Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers – 05

「第二次中野事変」 (Dai-niji Nakano Jihen)
“Climbing to the Hell”

This episode of Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers kicks things off in high gear as they must traverse through Shibuya and avoid detection to steal an artifact from a Nakano warehouse. But things aren’t as they seem when they deal with two different schemers who are planning to use the girls for their own purposes.

HIGHWAY TO HECK

Some of the plot is starting to feel a bit standard with how many double agents are getting involved with the magical girls. With the Chougo Master tossing away the figure he requested and Markus being blackmailed into working with them in an otaku disguise, most of this episode was spent feeling out whether either of these two are trustworthy. To its credit, the episode had some funny gags with their expedition causing them to repeatedly murder Kyotaro to make it ahead.

I also really like how they built up the lore behind what happened with Tokyo as it seems that Shibuya wound up being the main hub for the city’s modern civilization. While Akihabara went from naturally developing into a regular city, its destruction led it to be a safe haven for the remaining otaku as well as a tourist spot for curious civilians to go on an otaku safari. Meanwhile, Shibuya is entirely under Shoban’s control as every object and building has the same :3 face slapped on them.

In addition, Shibuya under Shoban’s control is reduced to a militant police state as there are investigators at every turn to see exactly how much of an otaku someone is. Many of the city’s people are encouraged to be disgusted by otaku and rat out any otaku that they may know so that they can be locked away and imprisoned. It’s a society that encourages its citizens to sell people out, blackmail others into exposing others, and wield radar guns to incriminate anyone who might have undesirable qualities. Even if the story isn’t meant to have much depth to it, I can appreciate that the lore has far more to say in its stead.

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