Posted by OP Sequence
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OP: 「叫べ」 (Sakebe) by 沼倉愛美 (Numakura Manami)
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「夢と魔法の世界へようこそ！」 (Yume to Mahō no Sekai Yōkoso!)
“Welcome to a World of Dreams and Magic!”
Starting things off on our magical girl adventures this season is Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku. As the Fall Preview helpfully indicates and that intro sequence not too strongly teased, we are looking at Madoka more than Cardcaptors here.
Magical Girls, with a Twist
Himegawa Koyuki is just your ordinary, bubbly schoolgirl living in an idyllic world. She’s got lots of friends, fantasizes a plenty, and has a passion for magical girls. She might also have dreams of being a magical girl. Thankfully the popular social media game Magical Girls Raising Project (known as MGRP from now on, because typing) lets her vicariously live that dream, no matter the teasing of her many friends. Although rumours of magical girls flying about saving the day are widespread, Koyuki isn’t inclined to take them seriously. Well, that is until MGRP decides she has the disposition needed to be a magical girl herself.
We’ve seen this setup so many times now it’s nothing special. Ordinary girl finds magical powers and must save the day. So why watch? Well boys and girls there’s a few unique twists under this hood. Particularly intriguing is the system for selecting our magical girls. Instead of a magical device doing the selecting we now have a video game. Girls appear chosen on their personality and love for Mahou Shoujo rather than random circumstance. The whole thing then plays out exactly like a game, where the chosen girls perform good deeds to collect Magical Candies, with the number tracked by a scoreboard. The more good deeds performed, the more candies, the higher the score. Simple right? The only thing lacking is a purpose. We don’t know what those Magical Candies do or what a top score gets you. It is unclear how good deeds are quantitatively judged, or what even qualifies as a good deed. Lots left unanswered.
The other twist is the alluded survival game aspect, which bears eerie similarity to the likes of Mirai Nikki and Danganronpa. We’ve already got 15 girls (with an additional 5 in another town, including at least one more unnamed) plus a pairing system between them. Each girl is responsible for a district, with a rule of no interference allowed between districts (likely to prevent spawn camping, because you know this is a game). Considering the competitive nature of this magical girls setting, there’s plenty here just begging for conflict and struggle. After all, what happens if the magical girl count is culled, the district number decreases, and the survivors are determined on based on their Magical Candy score? Glad you asked, because that looks to be answered next.
Tropes and References
One thing I loved here was the sheer number of allusions and references shown. We’ve got ninja, witches, and Celtic elves, angels, nuns, and little devil girls. It’s a fricken cornucopia of loli love. That of course doesn’t even include Sou-chan the quasi-Sabre trap who not only is a childhood friend, but literally goes full female when it’s time to transform. No, I swear this is not Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Too bad the MGRP mascot Fav was aggravating, the pon verbal tick alone is enough to damage minds and ruin dreams. At least Kyuubey was cute in a sadistic sort way, this thing (no matter the homage to Monokuma) just needs to die. Horribly.
Next Time? Culling Time
15 girls down to 8? Got to love the cliffhanger. Just how Fav plans to go about that remains up in the air, but guaranteed those Magical Candies have something to do with it. Stay tuned for next week, because things are going to get interesting.
Note that as is standard blogging choices won’t be made until episode 2-3. Cannot comment yet if I will be covering this, but it certainly has my curiosity. If you really want to see Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku covered regularly just leave a comment below.
Random Tidbits
Sou-chan’s trap status becomes especially hilarious when you consider his magical girl name La Pucelle translates to maiden/virgin. It also has the archaic translation of whore. Foreshadowing for the future? You be the judge.
If Weiss Winterprison isn’t related to Weiss Schnee of RWBY fame somehow I’ll eat my (nonexistent) hat, the relation is just too perfect.
ED Sequence
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ED: DREAMCATCHER by nano
Preview
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just like mahou shoujo madoka, this series started quite light and fluffy… but just like madoka, as first part of the episode hinted, this will turn dark. how dark? we are yet damn to see… this anime’s episode 1 is “effective” makes you wait what will happen on episode 2.
There are currently 8 volumes of the source LN, but IIRC the anime will only adapt Vol 1, mixed with parts of Vol 3/4 that relate to Vol 1 (based on the info I found out).
The anime will only cover Vol 1 because the magical girl battle arc is only in Vol 1.
GoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGoreGore
It’s more like, they all gonna get noscoped real soon….
XDDDDDDDDD
https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Ikusei%20Keikaku/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Ikusei%20Keikaku%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
Happy
HungerMahou Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour…Someone is gonna lose her head pretty soon.
First it throws us off with that opening scene, making us think the dark and blood and such would be hitting us full force from the get-go, only to be a red herring.
Then it relaxes us with all the usual light, cute and fluffy schoolgirl interactions and whatnot.
Then we get the typical magical girl transformation sequence and learning of power.
Then we get the cliche magical girl-loving male childhood friend actually becoming a magical girl and…wait…
And finally, we get the obvious hint of the dark, conflict, and gore we were expecting to come trickling in as the series goes on.
I just loved those chatroom sprites, lol.
Personally I think the show is deliberately trying to go all cutesy (i.e. those chibi sprites) just to make the inevitable killing fest all the more provocative lol.
I wonder if I’m the only one who saw parallels between this show’s first episode and Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou’s. I had the same foreboding feeling while watching each show’s premier (and it doesn’t hurt that both shows were sorta previewed as a darker turn on magical girls). Anyway, for both episodes I kept thinking “Crap, something bad’s going to happen, something bad’s going to happen…” throughout the whole thing. And while I like having the suspense build like it did, I just help but be worried this show will let me down like Genei did. Welp, guess I must hope for the best and keep watching~
Also, “It’s a fricken cornucopia of loli love” … I think that is the most unique line of text I’ve read in a while, and man did it make me laugh until I had trouble breathing. Thank you Pancakes!
Hah you’re welcome, it makes me glad my writing can put a smirk on people’s faces 😛
You know I have Sleepless Domain for this sort of thing.
Koyuki is definitely not Madoka, the ninja girl Ripple is definitely not Homura and Sou-chan is definitely not Sayaka.
Looks like a good continuation of the Re:Zero suffering. At least I hope to have a suffering of that level.
I’m going to stick with this. I’m becoming fond of the Shit Hits The Fan genre
You’re not the only one. These sort of shows have slowly become a guilty pleasure for me, they’re just too damn fun to pass up.
Hmph, Another Dark Sided Magical Girl Show eh…well, I’am kinda bit sad that this will run at only 12 episodes, Damn, i guess it’s became to typical now or perhaps they want to save faces from shame (if this won’t succeed that is)…Nah, Whatever! But Anyways,
That Ninja Girl, Seem to be a mix an Attitude of this LOSER and the Goofiness of this CAT
I do like This Dragoon, apart from a “trap” what’s with the…Tail!?
Show Spoiler ▼
I wonder if Sou-chan dies in episode 2 or 3?
Ever wonder how you get a Pidgey candy after transferring?
You’ll see…you’ll see…
Yeah I’m giving this the 3 episode treatment.
At least this MGRP doesn’t discriminate, it lets boys become magical girls too! it’s almost like a dream come true
what i like about this anime? TRAPs… yummy traps… lovely traps…
Hey it’s not a full trap as long as you can ignore what it is when not magical 😉
Very fishy to recruit a new to 15 then suddenly want to half number. Maybe the fighting between the girls was the goal, sort of a death game.
Interesting the Salior Moon connection. TV Tropes has a category for the fact that the genre originating work seams like a deconstruction in how grim/dark and controversial content it has. Sailor Moon original manga and the new anime version have lots of death, good guys attacking and killing, suiside more than once, sexual relationships at 14 (hidden by under the radar trope), gender fluid characters, two sailor scouts are paid escorts for older people, bisexuality, incest, full implied yuri sex and more.
It the follow up works, original Salior Moon anime and following that nerf the concept down.
when you said “would you like to play a game” all i heard was “would you like to make a contract”
A downsizing announcement is an interesting way to finish the chapter. That thing must be an expert in telling bad news.
The “trap” that is not a trap had the same voice that Shou, so I was expecting for her to be her childhood friend. It was nice Shou confessed her identity already.
Quite surprised that the boy is La Pucelle, I thought he’d appear later. And I’m glad the culling announcement happen at the end of ep.1, I could expect blood spilled in 2nd or 3rd episode.
After seein some random screen shots and hearing reviews about it, I finally decide to gove it a try and I must say… Madoka 2.0
It just goes to show how influential Madoka Magica was