Ever since last week, my motivation for making reviews declined. Usually, per week I make at least two reviews, but unfortunately, my usual drive to create one didn't come to me. Not that I'm really affected by it, but it just felt odd that a week passed without me reviewing something. I still watched anime and read new updates from manhwa and manga tho. Anyway, today I attempted to make a review since just this morning I finished another anime. It's the anime that has been sitting on my to-watch list for a while.
It's kinda a rewatch, for I've already watched its second season before—yeah second, and not the first! My sister had been into this anime before, and upon knowing the theme, I got intrigued and watched it rather late with her. The theme was really interesting because it gave me Harry Potter vibes. I had a Potterhead phase before, and I really experienced staying up late at night just to finish its books ( ahhhh Goblet of Fireee!), so when I saw the characters in long robes with wands in their hands, the nostalgia immediately hit me!
However, there's something I'm curious about: Will this anime be only a complete rip-off of Harry Potter? Or will it have a twist that would make this one special? So grab your wands—I mean seats and join me as we find out the answers to those questions in Mashle: Magic and Muscles.
About the Anime
Mashle: Magic and Muscles is a shounen anime that first premiered last spring of 2023 while its second season premiered in the winter of 2024. It's a fantasy and action anime with a hint (or tad perhaps) of comedy. Its first 12 episodes aired last April 8, 2023, to July 1, 2023. Meanwhile, its second season, which is by the way The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc aired the next year, from January 6, 2024, to March 30, 2024. This anime is said to be a parody, and of 'course the reference is obvious. This 24-episode anime was based from its manga that was written and illustrated by Hajime Koumoto.
In their world where magic is the foundation of everything, your worth depends on that distinct mark you get. The more the marks, the more valuable the person, but what if you have don't havy any mark? Unfortunately, you'll be exterminated to maintain the balance and peace in their magical world. However, inside the deep forest lives Mash Burnedead, an unmarked boy with a deep fondness for iron and creampuffs. His foster father has successfully hidden him for years, but certainly Mash is fated to go somewhere else, a place where a magicless person would be less likely found and it's all because of his greatest love–his creampuffs!
With his existence uncovered, Mash had no choice but to abide by what the authorities demanded him to do. Relying only on his muscles, he is determined to do everything to protect his dream of a peaceful life with his foster father. Shortcomings after shortcomings came his way, but those weren't enough to break the will that was engraved in him. With his creampuffs and protein shakes, he is always determined to knock the stuffing out of them—no matter what and who it is.
Obviously, it's Mash who's the main twist of this anime because, without his odd yet quirky character, this anime would certainly be a complete rip-off to its obvious inspo. From the wands, robes, the moving newspapers, competition of the dorms in school, the owlery, the character design of their headmaster—it reminds me greatly of the Harry Potter series. However, their concept may be is similar, but these two are completely different. If Harry Potter is dramatic and somehow grim, this one is the opposite. Its theme already revealed that it's a parody anime so it wasn't surprising that there are a lot of scenes that are both absurd and hilarious.
There's no dull episode here because in every episode no matter how serious and seemingly dire the problem, Mash never failed to find an unbelievable solution. Further, like the usual fantasy, the characters were diverse and interesting—from an anxiety-filled boy, a delusional blonde girl, a hot-headed red-haired, a powerful boy with a sister complex, to our very own no-brainer but full brawler MC—all of them are interesting in their own ways. I definitely enjoyed how they interact with each other because at first, it's uncanny that these different people would be friends. I mean they're too different from each other, but anyway it wasn't a shock since most of the shounen have a very dynamic group of friends.
As for its art style, it isn't really that unique or top tier but it's effective in portraying the gag and humor of this anime. I couldn't help but laugh whenever I saw the students' faces when they saw Mash do something ridiculous and amazing. Also, the characters' designs highlighted their distinction with each other. The animation was so cool, and I enjoyed the matches between Mash and the villains because they're so fast-paced, and most of them ended funnily and unexpectedly. And before I could forget, the background settings were also enthralling. They're able to portray it to be both mysterious and lighthearted. Unlike the grim Hogwarts, Easton is much lighter and obviously, it's made to match with its theme.
Meanwhile, both the soundtracks from the first and second seasons were nice. But in terms of opening and ending songs, the season two songs are more memorable. Its opening song was catchy and boppy and since it has a cool tune it wasn't a shock that it once became famous among the anime communities. It's hard to skip it once you heard its first line, so I'm guilty of not skipping it haha. Also, the ending song may not be as catchy and famous as the opening but it's still as cool. Further, the voice actors really portrayed well their characters—like Finn's outburst, Mash's lying moments, Dot's delusions, and most especially Margarette's mothering times ahhhhhh.
He has been one of my favorite anime characters ever since the time I first watched Mashle. I don't know but I was just so attracted to his eccentricities; my sister even said that his character is weird and off-putting, but to me, he's quirky and fun to watch. Like he's so sassy and cool, and it's definitely entertaining to watch his monologues. Ok, ok moving on from him and to sum it up, this anime is one of the reasons why anime parodies are great to watch. The concept of having a magicless person studying in a magical school may not be that out of the box, but still, the way that it was executed was really engaging.
Perhaps the only flaw I find in this anime is the fight scenes are usually abrupt, you just get to have a few laughs after Mash shows his muscle prowess, and then it's done. It's not really a bad thing, but it just felt rushed. Setting that aside, this anime was certainly entertaining. Like I said you can't find an episode where you can't laugh with their silliness. With the main villain's appearance in season two, the plot was slowly moving to its climax, and hopefully later this year we all can look forward to its third season.
So if you're up for silly and funny magical adventures with a quirky MC and side characters, then look no further because this is your sign to try watching Mashle: Magic and Muscles!
Before I end this review, since I really like it, I'll share with you its opening song, so—
Have you watched this anime already? Or it is your first time hearing it? Well, if you have something to share, feel free to comment below. And that's all for now, minna-san~ I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.