Author: Lenlo

Welcome to the finale of Mahoutsukai no Yome, a rather lackluster end to a rollercoaster of a series. For the last time, lets jump in.

To put it simply, Mahoutsukai chose to end with a whimper rather than a bang. This may sound harsh, yet nothing in this ending really had much weight. Chise solves her Cartaphilus problem with the typical Shounen “I will hit you to fix our mutual problem” attitude. Ashen Eye is brought back in for a 2-minute meaningless combat scene, as if his involvement with Cartaphilus was some great hinted mystery. Chise gets stabbed through the chest, sings a song, and suddenly everything is A-OK. And of course what little emotional value the scenes had is immediately undercut by the great destroyer of Mahoutsukai, the Chibi. It all compacts to create an ending that just falls flat. The largest contributor to this ending however isn’t any of this specific episodes many failings, but rather the structure of Mahoutsukai as a whole.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 24 [Live and let live]” →

Welcome to the penultimate episode of Chise and friends, the premier hollow friendship simulator of the season. This week on Mahoutsukai we have biblical backstories, every named character shows up and a general decline from last episode. Lets jump in!

In terms of general quality, its a step down from last week. That isn’t unexpected, not because Mahoutsukai is a terrible show, but because last episode was simply its best showing. I would have been surprised if it managed to do that level of quality again. That said this episode is filled with stills, panning shots and low-detail characters everywhere Mahoutsukai thinks it can get away with it. Even the effects have mostly been downgraded to flashes/glows of color. It lacks the visual punch needed for our upcoming finale next week. As far as story goes this week it was, at best, acceptable. Both Cartaphilus’s backstory and Elias’s side plot have problems. From feeling rushed/condensed to just being unnecessary. And after last week? That’s just disappointing.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome -23 [Nothing Seek, Nothing Find]” →

These past few episodes I have been rather critical of Mahoutsukai, and rightfully so I would say. The new characters are lackluster, the plot/stories dull. A 7/10 series at best. It is with this mindset, this frame of reference, that I can see “As you sow, so shall you reap” is the best episode of Mahoutsukai across the board. Lets jump in.

Overall, Mahoutsukai did a lot right this week. The story of this episode, Chise’s family, was concentrated while still fitting in/progressing the meta-plot. In terms of animation, there wasn’t anything mind blowing, but there were plenty of beautiful or compelling shots. My personal favorite however was the restraint Mahoutsukai showed with the audio. As if finally realizing that sometimes less is more. The complete lack of music during the Chise’s mother’s fall into depression made the swell during the penultimate scene really hit. The flower motif as well, while already used once in the season, still worked as the colors set it apart enough. The only real issue I saw was in some characterization of her family, specifically her father. But I see no way to fix it without ruining the already good pacing of the episode. General goodwill out of the way, time for some specifics.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 22 [As you sow, so shall you reap]” →

Hello and welcome another episode of Mahoutsukai. This week it makes the best of a bad narrative decision, introduces more tertiary characters and sprints through story arcs like nothing. Lets jump in!

Starting off, I am a bit disappointed in how quickly the auction/dragon bit was resolved. Its as if Mahoutsukai can’t let any given story or arc last longer then 2 episodes. At this point Mahoutsukai is less of a drama and more a “monster/problem of the week” type show. That might be an unfair criticism, as many drama such as Rakugo, Steins;Gate and Your Lie in April also lack the typical “arc” format. However in those the story always seems to make sense, it… it flows, for lack of a better word. One event always lead into the next. In Mahoutsukai just feels like its moving from one story beat to the next, trying to hit all the notes it can along the way, without considering how those beats link up. Regardless how good those stories are alone, they often don’t fit together well.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 20 [You can’t make an omlete without breaking a few eggs]” →

Hello and welcome to a very… contentious episode of Mahoutsukai, at least for me. This week we have two halves of the same episode, with wildly different tones and quality. The first half being inconsistent and dull, while the second is interesting and successfully, but slowly, ramps up its tension. Overall concerning, but lets jump in.

First up, I want to talk about Mahoutsukai’s tone this week. Specifically how ridiculously all over the place it is. I had no idea how to feel about this episode as we go from brutal surgery, to jokey side characters, to dream sequence and back to silly scientists. During the first half at least, nothing was consistent. There was no slow progression, just fast cuts up and down the spectrum. Add to that the general flop of the comedy in the first half, pretty much any scene with the scientists, and it just feels lacking. Easily the worst opening/12 minutes of Mahoutsukai across all episodes. Even the time with Cartaphilus in the dream felt lacking. Like it was condescend, that information was cut for the sake of time. It happens in every adaptation, but this particularly bad timing.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 19 [Any port in a storm]” →

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Mahoutsukai. This week we some follow up story time, a return of older characters and what is hopefully the start of an actual story arc. Lets jump in!

Overall, this week was adequate, or maybe slightly above.  They story was quaint, with some nice follow up, and with the reintroduction of our supposed main antagonist the ball might be rolling again. In terms of animation and such, not much really happened. There was a lot of very pretty stills, really showing off the background art and detail Mahoutsukai has when it wants. But there wasn’t much movement, aside from terrible chibi as usual. For sound design, I think everyone knows what the best part of was for this. Chise’s lullaby was great, for more than just its music which I will get into later. Say what you will about the new OP’s art, but from Lindel to Chise and the OP’s Mahoutsukai has a knack for music. With general critique out of the way though, lets get into the meat of the episode.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 18 [Forgive and Forget]” →

Welcome to another, better, week of Mahoutsukai no Yome! For the first time in weeks we have an episode I actually enjoyed, with my favorite character in the series and a new spin on Mahoutsukai’s standard relationship commentary. Lets jump in!

To start off, I must say, this was the best episode in weeks. The story was concise and explored a new type of relationship, that of family, without shoving it down our throats to much. We also got more of the magical lore aspect, which I have wanted for weeks. The bartering with the forest Fae was brilliant, actually using the crystallized magic from the teddy bear we opened on. Progressing, once out of those, to trading blood. I enjoyed how the Fae were actually used rather than being background or antagonists, and how Stella couldn’t see them. It was interesting. The problems with this episode, of which there are few, are mostly the fault of prior episodes. The reused cliffhangers and “Chise cried danger” problems of earlier episodes hurt this one. Its a shame, as we finally saw what Chise can do on her own here as well.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 17 [Look before you leap]” →