Chocolat no Mahou

Why you should watch Chocolat no Mahou (The Magic of Chocolate) anime? / Zašto pogledati Chocolat no Mahou (The Magic of Chocolate) anime?

English language: At first I thought it was a children’s anime, but when I saw it was a horror genre I changed my mind. A very interesting anime in which we get a new story and characters every episode. The main character is Chocolat Aikawa who owns a shop where she is selling chocolates. These are not any chocolates, but magical ones that can fulfill wishes but only if the person gives something precious in exchange. Things are not so simple and many ... do not even understand what they can lose and how it will affect them. Everyone who comes has some problems they want to solve. In addition to watching someone new every episode, the episodes also reveal something about the main character Chocolat and how it actually happened that she runs that magic chocolate shop. The truth is much darker than one would expect. All in all, I really liked the anime. Dramatic, instructive, interesting and mysterious anime with short stories. There are 13 episodes, each lasting about 14 minutes, so whoever wants to watch I think they will find it interesting.
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Hrvatski jezik: Na prvu sam mislila da je dječji anime, ali kad sam vidjela da je horor žanr promijenila sam mišljenje. Veoma zanimljiv anime u kojem svaku epizodu dobijemo novu priču i likove. Glavni lik je Chocolat Aikawa koja posjeduje trgovinu u kojoj prodaje čokolade. To nisu bilo kakve čokolade, već magične koje mogu ispuniti želje ali samo ako osoba u zamjenu dadne nešto dragocjeno. Stvari baš i nisu tako jednostavne i mnogi ni ne shvaćaju što time mogu izgubiti i kako će to utjecati na njih. Svi koji dođu imaju neke probleme koje žele riješiti. Osim što se svaku epizodu gleda nekog novog, kroz epizode se sazna ponešto i o glavnom liku Chocolat i kako je zapravo došlo do toga da ona vodi tu trgovinu sa magičnim čokoladama. Istina je puno mračnija nego što bi netko očekivao. Sve u svemu mi se anime jako svidio. Dramatičan, poučan, prezanimljiv i tajanstven anime sa kratkim pričama. Ima 13 epizoda od kojih svaka traje otprilike 14 minuta pa tko god želi pogledat mislim da će mu biti zanimljiv.

Chocolat no Mahou or as it's known in English by the name of The Magic of Chocolate, is an anime that would've been nice if it'd gotten more episodes than it got at the time of this review. The anime isn't bad, its good and I would've liked to have seen more. That said it isn't without some flaws. I personally didn't like some episodes or did for others but not how Chocolat Aikawa handled wishes and payments but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Welcome to Chocolat Noir, a shop that's run by Chocolat Aikawa, a Witch that can grant your wish, but her wish granting ... chocolate doesn't come cheap and each customer must pay, not with money but something more personal. Each time it's always something different that she takes from her customers and it can be important to them or not but make no mistake, what's taken is always personal but most say they don't mind if something is taken from them even if they dunno what it'll be and will gobble down the magical chocolate that can grant them their wish...

The first two episodes are a two parter, after that it's only single episode stories but they work wonderfully despite being about 12-14 minutes long each. A few episodes could've used a bit more run time though. (Like 1 or 2 episodes) The ending songs are nice, nothing amazing imo but still nice. The art is imo really nice and detailed and I enjoyed seeing the various outfits and clothing we get to see including for some episodes for Chocolat herself. Even though most episodes are single story episodes, there is still a plot involving Chocolat Aikawa but you'll have to watch the anime to learn more about her.

At the end of the day, many of the episodes are for me at least, not good or could've been better. I found myself mad that Chocolat Aikawa was handling wishes and payments the way she was in some episodes. Like I get she isn't perfect but, some of these people whom she purposely gave a bad outcome too, didn't deserve the fate she dealt them. (particularly one at least, almost two) and I also didn't like some of the episodes where the outcome should've been better or I thought "Huh, why didn't you handle it this way instead if your magic can do so much it should've been possible to do it this way instead..." Also, make no mistake, Chocolat Aikawa doesn't just hand out bad wishes and outcomes, she hands out good ones too.

But on the bad side of it, if the anime had handled wishes and payments better then it's likely my rating for the anime would've been higher. It's also possible that some of these episodes I had a problem with were the anime only episodes I read is a thing in another review which would explain a lot if so. And on the good side of it, it does it nicely and make no mistake, though I mentioned some flaws, the anime is still good and worth seeing. Each story in each episode has its own moral of the story so there is value in each story and in every character too. I'd encourage you to give the anime a chance and you may not find much or any flaws with the anime in the places I found flaws with.

I give Chocolat no Mahou aka The Magic of Chocolate, a 7.0 out of 10.0.
"Welcome... to the chocolate shop that fulfills wishes, Chocolat Noir. I'm the Chocolatiere, Aikawa Chocolat. Do you have a wish? However... To fulfill a wish, I need something in return. My chocolate is an expensive treat."

Few phrases sum up this anime quite so well as 'bitter sweet.' Perhaps the next best would be 'beyond mediocre.'

Story: 4.5

Each episode - or sometimes two - focus on a different set of characters. Each time, a person in need finds themselves wishing upon magic sweets, provided by the aptly named witch Chocolat Noir. But for every wish, there is a price, and sometimes the price paid is far worse than the consequences of not wishing at all. Often, the series throws in a touch of humanity or humour. Unfortunately, the bitter tends to outweigh the sweet more often than not.

Some episodes are truly ... intriguing, filled with a surprising amount of unexpected twists, that for the most part, pay off. Unfortunately, other episodes are just depressing. In fact, the first episode was, frankly, horrible. It ends feeling concluded, yet is filled from start to finish with nothing but bullies, bad decisions, and rejection. It was incredibly tempting to drop the show then and there, because there isn't anything endearing about watching people suffer for 22 minutes. Luckily, the second episode picks the story back up, providing the series with some redemption, as well as introducing what will become the overarching arcs of the series.

That said, calling anything in this show a 'main arc' is misleading. This is perhaps the most episodic, monster-of-the-week styled anime I've seen in a while. Although there is, eventually, an underlying story and drama, it just isn't soon enough or expanded enough to be as engaging as the episodic plots.


Characters: 5

Given the episodic nature, the 'main characters' stand largely in the background, watching over various humans and their blunders. Ultimately, no character is likeable, or even unlikeable - they're just sort of there.

Art & Sound: 5

Art wise, it's pure average. Cosplayers and Lolitas alike will be pleased by the number of kooky, frilly, and creative dresses shown throughout the series. Occasionally, the camera shifts to create a very art-house vibe, but for the most part there's nothing spectacular - good or bad - to write about. The cat transition sequences are appropriate, if a bit distracting at times.

Sound wise, I honestly can't remember anything awful, or spectacular. Which is to say it was utterly forgettable.