is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

written and illustrated by Takehito Mizuki. The manga was serialised in MediaWorks's monthly ''

Dengeki Daioh is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) under the ''Dengeki'' brand. Many manga serialized in ''Dengeki Daioh'' were later published in ''tankōbon'' volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Co ...

'' before MediaWorks moved the title to the quarterly ''

Dengeki Moeoh is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by ASCII Media Works (formerly MediaWorks) under the ''Dengeki'' brand. Many manga serialized in ''Dengeki Daioh'' were later published in ''tankōbon'' volumes under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Co ...

''. The manga was formerly licensed in English by ComicsOne and DrMaster.

Characters

* is the female protagonist and Takaya's robot maid. "Koharubiyori" ''Newtype USA'' 6 (12) 16. December 2007. . * is the male protagonist and Yui's owner. He has a maid fetish and is good at cooking and sewing. * likes Takaya and works as a maid in her dad's cafe, Cafe Cowbeya. * is Minori's father and Cafe Cowbeya's owner. * is the shop manager. * * is Ayumi's mother. * is the younger sister of Sumire. * is the older sister of Ran. * is Takaya's ultimate customized figurine.

Media

Manga

''Koharu Biyori'' is written and illustrated by Takehito Mizuki. The manga was serialised in MediaWorks's monthly ''

'' before MediaWorks moved the title to the quarterly ''

''. The manga is licensed in North America by ComicsOne. The English license was transferred to DrMaster after ComicsOne's collapse. As of February, 2009, MediaWorks has published four '' tankōbon'' of the manga. ComicsOne released the first volume of the manga on February 16, 2005. The manga is licensed in Taiwan by Ever Glory Publishing.

Volume listing

Anime

The manga was adapted into a three-episode

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

by Doumu. The anime is licensed in the United States by Sentai Filmworks and distributed by

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...

. However, with ADV being shut down, distribution was now handled by Section23 Films. It was also distributed in Russia by MC Entertainment. The episodes were released in Japan between October 14, 2007 and April 2, 2008. Geneon released 3 DVDs in Japan. The first DVD was released on November 21, 2007. The second DVD was released on February 8, 2008. The final DVD was released on April 2, 2008. The subtitled series was released on March 10, 2009 in the US, there is no English-dubbed version available. The

s use three pieces of theme music. by

Eri Kitamura is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She was previously affiliated with Early Wing, but is now a freelancer. She is known for voicing prominent roles in anime such as and Sayaka Miki in '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', Saya Otonashi in ''Bloo ...

is the series' opening theme, while by

and Satomi Akesaka is the ending theme for the first two episodes. by

is the ending theme for the third episode.

Episode list

Soundtrack CDs

On November 21, 2007, Geneon released an animation soundtrack CD for ''Koharu Biyori''. Geneon released two ''Maniac'' CDs for ''Koharu Biyori''. The first CD, ''Koharu Biyori Maniacs CD 1'' was released on December 21, 2007. The second CD, ''Koharu Biyori Maniacs CD 2'' was released on February 22, 2008. The songs are sung by the voice actors/actresses of the characters.

Reception

Mania.com's Eduardo M. Chavez criticised the manga for having "no plot" and a cast that "lacks personality". He also criticized the manga for the overuse of the moe anthropomorphism. Liann Cooper from

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

criticises the manga for having "no plot" and that the manga's "illustrations look like sloppy sketches". Anime Fringe's Janet Crooker classifies the manga as a '' Chobits'' parody. Mania.com's Chris Beveridge commends the OVAs for its "character designs are good, the fanservice just right and it plays things at a slightly different angle because of the androids and the lack of a real crush/interest in the main characters". THEM Anime's Carlos Ross criticises the OVA for "very juvenile" writing and further comments that the OVA "is not a cleanly or adroitly written work in regards to pacing". He also criticises the "very abrupt, kludgy transitions (particularly between episodes two and three) that seem to come clean out of left field".

References

External links

Official website
* * {{Daume 2004 manga 2007 anime OVAs ASCII Media Works manga Kadokawa Dwango franchises Comedy anime and manga Science fiction anime and manga Seinen manga Sentai Filmworks