As befits a show by Gainax, Mahoromatic is pretty out there. The show revolves around a combat android that only has a relatively short time left to live. She decides to become a maid for the orphan of her late commander. Much zaniness ensues. Emotionally, the show definitely plays up the silly/happy aspects, though there are times when melancholy or danger comes to the fore.

This is all well-supported by the show's soundtrack, which contains music to support the different moods of the show. During fighting scenes the music is tense and dramatic; during comedy scenes the music is quite goofy and silly; and during emotional scenes the music brings a significant sense of melancholy and/or warmth. Toshio Matsuda, the composer, shows a commendable ability to match the music to the events in the show, providing a solid foundation to aid the listener's understanding and enjoyment. Unfortunately, sometimes even great music doesn't hold up well when taken away from the context of the show and put on a CD all by itself. Fortunately, that isn't quite the case with the first Mahoromatic soundtrack disc. While not every track is a hit, more often than not the album strikes the proper balance necessary to produce an enjoyable listening experience.

The first thing to note on this soundtrack is the fact that it seems to be mostly done on a bank of synthesizers, with the odd cello, violin, or acoustic guitar added to a few songs. Most people likely will not care one way or the other about this, but acoustic purists won't find much here to get excited about. Also, the tracks on this album are not arranged in the order they appear in the show, though they are not random, either. In the liner notes, the composer states the following: "I didn't just consider the flow of the music. Instead, I purposely lined [the music] up to get the feeling of seeing an episode of Mahoromatic after listening to the soundtrack." While this may have been the intention, it doesn't quite pan out that way. Just as the show itself has many moods, so does the music on the soundtrack album. There are some goofy tracks, some dramatic tracks, some nice and happy tracks, and some melancholy tracks. The show itself leans more heavily on the comedy, so in the average show you will get more of the goofy or silly tracks than the other kinds. The soundtrack album, however, shows more overall balance among the styles, though with fewer dramatic tracks than the other styles.

Mahoro enjoys her duties on a beautiful morning.

That being noted, there are still more elements of dramatic tension in the soundtrack than in a standard episode of the show. Additionally, in a standard episode of the show the dramatic moments tend to come at the end, but the tracks on this album seem to be spread in a way that you move from one type to another and then another, then segue back into a repeat of the initial pattern. It doesn't always work that way, but for the bulk of the album that is more or less what you'll get.

Don't let those comments lead you into thinking that this album isn't an enjoyable listening experience, though. While I personally could do without a few of the tracks, overall this is a very enjoyable album to listen to. My first impression of the album, and one which I still believe is true, is that this album has a close musical similarity to the soundtrack albums for the Ah! My Goddess OVA series. The pacing is a little different, but just as the Ah! My Goddess albums make excellent general background music, so does the Mahoromatic soundtrack. Probably due to my personality, I lean more towards the more melancholy tracks, such as "Mother's Warmth" and "Last Wish." The goofier tracks, such as "The Grade 8, Division 4's Everyone," can be a nice change of pace, but sometimes the composer puts some rather odd sounds in them as a way to give them even more of a silly feel. This can get rather distracting, as is the case with "That Brat! Almost Cut to Pieces." There is this weird, whiny sound in the background on this track that really gets on my nerves. Luckily, there are only a handful of annoying tracks, and the majority of the album shows a high level of music skill that can be appreciated by both fans of the show and people who just like good music.

Suguru's classmates refuse to believe that Mahoro is just an ordinary maid.

This CD also comes with some "bonus messages," which in my experience are pretty unique for domestic releases. These are all vocal tracks by Kawasumi Ayako, the Japanese voice actress for the character of Mahoro. They are all rather ridiculous, consisting of such things as Mahoro calling you on the phone or an answering machine message from Mahoro. None are as ridiculous as "Mahoro's Cup-O-Noodle Timer," though. This track is the voice actress counting out the minutes for a three-minute time span, which I guess is the right amount of time to heat a meal of Cup-O-Noodle. Bizarre.

Unlike some CDs I have reviewed, the Mahoromatic soundtrack does come with full versions of the opening and closing songs, which is always appreciated. The opening song, "On the Way Home," is a nice, happy number that captures the proper balance between the joy of life that Mahoro feels, and the melancholy in her heart from her experiences in the military and her limited life span. On its own it is only a rather average song, but it fits Mahoro very well. The ending song, "Mahoro De Mambo," is rather hilarious. It is sung by the voice actresses for the main male character's female classmates. The lyrics are pretty stupid, but it is sung with such energy that it is hard to dislike the song, even if it is rather ridiculous. And not only do we get both theme songs, but the CD comes with karaoke versions of both songs, so you, too, can sing like Mahoro or a trio of junior high girls. Joy. I normally stop the CD once the regular soundtrack portion ends and the extras begin, but it is interesting to see some of the bonuses that Japanese fans have been getting for years.

At the end of the day, the Mahoromatic soundtrack is well worth the cover price. It isn't perfect, but it has enough high-quality music to please even those who aren't big fans of the show. And if you are a big fan, I probably had you once I mentioned the karaoke tracks, you nutty people, you.