Mashle
Mashle: Magic and Muscles

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In todays modern mainstream and even "not so well known" mangas and anime at that, this series just feels like a breath of fresh air.
It doesn't take itself too seriously and that's a lot of fun, because that's how you can see the creativity in the absurdity that mashle brings to the table.
It doesn't try to be super long with complicated and oversaturated twists and turns, it takes you from point A to point B in a super fun way. Be it the character designs, be it the story arcs, be it the "out of nowhere" jokes, be it the power-system, be it the the ... niche aspects that it has sometimes.
I started first with watching the anime and just about when things take a turn, I switched to the manga because I simply could not have enough of the story and of mashle.
Don't go in to read this with a serious critic's mind, just let loose, lay back in your chair, and have fun while reading (or watching!)
Oh and of course I have to give a spotlight for the second op of the anime, fresh, interesting and in my opinion captures exactly the essence of the series, I think its the best op that they could given it!

I actually love this manga but it kind of left me a sour taste in my tongue after reading it through till the end.

I have talked about this manga on my Twitter/X pages here; https://x.com/TTeofani/status/1757748809906749561?s=20

But I want to add it up since I finally finished it.

First of all, the ending was ok, it's like your typical shounen manga. The protagonist wins, the enemy loses, and happy ending. But the way they handled it made me..... scratch my head because it feels so cheap. I do understand that this is supposed to be a gag anime but the last solution just does not make sense. Even ... the author just brushed it up like, yeah I don't need to explain it, it's Mash, he can do it. What are you on about man? Come on don't make it too cheap.

Second, it's the same as my reasoning on Twitter/X. Lemon and Finn need their time to shine more. I'm glad both of them have it but my goodness, it took Mash knocked out first to be able to make both of them shine. Like man. 🤣

For people who want to read it, I recommend it. It was a good read. You'll get the joke, very charming and very top-notch art style.

I really tried to give this a fair shot but it really falls flat. Mashle wants so hard to be One Punch Man but it doesn't have the creative character designs or the absurdity of One's writing.

On a positive note, I did laugh at a lot of the jokes. Even as the joke got old, there was a giant grin on my face.

The problem comes from its place as a parody of the guy outside of the world's power system. It's one joke of a really dense guy who punches his way through weak wizards while eating cream puffs does eventually run dry. The ... art is okay and the character designs are awful with most characters just being a male with a line down their face. Every joke's punchline is a deadpan low detailed face.

This story really feels like someone who thought they could make an OPM version of Harry Potter to cash in to make some money. If you are looking for round 2 of OPM or the underdog story of something like Chivalry of a Failed Knight be ready for a letdown or look elsewhere.