What’s it about? Melody might be destined to save the world from the malicious demon king, but all she wants to do is clean! Sent from our world to a video game, Melody immediately leaves the story she’s destined to follow behind, spurning the hero’s journey for serving as an all-purpose maid who’s skilled enough to change even the most grimy of situations to one that’s sparkling clean!
Fantasy, especially isekai series, are full of all manner of heroes: magic-slinging youth, sword-wielding warriors, healers blessed by the gods. They all have a place in the hierarchy of isekai classes characters can fall into, and they fill out stories with classic tropes that can often feel familiar, though isekai does love a twist.
But this fantasy dares to highlight what is perhaps the most important job of them all: the person who makes sure everything stays clean and comfortable.
Episode 1 starts us in the cryptic, decrepit Haunted Mansion. Well, the previously haunted mansion, as Melody, Lady Luciana’s new maid, has turned what once belonged in the trash into a bold and brash (and sparkling) manor fit for nobility. Marvelous in her skills, Melody wows her new mistress. But it was always the sweep life for Melody: she, like every iseakai protagonist, has a past.
Before she was Melody, she was Celesty, and before that, Ristuko: she lived in our world, and was quite bored with it. So naturally, she turned to her niche special interest—maids—to bring a bit of excitement to her life. Unfortunately, all the universes seemed to have very different plans, landing Ritsuko in the life of Celesty McMarden, the unknown child of a Count and stuck (unknowingly) in an otome game. But that’s not enough to stop our protagonist, and when she takes her future into her hands after a tragedy, she changes for the better and sets herself up to have the life she’s always wanted!
At base, Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It!) is pretty straightforward: it’s the story of a reincarnated girl who is destined to be the heroine of her own story. Only… Melody has zero desire to swing a blade or wield magic, at least not traditionally. Instead, she likes to use her abilities to serve as a maid, whether that’s in the scullery or garden. And she’s passionate too: the premiere takes Melody’s desires quite seriously, even if everyone else thinks Melody’s one ingredient short of a solid soup (including the narrator!).
Because of that, this isekai immediately stands out as much more humorous—and genuinely, much more engaging—than your usual show. Melody—formerly Celesty—isn’t reincarnated as a noble or royal: she’s an unclaimed daughter of a commoner and a noble and it grounds the humor alongside her backstory because she has no interest in claiming any sort of title. Instead, Melody willingly throws herself into being a maid because she was a maid otaku. In fact, she was such a maid otaku that she went to England, and ah… well, she didn’t make it, now did she?
Still, I found that so charming because I always wonder what the isekai’d characters who aren’t gifted with cheats and maxed out skills are doing, and now we have a really charming answer: if they’re not reincarnated as an object, sometimes, those characters take up wonderfully mundane work.
I had a good gut feeling that I’d like All-Works Maid, but I didn’t realize just how much I’d like it. It wears its heart on its sleeve automatically, combining Melody’s start in another world with her present, where she’s happy and unknowingly the sole solution to the world’s problems. I think that, if anything, is exactly why you should be sat for this show: while it might not change the genre or revolutionize isekai series, it’s interesting to see a heroine completely ditch any plans the world might have had for her to go and be a maid and find joy in everyday life, and in the kind of labor usually shunted aside as annoying busywork or, worse, derided as “women’s work.”
Ultimately, this is a big recommendation from me: honestly, I can’t wait to see the next episode. For now, I’m gonna download a sample of the novel, which is available up to volume 6 in English. Heck, I might even pick up the manga too! Definitely encourage you to do the same, if this is your bread, butter, and jam. I sense this will be one of the most relaxing shows this season.
