What They Say:
In every decade or hundreds of years, the dragon moves its body as if it tosses about unconsciously. The movement becomes the distortion and causes impurity. This “impurity” lavishes an evil on people. And now, there is a huge indication of a distortion. Gods foresaw the greatest harm would happen to Japan, divide own power and give it off as a messenger of God (“Shinshi”) in Japan to gather mediums, or “Magica” who can expel the “impurity”. With the magical weapon the power of Gods, “Magica” will fight to stop evils in Japan.”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Yuri’s arc has been one of the weaker ones as I’ve gotten a handle on the series, both in her home/personal life and her magical girl life. The dealing her brother has to work with is certainly dull and while I know it’s kind of standard fare in a way, Yuri’s costume when transformed is pretty hilarious looking. Watching as her brother gets put to pressure once again by those mean men in suits, you can see her tension rise as he’s pushed to do their bidding. Naturally, his declining leads to threats of violence, but all of that tension sets loose what’s inside the Kaga Lion artifact that’s nearby, which is what gives Yuri her secondary motivation since protecting her brother is likely job one. Though the action is short, it is once again nicely done and has its appeal, but its just setting the stage for what’s next.
In Summary:
Magica Wars continues to delight and frustrate with what it does as this episode gives us some dull lead-up material, using its short time in a kind of unwise way, before going big with the attack that puts Yuri on defense for a bit before she can go on offense. Visually, it’s definitely appealing across the board, but it takes time to get there and this particular character arc has been one that’s felt like it’s meandering a bit in general, something this episode definitely feels in its first half. It’s for a reason, but the payoff doesn’t feel like it’s worth it for this arc yet.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
