Maiden and Tracklayers

Maiden and Tracklayers
Genre	comedy romance
Developed by	Moon Soo Bin
Theme music composer	Ministry of Culture
Opening theme	Maiden and Tracklayer
Composer(s)	Unknown
Country of origin	Malgrave
Original language(s)	Mystrian Common, Malgravean Ancient, Imerian
No. of series	4 (2020-)
No. of episodes	48
Production
Executive producer(s)	Moon Soo Bin
Production location(s)	Epping
Cinematography	Various
Running time	40 minutes
Production company(s)	TVN
Distributor	TVN
Release
Original network	TVN One
Picture format	1080i (16:9 [HDTV)
Original release	1 June 2020 (2020-06-01) – present
External links
Website

Maiden and Tracklayers is an animated Malgravean romantic/comedy series based on the popular book series, Jungfruar ach Bandlagare. It is known for several variations of the storyline and characters, a decision designed to make it more palatable to local audiences but one that has received some criticism from fans of the original book series.

Characters

Character	Description
Tina auf Hammarnafe	Tina is shown to be an intelligent and courageous young woman, as skilled in the tracklayer as she is in accounting lessons and the kitchen at the Rosewood Academy. She is often able to use her intelligence to secure victories in the show, with many Imerians suggesting that she must be a male from a prestigious line of warriors.
Brynhilda Rosadottir	Brynhilda is the second in command of the tracklayer group, and the gunner of the crew. She is largely showcased as a highly competent woman, and her bravado is shown to get her into trouble within the school as she attempts to gain additional food for herself and her comrades. Brynhilda's pleasant nature and her bold spirit often means that she is the source of courting attempts from men in the school.
Klara Erikasdottir	Klara is the driver of the groups tracklayer and one of the main comedic elements of the show. She is shown to be a highly competent driver, although, she is reckless to a comic degree and many opposing drivers accuse her of being able to break reality with her tracklayer.
Frida Erikasdottir	Frida is the secondary gunner and loader of the tracklayer and a secondary comedic element of the show. Frida gains enjoyment from teasing men and is quite fond of them, a trait which often gets her in too trouble although she is often able to play innocent and get out of trouble.
Hageriker auf Rosenholmen	Hageriker is the son of a prestigious noble and attends Rosewood, a lot of expectation is placed on his shoulders due to his ancestors previous deeds in battle and he is put in overall of the students military exercises with the expectation that he will perform well. In spite of this Hageriker bucks expectations by being quite down to earth and enjoys a friendly relationship with his troops which he claims helps them perform battle. Away from the battlefield he is considered to be a potential romantic partner for Tina, although, unlike the book it is unknown if he is aware of her role in the tracklayer team.
Birger auf Ekensjan	Birger is the primary antagonist of the series, and her serves as the commander of a rival military unit within the nearby rival academy of Oakenfield. Birger is shown as quite boastful, as he constantly claims to come from a prestigious house and he views himself as the superior of Hageriker and constantly asserts that he shall claim Tina as his rightful bride, a claim which leads to several fights nearly breaking out. It is latter revealed that Birger actually comes from a rather lowly house, and while his parents are honourable servants of the High King and perform their role admirably he has gotten rather sour and has turned into quite the scallywag.
Min Seon-ah/Min Woo-bin	Seon-ah replaces Mal Malssen in the books, and serves as second in command of the tracklayer team from the Niels Bohr Academy in Pakosc. In her first appearance she is shown to be a highly talented commander, as she is able to avoid the various traps sent against him and even destroy several heavy tracklayers in spite of the odds before eventually being destroyed by Tina's tracklayer after a reckless move by Klara Erikasdottir. Originally, the Malgraveans are honest about the gender makeup of their tracklayer team, however, after much confusion they settle upon disguising themselves as men and Woo-bin introduces herself to much praise from the Imerians, although, further confusion arises when she reveals that her father is a known paragon as the Imerians automatically assume that she is in charge of the tracklayer unit. Seon-ah is shown to be fluent in Imerian, as she gains further approval from the Imerians for praising their performance and giving the appropriate level of praise to the High King and the Gods. Still Seon-ah causes trouble by flirting with Tina, and is shown as an alternate romantic choice for the Imerian. Such a decision was quite controversial, however, defended by the writers who said it was only natural to add a romantic rival for some tension and drama. Seon-ah has a respectful friendship with Hageriker, as they both defend Tina from Birgers scandalous comments and bond over their shared respect for old Imerians heroes and the expectations placed upon them by their parents. Hageriker soon comes to rely upon Seon-ah as a confidant, even after he discovers that she is a woman and their friendship is shown as quite wholesome.
Maksym Jaskulski	Maksym Jaskulski replaces Naird the four eyed as the Malgravean antagonist in the show. Maksym serves as the commander of the tracklayer unit from Niels Bohr Academy, as his theoretical grades and simulator performances elevated him to that position, a state of affairs which rather confuses the Imerians as he is shown to have no noble bloodline. Contary to his book portrayal, Maksym is shown to be partially competent at his job, as it is the superior skills of Tina and their driver that puts him into a disadvantage in their first encounter. At that point Maksyms flaws are shown, as he grows quite emotional and even panics in the face of defeat and Seon-ah is shown as having to bail him out of trouble and effectively lead the tracklayer unit, with the overall performance of the unit improving and several victories being recorded before they are eliminated by Tina. Later on Maksym shows his immaturity again, as he claims responsibility for the tactics during the battle and pours scorn on the Imerians in a rather offensive speech given in broken Imerian, even as Seon-ah is shown to recover the situation by giving a more eloquent speech praising her fellow warriors. Maksym soon develops a close friendship with Birger, as they are both able to bond over their rather bitter feelings and their scallywag nature. Maksym is shown to be disrespectful towards Tina and other female students at the academy, and is even challenged to a duel by Hageriker for his insolence, however, he always laughs it off claiming that he follows the laws of a proper country not a backwards land. Maksym is even despised by Soon-ah, with the latter even stepping in and defending Hageriker after he punches Makysym for insulting Tina's honour and causing much outrage.

Reception

The Absolute Royal Federation

Reception in the ARF was somewhat mixed, while the show has been shown with some censorship and localisation in Imerian cinemas to great success have it also raised some debate in various papers dedicated to such matters. While a lot of viewers praised the show as a good adaption of a beloved series of books did it not avoid critism, the heavy focus on tracklayer combat at expense of the combined arms ground combat that the books depicts caused a lot of complaints among Imerian viewers but it was the adaption of Birger that drew the most ire. Several viewers complained loudly about him and Naird/Maksym growing closer and the other changes made to his characters. The Sashi Colonial Post featured some published open letters that quoted that "He was changed from a rogue and a gentleman into a harlot with no honour!". In general was Moon Soo Bin also accused of being a very biased Tina/Hageriker or Tinriker shipper at the expense of the other alternative Tina X birger or Tinriger ship that remains very popular in the federation.

Some people also complained about the decision to change Mal Malssen into a woman but more people found the parallels between her and Tina more interesting and on the big side was it not as much focus on the debate in the federation in general. Art from the show has already also been seen making it's way into the federal military and the crew taken from the show has been depicted on at least one documented tracklayer as nose art.