Reviews

I think I can speak for everyone when I say, "Harry Potter was a classic" - truly, a masterpiece that rocked my small childhood world. Yeah, there were many Harry Potter fans, but I was among the top of them, at the peak, the highest tower in all of Hogwarts, so to speak (that's the astronomy tower, btw). On my 11th birthday, I kept pleading to my parents to let me dress up as a wizard all day, until they finally agreed. I ran around the whole town conjuring up magic and mayhem, like any good young wizard would do. Fortunately, I had found a few other Potterheads who all quickly became my friends. We'd all practice brewing potions and run around pretending to play Quidditch with each other. You know, typical stuff. We were spooked but a large cat that interrupted our match, and I tried my best "Expelliarmus!" yet the cat was undeterred - a truly ferocious beast it was, indeed. Luckily, we were able to befriend the magical creature and it became our club mascot.

Anyway, that birthday my parents took me in their arms and cheered, "You're a wizard, Thevsamovies!"
It was truly a highlight of my life.

So, you can only imagine how devasted I was when J. K. Rowling was canceled by the Internet.

On that dark day, I arranged a funeral for the childhood dreams I had to bury. For what seemed, at the time, like it would be the last time, I put on my robe and wizard hat, and gathered my things to say goodbye to the fandom. My collection of Harry Potter books, all the movies, the special editions, my second collection of Harry Potter books that I kept as a backup - gone, cast deep into a hole in the ground. I retired my wand, for what I thought would be forever.

Then, a long while later, I discovered Mashle. The facial scar, the castle, the cone-shaped towers, the haircut, the MAGIC - it was all there. I excitedly sat down to binge episodes 1-3 all in a single day.

Mashle is a story about Harry Potter but with Muscles - and I'm going to capitalize Muscles out of respect, as they are all named characters. Mash is a character that lacks magic, but makes up for it with spirit and Muscle. He's a little dense, but the show plays it off for a good laugh.

We quickly meet our cast of characters - Hermione, Draco, and a poor man's Ron Weasley. It's really hard to assess the full potential of these characters, as we've only had limited exposure to Hermione, Draco, and Discount Ron so far. However, I have all the hope in the world that they can live up to the wizarding legacy that they're carrying on.

The plot is pretty much what's outlined in the anime description. The boy who lived in hiding, Mash, enrolls in a magic school in order to protect his peaceful life with his father - whose name I either forgot or it just wasn't mentioned in the show; it's hard to say. There he meets Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, who is as virtuous, and also a little sadistic, as the original.

The soundtrack is pretty good, as expected of any Harry Potter series (but without the J.K. Rowling part).

The art is solid, and I look forward to the future action sequences. Although, we haven't really seen much yet.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. I'm only 3 episodes in so it's hard to judge.

Overall, Mashle is a solid series to pickup for any Harry Potter fan that is trying to survive and thrive in these trying times.

5/10