When I first started maburaho some odd years ago, I was very intrigued by what the previews showed. Simply, in a world where people can cast spells a certain number of times, Kazuki Shikimori, has a very low count a considers himself worthless. This is until he becomes the target of an unwanted harem when it is revealed to his class, that he has some impressive magical genes. Going in, you get what you asked for. A harem series set in a magical world. At the time, I didn't expect much but now that I had some time to think, I realized a lot of potential was lost in the making of this series. First of all, the magical world; I believe this is the first time (outside of games with mp) where I've seen magic being in a set number. It wasn't much, but it would have been interesting to see them go into depth about it. Secondly, there's a few character stories that could have been used to show the political side of the world. We will get to that later.
Art:
Of the things that haven't changed about my opinion of maburaho, the art is one of them. It is nothing special. It does not stand out as breath taking, but it's easy to look at.
Sound:
The same can be said about the sound. Maburaho's opening theme for one was very enjoyable when I first heard it. So was the slight musical notes played when one of the female characters appeared. A different tune for the three girls of choice. It's not an original touch but an enjoyable one nonetheless.
Character:
Now to get back to the bad. Maburaho is a harem series with opening video that just doesn't belong. Even during my original viewing of the should, I stared in awe at the reel of characters shown and wondered how they'd be integrated into the story. This left me solely disappointed because they were more background noise than anything. Out of the twenty something characters you see, less than ten of them play major roles. As for the main cast, thinking back, I feel that some of the stories shouldn't have been played for romance. While the love developing wasn't bad, Kuriko's business associated story had some grand attention, and would have worked perfectly as a sort of battle arc. Rin's story, while not getting as much attention as Kuriko, could have worked epically in a drama sort of sense. This is a harem though, and while there are battles in this one, they aren't as great as the aforementioned ones could be, and comedy is valued more than drama.
Enjoyment:
I gave it an eight because I enjoyed it for what it was. Maburaho was a harem and going in understanding that, you will not be disappointed. Of the anime genres, harem is one of the more generic ones, but maburaho slightly averts this by implementing it's magical elements.
Overall:
Despite my altered opinion of the series, Maburaho is what it is. If you don't think much about the perfectly good plot that was wasted, you will likely enjoy this series.
