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「負けたくない」 (Maketakunai)
“I Don’t Want to Lose”
Well, what goes up must inevitably come down, even if the process of projectile motion in this instance leaves me just a tad disappointed. You know, a smidgen of sadness. A small helping of melancholy. The condensed process of accepting fate when it should’ve turned out differently because damnit cutie pies don’t deserve such pain and suffering. Or in other words, Mahouka showing just where the power lies.
Considering this part of Yuutousei was featured in Rettousei’s run, there should be no surprise that Shizuku wound up getting Shiba’d in the end. All that preparation, all that optimism, all that desire? Unable to overcome that which is plot armour and the power of brotherly love. To be fair to Mahouka’s setup though, Yuutousei did a good job of at least highlighting just how much Shizuku worked towards a victory she knew deep down wasn’t ever likely to happen. It takes a great deal of courage to face and fight back against an unenviable outcome, especially one which could be as humiliating as it was overwhelming. Shizuku after all wasn’t frustrated because she lost, she was frustrated because she was beaten so convincingly – to force Miyuki to utilize her real power was one thing, but Shizuku really wanted the results to be more even.
Tatsuya in this sense deserves kudos because he’s what enabled Shizuku to even reach this point. While I may dislike Magic Jesus and all he entails, he did the right thing by simply providing the tools and encouraging their users to utilize them to their utmost. In the end it’s not the power you have but rather how you wield it; a knife fighter can technically beat a gun wielder after all, even if the conditions for victory are very specific. Shizuku simply lost so badly because she wasn’t able to best figure out her abilities in the time provided while Miyuki had both the power and experience needed to maximize the use of her own. It’s a tale as old as they get, but it’s still valuable learning and something you can expect Shizuku to heavily appreciate the value of (at least internally).
As for what comes next after this enlivened outing, I think the end scene teases enough on that front. With Miyuki’s big battle out the way (well, one of them *awaits in full-length images*) we’re now onto something slightly more Rettousei in appearance as it’s time for Magic Jesus to properly strut his stuff. I have no idea how Yuutousei intends on adapting this bit of the Nine Schools arc, but I’m certainly interested on finding out.
Preview
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