©まほなれ」製作委員会
If Magumi students seem to look down on their Standard classmates, it's almost certainly because they learned it from adults. If you think about it, most of the discrimination we've seen to date comes directly from adults; There have been cases where the Magumi children did not choose a different path, but most of them acted as if they were secure in the advantages they were given. The teachers themselves have made it clear that Standard students do not deserve better.
This week's race shows that very clearly. A school-wide competition, the Rettoran Cross Country event pits the Magumi and Standard classes against each other on a course designed with Magumi in mind—and made all the more evident by the fact that they can use their drones while Standard students will have to mostly walk. The ridiculous course includes skirting a giant lake, crossing a swamp with the unsavory name “Badnoos,” passing a mountain and waterfall, and finally ending at a resort Special schools are miles from the starting point. The fact that the winner has to cross the halfway mark at noon only creates injustice: this is purely designed to reinforce the idea that Magumi students are better than the rest.
It may seem like cheating, but it's also the perfect opportunity for Kurumi and her classmates to prove that they're more than just Magumi's rejects. As Asuka realizes, sometimes it all depends on how you approach a problem, and even if this class doesn't have magical Segways cheats, they still have their unique skills and boundless optimism. Kurumi…not to mention our mysterious dog and cat couple, whose motives may be murky but undeniably still level the playing field a bit. Knowing about old train tunnels and using glow-in-the-dark fabric may not technically be considered magic, but they are tricks that work.
Perhaps that is what Ms. Suzuki was trying to get her students to realize. She taught them the basics of ancient magic, but Kurumi's attempts at spell casting were far from successful. That means she's still missing something, and maybe it's applying practical knowledge to the real world. Think back to the “charms” her grandmother taught her: each one was designed to do something practical – manage the fire, regulate the weather, help with housework. That seems to imply that ancient magic relies on human will in a way that modern magic does not. Modern magic is all about convenience rather than necessity, giving the elites even higher visibility than the rest of the population and generally serving the function of technology in their world ta. But we know there are older technologies out there; Just look at future railway engineers. Knowing how to use it seems to be fundamental to ancient magic, which again suggests practical uses. Rowing a boat and walking on a lily leaf may not technically be magic when compared to flying a drone, but both are still examples of how ancient magic works- they combine real-world skills with motivation to do better, and it's hard to argue with the results.
It's interesting to see Kurumi feeling less hopeful at the end while Yuzu goes in the opposite direction. Despite—or maybe because of—knowing the spell, Kurumi's frustration at not being able to use magic during the race seemed to outweigh the joy of completing it. But Yuzu is starting to see her world differently, realizing the value in what she and her classmates are doing. Somehow, the two girls will have to meet in the middle, and the story does a great job of setting up that situation. Enthusiasm yet caution can be a winning combination for both of them – because, as Asuka tells her brother, it depends on how you perceive things and then put them into action.
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The story of girls who can't become magicians is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
