---
Let's start with the minor stuff.
Art. The animation was pretty awesome, susuga Madhouse! The character models were quite nice and the uniforms were interestingly done without going too overboard where it was disturbing. Overall, the animation was well done with not too many disappointing moments. 9/10
Sound. The music was quite well done. I found the background music and ost well fit for the scenes, especially the fight scenes. I personally found the electronic/somewhat dubstep quite catchy. Now for the part where the music shines, but fails at the same time. The OPs and EDs for Mahouka, as songs and the animation, were just brilliant. Both OPs, especially "Rising Hope" by LiSA, were *very* catchy, and the EDs deserve merit as well. The only problem I had with this was the "timing". I feel like most episodes the scene just before the OP or ED just did not match. It was like watching Code Geass R2 OP2. Don't get me wrong, "World End" by FLOW is a great song, but I personally didn't find it fitting for the burning world setting of Code Geass at the time. Similarly, there weren't many episodes where I found the OP very "fitting" for the current position of the anime itself. In the end, music is a personal preference, so this (along with the rest of this very opinionated review) is all my opinion and are quite subject to bias. By the way, the cast if fucking awesome. This cast was filled with many popular VAs. 10/10
Character. I'm quite positive that this is where I will come into conflict with others' opinion on the show. Many people are quite unhappy the characters, particularly the SUPER OP main character, due to the lack of background information and our very superficial knowledge on their personality, characteristics, etc. However, putting the fact I'm watching this after Kill la Kill (where the main character is constantly beat down), I personally found the VERY OP main character refreshing. When I went into this anime, I wasn't hoping for anything overly serious, though it may seem that the anime does strive to be one at times. The VERY OP main character really makes the anime relaxed in a sense simply because he can't be beaten. It's like No Game No Life, Blank just doesn't lose. Now the other main problem with the show is the lack of explanation, this happens with everything. Plot, characters, random devices or the magic behind this or that. The characters are just thrown at you with very little development and background information. There was actually a point where I felt like new characters were just thrown at us. (This is most prominent in the last arc.) Don't expect any "deep" characters. 7/10
Plot. Ok, lets start with the pacing. Considering the fact I marathoned it, the pacing would of course feel different for me compared to one who watched while it aired. I found the pacing very interersting yet effective. In my case, the anime was interesting enough to distract me of time and the episode would leave off at the most random of choices. For one, there wasn't a single episode that ended on a really big cliffhanger like in the middle of a battle or anything. However, it was done in a way where you could predict what would happen next which would lead to you wanting to watch more.
As for the plot itself, it was quite interesting. I was very absorbed in the anime itself through out (I don't typically marathon a 20+ anime). Though it was interesting, it did have its flaws. The plot holes were ALL over the place. There were so many things left unexplained! The first arc did well to try to explain much of what was going on, but as the second and third arc continued, the explanations decreased as action scenes increased. About action scenes, personally, I found them very short. They were short and straight to the point. There was no overly dramatic trade of glances for 5 minutes or anything. The magicians just executed their strategy and that was that. There was a bit of a transition in the last arc. In the last arc in particular, I felt as if the anime started to speed up, which would make sense with how much was left unexplained. The atmosphere also feels much different in the third arc. It's not the type of change that makes the anime drastically worse than what it was, but it definitely felt different. Regardless, to sum it up, the plot was interesting, but much was left unexplained. 7/10
Enjoyment. Well, this one is probably easily the most weighted out of the rest. This anime was one hell of a ride to marathon. I found the first two arcs VERY entertaining. The main problems I had with this anime are the lack of explanation and the ending. The ending wasn't bad (it kind of set up a second season or whatever they want to sequel this with), but it felt very anticlimactic. The main character was just absolutely overpowered with countless trump cards to pull out. There were also a few unresolved problems in the ending, but it can be ignored for now. Again, I watched this after Kill la Kill, so I enjoyed the OP protagonist, but I'm sure many people would find this very very annoying due to the fact his outrageous capabilities take away a great amount of the tension out of the show. It's like watching a Dragon Ball Z movie that doesn't have the part where Goku gets beat up prior to his transformation that would lead to the win. Regardless, this was quite a pleasure to marathon based on my conditions going into the anime (I can't stress Kill la Kill enough...). 9/10
Overall. Well, this anime was overall quite a nice watch. To sum it up, it's an interesting magic anime with small hints of romance, but it's short comings are lack of explanation and tension (due to main character). The animation and music are well done. The cast is flipping AWESOME! Well, let's just say that I recommend this anime, no promises though. I think this is one of those love it or hate it animes... It seems I fell in the "love it" category.
87/100 >> Rounds up to 9/10.
