Stella no Mahou – 02

「たのしい創作」 (Tanoshii Sousaku)
“Game-Making Is Fun”

Another episode full of quirky gags and just the right amount of poking at all of our hidden inner tendencies. What more could you want?

Finding Yourself

Unlike you typical slice-of-life that hand you a set of characters and never do anything serious with them, I thoroughly enjoyed how this week’s episode continued to build Tamaki’s character. We know she’s having your typical freshman crisis that involves being unsure of what you want to do and getting to actually see her struggles both explicitly and implicitly makes the whole thing feel that much more engaging. For example, the difference between the Tamaki who couldn’t even open the second half of her artbook and the Tamaki who at least got her artwork in-front of her senpais may not have been a big change, but watching how all of it played out and how everyone played a part had me completely invested the entire time. From Tamaki accidentally finding Ayame’s secret notebook to Yumine passing on verbatim what Tamaki’s senpais said, it was a great blend of separate elements that all worked toward the same goal.

Putting the Ne in Nee-san

Another surprise this week was Yumine’s emergence throughout the episode. Instead of being someone who you’d assume would be a stagnant side character, I loved how Yumine was like the older sister that someone like Tamaki really needs. Besides taking on Tamaki’s request to face her senpais, you have to love how Yumine is constantly looking out for Tamaki. Even when it comes to her BL struggles! Anyways, it looks like Yumine won’t be going anywhere for the time being and while it remains to be seen if she’ll become an honorary SNS-bu member, I hope the show never tones down her amazing BL moments.

A Comment about Humor and Looking Ahead

Overall, I think we had a pretty great second episode. Returning with everything that made the first one so fun to watch and adding on even more, it looks like Stella no Mahou is shaping up to be a really good show. If I were to pick what I liked best about the show though, it’d have to be the humor that’s been keeping my eyes glued to the screen. Whether it’s through the use of silence, getting caught in awkward situations, or Yumine having some of the best lost-in-thought moments, every few minutes there’s something that’s tickled my funny bone.

Anyways, I’ll catch you guys next week for this show. Probably. Ciao!

Preview