©甲本一/集英社・マッシュル製作委員会
Mash Burnedead is back with another set of reps and like a dedicated bodybuilder who never skips leg day, the show didn’t miss a beat. The series’ setting and setting elements have changed and evolved, but the overall feel has remained consistent. It’s good for audiences to return for this second round of Mashle, as this is a series that I think has performed satisfactorily with the core viewership it has cultivated. I know I still quite like it as it is, and it’s running with just enough new content in its current direction to keep me interested in where it goes.
The biggest change of course is Mash’s magic-free status being removed now being open. Honestly, I expected the story to keep that a secret longer than it did. Much of the primary humor of the first season comes from Mash convincing the skeptical magical community that his silly muscle manipulations are acts of witchcraft. Without that, we’d still get the feats of the blade-tying mana parasite Mash or lifting super heavy wands, but viewer reactions are now more standard style than suspected. that inner.
That humor, however, remains mostly solid. Mash and friends have been fleshed out just enough as quirky characters whose inherent silliness can bring out entire scenes in a humorous way. The scene where they go shopping in the second episode or play a magical board game in the third episode exemplifies this. They also make it clear how integral Finn is to making this whole set-up work, as having to play the role of a poor, weird straight man to a growing crowd of weirdos This escalation makes him one of the funniest members of the cast. The series also goes on to mention how Mash herself is unable to fully understand everything that happens in the plot around her and also doesn’t want to try. It adds a much-needed dose of irreverence to a story setting that is still intended as a clear satire of that more famous Other Wizarding World.
Using that setting marks the biggest difference from Season 1 to Season 2 of Mashle. Mash has upset the structure of this world just by existing in the Easton organization. Now that his secret is out, those unrest are spreading throughout the world and those who live in it, with the likes of school staff and Divine Visionaries finding themselves in factional conflict over Mash’s treatment and his lack of magic. The series hasn’t delved too deeply into this issue, but it does suggest a ripe idea of whether people should be integrated into social roles for the sake of higher order, or excluded, or allowed exist simply for their appreciation of life. And with Mashle’s thematic riff being the main target, it’s probably no coincidence that the main fascist wizard police introduced this season is an annoyance to old Harold Potter himself.
Mashle can still go to many places, proving that the Shounen-Battle structure originated when it was not ingrained in the young adult novel genre. Margarette Macaron, a new enemy introduced in the previous two episodes, exemplifies this. Their too-long piano interstitials that barely pass as jokes aren’t helping this show fend off accusations of padding. However, when it comes down to it, this season is looking pretty great so far. The third episode depicts the hot action of the above prefect showing off Mash’s ability to make these magical battles interesting when they aren’t just there to catch Mash’s anti-climactic punch. It’s a war that takes place in many places whether filtered through the lens of shounen fighting power level gimmicks or between magicians who, as we all know, are nerds . And as long as we’re talking about presentation, I have to shout out this season’s A+ new opening to “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” by Creepy Nuts. It’s the perfect compliment to the film’s overall strong atmosphere.
I’m interested to see how these sensibilities will serve the series as the second season soldiers on. Those shounen elements definitely aren’t going away anytime soon. Oh, the school setting with the “exam” plot going on? Is this a tournament arc? You bet it’s a tournament arc. But Mashle’s signature strength has always been in the way it spins so many of the seemingly classic storytelling elements it’s using. As long as he keeps that in mind and Mash remains a good boy, these will continue to be magical, muscular times.
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Mashle: Magic and Muscles Season 2 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Chris is still the reviewer for Mashle, and the wizards are still nerds. Please contact him on Twitter his or check out the blog’s magical back catalog.
