English Dub Review: Akiba Maid War: “Gambling Adoracalypse: Yumechi”

Overview: Nagomi (Alyssa Marek) is gripped by the bloody and gruesome gun fight she was witness to as a looming debt rears its ugly head for the Oinky Doink Cafe. 

Our Take: If someone were to witness horrific violence and bloodshed, one would naturally be shaken by such brutality. Nagomi’s intense fear and bewilderment after such a display solidifies how much more innocent and normal she is compared to her more desensitized maid co-workers. 

It is an understandable human response for her to want to get out of the job. However, a nice bit of heart is introduced in the form of a maid from a rival café. Her role establishes and communicates a sense of family and community within maid cafes in their dedication and bond through the worst of times. The reasoning is surprisingly compelling in why Nagomi commits to the job, despite the batshit crazy storm of dropping bodies and bullets she will have to traverse. 

Nagomi being the most sensible one of the group makes for good dry comedy with her bosses’ crazy gambling at the Maid casino to pay their debt, but also her peers in their complacency in the stakes. I love the expansion of the MCU (Maid Cinematic Universe, of course) with a seedy maid casino, Moe Moe Poker (these names are chef’s kiss) to fill out the dolled up criminal world. The puns from both maid groups continue to be hilarious, and even admirable, in how ingrained that fluffy, encouraging identity is, even at their lowest lows. 

With the girls having forfeited their service and future income as money in poker, when Yumechi’s takes a seat at the dealer’s table, things really liven up. She gets the spotlight to show off how shrewd she is in seeing through the dealer’s underhanded tactics to rig the game against the girls. 

When it ends in a draw, it nicely subverts expectations of Yumechi being their savior. Instead, it goes for a balls-to-the-wall shootout, giving Ranko the floor once again with her concealed gun for a huge bombastic finish.  

In the end, it makes their attempt to pay their way out of their debt useless. However, it works so well, because of that. It showed us a new corner of the world and highlighted the vicious lengths they will go to in order to survive. Also, with their body count they are tallying up, the inevitable response it will bring makes their dire straits even more intense moving forward. With Nagomi deciding to stay in order to survive, it will be intriguing how her relationship evolves with her fellow maids and if she will end up getting her hands dirty in the process.