Well, f*ck.
There’s also the matter of a new mahou shoujo – and new familiar – being added to the mix. I still think Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai shiteita. needs something else to bolster a pretty threadbare narrative foundation, so this twist might be a good thing.
Yup, nailed it.
I was pretty much adrift with this series after last week’s episode. Modestly enjoying it, but running out of things to say. In that situation change is a good thing. I’ll take my chances with it, since the status quo was losing steam. And indeed, the addition of the new mahou shoujo (with another gorgeous transformation sequence) and her familiar (angel) was the spark of life Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai shiteita. needed. She’s Kagari Hibana and he’s- well, a bird. And personality-wise, they could hardly be more different than the first pair.
Basically, Hibana is a 15 year-old tsundere whose main means of communication is swearing in English. Especially “fuck”. As a gag that’s not exactly Noel Coward, but as absurdist anime comedy it works – especially with Ise Mariya having so much fun in the role. As for the Angel Midorikawa Hikaru is similarly chewing the scenery to good effect. Where Buyakuya’s cat is effectively a pimp, Birdie is ultra-considerate and apologetic about foisting this dangerous task on Hibana. Unable to deal with how this makes her feel Hibana reflexively responds to every gesture of concern with “F*ck!”.
So yeah, that’s all pretty funny. And soon enough Hibana has a run-in with Mira. And the interesting thing about that is not that he kills her (or thinks he does) – though that is mildly interesting – but that he still feels bad about it, even though it’s not Byakuya. So much so that he avoids her for several days, thinking she’ll judge him harshly for it. In truth Byakkuya is only upset because she hasn’t seen her lieutenant. In fact, not only is she not upset that Mira killed Hibana, she had no idea that other magical girls even existed.
One more wrinkle here is that Byakuya (now working construction) knows Hibana. Not as a magical girl, obviously, but in some muggle context. They’re presumably several years apart in age so I have no idea why that’s the case. The essential MacGuffin here is still that Mira and Byakuya are in-love, and this new complication is certainly not going to make it any easier for them to act on that (or cover it up). We’ll see whether this is a one-time bubble, the punch spiked by a plot twist – or something sustainable. But I’m certainly a lot more interested now than I was a week ago.
Nicc
August 15, 2024 at 7:40 amWe did get a lot of new world-building in this episode. First, we meet Kagari Hibana, who’s a magicail girl herself and the only other one we’ve seen so far. Let’s just say that she’s got something of a potty mouth. This reminds me of one of my friends who told me that she’s friends with a girl who’s super girly-girly and loves frilly dresses and putting on make up. She also swears like a sailor and she describes her as, “It’s like a rose puking!”. That kind of sums up Hibana, who also covers up her tsundere side with the swearing.
We get more background about magical girls and how they become one. If that familiar is to believed, they’re angels sent from heaven and to seek out pure-hearted girls to become mahou shoujo. Hibana’s familiar seems to fit the part of an angel, but certainly not Byakuya’s. Perhaps he used to be like that, but stayed on Earth for too long and became corrupted by the vices down here. Each angel is assigned to one magical girl and they don’t work together for some reason.
Hibana gets called in to work and she’s got her own transformation that also includes a field of flowers. The bad guys are at it again and she takes out those mooks. It’s not really the best PR for her as she’s swearing all the time, but the job’s done. By the way, it was fun to see the putties from the “Power Rangers” find some work during the Olympics closing ceremonies last Sunday. Mira shows up and takes her out, believing that she killed her.
On one hand, this is convenient for him as doing so proves his loyalty and ruthlessness to the organization and so they’re probably off his back for now. However, he does feel guilty about it and thinks that Byakuya will be upset. She is upset… because she hasn’t seen him for a while, as you said. Right, these magical girls don’t seem to do teamwork and also seem to be isolated from each other to boot. Hibana shows up again at the end of the episode and it seems that they know each other. That’s interesting, indeed. Hibana is like an ojou as she lives in a big mansion and has afternoon tea. On the other hand, Byakuya lives in a shabby apartment and must take multiple jobs to make ends meet. She’s seen working in construction here, which should pay well. Yep, there was a lot packed in this half-length episode and it has piqued my interest again too.