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「星に願いを」 (Hoshi ni Negai wo)
“Wish Upon a Star”
Question: when it comes to mahou shoujo, what’s the best way to truly tug at the heartstrings? Despair? Agony? Copious amounts of bloodshed? Please, the refined connoisseur knows the best method always starts with emotional attachment, and there’s no better way to create it than through a little slice of life development. It may be slow going getting to the main story (read: the good stuff) right now, but never fear, once MSTA reaches that point it won’t be disappointing. After all the competition and its inevitable fallout has already been laid bare.
Probably the biggest surprise of MSTA for me right now is how it’s messing with the expected party setup. In these stories you usually anticipate seeing a motley collection of magical girls either banding together against a big evil or winding up duking it out in a coerced FFA, but here we have a mix of the two. The Magical Five who based upon experience you’d predict being best friends with each other seems to have some underlying tensions among each other. Besides the yet to be introduced Peipei and best babushka Russian cutie Tamara (foreshadowing doesn’t lie) and Kurumi’s own impassioned personality, Mia funnily enough doesn’t appear to have much love lost when it comes to her Japanese brethren and any involvement they may have in her mission. Coincidentally interfere with America doing American things? Well cannot answer for the number of additional piercings you’ll wind up with. It’ll be very interesting seeing what happens when all five of the girls inevitably do get back together because something clearly split them apart and whatever it was likely has bearing over current circumstances. Just take the titular Asuka: guaranteed there’s something more to her mahou shoujo hiatus than those traumatic experiences.
What highlights these underlying tensions most however are the additional plot (the other one) tidbits now popping up. This week’s missive for example pretty much confirms the idea one former magical girl is heading the big evil of the moment, and with it the likelihood that one or more former Magical (greater than) Five comrades have decided doing bad things pays a hell of a lot more than following the good book. What the exact reason for shoving round mathematicians into square holes of course is anyone’s guess right now, but I have a sneaking suspicion spitefulness and revenge may be high on the list. After all if Asuka hates her mahou shoujo experience, just think what a magical girl who came within inches of death and was all but collectively forgotten must feel. War has a nasty way of screwing up even the most morally upright of individuals, and when it finally gets to you (as is the case for more than one girl right now), it sticks around for a very long time.
We may not know what MSTA has next in store for our weekly cutie breaking, but you can bet we haven’t seen the true face of the PTSD shenanigans here just waiting for their grand reveal.
Preview
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https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2030.jpg
Vorhees class monster?
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
That face I haven’t seen since the Utawarerumono omakes.
*screams about entire family being killed and wants humans to suffer like she did*
*Mia* You’re an adult! Don’t talk to me about your problems!
*minutes later*
*Mia* You’re just a terrorist. Just like the ones that killed my mother and father.
LOGIC!
This anime is so bad when you’re watching it yet so interesting to watch screenshots of
It’s like most mahou shoujo deconstructions, it always functions best when you turn your brain off 😛
It’s moments like this where I wonder if the protagonist(s) will make it to the finish line all in one piece. Will there even be a finish line or will the main characters just get little reprieves like this. Small victories for a war well fought.
This scene and many scenes reminds me of Darker Than Black. Really difficult life and those moments where you get to enjoy your youth.
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%2013.jpg
I’m going to be really surprised if none of them wind up dying (either the magical girl protagonists or their friends). At some point you expect the carnage to catch up with them, because copping out on death would remove the majority of the suspense and tension this genre feeds off of.
And if none of the main characters or friends die, then I’d be surprised if there is no physical trauma to show for it (certainly had no issue with doing it to Nozomi, even with Kurumi’s healing there to cover it up), like losing a hand, an arm, a leg, something. (Abby lost some fingers after all)
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
Looks like Kurumi watched “[YTP] The Matrix Uploaded” a few too many times if her unremitting clicking’s any indication.
(Look it up on YouTube… at your peril.)
Funny you should bring up the Matrix because after hearing what the Dias were after all I could think of for the rest of the episode was that franchise haha.
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2031.jpg
Voorhees class? I expect Kreuger class next.
Small ones called Chucky class….Meyers class…Pinhead class…Leather class? lol
There was a Halloween-class.
While I also suspect Francine? to be the cubing girl, the question is why didn’t the three of the magical five not recognize her power? We know from episode 4 that eight of them shared a dorm of some sort. While the first episode mentioned four magical girls KIA (Claudia, Magdalena, Crystal and Patricia) for a total of nine. While it’s been mentioned that at that time there were a total of eleven magical girls.
Can’t say whose motto was writen on the mirror (The 5 left, the 8 living together, the 9 on the mission or all 11), but it does open up a lot of possibilities.
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%2007.jpg
Loved her more this episode. Wonder if it was because of something Nozomi said just like at the festival?
Could be because the Queen’s power isn’t turning people into fashionable table decorations. All we know right now is that the Queen has a bunch of followers, some of who are magical girls–wouldn’t be a stretch to assume one of those magical girls has the power in question.
The life of a mahou shoujo is indeed suffering in Homura’s reality
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2009.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
Wait till you get Grounded… >:(
I have not read any source material so if this musing turns out to be accurate it’s just luck.
I can’t tell if Kurumi’s attraction/obsession with Asuka is meant as a funny aside or if it’s a major plot point, like she’s the real villain behind everything. Like an anime version of Identity Crisis.