3ET: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Magic gun shoots magic bullets. Also, magic.

Studio: Madhouse

Director: Ono Manabu (Saki, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon)

Writer: ???

Main Cast:

Nakamura Yuuichi as Shiba Tatsuya

Hayami Saori as Shiba Miyuki

Character Design: Ishida Kana (Aquarion EVOL)

Music: Iwasaki Taku (Noragami, Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann )

The first sign that Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei is a well-written show came when it was able to establish its futuristic magical world in a smart fashion. No, I'm not talking about the stale opening narration over clips of magical bullshit and the world at war while telling about how magic evolved over the 21st century. No, I'm talking about how the characters talk about magic. Since they all already know about how magic works, they don't explain to each other how magic works for the benefit of the audience. The information is given in context. Do I know what a C.A.D stands for? I don't have a clue, but I know it a sort of magical device. The only time they explain the magic is something out of the ordinary comes up. This is an example of good writing, and there have two reasons for that. One, the dialogue about magic rarely feels clunky or unnatural, which would quickly kick me out of the shows world. And two, it forced me to stay engaged with the show so I could follow along with what was happening on-screen. This made me more engaged with the more mundane elements of the world as well as the characters themselves.

"Hey, I found some supporting characters in the classroom."

As for those characters, I was mostly impressed. Tatsuya is a solid protagonist. He seems to be a fairly personable guy, and his deadpan style of speaking allow him to show off a dry sense of humor. He also happens to be a competent magical fighter, despite being grouped as an inferior Class 2 student. This is because Tatsuya's magic fighting skill don't come from his innate magical abilities, but from keen observation and a depth of knowledge at how magic works. In other words, he uses hard work and intelligence to overcome his natural shortcomings. As for his sister, Miyuki, she is very close to him (more on this later), but for the most part is seen to care about her brother, and tries to look out for him as a Class 1 student. So, yay for protagonists I can root for.

The rest of the Class 2 cast is fairly likeable as well. Each one gets in flashes of their personality in their screen time. They also have varied reactions to being largely looked down on by the Class 1 students. Some just want to be left alone, others want to challenge the higher-class students. On the other hand, the Class 1 themselves students are just as varied. This bit of nuance into the two types of students really helps Mahouka feel like it takes place in a real world. Since not all of the Class 1 students are complete assholes, it's easy to sympathize with Class 1 characters when they are introduced. Now, some of them are complete assholes, but in one memorable example, a student changes his tune about Tatsuya after getting beaten in a mock battle by the Class 2 student. It's like characters can grow and change, even in the early stages of a show, and that is a promising sign.

God. Fucking. Damnit. She's your sister, dude. And he's your brother, girl.

The fly in the ointment in Mahouka is the romantic feelings Miyuki harbors for her brother. Until midway through episode three, her feelings are under the surface. They are a bit unsettling, but nothing is shown that is outright creepy. That changes when she decides to ask him to upgrade her C.A.D., which necessitates that she strip down to her underwear (and of course there needs to be a voyeuristic shot of her nearly naked on a table). She hops off the table when he's done, then proceeds to berate him for enjoying talking to the pretty upperclassmen in their school while whispering in his ear. And then she magically shocks him. Because apparently that is a completely reasonable thing to do to your older brother. I hope this scene was meant to come off as creepy, because it did.

Still, I think this show does enough right to outweigh that one scene. And who knows, maybe the creepy incest stuff is just the start of a larger story about Miyuki and Tatsuya's relationship that will somehow make sense at some point. Overall though, things feel like they're headed in the right direction. A well-built world, complete with technological advances that make sense, makes it easy to get pulled into Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei. I'm also impressed that they even weaved in some light social commentary on Japan's obsession with standardized testing into these early episodes. With that kind of start, I'm happy to say this show is a pass and I'm ready to see what's next.