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「飛びます！」 (Tobimasu!)
“I Will Fly!”
So it begins, the great battle of our time. Sultry or spice? Lovey dovey or cool and collected? Miyuki or best girl don’t get me started you wanna fight about it? Alright, teasing aside, it was the penultimate moment for Yuutousei this week as Miyuki finally gets her chance to shine and the pieces are laid for the grand showdown to come next time. You know how it’s going to end, we all know what’s going to happen, but it’s still nice seeing the theatrics from a different point of view.
Much as last episode highlighted how not to do plot refreshers and character introductions, this week arguably showed how to go about putting a new spin on what everyone is here to see. Everyone knows how the latter part of this arc goes for example, so rather than waste excessive time on explaining away CAD tampering, Tatsuya’s discovery of flight, or certain machinations under the surface, Yuutousei simply provided a few cameos, paid a little lip service, and went on its merry way. This rapid advance in narrative, while not helping any Mahouka newbie in the slightest, does do well in providing exactly what most of us are to see in the first place – i.e. Miyuki-isms and various character interactions. At this point the infodumps aren’t required, the backstories aren’t needed, simply allude and everyone will be satisfied in the results. After all, Yuutousei is all about the other half of Shiba, and this episode fully leaned into that aspect.
To prove that point in spades (or shall we say sparkles?) the full Miyuki experience was on display here – and not the excessive kind either. Although I probably will never stop fearing a return to the Miyuki of old, Yuutousei continues to impress right now by keeping its dark side largely lighthearted and funny. Miyuki doing the usual? Nothing a bit of presidential fun cannot solve. Even the more cheesy aspects found a way to remain on the right side of humorous, proving (if only in part) that Mahouka can actually be a decent bit of light novel-based fun if you can control its impulses and let its personal side claim more of the limelight. No one should ever expect perfection from Yuutousei, but if it can keep doing what this episode did, it’s well on the way to being a good addition to the Mahouka catalogue.
Next week’s finale is certainly going to be interesting to see.
Preview
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