Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto and its sequel Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~ Natsu no Sora are two completely different series. Not only do they share no similar characters whatsoever, but their execution, focus, themes and atmosphere are completely different, with the only similarity being that they take place in the same setting. I can fully imagine people liking one of the series, but not the other, and vice versa. Personally I like Natsu no Sora better, due to its extra layer of realism and the subtlety in its characters, but the first series also has a lot to like.
For the ones who never saw any of those series: the Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto franchise takes place in a world in which certain people are able to use magic. It explores young mages in training as they are prepared to make a living for themselves. It’s very much a realistic approach to the question of “what if magic really exists?” Way more than Natsu no Sora, the first season looks at what it means to be a mage: are magical powers really that convenient and can you just use them in the way you want? It also addresses the impact that magic has on society: what the general opinion of mages is, and the trouble it can cause in the wrong hands.
The series is much more episodic than Natsu no Sora, and each episode takes one particular character under the loop (about half of the episodes are dedicated to the main cast, the other to random people), and tries to tell the story of this character. At the final episode, the creators do a pretty good job at bringing everything together. It’s not the most emotional series out there, but this series definitely has its points at which it’s heart-warming.
At this however, it perhaps is a bit too enthusiastic at times. The main flaw of this series is that the creators are a bit too keen to spread around death and accidents. I know it’s necessary for its drama and all, but when everyone and his dog lost someone precious to them in some kind of tragic event, it loses some of the tension.
Overall, this series isn’t the best, and a few episodes and individual stories can be a tad shallow, but in terms of the big picture, it’s pretty impressive. It lacks the rock-solid execution of Natsu no Sora, and the drama can get a tad cheesy at times, but in the end I’d say that it has enough things that make it interesting, most notably the attention it has put into its themes, and how all of the characters relate to them.
| Storytelling: | 8/10 – A tad cheesy, but the stories are well told and come together well in the end. |
| Characters: | 8/10 – Not as good as Natsu no Sora, but their issues and personalities are well portrayed. |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 – The animation does what it needs to do, though not much more. The soundtrack is quite good, though. |
| Setting: | 9/10 – Great themes, makes good use of its setting, puts a lot of emphasis on the morals of magic. |
Suggestions:
– Aria the Animation
– Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto ~ Natsu no Sora
– Hataraki Man
If it weren’t for the ending, I would give the Sora one much higher points too – it just had that extra special ‘level’. I’m not referring to the tragedy itself, actually, I’m – wait, why don’t I just put this under the relevant review? Lol. I approved of this series about the same as you did, I’m glad you’ve seen them both.
Incidentally, did you watch it with subtitles? And if so then where I could get it subbed? I wanted to watch it for a while and I couldn’t find it anywhere and when I found it, it was dubbed.
I’m not of the “sub only” sort, but while my english is quite good it’s only so in writing. If it’s listening comprehension I usually get it right only after about fourth rewatch and that’s just too much of a waste of time.
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto indeed is a series that you need to watch in its original Japanese, because quite a few episodes play around with different japanese dialects whose meaning would just be lost in the english version.
Have you tried the following version?
http://www.bakabt.com/128106-somedays-dreamers-a4e.html
It might be dual audio, so you might need to change the language in your media player.
Well, I was looking only for streaming, since I kind of lack free diskspace, but thanks anyway. I’ll be sure to watch it when I have those 2 gigs free.