Okay, there’s not a lot learned this week in terms of plot with Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei. Sure the shadowy bad-guys discuss a plot to kill like a hundred people in the audience and shut down the competition after their sabotage attempts were thwarted by a brother with a sister complex but largely this episode wants to celebrate pretty outfits and Miyuki’s magical flying feat in the qualifying match for Mirage Bat.
It is definitely pretty and Miyuki’s genuine joy at utlilising her brother’s magic is a joy to see. Though I think this might be the first episode of the Irregular at Magic High School Spin-Off that has actually mentioned Silver and his engineering (I could be wrong but I don’t recall it coming up previously in this season), which means perhaps some viewers might have been left in the dark on this one.
Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei lets Miyuki fly.
Miyuki’s magical feats, made possible by her brother’s excellent engineering, in the original series were more a by-product rather than the focus. However Mahouka Koukou no Yuutsousei makes her flying the actual point. The how and why are just kind of thinly sketched in and we spend most of this episode admiring the outfits of contestants and watching the girls jump for shiny balls of light.
Which actually is kind of rewarding in its own way and has its own charm. I’m just not entirely sold on this series as a whole and it doesn’t surprise me that this is all the tension, drama, or even spectacle it can must for a penultimate episode.
Sure we’re heading toward a showdown between blonde girl from third high and Miyuki, though the outcome would be a foregone conclusion even if we hadn’t already seen this match up. There’s just nothing else that has been given any kind of substance here so if they suddenly decide to focus on the terrorist plot that would feel like a weird way to go in a final episode.
On that note, blonde girl (whose name I swear I will learn by the final episode) finally grew on me this week. Her acceptance that she’s about to be outclassed was pretty decent and yet she won’t just give up. Even knowing she’s probably going to lose, she’s going to give it her all.
Meanwhile, if Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei wanted to make Miyuki endearing it has kind of missed the mark. I don’t dislike her, but this season hasn’t exactly made her any clearer as a character or made me more interested in her. If anything, I kind of feel there’s even less to her than I suspected while watching Irregular. Which is a shame because when they let her cut loose with her magic she is actually pretty fun.
Right, we have one episode to go and some more pretty flying to be had, one hopes. I wonder if the rest of the episode will be filled with celebration of First High’s victory? Otherwise I am just not sure what they are going to fill the episode with.
I am sure we’ll get some more Tatsuya and Miyuki closeness and I’m equally sure the President will mock them for it.
And food. There should definitely be food.
But all this speculation is just sugar-coating that I have very little to say about episode 12 of Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei. It was there. It did its thing. If you wanted some great outfits to cosplay, there are plenty of cute anime girls here. Also, Mirage Bat is way more entertaining to watch than Quidditch. Just saying.
Images from: Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei. Dir. Hideki Tachibana. Connect. 2021
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Karandi James
I enjoyed the series as a whole but my episodic enjoyment was… irregular.
One episode to go. I don’t think I will rewatch this one. I will go back and watch Irregular again.
I see what you did there!