First Impressions / Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka

「もっとひどい戦争」 (Motto Hidoi Sensou)
“A More Terrible War”

What’s the phrase, “every answer leads to another question”? Yeah, no better way of summing up MSTA at this stage. We may only be three episodes into this growing bit of chaos, but with plot lines emerging and future events all but giving themselves away, it’s not hard predicting where this show is intending on heading. At least that’s what MSTA is showing, because if there’s one thing I’m not willing to bet on it’s giving away the game before the fun has even begun.

Case in point of the coyness MSTA is enjoying at the moment is our new magical girl Kurumi. As entirely expected that cute and bubbly exterior hides one seriously obsessed personality wholly devoted to main girl Asuka. Except she doesn’t really act on it when given the prime opportunity? Even a couple of times? Yeah I’m confused too. It’s certainly weird seeing crazy keep itself under wraps so effectively (barring some conspicuous marking of territory), but it may just be MSTA’s shtick to keep such a wild card in reserve until a later date. Not hard imagining Kurumi wouldn’t hesitate leaving behind new friends #1 and #2 in favour of Asuka should all find themselves in the same rough situation after all, especially if it would help knock off a competitor for that main girl attention. Considering the series appears intent on focusing on the darker side of beating back monsters—i.e. the psychological fallout—it probably won’t be long until Kurumi starts applying the emotional screws to one true love, all in an effort to keep Asuka with her. After all, when it comes to attention, there’s nothing a girl won’t do.

What ensures things get crazier before they get better as well are the slowly emerging details of this season’s enemy. We now have a name in the Babel Brigade for example, and indications of its influence reaching far wider than our Japanese gang probably though possible. Anyone familiar with the biblical Babel likely knows where this story is going just given the name drop, but indications of “illegal” magical girls, manipulating and using Dias for nefarious purposes, and the threats of a new, more terrible war are indication enough: someone/some group plans on adapting the new postwar world to their desired needs, and anyone who gets in their way will pay the ultimate price. Considering our little ball of evil knows who Makino’s father is exactly (even after the remarks about daddy’s job being super secret) and just kidnapped the oppai lover over it, you can bet this murky rabbit hole won’t be reaching the light anytime soon.

There’s a lot left for MSTA to reveal and quite a few girls waiting to make their debut, and while I don’t know yet whether I’ll be covering the adventure all the way through (that’s a decision for next week), this will certainly be one show where the fireworks only grow in intensity. Stay tuned boys and girls, the cutie breaking is just warming up.

Full-length images: 17, 29, 30.

 

Preview

15 Comments

  2. I don’t really have an opinion on the show as a whole but some of the artwork looks odd to me. For example, the proportion of Kurumi’s head to the rest of her body. It looks to me like they pasted a previously drawn image of her head into her workout picture, which for me kind of diminishes its impact. And I won’t go into how odd and blank Nozomi’s expression often is, even when she’s acting exuberant.

    https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2018.jpg

    Meanwhile, they seem to put a lot of effort into some of the more appalling images (e.g. 9, 10, 11, 27).

    Based on the image of the two on the swings (that was also seen at the end of ep.02, cap. 35), I wonder if Asuka doesn’t happen to return Kurumit’s feelings just as strongly, albeit perhaps without the seemingly obsessive side.

    Mockman
    Reply

    1. Not surprised by the qualitative difference between scenes to be honest; I expect the artists and animators are putting more attention on the “important” parts like those torture scenes because hey, this show is supposed to be cynical and edgy and have to show that somehow.

      And yeah Asuka definitely doesn’t feel the same as Kurumi does towards her, if she did she wouldn’t have stopped being a magical girl in the first place as it immediately separated her from Kurumi.

      Pancakes
      Reply

      1. You’re probably right on both counts. It does feel like a weird take on fanservice though (in a self-defeating sort of way), especially since they seemed to give up a lot of frames for the two scenes (gym, pool). As to just walking away, given the macabre elements and the sheer relentlessness of it all — why else would the recruiter be so persistent — the lifestyle really does seem to have pushed her past the point where she could hang in there. It doesn’t seem like a job where you get to take your holidays.

        Mockman
        Reply

  4. I need it! I knew there’d be Yuri in here somehow. Sigh after all our heroine can’t fall for a boy who loves, respects, and support her like mamoru does for usagi that wouldn’t rake in the otaku numbers.

    Nolly
    Reply

  5. I need it! I knew there’d be Yuri in here somehow. Sigh after all our heroine can’t fall for a boy who loves, respects, and support her like mamoru does for usagi that wouldn’t rake in the otaku numbers.

    Rosey
    Reply

  8. https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2003%20-%2013.jpg
    Ichiban tomodachi…..

    https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2003%20-%2004.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2003%20-%2008.jpg
    OP as hell and certainly worthy of being coined as spec-ops. Makes you wonder why there aren’t a lot more mahou shoujo getting recruited as such.

    theirs
    Reply

    1. Oh I bet plenty are being scouted for that reason, but recruitment is a two way street. The girls have to want to do that line of work in the first place and I suspect many like Asuka aren’t too eager after the experiences they went through.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  9. I do not know if I’m ready for next week’s episode. This entire episode made me feel extremely uneasy in my stomach looking at how both of Asuka’s friends are and War Nurse herself.

    Henrietta Brix
    Reply

  10. https://randomc.net/image/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka/Mahou%20Shoujo%20Tokushusen%20Asuka%20-%2003%20-%2036.jpg
    The Bad Guys are going for blackmail/Break The Cutie way too fast. It might be the way the modern world is today, but Break The Cutie often turns into “kill them all and let God sort them out” type revenge. Which is why Batman Should Have Killed the Joker. You don’t let the minions or the Evil Bad Boss just laugh and laugh at killing innocent civilians or turning everybody into a widow/widower/orphan who opposes them. That’s how you get tactics like delivering thermonuclear detonators across the Stargate as a preemptive attack. So these evil-magical beings had better start thinking what happens when they Break the Cutie as a strategy.

    jhpace1
    Reply

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