Magical Girls. What comes to mind when you think of the now oversaturated Mahou Shoujo genre? Magical powers; magical girls with fluffy magical girl clothes; the ever-so-iconic Kyubey mascot character; the Yuri undertones like the classic Shoujo Kakumei Utena a.k.a Revolutionary Girl Utena; or even the ever-so-slightly dark take of shows like Lyrical Nanoha and Madoka Magica that meanders to the adult side and it being super edgy just because it can. And who would've thought that this day would come in the vein of, yet another Mahou Shoujo show, that could do all of the above and more, but with sexualized Ecchi levels so extreme, you'd be calling it out: Why is this show NOT a Hentai!? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to mangaka Akihiro Ononaka's Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete a.k.a Gushing Over Magical Girls, or it's more appropriate title: " I Admire Magical Girls, and...", the perfect parody of the Mahou Shoujo show that will break ALL of your expectations to the T, and in a purely disgusting, but cultured way no other show has ever gone so far as to lean back and forth on the borders between Ecchi and Hentai.
"I offer my apologees, boys and girls, you're not welcome here. Otherwise, your sausages and abalone will go leaking like craaaaazzzzy! Hurhurhur...ahh, Sorry Children."
It's the dream of every girl who has been influenced by many a Mahou Shoujo in their footsteps, to one day grow up, be like them and make a difference to the world at large, being goodwill ambassadors to everyone alike. And this is no different to the one who has had the most impacted by: the series' titular MC, Utena Hiiragi. The normal looking but shy and introverted girl is a hardcore Otaku for the magical girls that have been parading around her town, and aside from her room being full (and I mean FULL) of their merch, she has a deep obsession with the trio, aptly named Tres Magia. However, being mesmerized by them is one matter, and being blackmailed is another, as Utena is scouted by a black mascot named Venalita, who deems that she is fit for the magical girl role, and nonchantly just grants her magical girl powers that she'd been wanting to be for so long. But instead of being like Tres Magia that's full of justice, Utena finds herself in an almost revealing black magical girl clothing, signifying that she's not part of them, but of their enemy group Enormita that's full of evil, and being heralded as its new leader. This...is a double-edged sword of a problem, because not only it paints Utena as an evil general, something which she is definitely not fond of since she has to fight against Tres Magia due to her misfortune, but also, her admiration and obsession unleashes an unforgiving sadistic side of her, leaving her vulnerable in the pleasure...or torturing the same magical girls whom she admires so much. Yikes, talk about a hidden alter ego of a personality that exudes obsession in the extremist of ways, but still of culture. *muack*
Known by her classmates as Utena Hiiragi (see the Utena reference there?), she's just as unremarkable as a typical ordinary girl on the outside, but a magical otaku girl on the inside. The plot twist however, as unassuming as Utena can be, her twisted logic as Enormita's Magia Baiser when it comes to the endless satisfaction of torturing magical girls is very out-of-pocket, as a result of spending her time reading BDSM magazines and fueling her magical girl domination fantasies, which results in the dropping of her grades in school. That is not just her downfall into evil, but one who feels like her sanity has gotten way worse over time, and it hilariously shows on her face each and every time as an excited/empowered, but corrupted girl as time passes.
Still though, Utena is not alone, as she's accompanied by the Tres Magia girls in their civilian high school girl styles:
- Haruka Hanabishi, better known as Magia Magenta, is the "closest" of friends whom Utena regards as one who's always caring about her on and off. Due to their magical powers, their true identities between Tres Magia and Enormita is kept under wraps against both parties, and both girls, of course, don't really know that they're frenemies at best. Naturally, the pink-haired girl is kind and pure-hearted girl, albeit naive at best, who wields a spear but with no unique abilities that eventually is gained to heal others.
- Sayo Minakami, better known as Magia Azure. The turquoise-haired girl is a shrine maiden who adores peace and prefers cute and modest outfits, though her out-of-pocket moment is that she has an affinity to Utena in her Magia Baiser persona, leaning heavily as a partner through BDSM domination where the latter's sadism compliments her utmost, hidden masochistic side. She dominates in her magical powers over water and ice, making her a valuable team player.
- Kaoruko Tenkawa, better known as Magia Sulfur, the mustard-haired girl is one thing and one thing only: she is a no-nonsense girl who demands toughness with quick wit, and she's not afraid to express her grievances if she deems fit. Often one to prefer a punk style than the usual magical girl cuteness, Kaoruko is a fighter in every word of the sense, even beating out both Magenta and Azure in terms of raw power alone. If that's not enough, her specialization in defensive barriers and wielding massive knuckledusters will prove that she's one not to be trifled with.
- Vatz, the Tres Magia's Kyubey mascot manager who is the same kind of creature like Venalita, but is white instead.
Even as a lone member of Enormita's new function (since most members are out to eliminate magical girls everywhere), the misfortuned Utena gets her evil and devilish Star fortune through the members whom Venalita will also scout along the way:
- Kiwi Araga, better known as Leoparde. The 3-Star civilian social celebrity influencer who is a brash girl, and her hate stems from the fact that she and Tres Magia have a feud where justice wins out in the end, even in social numbers so much that she's grown to hate magical girls in general. Her bombastic nature also stems that her outfit has a military motif, along with various explosives and guns as weapons for her mass destruction.
- Korisu Morino, better known as Nero Alice. Like Kiwi, she also a 3-Star, who may look like an innocent elementary schoolgirl with few spoken words and a love for toys, but this is also her main strength as her Enormita counterpart where she can use her love of toys as her main form of weaponry, from manipulating toys in various ways (like enlarging stuffed toys to giant toys) to trapping her enemies in dollhouses. Don't be fooled at her appearance, for Nero Alice is also a strong member of the Enormita team.
Enormita can't be a whole without leaving out Utena as Magia Baiser, the (constantly growing) 4-Star General who may appear with her sadistic alter persona, as innocent as she looks, but predatory when pushed to her ultimate limit. And this is none further placed than her interaction, along with her new team, against the former Enormita team: Lord Enorme (who goes by a lot of different aliases) who is the previous team's leader, that like Utena has an affection for sadism, but with an altruistic personality and disregard for her team members. Alongside her, there's Sister Gigant, who can change her appearance into a giant, and the childhood friends of Matama Akoya and Nemo Anemo (better known as Loco Musica and Leberblume respectively) who can wield musical sound waves and shadow abilities as their main form of attacks.
If there is one sure-fire thing to really sing the praises about this show, it would be the character casting, especially for Utena Hiiragi's VA Fuuka Izumi, who's a relatively newcomer into the VA business. And Oh My God, she does a very outstanding and knock-out job for her very first main role, and her voice resonates all around the anime to great effect. Sure, other prominent and well-known VAs like Aoi Koga (for Kiwi/Leoparde) and Kaori Maeda (for Haruka Hanabishi) do exhibit their usual great VA performances, but none so tantalizing as a newcomer like Fuuka Izumi does to shake the entire course of the show to her bidding, it's just fantastic.
For a show so disgusting (but disgustingly good as it is), I don't know why this show needed 2 directors in the first place, but when you look into them, the story gets interesting enough to see its influence. It's a given that while Asahi Production may not have the best production of its shows in recent years, but when it hits, it REALLY hits. And although in-house storyboarder, episode director and key animator Masato Suzuki may not have the best experience in the directorial department since this show is his debut, having him alongside another director is going to be paramount to the success of the series. And that is the surprise of the show as a whole: famed veteran director Atsushi Ootsuki of "To LOVE-Ru" fame. Even if he didn't direct the first season, he stepped up for the subsequent sequels in the franchise (from Fall 2010's Motto to 2016's Darkness 2nd's OVA) which only gets better and better. And as a mega To LOVE-Ru fan, I'm VERY happy that this show continues the credibility of one man's legacy as the director who can do ABSOLUTELY NO wrong when it comes to transcending the limits of the Ecchi genre that continues to be the epitome of a borderline Hentai. You have my utmost praises, Atsushi Ootsuki, and I bow down to your exceptional work here, well done.
The music forms part of the beating heart of the Mahou Shoujo genre, and this show also gets the formula right from the get-go. Veteran sound director Satoshi Motoyama may have his decades of experience backing him up as someone who's a "Jack of All Trades and Master of All", but it's really the legendary music composer Yasuharu Takanashi who fits the bill of a Mahou Shoujo work, from the likes of Fairy Tail, Naruto Shippuden, and the many magical girl works from Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal series to the gigantic Toei Animation's PreCure franchise, so you know that the show is given its authentic Mahou Shoujo Seal of Quality.
This may be the duo Seiyuu unit of Chiemi Tanaka and Natsumi Murakami (Love Live! Nijigasaki's Rina Tennouji and Ai Miyashita)'s 2nd Anisong represented as NACHERRY since Fall 2022's 4-nin wa Sorezore Uso wo Tsuku a.k.a The Little Lies We All Tell's OP song "Eclipse" (which is decent), but "My Dream Girls" is already the sum of some of the best Seiyuu songs I've heard in quite a while with its inherently cheery and lively atmosphere. Enormita's ED song "Togetoge Sadistic" (which initially grows from just Utena, Kiwi and Korisu to adding both Matama and Nemo as part of the new team) is also surprisingly great with its popping, optimistic and bright vocals from the respective VAs, albeit a song that idolizes fetishes and sadism in a cultured but fun way possible.
Yes, anime...is weird. It's VERY over-sexualized, especially for a show that markets minors to adults being an ero-manga first, and as several fans like to put it: "a coming-of-age masterpiece and great exploration of sexuality" of a raunchy fanservice version for the anime. But as the men of culture say: "It's fictional and straight up magical girl fetish porn with PLOT, who cares? Mahou Shoujo shows aren't just for the kids stuck up on Toei Animation's PreCure behemoth of a franchise, but to the adults on the darker side as well."
With that being said, I'll admit that this show has both its fans and detractors, and that's the norm when it comes to breaking the ice on topics that are downright borderline on the extreme, like straight-up porn. You can hate the show all you want for its intention on sexualizing minors, but you have to remember that this IS fiction in the first place, and nothing is ever taken seriously...if you're someone who resides outside of Japan...also in the first place.
In the same vein...RISE UP, you people of culture, for Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete a.k.a Gushing Over Magical Girls IS the show to express the love for the Mahou Shoujo genre plot with your loving Hentai culture PLOT. PEAK, uncensored, trashy borderline smut Hentai does not get any better than this.
MahoAko's the definitely of fun plot with very risque PLOT at its finest, and I'm all here for it with a blast.
