Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Gushing Over Magical Girls
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encrypted12345
Posts: 718 |
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The franchise I would say MahoAko is most obviously a parody of probably is Precure, turning the yuribait the franchise is known for into full blown yuri, and the pink, blue, and yellow of this series aren't all that off from personality types those colors have represented before (though I would say Precure has a lot of leeway when it comes to that). It's ... one way to get a Precure fix, though I'll admit that the MahoAko anime airing did inspire me to catch up on a decade's worth of Precure.
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v1cious
 Posts: 6202 Location: Houston, TX |
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I can't tell if this show is still being graded on a curve, or if the reviewer is genuinely enjoying it.
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Zomb1e13
Posts: 50 |
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Probably a little of both, though I doubt the reviewer will admit to liking the show. I am curious though if they have plans to continue with another season, or if its a one and done. |
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encrypted12345
Posts: 718 |
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The show does seem popular in Japan (as in limited edition blurays selling out really fast and the pop-up stores having long lines), but ultimately, it's up to Kadokawa. I think that if there's a chance for a new season, they'll announce it after this season is done, though I don't think said season will come out for at least 2 years. That's more or less the usual production cycle, seasons with a smaller gap were probably planned out in advance. |
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njprogfan
 Collector Extraordinaire Posts: 1161 Location: A River Named Toms |
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I'm behind reading the manga by a volume or two, but if it's just as good and entertaining as these last few episodes, (heck, the whole darn show) I guess I should get back into buying me sum' e-manga gawdangit.
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Yuvelir
 Posts: 1560 |
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There's something that greatly annoyed me this episode during Baiser's moment of glory: the background music.
Magia Baiser getting a power up and destroying Lord Enorme with no effort (while overwhelming and sidelining the powerlevel system entirely) was one of the coolest moments of the manga... while still being very silly because this series is how it is. But it can be both! However having that scene underscored with silly parade music and then the usual violin for BDSM scenes took away all the "coolness" from the scene IMO. I was really looking forward to this moment and thanks to that it was well below expectations...
Rather than an age preference, it's just that the concept of humilliating a brat that is way over her head is more appealing to Utena's skills than knocking down a peg the gloating evul adult. |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2515 |
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I also thought it was very evident that Baiser isn't into little girls but that relative to Lord Enorme's goal of "world domination", Baiser remarks something like "what are you, a kid or something?" (possible Zvesda Plot reference...) and then has a revelation that she should combat Enorme as one would a spoiled little girl and give her a spanking. And the "kid Enorme" wasn't a true transmogrification as evident in the side-by-side shot 15:18, just how Baiser was imagining her to be and the audience and others being given that perspective.
Loving the "fanservice" clips in the article and even love the humor in the file name. This week's is "the-best-place-for-sexy-sisters-with-bad-habits-bar-nun" and last weeks was "this-one-goes-out-to-you-steve" for the apparent uncensored World's End Harem reference to how viewing that was possible. Check them out if you didn't notice for an extra chuckle! BTW, it has also been apparent relative to the "star" rating of the villains' power level that while Enorme has four, and the others seem to have a fixed number, when Magia Baiser gets going, I count as many as 12+ stars! It changes... |
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akitainu
 Posts: 115 Location: SATX |
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I wasn't expecting the giant Magenta episode, since it's not until chapter 42,spoiler[ and after the Shio-chans make their arrival], but I'm glad it got included. I wish they would have included Sister Gigant's "there goes my unique character trait" line, but I'll take what I can get.
I'm curious where episode 13 will end up. My guess would be chapter 23, but with all chronological shuffling that has gone on...who knows? |
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DarkAudit
Posts: 33 |
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Utena would rather make them squirm and moan than bleed and scream. |
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akitainu
Posts: 115 Location: SATX |
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Episode 13
Well, that's it and I feel like it went out strong. Chapter 23 was good stopping point. Utena/Baiser got to see Azure's La Verita form and the whole episode had that "gang's all here" feel that I like in a final episode. I also really like the added touch of having the music stop while Alice collected her comrades. I was skeptical of an anime adaptation of MahoAko, but I think they did a fine job on a what looked, sometimes, like a tight budget. They sure did succeed in taking a spicy manga and stuffing about 20 more habaneros worth of heat into it. Was it the best show of the season? Probably not. But it was easily the show I had the most fun with. I'd like a second season because there is a whole lot that I'd still like to see animated, but if that never comes...well, I'm happy I got what I did. Hell, it must have done something right as it made my wife a fan and she was initially very much in the "yeah, you can watch that on your own" camp. MahoAko shares, to me a least, a lot with one of my other favorite manga/anime, Machikado Mazoku. When I say that I usually get that "This cat must have been hit in the head a lot" look. And, yes I have been. But that aside, they are both on the surface very simple stories. But underneath each stories facade it a very well executed, well thought out tale. Small throw away bits come back as important plot points and both are also a lot darker that they seem at first glace. But they present that darkness in a much more effective way than the misery generators that some stories turn into. |
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rano
Posts: 3 |
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Why does a show with tons of nonconsensual graphic nudity, BDSM etc. involving barely teen girls get kudos while far tamer shows featuring upper teen girls and adult women - not even shows with nudity or ecchi but just moderately skimpy outfits and some fanservice - get trashed as male gaze objectifying? Is it because this is a yuri show?
So Uzaki-Chan Wants To Hang Out, which had a grand total of 2 trips to the beach/pool and 1 panty shot in 25 episodes with a female cast that with a single exception consisted entirely of adult women triggered an international meltdown from the "stop the objectification of females in anime" crowd but this show, which is far more explicit with much younger girls in every single episode is not only acceptable but commendable because it is yuri? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. |
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Glordit
 Posts: 461 |
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I'm confused, are you dissatisfied by the show being praised, or at the lack of outrage? |
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Zomb1e13
Posts: 50 |
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Because Uzaki had a self insert male protag, while this show has no male characters, not even mob characters, for them blame everything on. In fact it shows a male-less society which would be a utopia for that particular outrage group. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15462 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Not going to say that complaints over Uzaki-chan are correct, and that this show is blameless for a cast being so young. But I do think I could maybe explain why I might put more positive thoughts into fanservice in Gushing over fanservice elements in Uzaki-chan. In my memory of Uzaki-chan, it kind of just has her having big boobs, and maybe some lucky pervert situations. If I had to put some criticism there is that it just feels like it has Uzaki's sexuality be put on her, like an object, it is not really something she puts effort into taking control of, or feels like she owns. It is not as bad in the show as it can be in other shows, but it is a thought. Now in Gushing Over Magical Girls, you might explicitly have girls being molested, treated like objects, but you also have the opposite in girls taking control of their sexuality. I would argue even in a some of the full on BDSM moments, from both ends with Sayo enjoying the play, because from what I understand BDSM isn't about one party being a victim. If one was to look for meaning in this show it would be about empowerment of girls, a coming of age for sexuality and I guess identity. Of course, perhaps it is a bit of a cheat with the almost total lack of male presence (are the mascots guys?), because things can change when you introduce the gender thing. Uzaki-chan feels that, and I do wonder if for me it would feel less Saphic with men in. At the same time I am reminded of Symphogear, which had men, but was stioll more female focused. |
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FishLion
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I am an experienced kinkster too, and for me context is very important in regards to how I feel about safe words and other best practices in fiction. To me the to most important considerations are text vs subtext, publishing location, and fictional character awareness. Text versus subtext is about how explicit the play is in the fiction. If the fiction has characters establishing formal play boundaries then leaving out those discussions feels gross and I would say misses the intimacy of navigating that discussion. If it is a scenario where the play remains undiscussed, then not having those discussions comes off more as innocent or thematic versus violating consent. For example, stopping your steamy romance story where someone that clearly represents a dominant and a submissive meet and have a whirlwind romance ending in a night of play stop to realistically discuss boundaries strikes me as unnecessary. If the characters haven't outright discussed BDSM then I can read it as a BDSM subtext to characters not trying to formally engage in play and enjoy a kinky scene with no discussion. The closer we are to textual BDSM (as opposed to subtextual) the more I expect some sort of nod to best practices, why would somebody have a large collection of cuffs, paddles, and whips but not know the basics? There is a reason 50 Shades comes across as so cheesy to even an amateur kinkster, you expect some inexperienced teens finding themselves to stumble but you don't expect the extremely rich and experienced dominant to ignore all the basics when bringing someone new into the practice. That is why it was loved as a fantasy by many but people looking for representation of actual BDSM were disappointed. Where the work is published also makes a huge difference in how I read the intent. I hate that porn is full of people doing irresponsible BDSM and others mimic that example, but I do think we should all be able to agree that no one should copy anything they see in pornography without understand the reality that inspires those fantasies. I don't think we can't put the onus on any sexual proclivity for inspiring people to be irresponsible when the very act of mimicking without research is irresponsible. The more something is shared to a wide audience without this understanding the worse these misunderstandings can be. Material shared on pornographic or fetishistic publishing sources deserve an extra grain of salt in this way because they are specifically marketed to people who should know that this is a fantasy and whatever you want to try needs research first. The setting of the story itself makes a huge difference as well. I wouldn't expect someone's fanfic of King Arthur to have explicit discussion of responsible BDSM because having someone from that period say things like "safe word" is so anachronistic that the immersion of the reader is broken right away. Same goes for a story about a young kinkster finding themselves, they may want to engage in something they don't fully understand and giving them the experience of someone who has a lot of practice doesn't evoke the feeling of a young person finding themselves. I consider all of those factors when deciding if the story has a responsibility to mention best practices. It especially gets complex when the in-universe characters are very clearly engaging in BDSM without their own knowledge while it is extremely clear to the viewer. For stories I write, when a character wants to engage in BDSM doesn't have the personal experience to have an explicit discussion I try to include implicit nods to these things, like one character getting the other to promise they'll give a specific signal without using terms that would mark them as kink experienced to the viewer. All that comes back around to your point about Japanese BDSM stories always having consent issues, I don't really think that's unique in any media. Pretty much every media market has popularized fictional BDSM that does not prepare the viewer for the reality. I have seen it handled well in some recent adult sex comedies that focus on kink specifically as a topic, but I have never seen a major pop culture romance involve BDSM try to take those aspects and integrate them in a meaningful way. It's unfortunate, but a clear and frank discussion of sex boundaries is not very entertaining for most people or stories, some types of romance stories may benefit from the intimacy of those discussions but no action movie with a kinky sex scene is going to make time for that. This is in part because successful kinky media that the popular culture cares about is not made for kinksters. Stuff like 50 Shades was made for a demographic of people who like spicy romances but have no interest in participating in kink, so while kinky people would love for pop culture to stop mishandling BDSM, the executives that greenlight movies and what goes into them are not interested in elevating these sorts of discussions to a point where a non-kinky audience would be interested. It would help if we could have a major cultural touchstone to talk about these things, if we could have even just one massively successful franchise that focused specifically on BDSM and did emphasize these points in a well written way so that people who currently don't care could have reason to want to try and understand these complex systems, but I do think the tide is turning in that a few years ago I had not even once heard kink discussed properly in a story based medium and now a few shows are trying to emphasize these points in the context of staying entertaining. I am also fairly sure Japanese media has a number of lesser known titles that handle these topics responsibly and, like in other countries, we are seeing the most popular examples that were not well researched and not the work of the niche communities that care about and try to elevate these discussions. |
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