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3%% The examples section has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct place in accordance with Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings.
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7%% Image replaced per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1305062123012826000
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10[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/HanaukyoMaidTeam https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_a4ehanaukyo_maid_team_la_verite_01_3927.jpg]]]]
11[-[[caption-width-right:350:[[ColorCodedForYourConvenience Each different uniform color]] is a '''separate department.'''[[note]]We got, from right to left, "help with office work", "costumes", "personnel", "cooking", "administrative", "secretary", "technology", "financial", "security", "information", and "health"; not shown here is the "Personal Care" department. Oh, and they later create a "personal attendants" department from scratch, just for the protagonist.[[/note]]]]-]
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13A well-off person may have a maid or two in his house. Likewise, a truly wealthy person may have half a dozen or so, taking care of his [[BigFancyHouse understandably spacious home]]. And of course, it wouldn't be extraordinary for filthy rich people to have a couple dozen domestic workers to handle the housework of a ''really'' BigFancyHouse. It also would be expected for aristocratic/monarchic families with large estates, major hotels, cruise ships and the like to have a ~100-strong domestic worker staff.
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15Compared to this trope, those guys are '''pikers.'''
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17A Maid Corps is an army of ''multiple hundreds of servants'' -- sometimes apparently thousands -- that typically are either ''way'' too many for just handling the domestic chores, or in addition to the "traditional" housekeepers and personal attendants, there are a more or less equal (or even ''greater'') number of "maids" who perform decidedly "non-domestic servant" work, which may run the gamut from [[HospitalHottie qualified medical doctors and nurses]], to [[PlayfulHacker computer specialists]], to [[GadgeteerGenius scientists]] and [[WrenchWench mechanics]], to [[NinjaMaid personal bodyguards]], and even a [[PrivateMilitaryContractors private paramilitary force]]. Bonus points if ''both'' variants are combined.
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19Oh, and usually they ''all'' wear {{Meido}} / FrenchMaid uniforms. Yes, including the ones whose duties would normally require a completely different dress code. Such is the power of {{Fanservice}}.[[note]]Note to editors: Examples where fewer than, say, 2/3rds of them wear it may fit better under AmazonBrigade. If it's their equivalent of full dress uniform, [[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible that's close enough.]][[/note]]
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21Some of the truly huge Maid Corps may leave one wondering how their employer's finances haven't collapsed yet from attempting to employ so many maids for so many (often [[GadgeteerGenius high]]-[[PrivateMilitaryContractor budget]]) "responsibilities"; thus, having a Maid Corps usually designates a character as [[{{Fiction 500}} obscenely filthy rich]].
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23Note that while the implementation of the first two traits (numbers and "responsibilities") can be somewhat variable (though at least one of them '''must''' be used in some form), unless the plot demands it at a certain point (after which it is often conveniently never brought up again), the third (finances) is a practically universal aspect of the trope; a typical Maid Corps should be a financial and bureaucratic nightmare to manage in RealLife.
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25Normally an [[AlwaysFemale all-female]] trope, though the rare GenderFlip does occur.
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28!!Examples
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30%% When adding entries, please state ''how'' your example fits within the trope's mold.
31%% Anything that is just "X has a large number of maids/domestic workers" will be zapped as a preemptive measure against Administrivia/TropeDecay.
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35[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36* ''Anime/{{Fireball}}'': Drossel has thousands of robotic servants made by her PosthumousCharacter father. However, they're all invisible and programmed to stay out of her way, so for God knows how long she wasn't aware they existed. [[HilarityEnsues And then Gedächtnis told her about them.]]
37* ''Manga/GirlsBravo'': Fukuyama's estate is regularly patrolled by an army of gun-wielding maids who're all ex-military, but they're mainly there to cater to [[HandsomeLech his perversion]], since he has floor vents installed throughout the mansion to create updrafts whenever he wants to [[PantyShot see under their skirts]].
38* ''Anime/{{Gravion}}'': The staff of Klein Sandman's castle, excluding his BattleButler, are the co-TropeCodifier. To quote the {{Meido}} entry: "''Servant maids, guard maids, [[NinjaMaid commando maids]], hacker maids, mechanic maids, and even one member of the central [[HumongousMecha robotics]] team [[spoiler:who of course turns out to be a '''[[RidiculouslyHumanRobots robot]]''' maid]]''". [[https://abload.de/img/yande.re30952anyaarmog2s1l.jpg See for yourselves]].
39* The title group of ''Manga/HanaukyoMaidTeam'', and the {{Trope Namer|s}} (''tai'' means "team, corps") ''and'' co-TropeCodifier. It also depicts the gender-flipped version (Ryuuka's menservants). The Hanaukyo maid teams loyally serve Taro, their master.
40* ''Anime/NajicaBlitzTactics'': Najica's first mission involves a rich woman who is served by such maid-bodyguards.
41* Evangeline from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' has an army-sized collection of [[RobotMaid Robot Maids]] living in her [[BiggerOnTheInside bottle-sized villa]]. Ayaka Yukihiro has the more "[[{{Meido}} traditional]]" sort.
42* In ''Anime/SacredSeven'', the Aiba Foundation has a literal army of maids. Not only do they take care of the typical house chores, but they also act as Mission Control, use weapons, and pilot support vehicles and generally act as backup for the main characters during battles.
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46* The Chinese Emperor in ''Film/CurseOfTheGoldenFlower'' has literally squadrons of elegantly attired maids. The opening sequences features them getting up, washing, dressing each other, eating breakfast etc. to the sound of a clapper.
47* In the ''Series/GetSmart'' movie ''The Nude Bomb'', the villain's plan was to first destroy all fabric in the world and then rule it by becoming the only supplier of clothing. The obvious problem (how to provide such clothing) would be solved with his one expert seamstress and a cloning machine, which he planned to use to build an ''army'' of seamstresses. (In fact, the revelation that he ''had'' a cloning machine was the key to an important plot point that had puzzled the protagonist through the whole movie.)
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51* In ''Literature/HeavyObject'', the maids of the Winchel family play the dual roles of family servants and bodyguards. The maids who support Havia accompany the 37th on one mission and are even able to overrun an enemy base, though having the element of surprise played a big part in their success.
52* In ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'', Tiffany discovers a different side to the haughty and snobbish Lady Keepsake. Visiting Keepsake Manor with Letitia Keepsake (daughter of Her Ladyship) Tiffany discovers there are ''many'' more domestic servants on the staff than the size of the place suggests. Letitia tells her that four out of every five are officially retired, and half the rest are paid to look after the elderly retired staff who are no longer capable. Lady Keepsake, for all her impatience, bluster and general horribleness, believes it is only right to look after those in old age who spent their working lives looking after her family. Keeping them in expenses-paid grace and favor accommodation is a pension for them.
53* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'': Played straight ''and'' [[GenderInvertedTrope gender-inverted]] with the Lion Steel Corp who are the employers of the NinjaMaid sisters Shiori and Kanae, mainly seeming trained for battle, as first displayed when Chloe shows up with 15 of each gender as her escorts. As an ancient tradition (from the {{Precursors}} ArtificialIntelligence Alice that rebuilt the company), all of the servants they train wear PoweredArmor tailored over to make them look like a maid or BattleButler, with the more advanced sets looking less stylized and more functional by necessity. Both genders get RecruitedFromTheGutter as children and given extensive brainwashing to be so fanatically loyal to the company some are NotAfraidToDie. The abovementioned sisters were rated in their lowest category for not fitting that standard; Shiori for her UndyingLoyalty to Reina above the company, and Kanae for being a BloodKnight.
54* Sun Shang Xiang [[NoNameGiven (as she is known in other works)]] in ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' was said to have over a hundred maids at her command the very least, [[AmazonBrigade all of them]] [[NinjaMaid trained to be]] {{Action Girl}}s by Sun herself.
55* In the ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' series, due to an accident with sending generics into ''Literature/{{Rebecca}}'', there are thousands of copies of Mrs. Danvers. They're used as an actual army.
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59* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The Adepta Sororitas have the Ordo Famulus, who work as servants in the households of imperial nobility. While, when seen per household, they are not a corps it is one giant army of maids of the Ecclesiarchy spread throughout the Imperium and is working as such. They do perform regular maid-duties like educating the children and organizing the household with the regular staff, but do so with a greater agenda in mind: They influence both the nobles and their heirs towards the Ordos goals. In a more discreet manner they are also spies: They look for any heresy in the nobles household. They also manipulate noble weddings and family ties to both discourage any mutation or taint in the noble bloodline while trying to breed the perfect qualities in the nobles offspring. Finally, they are a literal army, as they all have basic military training and some are veterans of the Ordo Militant of the Adepta Sororitas.
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63* The [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships Royal Navy]] of ''VideoGame/AzurLane'' has the Royal Maids, who are led by [[TheAce Belfast]], and made up of the ''Town''-class cruisers (minus Southampton), the C-class cruisers,[[note]]Not to be confused with the C-class destroyers, also part of the Royal Navy[[/note]] the ''Kent''-subclass of the ''County''-class cruisers, and the ''Dido''-class cruisers (minus Black Prince). As they are all AnthropomorphicPersonifications of British warships from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, all of them also count as {{Ninja Maid}}s, with the Royal Maids being just as much a PraetorianGuard as they are maids. Sirius is even stated to have been brought on specifically to perform bodyguard duties, and is ''extremely'' bad when it comes to doing anything a normal maid would do, while [[{{Kuudere}} Sheffield]] is an expert in cleaning up [[UnusualEuphemism "garbage" and "messes"]] with her pistols (though thanks to her [[AbnormalAmmo detergent bullets]], she's also good at [[LiteralMetaphor cleaning up literal garbage and messes with her pistols]]).
64* In several of the ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games, Dracula has one of these -- the Persephone monsters, who are cute girls in maid outfits, often with vacuum cleaners. [[NinjaMaid They also know kung-fu.]]
65* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
66** Yaito from ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' has a veritable army of maids, who in the AnimatedAdaptation can be seen in montages throughout several episodes doing random chores ''across the city''.
67** Likewise, Ritch Dotcom from ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' has ''Secretary'' Corps who are InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals. Justified in the games where non important [=NPCs=] have generic sprites, but they all look the same in the anime.
68* [[NobleDemon Kesselring]], the transgender vampire gentleman from the ''Rance'' series, has a whole army of maids, both {{ninja|Maid}} and otherwise, under his command. It is comprised entirely of battered women who he took under his care.
69* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Remilia Scarlet has several hundred maids and is always hiring for new ones. This seems to be mostly for the sake of [[ConspicuousConsumption showing off her wealth]] or having someone to boss around, as with the exception of [[TheJeeves Sakuya]] they're all [[OurFairiesAreDifferent fairies]], who are next to useless for actual work. In [[Manga/WildAndHornedHermit one of the official manga]], she adds [[HouseFey a gaggle of hobgoblins]] to the household roster, who are more competent but mostly kept out of sight.
70* Count [=MacGuire=] of ''VideoGame/YsTheOathInFelghana'' had one of these, judging by the number of {{Mooks}} in maid outfits throwing kitchen knives who show up when everyone in Valestine Castle who isn't a named character gets turned into a monster.
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73[[folder:Real Life]]
74* Dutch East India Company official (and later its head) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijckloff_van_Goens Rijckloff van Goens]] described [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amangkurat_I_of_Mataram Amangkurat I of Mataram]] (a monarchy on Java) in a 1656 text as being the only man in the royal court after nightfall, surrounded by about 10,000 women. These included his four official wives, as well as numerous senior princesses, concubines, attendants and slaves. According to historian Jean Taylor, Amangkurat I also had the inner-most circle of his personal bodyguard composed only of women.
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