I originally wanted to put this among the quick first impressions, until I found out that this OVA just has one episode, which puts this OVA in the category of quick watches. With an airtime of only thirty minutes, did Quiz Magic Academy turn into an OVA to recommend? Well, no.
This OVA is based on a much larger manga, and ultimately, it just becomes a glorified commercial for this manga. There are no really redeeming values, and the episode just consists of the characters (students and teachers of the titular magic academy) having a bit of fun at the school festival. In the end, the entire 30 minutes are pretty much pointless.
Thankfully, it’s not all bad. The cast of characters is huge, so you won’t have the time to get bored of their different stereotypes. The creators manage to keep things fresh in the end. I especially liked the transfer student who is way above the age-limit, and I especially disliked the pink-haired teacher who acts like a mahou shoujo-wannabe. For a minute, I also feared that the spunky main character would take up too much of the airtime, but overall the creators managed to balance the episode quite well, so that each character at least gets half a minute of time in the spotlights.
But yeah, you can’t escape stereotypes with just 30 seconds of airtime, and most members of the cast just remain stereotypes that we’ve seen over and over. On top of that, the writers hardly ever attempt to change the mood: every single scene is semi-energetic, without any quiet moments. There’s just way too much sugar in this OVA.
Overall, I’d label this together with Haru no Ashioto: it’s just a silly advertisement for the original source, but somewhat fun to watch. Emphasis on “somewhat”.
| Storytelling: | 5/10 |
| Characters: | 7/10 |
| Production-Values: | 7/10 |
| Setting: | 5/10 |
