Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 6: On to the final showdown?

The assault on the school ended pretty quickly. Couple of things to note. First, Mibu misunderstanding Watanabe to that extent seems rather odd and might be indicative of foul play. It’s hard to imagine mishearing something like that. Second, Tatsuya’s rejection of Mibu when she tried to convince him not to go through with his assault on Blanche is a bit worrying since he cited Miyuki in his reasoning…

Anyway, next week is the assault on Blanche. The rings didn’t end up playing much of a role in this week’s episode, so they might have a more important role next week. I’m curious when the character from the opening is going to make his appearance…now would be a decent time, right?

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 5: The attack begins

Well, Blanche has made their move. They’re literally bringing out the big guns to siege this school. But we’ve already seen that conventional weaponry is not quite as effective against mages, so presumably the rings that were shown will be the equalizer. There was also a decent amount of focus on Mizuki at the start of this episode, so that would probably suggest that she’ll be important pretty soon.

Next week continues the assault on the magic school. I can conceivably see this fight going on another two episodes, I’m going to guess this show is going to be more than 12 episodes long, as we’d be devoting over half the show to the first major battle. Plus, we still don’t know who that other guy in the opening is! …or Tatsuya’s secret for that matter.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 4: That’s the right way to react to Tatsuya and Miyuki’s joking

I can’t help but admire Tatsuya’s unique brand of trolling. He keeps such a serious demeanor that it becomes difficult for people around him to tell when he’s being sarcastic. I know some people like that and I always find them entertaining. Anyway, this week we’re introduced to Blanche, the anti-magic organization lurking around in this magic-focused world. There’s always a resistance group (I created one in my own story concept too, and the main character similarly rejects their invitation).

I’m surprised at the ending of this episode. The ending song playing through the scene with Tatsuya and Miyuki is the sort of thing you have on the last episode. I guess it’s a pretty big battle coming up. If any more characters were talking with them, I might have suggested it was a flag. Either way, I’m still much more curious who the other guy in the opening theme facing off against Tatsuya actually is. But he doesn’t seem relevant in this first arc of the story.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 3: Now Tatsuya is just showing off

This episode illustrates the points where Tatsuya diverges from a character I would make. I personally dislike how Tatsuya flaunts himself and his power out in the open. If I were creating Tatsuya, he would stop the fight and remain standing in the crowd. He also wouldn’t get embarrassed at seeing Erika and wouldn’t be on the disciplinary committee, but that’s another story. It isn’t all disagreeable, though. I would probably have revealed a larger portion of my character’s big secret earlier. Of course, I’d keep a key piece away from the audience in preparation for a big reveal, but Tatsuya seems to have a lot of mystery surrounding him. For example, that scene where Miyuki casts a spell on him and he seems to “reboot” was very suspicious. Also, the conversation about his “rare” CAD made by the mysterious engineer Taurus Silver was super suspicious.

The title of the next episode (Enrollment IV) makes me realize we’re still in introductory episodes. Well, some of the key players for the first major arc were revealed this week. The show moves pretty quickly with relation to the material I’ve read, so it’s possible that they’ll try to fit three or four major arcs in this series. I mean…I have no complaints about that.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 2: Tatsuya the Master Troll

Well, this week’s episode gives Tatsuya another chance to show off a bit. This is why he is so interesting to me as a character. My theory is that he’s weak in practical skills because he analyzes his own spells too much when he tries to construct him, slowing himself down enormously. Either that or he is somehow being restrained by something in his past. I dislike this second theory, though. I like the idea of him and Miyuki having both sides of what is arguably a perfect magician.

Anyway, this episode is still introduction. We get a display of Tatsuya’s weak practical skills in the lesson immediately followed with him easily defeating an upperclassman. And now that we have heard both the opening and the ending songs for this show, it makes a strong case music-wise. Now all that’s left is to find out what exactly Tatsuya was doing in the fight next week.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episode 1 (First Impressions): Oh god not more brother complex

Alright, let’s get started with the first impression of the new season. I definitely had high hopes for this show after having read the manga. This show centers around a world where magic has been broken down almost to a science. The main character, Shiba Tatsuya, is an aspiring magic technician who is accepted into a prestigious magic school along with his sister Miyuki, a talented magician.

The reason this show intrigues me is almost 80% the main character. I once wrote a story concept that was very similar to this show and Tatsuya is pretty close to exactly the same as the main character I created, a talented student that isn’t recognized for his talent by the school because of the state of the world. He bears the same analytical and tactical approach to the world that I would want in a character.

That being said, my story concept had 100% less brocon, so that would be my major point of concern with this show. I personally have always thought this mechanic adds nothing to a show, but Japan seems to be in a wincest mood right now. That aside, the first episode is a decent introduction and remains consistent with the manga.

That being said, I wanted to point out the brief moment in the opening/ending of this episode that showed a Suzaku look-alike squaring off against Tatsuya. I don’t know much about this character and I find him intriguing. Also, the opening/ending song was very good, though the soundtrack of the episode was relatively underwhelming. Hopefully this show works out, right?