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Magical Girl Raising Project: Being Irresistibly Drawn to Death | OWLS “Grotesque”

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Chances are that if you were linked here from another blogger pal, then you might be new. To those first-timers, “Hi, I’m Takuto, welcome to my anime cafe!” For the OWLS blog tour’s  tenth monthly topic for 2018, “Grotesque,” I wanted to revel in the spooky fall festivities by cross-examining an unconventional magical girl throwback from 2016 with humanity’s intriguing obsession for death and the macabre. As someone interested in human behavior, it’s a fascinating area to study, and hopefully I’ll be able to make some science out of the magical!

In honor of Halloween, we will explore what we find vile and ugly in pop culture. For this month’s topic, OWLS bloggers will be exploring characters or aspects of the grotesque in a piece of media and how it is a metaphor or allegory for society, human nature, or some other philosophical or humane idea.

Heads-up! This post will dabble more into studying the human condition than evaluating the series itself. My personal thoughts? It’s a twisted little title with an engaging battle royale setup that turns out somewhat lackluster in the end but is still stupidly entertaining. Watch it. I liked it, and seeing as how we seem to be irresistibly drawn to that which is gruesome (even if for no apparent reason), you should like it to, right? riGhT??

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A brief, spoiler-free discussion on the 12-episode fall 2016 anime “Magical Girl Raising Project,” animated by Lerche, directed by Hiroyuki Hashimoto, and based on Asari Endou’s light novel series of the same name. This will also include a light historical context analysis on how pop culture and the media make a spectacle of death and gore.

Again, this will be SPOILER-FREE, so enjoy!

“You’ve been selected to become a magical girl, pon!”

Magical Girl Raising Project. It’s the latest fad to dominate the mobile game sphere, and it seems that every young girl and adult woman alike in N-City can’t seem to stop playing the app game. Jumping into combat with your sparkly avatar, beating up shadow beasts, collecting candies—it’s the closest thing they have to being a real life magical girl! For Koyuki Himekawa, however, the app offers more than a mere simulation. One day, she receives a peculiar notification from Fav, the game’s mascot, saying that she has been selected to become a real magical girl. Unknowing the full implications of their contract, she eagerly accepts the offer to become her adorable in-game avatar Snow White.

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Gifted with the ability to transform at any time, Koyuki viewed her new life with a newfound optimism and excitement. That is, until the game admins sent out a startling notification claiming that “the number of magical girls in this region must be halved,” as the system couldn’t support the whopping 16 players who decided to take on the magical mission. The one to collect the least amount of Magical Candies—which are awarded for their magical girl activities—at the end of each week will lose their powers. But when a real-world tragedy befalls the first player to drop out, they find that their powers aren’t the only thing stripped from them.

As the magical girls perilously try to avoid their fate by cheating on their fellow players and throwing one another under the bus, the enigmatic Fav continues to add more twisted rules, forcing these young hearts to realize that what started off as a shining opportunity to help others has become a desperate struggle for their own lives.

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I’ll be frank with y’all: the story suffers largely from its systematic approach to execution and trying to develop its immense cast within 12 short episodes. While not Juni Taisen levels of predictability (God, that show disappointed me so much), you can pretty much tell who’s gonna go next based on the placement of their backstory. Ahh yes, the it’s the typical “Here I am and now I’m gone!” approach to character writing. In the instances where the show is able to catch you by surprise, however, those are the thrilling moments when the entertainment value shines through. Call it underdeveloped, or rushed, or even lackluster at times (I mean, the ending could’ve at least been more intense), but to call it “boring” would be a great underestimation of its twisted imagination and off-the-walls fun characters.

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From Wild-West to the Wicked and the Blessed

I can guess what stood out to you most—16 characters, right? Yeah, even for a battle royale that’s quite the large ensemble. Like they did with Danganronpa: The Animation and Assassination Classroom, Lerche was able to communicate the variety of personalities through unique dialogue patterns and intricate character designs. One of my fiendish favorites, the brazen and dangerous Calamity Mary, for instance, dons wild-west gunslinger apparel (boots, spurs, hats, tassels, leather, cow print, you get the picture). In the English dub, Mikaela Krantz even voices her with a low syrupy tone and a heavy southern accent. While I may not remember the specifics of her life before becoming a magical girl (as these important backstories are often rushed through in a couple minutes before their untimely demise), I will remember who she was and how she acted based on the distinctive character designs.

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A good pal of mine and genius essayist Irina wrote about my other favorite magical girl, the almighty, all-knowing QUEEN Ruler in a neat character analysis that I absolutely loved. She vouches for the same opinion that I do, in that “Raising Project isn’t perfect by any means but it certainly isn’t shallow. The writing is on point in many aspects.”

Although some characters look more put together with a theme than others (looking at you Swim Swim), I really enjoyed the diverse cast of tropes interacting on the battlefield: the sparkly one, the innocent one, the queen, the twins, the cowgirl rebel, the ninja, the witch, the badass protector, the nun, and even the freakin’ ROBOT. Some last longer than others, and some go out with a bigger bang while others exit the stage silently. A huge criticism many people have about the series is that the deaths feel too structured—I mean, we all know that someone’s gotta go by the end of each week, and the anime is true to its word. What this creates is a lack of empathy towards most of the girls and ultimately a mere “meh” or “aww that sucks, I liked her” when they die. More than anything, the show plays off these deaths as thrilling over depressing, and that got me wondering:

When did we become so fascinated with torturing little girls in anime to the point where it has dominated nearly every magical girl title in recent times? 

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How Horror Works in the Mind

I took to Psychology Today for a bit of research on the topic, which led me to the article “Why Do We Like Watching Scary Films?” Briefly, it examines psychological horror at the cinema and how the genre works in the mind. When answering the question, author Mark D. Griffiths Ph.D. quotes Dr. Jeffrey Goldstein, a professor of social and organizational psychology at the University of Utrecht, in a 2013 interview for IGN:

“People go to horror films because they want to be frightened or they wouldn’t do it twice. You choose your entertainment because you want it to affect you. That’s certainly true of people who go to entertainment products like horror films that have big effects. They want those effects . . . Even though they choose to watch these things, the images are still disturbing for many people. But people have the ability to pay attention as much or as little as they care to in order to control what effect it has on them, emotionally and otherwise.”

That last bit especially got me interested. He claims that we are the ones who choose our entertainment, and that we also have the ability to let the content affect us (in this case potentially scare us) based on how much we care to pay attention to the film. And I can see this as true—if I were to attend a scary movie and cover my eyes half the time (which I wouldn’t go to in the first place cause I’m a wimp), my desire would be that the film frightens me as little as possible.

Now, would the same apply to the film maker(s)? I mean, the director is essentially the one deciding how much gruesome content to put in front of our eyes, so if a series were nothing but moments of shock value (interspersed with some touching backstories, of course), wouldn’t that be what the director also cares about most in the series? Maybe seeing Madoka Magica receive immense fame gave him the idea to go all-out with the suffering. Besides, what’s more shocking to us anime fans than watching cutesy moe girls get massacred? Once one series showed us it could be done, everyone else wanted to do it too.

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A 2004 article in the Journal of Media Psychology by Dr. Glenn Walters proposes that “the three primary factors that make horror films alluring are tension (generated by suspense, mystery, terror, shock, and gore), relevance (that may relate to personal relevance, cultural meaningfulness, the fear of death, etc.), and (somewhat paradoxically given the second factor) unrealism.” In a 1994 study on disgust, college student participants found videos of real life horrors (like a cow slaughterhouse and a surgery involving removal of facial skin) to be incredibly disturbing. Yet many of these same individuals would think nothing of paying money to attend the premiere of a new horror film that had literally ten times more blood than what was present in the real-life documentaries! Why is that? It was posed by McCauley (1998) that:

The fictional nature of horror films affords viewers a sense of control by placing psychological distance between them and the violent acts they have witnessed. Most people who view horror movies understand that the filmed events are unreal, which furnishes them with psychological distance from the horror portrayed in the film.

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Oh, so if we know it’s fake, it doesn’t inherently terrify us as much, despite blood and guts leaking all over the floor. I suppose that makes sense. Even I don’t see clowns as scary when I remember that they’re likely just unshaven middle-aged men dancing around in colorful costumes. But even if it’s fake, some people enjoy the thrill of being confronted by gruesome death because it’s an experience that, for the most part, it’s something available only in fiction, and fiction intrigues us. One last look at Dr. Dolf Zillman’s Excitation Transfer theory (ETT) offers this:

“Negative feelings created by horror movies actually intensify the positive feelings when the hero triumphs in the end. But what about movies where the hero doesn’t triumph?  . . . Some small studies have show that people’s enjoyment was actually higher during the scary parts of a horror film than it was after.”

Alright, so you’re saying that perhaps the scary parts of a horror film are more enjoyable than the rest of the film itself? That perhaps explains why pop culture hits like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and heck even Attack on Titan delight in killing off major characters in fantastical ways—During these “scary” parts, we find ourselves at peak enjoyment, and if the writers can capitalize on this enjoyment through constant narrative twists and turns, then the viewers will stay glued to their screens. But hold on a second . . .

Magical Girl Raising Project isn’t horror, not even close. It’s barely a thriller series at best. Fair point, but think about the content itself: Purposefully designed cute children under the innocent guise of “magical girls” get brutally slashed or decapitated NOT by the forces of evil, but by fellow magical girls. Tension caused by suspense; relevance caused by a magical girl’s fear for her own life; unrealism given that magical girls shouldn’t exist within our world or theirs . . . Doesn’t that mark MagiPro as gruesome as horror—as grotesque as horror? And how about this: The most grotesque part about it all is that as fans, most of us enjoyed watching this series. Sure it ranks in the 3000s on MAL, but a  7.11/10 could be implied that 7 out of 10 people liked this series—cute girls, competition, and all the bloodshed in between. 

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At Least I Had Fun

Regardless of whether we should count MagiPro as a horror anime or an anime with horror elements, I did find myself enjoying it. A lot. Probably more than I should have. With each passing episode and character elegy, I truly found myself helplessly and irresistibly drawn to death. As more characters bit the bullet, I eagerly clicked on to see not necessarily who would survive, but rather who would fall out of the competition next. As unnecessarily dark and edgy, unnecessarily gruesome, and unnecessarily sophisticated as it tried to be, Magical Girl Raising Project won me over because it shamelessly played with death. And isn’t that the true spirit of the macabre?

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“As a means of contrast with the sublime, the grotesque is, in our view, the richest source that nature can offer.”—Victor Hugo, French Poet

Afterword

Yikes, went on a bit of a ramble there with the research, but maybe you learned something new! Magical Girl Raising Project is an interesting title that has gotten me thinking more than it probably should, but hey, a series that has me reflecting this much over it has to be doing something right. MagiPro isn’t the darkest of its kin, but definitely one of the sweetest. Thus, I award the series with the “Cake” rating, and a recommendation to check it out if you enjoy the thrill of a decent survival game. Not sure if Crunchyroll has it, but Funimation’s got it all with an incredibly well-done English dub that just finished airing for your viewing pleasure! If you have seen this series, you definitely have to let me know what you thought about it (I need more MagiPro friends)!!

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This concludes my October 19th entry in the OWLS “Grotesque” blog tour. Aria (Animanga Spellbook) went right before me with a nice and short post over the recently-aired Phantom in the Twilight that you should check out right here! Now, look out for Flow (Captain Nyanpasu)  this upcoming Monday, October 22nd! Thanks for reading, and until next time, this has been

– Takuto, your host

Loss Has Little Meaning in Yuki Yuna | Hero Week Review

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A brief review of the 12-episode fall 2014 anime “Yuki Yuna is a Hero,” produced by Studio Gokumi, based on original story by Takahiro and Makoto Uezu.

For the third segment of Hero Week, I’ll warn you now that this anime is extremely hit or miss, especially if you’re familiar with Madoka Magica. Despite any polarizing comments I make, I’d like to let you know that this happens to be my favorite of the three Hero Week anime I’ve reviewed, regardless that it is indeed the “worst-written one,” should I even have to pick. I found that it had the most to offer, and I have to be critical of it because something that means so much should be sought in full light.

Five middle school girls—Yuuna, Togo, Fu, Itsuki, and Karin—are on a quest to save the world. That is, community service, volunteer work, and puppet shows for local children. It all seems trivial on the outside, but their Hero Club is determined to do good deeds for love, justice, and happiness, goals which are outlined and pursued religiously in the club’s Five Tenets. Such is the sweet and simple life of Yuuki Yuuna.

The club’s charismatic president Fu is living two lives, however, and upon phone call is forced to drag her friends into a mystical realm. There, they are to protect the God of the natural world and human blessing, the Shinju, from strange geometric entities called Vertexes. By the single tap on a phone app, the girls are transformed into the extraordinary heroes they so desired to be. But transcending the realm of God and obtaining unimaginable power comes with a price almost not worth paying.

As the girls fight for their lives and the people they love, their perception of the world dramatically warps into a cruel land of delusional grandeur. In the depressing struggle for power, the girls might have to point their guns at beings besides the Vertexes in order to preserve their very belief of what it means to be a true hero.

One of the biggest problems I had with Yuki Yuna was the lame world building. Had I not read the summary provided by Crunchyroll, I wouldn’t not have noticed that the story is set in the far future—YEAR 300, the Era of the Gods. WHAT, but it looks like modern-day Japan?! I enjoy it when stories have good reasons to break the rules set by the setting, but you can’t rebel against an outline that otherwise doesn’t exist!

My second beef with the anime was the lack of each girl’s unique drive to be a magical girl. They just sort of accepted the role because of the club’s influence. Individual motive is largely what make hero stories interesting and standout, so to have such weak trope characters (besides Fu and Togo) was a huge shame. For instance, what if the wheel-chair-bound Togo wanted to keep fighting because she could walk once again? That’s much more compelling than “I’ll do it because Yuna needs my help.” The way Yuna clings to the club tenets is also a bit cheesy and a weak excuse for ‘development.’

This is obviously less apparent if you are unfamiliar with it, but the last somewhat spoiler-free issue I had were the painfully obvious similarities to Madoka Magica. The magical girl system, character destinies, and dark, depressing themes in the second half all have strong correlation with its critically-acclaimed predecessor. Heck, even the music (which is still really, really good) and the animation sometimes feel like snippets borrowed from Madoka. While it is occasionally disappointing, Yuki Yuna managed to have fun longer than Madoka did, heavily maximizing its slice-of-life side for the earlier parts. And while I wanted darker, more twisted, nastier Madoka narrative, watching those girls have fun was what I needed more.

On a positive note, the animation was surprisingly incredible. The Vertexes themselves are CG, but because they are basically Evangelion angels crossed-over with the zodiac, it all works to create a fantastic off-putting vibe. I also appreciated the vivid color patterns for the Shinju realm and the cool magical girl outfits (Yuuna’s elegant armor was actually what got me into this show). The style was more rooted in Asian culture (petals, shrines, zodiac), while something like Madoka featured more European-like classical culture (columns, gates, witches).

HERO WEEK SEGMENT: Archetypical Hero qualities represented by Yuuna

I’ve taken a quick trip to Google to provide qualities of the typical hero. Let’s briefly exercise each prompt:

  • Hero is of humble origins
    • Yuuna is a very friendly and open girl, often willing to accept help and help others at no cost.
  • An event, sometimes traumatic, leads to adventure
    • The Taisha, the organization dedicated to the Shinju, calls upon Fu to advance on the incoming Vertex. Yuuna, even though given a choice, steps up to bat and becomes a magical girl
  • Hero has a special weapon only he can wield/always has supernatural help
    • Yuuna is a hero just like her friends. What makes her stand out is her unwavering devotion to the hero cause and her gifted fighting abilities. In episode one, she doesn’t just suddenly transform like the other girls, but is able to gradually make her armor appear upon demand. Her unusually rare strength and “true maiden’s heart” make her unstoppable on the battlefield.
  • The Hero must prove himself many times while on adventure
    • Besides fighting off the Vertexes, Yuuna must be able to lift the spirits of her comrades as the show’s ideal hero. The others will lose their way, and it’s up to Yuuna to lead them back on the path of righteousness. She doesn’t seem like a main character, nor does she change much as a character, and that’s mostly because I believe she’s not supposed to; she’s the guiding light of hope and justice, and as such doesn’t stop fighting even at the end.
  • ***SPOILERS START HERE***
  • PLEASE CONSIDER THIS THEORY TAG BEFORE PROCEEDING
  • The journey and the unhealable wound
    • In the end, the effects of going through Mankai so many times and taking on all of her friends’ pain leaves Yuuna in a catatonic state. When she does reawaken, her physical body is only a crutch for her soul, which is always off fighting. Upon the rebellion, Shinju-sama must have changed the rules so that girls don’t have to suffer long-lasting disabilities in the real world. This makes ALL LOSS ESSENTIALLY MEANINGLESS—All of the heartache the girls go through, then you turn around and say, “Oh, yeah, they don’t have to suffer anymore.” Now, I didn’t want a sad ending for the girls, especially Yuuna, but doesn’t that take away most of the emotional weight? Yuuna’s dedication to the heroic spirit causes her to be Shinju-sama’s ultimate protector, and is forced to keep on fighting even though her friends are retired.
  • Hero experiences atonement with the father
    • I like to consider the “father” not as Shinju-sama or the Taisha, but as the intelligent Togo instead. At first, Yuuna finds most of her purpose for fighting in protecting her friend and vice versa. When Togo is able to walk again at the end, she somewhat pities herself for letting Yuuna burden everyone’s pain even though she shouldn’t. Yuuna is praised like a goddess but somewhat frowned upon as a fool for sticking so close to the hero path.
  • When the hero dies, he is rewarded spiritually
    • Because I find the theory to be so interesting and quite possible, we can conclude that though her real-world body is somewhat “dead,” Yuuna is still alive and fighting behind the scenes. Her reward? She transcends the mortal world and becomes a goddess who will never stop fighting. Not exactly the prize I would want, but because Yuuna fell hook, line, and sinker for the whole hero bait, I’m sure that’s exactly how she would have wanted it from the beginning.
    • In the end, everyone’s illnesses go away, which contradicts the heavy theme of sacrifice Yuki Yuna spent its entire run on building up.
  • ***SPOILERS END HERE***

Much of Yuki Yuna is unexplained or at least not evident in the anime adaptation. Should the prequel light novels and the sequel manga ever make it here in the U.S., then I would be thrilled to revisit the franchise. Its fascinating world and the somber warriors fighting to protect it have so much more depth to them, and that lack of depth in the anime hinders a truly wonderful experience. The entire story and production of Yuki Yuna also has too many underdeveloped and forced ties to Madoka Magica, which sadly tampers with the mind-blowing aspect of it.

As a fantasy, drama, slice of life magical girl anime that attempts to see Madoka in a different light, I can appreciate all that it tried to pull off. It tackles the painfully realistic hero themes in the most interesting (and very dark) way that just excites me, yet also has rare moments of joy for our characters and a real built sense of unease instead of just scary/dark imagery like Madoka. Even though it stumbles in appreciating loss, we do wind up with one solid ideal: Ultimately, fight for what you want to save, not for what you are burdened by.

“You know that the fairest flowers fade first. But I made it.” – Fu Inubouzaki (best girl)

I award Yuki Yuna is a Hero with a benefit of the doubt 8/10, narrowly allowing it to breach the “Caffé Mocha” classification. It combats the fantastic with heavy ideals and characters that are honestly cared about (can’t say that for most series). Yuki Yuna won’t impress all—most are quite hard on it, actually—but I still encourage people to try it out especially if you like the wildly mentioned Madoka Magica. I’ve been forgetting, but both ERASED and Yuki Yuna is a Hero can be viewed for FREE on Crunchyroll! While I’d LOVE to own it on DVD, Ponycan is releasing these ‘premium’ sets with an okay English dub for a ridiculous $70 each—AND THERE ARE THREE OF THEM. How do you think Yuki Yuna did? Also, do you think Yuuna is a good hero? How about the other girls? Comment below!! Until next time, this has been

– Takuto, your host

selector spread WIXOSS Review

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I should be able to watch a season one and if I didn’t care for it – or was satisfied with what I saw – no big deal. I can drop the series, yet still retain a complete story given from the first season. Sequels are follow-ups designed to add more character depth, continuation of new plot (if any), answer lingering questions, and build upon/improve the first season if need be.

I usually find myself disliking sequels, however. They either make or break my impressions of the first season even though they should be just as good, right?

Season one, featuring the dark fantasy card game, selector infected WIXOSS, leaves off on a very large cliff hanger. As such, its second season presents more of a continuation rather than a whole new idea. I had to continue selector, whether I liked it or not. So while ‘sequel’ might not be the correct term for this season, selector spread WIXOSS is nonetheless twisted, thrilling, and overall successful. Though keep reading to find out why.

selector spread WIXOSS picks back up on Ruko, a distressed WIXOSS player who had recently lost her LRIG, Tama, to the wicked Iona in their last fight. Things are also different now, as Iona has become Ruko’s LRIG, and Tama has supposedly been swept away to the “White Room.” Without one of her closest friends, all seems lost for Ruko. She quits battling for a while and even ignores Iona. That is until she and her other friends begin to unravel the darkness surrounding the selector games by visiting the creator and author of the WIXOSS book series – a series that has already foreshadowed the fate of the girls.

Already the premise of this season is ten times more intense than the last. Ruko must cope with her worst enemy, which requires forgiveness on a whole new level. Their current relationship forces the two to come out of their shells, providing the much needed depth missing from the first season. It’s a good kind of weird feeling ~

And their meeting with the author of the accompanying novel is like chatting with that of a god! It was just such a clever and well-thought out solution to the girls’ issues. But although helpful, there were still many questions surrounding their minds at the time.

There is also a shift in character leads. Akira (my fav from last season), Tama, Iona and Mayu (hinted at the first season) all receive major development and backstory. Akira on a psychological level whiles the others on a more emotional level. The supporting characters also hop aboard the improvement train; Chiyori and her LRIG, Hitoe’s current LRIG and friend Yuzuki, and Ulith become crucial contributors to the plot. Even Ruko rounded out nicely – and I was satisfied with her already! Character development was well executed in this second season.

For the main part, the animation (J.C. Staff) remained just as boring and dull as it was in the first season, the only exception being the furious battle scenes and Mayu’s “White Room.” The shady atmosphere and bright magic attacks contrast brilliantly on the battlefield. Mayu’s world encompasses light pastel patterns followed by glimmering shapes and stained glass works on the vast walls. I Love the concept design for this room, and when Mayu seems particularly angry, she shifts the room around to her pleasure. Quite cool indeed.

OST-wise, it’s the same dubstep and techno groove the first season sported. There are a few more dramatic tracks for the new developments, but otherwise it remains decent at best. I say decent because while the battle scenes are awesome, daily life or casual scenes are very empty and unfulfilling. The new opening, “world’s end, girl’s rondo” by Kanon Wakeshima, rivals that of the first in terms of powerful string melodies, upbeat tempo, and sauciness. I love them both sooo very much! The songs represent the world the selector series paints, and the new ending, “Undo –Ashita e no Kioku-“ (Undo –A Memory For Tomorrow) by Cyua also follows that trend.

At first, selector infected WIXOSS is too easily compared to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, for they both support the same twisted and dark themes behind the magical girl genre. But after selector spread WIXOSS, I can officially say that the series continues to step away from Madoka’s shadow to create a purpose and end for itself. I recommend all of the selector series to anyone! The card game part of the series is also further explored in this sequel, so never fear that aspect. WIXOSS is different, and deserves so, so much more. “We cry OPEN!!” – opening lyrics

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my thoughts over selector spread WIXOSS! FUNimation Entertainment will be releasing an English dub on blu-ray and DVD later this year, and I definitely plan to pick up both seasons. Check out my selector infected WIXOSS review if you haven’t done so already! Have a great one and until next time, this has been

– Takuto, your host

Negima! (season one) Review

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After watching Negima!?, I just had to check out its first season, which I have to say I was a little disappointed, as prequels are usually better than sequels. This season was darker than its successor especially towards the end, which changes the entire picture of what Negima! is.

Season one of the Negima franchise starts off similar to its sequel. Negi Springfield, a 10 year-old wizard in training, is transferred to Mahora Academy in Japan, which is an all-girls school. Here, he fights with a vampire, makes pacts with middle school girls, teaches English and searches for his father. The major difference between this series and the next is that this one focuses on the girls more and the other magicians besides Negi. Minus the Star Crystal plot and the Black Rose Baron, you can check out my Negima!? review for a better synopsis of the plot. Personally, I prefer the second series.

The actual story doesn’t really progress until episode 20. Yes, you heard me. 20. Up until then, it’s all about the girls and a more in-depth look into their lives beyond the school. Specifically speaking, we get a look on why Ayaka Yukihiro, class representative, acts the way she does (I love that episode to its entirety!). When class 2-A travels to Kyoto, Japan, for a cultural trip, Negi and co. encounter Fate, an antagonist who is better described in the manga. Fate desires Konoka Konoe, who, unknowing to the class, possesses a rare magical background, which I will not spoil! Because Fate is thrown it the series to make up for the manga, he seems very unexplained and random, which I did not fancy.

During the climax of the series, Asuna gets dark. If you’ve seen this series, you know what I mean. Not gonna lie, I cried. A lot. It was a simple yet tragic story that I will never forget. To this day, I can’t watch the last couple episodes without getting all worked up. This plot device really shows that Negima! isn’t all fun and games; it does have a more depressing movement to it. It was such an unexpected twist that it literally changed my view on the Negima series.

In this first season, the characters are better defined. Unlike the sequel which only shows comedy, these characters reveal some sad memories. As I mentioned earlier, Ayaka gets a nice treatment in this series. To be revealed later, Ayaka’s brother actually died during birth. Negi reminds Ayaka of her to-be little brother and that is why she loves him. In the second series, she just comes off as a creepy shotacon, so it’s better to view her from this series than the other. Regardless of her attractions, I love Yukihiro as a character!

Not gonna lie, none of the tracks stick out. Besides I think “Magical Battle” and this one relaxing theme which I still have never found :/ , there is nothing else that I can recall. Season two has a more memorable soundtrack than this one. One moment that I can remember, however, is the following day of the grand plot twist. Holy crap! It starts with a sad cello soloing and more instruments are added until the weight is to heavy to bear. At that point, I break down in tears. Whoever wrote that song did very mature job! The opening, “Happy*Material,” is also a very motivating song to listen to. Its playful chords and different vocalists (who are, BTW, the Japanese cast for the girls) make it a magical and, get this, “happy” song to listen to!

For being animated in 2005, I thought it was decent. I haven’t seen many older anime so I can’t really judge this one. It’s not distracting to any degree, but there some awkward animation pauses where the “camera” just stops on a character after they are done talking. Because of this, dialogue doesn’t flow to well sometimes. On a side note, I did watch the English dub for this one; it’s fairly well done, but nothing superb. Unlike the second series, the view isn’t anything crazy like frames flying across the screen, so take it how you will. Some think that is distracting, but with the second series in particular, I thought it was a nice touch.

I feel like I keep comparing this season to its sequel, but one really can’t help it. The second season embellishes on what the first season failed while the first season dives into concepts that were not explored in the second. Both series balance each other nicely. As such, I was entertained a decent amount. The character stories are interesting enough but the small individual arcs do get kinda boring after a while

The Negima franchise keeps with a fun, magical atmosphere, yes, but the first series not so much. I know it was the first adaptation, but still. It’s good, but not great or stunning. Motsu is not in this one, so it gets old just watching the same characters attempt and fail at various tasks. Though it seemed thrown in, the ending did actually improve my score of this show. Negima! is a series that you can watch a few times and still not get too bored, which is a good thing for sure! All in all, if you are a fan of the sequel, go ahead and pick this up. Otherwise, it may not be worth your time.

Presently, FUNimation’s Complete Series of Negima! sits on my shelf performing its magical mayhem while awaiting its next viewing.

Thanks for reading!

– Takuto, your host

Negima!? (season two) Review

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This anime has a special place in my heart as it is the first I had ever seen, besides random encounters with Sailor Moon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon, etc. I watched it in the spring of 2012. For those of you who don’t know, Negima!? is slice of life, fantasy adventure, comedy, magical girl, fanservice anime. With that being said, it is an honor for it to be the first that I review! First review – here we go!

Negima!? revolves around Negi Springfield, a 10 year-old genius wizard who had just graduated from the Magic Academy, a school for wizardry and magic. As part of his training, Negi and his talking ermine fairy friend Chamo are transferred from their home in Wales, England to Mahora Academy in Japan, which is an all-girls school. His mission – to teach English class there while seeking out a partner to help in his sorcery. With this partner, Negi must form a pact, or “Pactio!” which involves a kiss on the lips. The partner then may have their contract invoked in order to use magic. The plot rolls along, however, when the loudmouth obnoxious Asuna Kagurazaka, student No. 8 in his 2/3-A class of 31 girls, sees him using magic. From here on out, Negi eventually makes partners out of his entire class, all while encountering twisted fairies, magical worlds and the darkness.

When I first watched this series way back when, I found it to be ridiculously awesome, probably giving it more credit then it actually deserved. The concept is easy, but not astonishing in any way, to understand, as most of the terms are thoroughly explained in the first episode. I found myself always wondering what would possibly happen next, then again I was younger when I first watched it. The surprises Negima!? had in store were nicely executed. This series also has a lot of cultural references, which made the experience a knowledgable one, too.

Negima!? has one of the largest casts that I have ever seen; 31 girls plus a few more is a handful to keep track of. Nevertheless, Ken Akamatsu, the creator, displayed valuable and unique traits for each of the girls. A decent amount of screen time (for a cast this large) was given to each one, which allows the viewer to love more than just the main eight or so. It was silly, at one time, I had all of the girls memorized! Looking back, it was a huge waste of time trying to remember all of them!:D Since it is a comedy, all of the cast members each have their individual quirks that make them stand out. This makes the dialogue for the English dub especially fun to listen, as the voice actors really get distinct in their respective character(s).

While characters in Negima!? made me laugh, they did not make me feel anything else. Aside from Anya, Negi, Nekane, Evangeline, Asuna and maybe Yue, the others were pretty static. I guess if the creator spent an episode for each one, then the plot would never advance. But, maybe a couple episodes dedicated to the side characters instead of useless boobage and banter would have been more beneficial.

I distinctly remember the OST, opening, and ending for this anime, which is a good sign. The OST for this show is small, which means the tracks are used over and over again. However, they are good songs and tend to fit the mood better than anything else. Some themes such as Nekane’s or the Chupacabra Research Society’s are especially easy to recall, for they are breathtakingly sweet and outrageously hilarious respectively. The series’s opening “1000% SPARKING” is really catchy and motivational and is also sung in English in FUNimation’s dub. Personally, I prefer the English one. The same is for the show’s ending “A-LY-YA!” – it is such a fun song.

Previous anime I had seen include Sailor Moon and Pokemon, so Negima!?‘s animation was a treat (no offense to those classics). The artwork was presented in one of the most memorable fashions. Sometimes they would have different camera angles in boxes and these boxes would just be floating and shaking on the screen depending on who is talking. Sometimes the background would be super ornate – like reeeally cool – and during other times it would just be one solid outline color. I recall even a few times they would include real life photos and crop them in. The differentiation in presentation made the show more exciting, as it was more of a show for humor over plot. Characters were drawn with individuality, so you could remember how certain characters acted just by looking at them. These people were also drawn in a simple yet fitting way to match with the background. In other words, the characters were easy to see but did not stick out like black on white. Negima!?‘s unique animation is definitely its highlight.

Overall, Negima!? was quite the entertaining show. Its mix of stupid comedy, quick jokes and decent plot make it a good first-time anime for those who are interested in the culture. I can say that I was fairly entertained. While this anime lacks in individual character development, it makes up for that in its one-liner character descriptions. Each character really does have an individual personality, and part of the experience is figuring out what roles certain characters play. A downside to this, however, is trying to balance this enormous cast with each of the single impacts on Negi Springfield. A tip from me is to just roll with it because you’ll pick up on who Negi hangs out with right off the bat.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Negima!? has carved a very special place in my heart and I will never forget it was my first anime. Whenever I see or hear make a joke with similar wordings, I immediately reference this series before any other. I find myself still drawing Motsu’s face on all of my papers! Motsu and Shichimi were, by the way, the driving forces of comedy!! I love them both so much! This show in particular is one that you could watch a few times over and still have fun doing so, as there is so much detail work put in to the setting, the character designs and the funny dialogue. A warning, however, is to enjoy it the first time through because if you spend your whole time fussing over the details, you will miss Negima!?‘s quick wit and crazy charm.

Currently, FUNimation’s S.A.V.E. edition of Negima!? “balances rather precariously” on my shelf, “In a good way.”

Thanks for reading!

– Takuto, your host