Aru Majo ga Shinu Made Episode 8 Discussion

Tuesday’s off to an incredible start with this and Shiunji family back to back holy shit man, what an episode. Probably Meg’s greatest challenge yet, taking on a devil by herself was bold and it had consequences, but I won’t fault her. It was unquestionably the right thing to do and her shortcomings will motivate her to grow stronger in the future.

Worst dad of the year goes to Mary’s dad holy shit imagine being such an insecure loser that you’re willing to sacrifice your wife and daughter’s souls and condemn them to eternal damnation all because you’re an insecure loser who let people at work push you around. Piece of shit deserves to burn in hell. I just hate it had to come at the cost of Faust’ thumb.

“Don’t touch my daughter” such a beautiful line because it obviously shows how much Faust loves Meg, even though she acts like a tsundere at times, but also because of how scared we know Faust was of the devil. She put that aside to protect her daughter which is so sweet.

I really don’t think there was more anyone could’ve done in this situation. Fighting the devil, at least with our current understanding of magic, was always going to require a sacrifice and being Meg’s adopted mother there was no way Faust was gonna let Meg pay it. Only person who’s to blame is the dad for being a bitch. But it does give Meg something to strive towards, becoming strong enough to never let this happen again.

This show got very uncomfortable real quick, but backed out of it equally quick.

I feel kind of disappointed. Not that I wanted to see something similar to Nina from Fullmetal Alchemist, but I thought it would go in a more serious and disturbing direction...

@perseii It certainly had that kind of feel to it, didn't it?

@joemaamah I liked how unsettling it got, the idea that someone closest to you is doing horrific things to you behind your back...

But once the dad tied them all up it got a little too silly and easy... The mistress showed up and said "begone," and that was that. Sure, she lost a thumb, but no one seemed to mind too much. The wife seemed pretty okay with everything that happened; I'd be traumatized.

Tuesday’s off to an incredible start with this and Shiunji family back to back holy shit man, what an episode. Probably Meg’s greatest challenge yet, taking on a devil by herself was bold and it had consequences, but I won’t fault her. It was unquestionably the right thing to do and her shortcomings will motivate her to grow stronger in the future.

Worst dad of the year goes to Mary’s dad holy shit imagine being such an insecure loser that you’re willing to sacrifice your wife and daughter’s souls and condemn them to eternal damnation all because you’re an insecure loser who let people at work push you around. Piece of shit deserves to burn in hell. I just hate it had to come at the cost of Faust’ thumb.

“Don’t touch my daughter” such a beautiful line because it obviously shows how much Faust loves Meg, even though she acts like a tsundere at times, but also because of how scared we know Faust was of the devil. She put that aside to protect her daughter which is so sweet.

I really don’t think there was more anyone could’ve done in this situation. Fighting the devil, at least with our current understanding of magic, was always going to require a sacrifice and being Meg’s adopted mother there was no way Faust was gonna let Meg pay it. Only person who’s to blame is the dad for being a bitch. But it does give Meg something to strive towards, becoming strong enough to never let this happen again.

@joemaamah I liked how unsettling it got, the idea that someone closest to you is doing horrific things to you behind your back...

But once the dad tied them all up it got a little too silly and easy... The mistress showed up and said "begone," and that was that. Sure, she lost a thumb, but no one seemed to mind too much. The wife seemed pretty okay with everything that happened; I'd be traumatized.

Pretty good episode but too bad it felt a bit rushed as its apparent that they wanted this done in a single episode. Regarding Meg and her desire to help the cursed family, I think this shows how Meg continues to mature and grow as a person, and despite Faust telling Meg not to get involved she was not mad that Meg ignored her warning even if it cost her a thumb (that's probably the worst digit to lose considering how useful it is).

On a side note, the tear collection continues to take a back seat.

OOOOH, some big truth is coming. I knew she was more than just a powerful witch, and Meg's teacher





Now, onto more Meg degeneracy:

Nah, this is the most ridiculous and illogical episode we've gotten so far, and I'll break it down as compactly as I can why I just can't with this episode.

Knowing Meg, who loves to help people in need—even if she got cocky once in a past episode—it was obvious that she wanted to help Mary, and her intent grew even stronger after Faust told her about the devil's brand. While Faust clearly warned Meg not to get involved with Mary, we see Meg meeting Mary again the next day. Then Meg meets Mary's mother, Jill, who also happened to be marked by the devil's brand. It was clear at this point who was behind it, and then we see Mary's father, Ted, along with the ominous aura he was emitting.

Meg learns about Ted and the rumors surrounding him from Fine. Later, we see Meg doing research behind Faust's back on how to break a contract with the devil. She gathers all the important information and heads to Mary's house alone to help them, telling herself that she even got a nickname now. She drugs their tea to put them to sleep and starts digging around, only to get caught, knocked out, and captured—great. As Meg and Ted argue, Jill wakes up and just plays it off as if she had been asleep the whole time. And later, Faust shows up to save Meg's sorry, incapable ass.

Now tell me this, why is Meg taking such risks when she’s an incompetent witch to boot? And I don’t think there’s any correlation between how good you are and having a nickname—nicknames are only given to witches or wizards when they’re recognized by others, not based on their mastery of magic. Let’s go deeper: when Jill woke up, why on earth was she just pretending to be asleep? Couldn't she have said something to her husband to make him stop as he was telling his story of suffering? And Meg was like, “He’s doing this for something so petty.” These kinds of kids are seriously annoying—like, hell, it’s not petty. They don’t understand the suffering and hardships adults go through.

Then we see Faust saving Meg, and she tells Meg that Meg managed to save Mary and Jill. Are they kidding me? How were they saved by Meg when it was Faust who did the whole saving thing? And if Faust was capable of defeating Ted with devil power, then shouldn’t she have helped Meg from the start so they could have saved the whole family?

Then that little girl Mary, moving out with her mother, was like, “Why is papa gone?” and the next moment she was clinging to Meg, saying she didn’t want to leave and wanted to play with her. Just make up your damn mind about what you want to cry over first. This sloppy take on the hardship of being a single mother—are you kidding me, Faust? You could have saved the whole family, and if Meg hadn’t gotten involved, you would have just let Mary and Jill die to begin with. Let’s not forget that Jill showed no sign of grief over her husband’s death. I just can’t deal with this kind of BS.

Why did Faust lose her finger? Was it due to the magic she had to use or the devil? It looked like she pretty handily overpowered the devil.

@LaczPro19 The best part of this week's Meg Degeneracy (Oooo, nice catch phrase!) was the look Fine shot her. Classic!

@joemaamah I will use that catchphrase for every single episode onwards, because we're totally getting more of Meg's Degeneracy for sure 🤣🤣

@Alfredo-Sauce Yes, I am really starting to notice the lack of tear collecting as well. It's one of the main tenets of the premise, right? I am starting to get the nasty premonistion that the writers are going to reach way up their butts for some hokey, cliche deus ex machina at the last minute, so Meg gets "saved" for a 2nd Season. And that would really sour me on what has otherwise been a pleasant surprise this season. Can the writers get themselves out of the corner they have painted themselves into? Stay tuned!!