Koharu Biyori (こはるびより) is a comedy OVA anime series released in 2007. It consists of three episodes and is based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Mizuki Takehito. I watched this many years ago, but considering how much I liked it, I decided to give it another shot recently.

The story is set in a relatively near future where androids are commonplace. Takaya Murase, a young man, goes to an android shop to buy one and ends up completely enthralled by a beautiful maid-type android sitting on a sofa. He decides to buy her, despite not actually needing a maid for his apartment.

Once back home, he activates her and discovers that Yui is not willing to go along with his perverted tendencies or his attempts to play dress-up. This leads to a comedic struggle between the two as they try to find a way to cohabit, balancing Takaya's desire to dress her up with Yui's desire to perform her household chores.

As the story progresses, more supporting characters are added to create varied comedic elements, but the focus never really moves away from Yui and Takaya. The OVA series ends on a positive note; while not much is fully resolved, there is clear progress in their relationship.

The characters are:

Yui

The female protagonist and Takaya's robot maid. She is proud of her abilities as a maid and does not want to partake in the various cosplays that Takaya proposes, even though she is easily swayed and eventually ends up doing them anyway. She grows to like Takaya a lot as she gets to know him better.

Takaya Murase

The male protagonist of the story. He is an engineer and an otaku with hundreds of figures and other items in his house, much to Yui's chagrin, and he loves cosplay. He is even able to sew the costumes himself and has a huge repertoire available to use on Yui.

Minori Sumitomo

A young girl working at Cafe Cowbeya, which is owned by her father. She is in love with Takaya and is initially seen as an "enemy" by Yui due to her large chest, especially when compared to Yui's flat-chested frame. She is a genuinely nice girl, but she always ends up in embarrassing situations.

Kanae and Ayumi Hagiwara

A mother and daughter who frequent Cafe Cowbeya and become involved with Takaya and the others. The daughter has a very mature personality for her age, but I find it funny how the mother always mentions she is a widow whenever she introduces herself.

Ran and Sumire Midou

Two miko girls who frequently summon a giant octopus that inevitably targets Minori for fanservice scenes. They are part of a flat-girls alliance that welcomes Yui and fights against their "enemies," a category that Minori unfortunately falls into.

Sakuya

The "perfect" android for Takaya, built using data that the android company obtained from him. She does not find an owner, not because she isn't good at doing her job, but because the company owner (Tenchou) likes her way too much to let her go.

The manga series is complete with seven volumes released between 2001 and 2011. This interests me because it means the story has much more content than what was adapted in the anime. I may give it a shot in the near future just to see how Yui's story continues. Either way, I suggest giving this series a chance; it is a solid old-school comedy that will surely make you smile, and it is only three episodes long.