickly revealed to be a lecherous young man who has become bored with the women surrounding him, who are easily submissive because of his wealth. He enjoys causing drama around him.

;nihongo|Kanade Maki|真木 奏|Maki Kanade（まき かなで） : The Vice President of the Student Council at Miyabigaoka High, he and Igarashi attempt to buy out Café Latte and change it into a butler café. Misaki, Takumi, and the Café Latte staff are able to prevent him from realizing his plans through a competition.

;nihongo|Hirofumi Koganei|小金井博文|Koganei Hirofumi: A bespectacled student at Miyabigaoka High School who looks down upon Seika students. After insulting two students for taking an interest in chess, they hit him and Misaki forces them to go with her to apologize to him. When she discovers the reason why they attacked Koganei, she demands that Koganei apologize them her students as well. He agrees, only on the condition that they defeat him in chess, which Usui does with little trouble. Koganei is ranked fourth in the nation as a chess player. He was originally intended to be the president of Miyabigaoka High School Council by the author, but rejected by the editor. [Volume, Tea Break 3]

Media

Drama CD

A drama CD for "Kaichou wa Maid-sama" was released in Japan.

Cast
* Misaki Ayuzawa: Sanae Kobayashi
* Takumi Usui: Tomokazu Sugita
* Shouichirou Yukimura: Hiro Shimono
* Naoya Shirakawa: Hiroyuki Yoshino
* Ikuto Sarashina: Tetsuya Kakihara
* Ryuunosuke Kurosaki: Yuichi Nakamura
* Aoi Hyoudou: Yuki Kaida
* Satsuki: Rie Tanaka

References

External links

* [http://zero.mods.jp/ ZERO - Hiro Fujiwara official website] jp icon