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.
