In 2008, the Japanese government began hunting people who identify as otaku in an effort to protect the country's culture. In just one week, the enforcement agency known as the SSC captured almost every otaku by force and confiscated their memorabilia. One passionate man calling himself Otaku Hero refuses to allow this agency to do as they please: he raises a resistance army made up of other displaced geeks who band together to help defend their culture.
Three years later, the fires of rebellion wane as all hope seems lost for otakus. Spurred on by his ally—the magical girl Anarchy—Otaku Hero commands the resistance in an effort to reunite Anarchy with the other two other magical girls: Blue and Pink. By combining the power of this trio, the resistance may be able to defeat the SSC and save otaku culture for everyone.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
LordSozin
Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers is an interesting one. It’s an experimental anime that attempts to make an appeal to its broader otaku-orientated audiences while also composing a social commentary about the otakus and its culture. Siding mostly with sympathy for otakus and the cruelty of being ostracized for liking anime and its subcultures, Magical Destryers desperately wanted to convey a guilt-driven fantasy for the unfairness of being misrepresented and illy treated by a larger, ambitiously as well as ambiguously presented “societal”’ forces that want to eradicate them from the face of Japan. Set in a fictional timeline of the year 2008, the Japanese Government,for unknown reasons, decided to crack down on its otakus and the culture within the country. Fast forward to the year 2011, the suppression has brought the masses to the brink of extinction, pushing the last group of remaining otaku rebel forces to a secluded area within Akihabara. This particular group of rebels, led by a famed figure known as the “Otaku Hero” along with his magical girls have long lost their strongholds elsewhere in Japan. With only one of the three magical girls remaining and the other two gone either missing or captured, the rebels’ ultimate goal was to rescue and recruit the magical girls once again to even have a slim chance of fighting back against the forces of suppression.
With an already intriguing setup such as this, Magical Destroyers still found itself lost in its own directional ideas and tonal inconsistencies that were scattered throughout. Going beyond its debut episodes, Magical Destoyers’ unwillingness of sticking to its core premise for more than a couple of episodes at a time was the ultimate detrimental fallout in its place.
From the get-go, the initial impression of its premise can be served for the entirety of the runtime as the plot point involve finding, rescuing, and recruiting the two crucially absent magical girls could take time and effort, as well as the difficulties due to their limited remaining forces, and the endeavors that come with a governmental crackdown that is three year into its operation. In theory, with the exploration of its concepts such as why the Japanese Government has decided to take on its own deeply ingrained culture, and, by extension, the economically successful industries that derive from it, could be utilized between its supposed key plot points and conceive a show more than just a surface-level presentation.
The basic premise of Magical Destroyers derives solely from the notion of ostracization of Otakus and Otaku Culture and how media such as Magical Destroyers anime utilizes it for commentary purposes as a form of entertainment. Shows like this are intended to make a larger social commentary about the state of its broad social sphere. In Japan, like anywhere else in the world that has been exposed to anime and its otaku culture, there’s no secret that there’s still a feeling of disdain and belittling among the larger societal forces towards anime and its sub-cultures—especially within the populations that aren’t too familiar with the subcultures and its appeal. Conveniently, Magical Destroyers takes those elements of feeling looked down upon and took to the extreme with its presentation of ostracization by the literal display of outright prohibition of typical otaku activities and hobbies: anime figurines are seized from existence, cosplays are forbidden, otaku people in cages, the extreme tight surveillance within Akihabara, the ongoing war between factions and the government, and the constant destruction of cities and civilizations that are centered around otaku culture. Its extreme presentation within the anime is meant to invoke a feeling of despair and despondency that otakus ought to be felt as if it’s a real possibility.
The fundamental message that Magical Destroyers wanted to convey throughout its entire run but struggled to do so is that it’s okay to be an otaku and one should be proud of the hobbies that they enjoy performing and indulge in. The friends and foes of the rebels and their hero encounter serve this single narrative message. This is also deliberately spelled out through Anarchy’s actions and her occasional emotional pleas and outcries. For instance, in the early stages of the anime, when there was a seemingly clear narrative objective, the psychological-dream battle between Pink and Anarchy that resulted in Pink being the eventual third and final magical girl to be recruited aided in this primary idea of the anime. The gist of the fight was for Pink to embrace her existence and what she represents in the larger context of otaku culture despite the vulgar tendencies that come with it. That, in the eyes of disgust, one’s own actions can bring about the appreciation of their hobbies to light in a positive manner. That, the perception of others on things that are known to be confined within the otaku culture can be shaped by the very people who are knowledgeable and wields them with good intentions. That, it’s all about the person who’s behind it all dictates the perceptions of otakus and its culture. This fundamental idea is significant as it shows that there was something to be taken from this anime.
However, the issue lies in the tonal inconsistencies that significantly diminish the urgency that the anime wants to make the viewers feel and empathize. In one episode, the anime could focus much on the core elements of the show by presenting the harsh and bleak environment that Otaku Hero and his rebel forces are suffering through but then in the next episode, out of nowhere, a random faction from another desolated town could be having a sewage-pool party with the Otaku Hero Group and his magical girls join in—everybody joins in and have a good time. Even in an episodic structured anime, while the narrative may not have progressed, the tone in which that was instilled in the first episode should always be kept consistent. Otherwise, in a combination of a lack of meaningful progress and tonal inconsistencies, the content in which it’s presented feels pointless. Oftentimes, when a series presents absolutely meaningless content on screen, one has to make contrivances to tie in whatever bizarre crap was on display to an aspect of the show superficially. And this superficiality is often used to disguise the sheer mess that a series is in.
The anime’s journey it took to present and deliver this core idea was futile in the end because of its indecisiveness in its direction that which become quite evident later on. Instead of maybe focusing on crafting a few more purposeful events that serve in the grander narrative message, the show resorts to confusing and pointless, and dumb entertainment to fill in the time before tying it all together with an ill-planned plot twist to instate its presence.
When crafting a fiction such as Magical Destroyers that attempts to make a larger societal commentary, one should approach the topics on hand with a heart, clear and purposeful direction. Along with it, one might also incorporate some philosophical concepts and interpretations to facilitate the grander scheme of such work. The ideas that Magical Destroyers had is arguably a common guilt-driven sentimental projection that some might have held; it’s a view that shouldn’t be laughed off of let alone making a wishy-washy show with no further explorations of its concepts.
What you’re watching isn’t a coherent narrative that’s brimmed with ideas that it wants to explore and present. Instead, on a basic level, you’re witnessing a very common feeling that’s born from the sentiment that a certain subculture has been unfairly ostracized by the public and that it’s in dire need of resistance and protection—like that of Magical Destroyers urges represent. But the very child-like inner fantasies that it likes to project is the lethal tumor of itself. Just like any gibberish, incoherent, and rudimentary fantasies that a child would make up in their heads before going to sleep, one forgets them the very next day. Magical Destroyers is that anime.
I want to underline that despite my sheer disappointment with Magical Destroyers’ delivery of its initial captivating ideas, I still had a fun time with the anime. Magical Destroyers is that anime that brings about absurdities and nonsensical ideas onto the screen while making it entertaining to watch. What the anime presents is never the cause of boredom, rather, it’s the failure in sticking to its initial core ideas that the series had.
KANLen09
"Gobo, gobo gobo gobo gobo, gobo gobo gobo gobo gobo! Gobo gobo!" Translated: "We are the Mahou Shoujo...Magical Destroyers we mean! We are the last hope for the Otaku who support us, and we'll fight to the death of those who dare oppose us!" In 2001, from the brillant minds of the former Gainax and Hideaki Anno's protégé Kazuya Tsurumaki, Fooly Cooly a.k.a FLCL was released to the masses, and even some two decades later, the bizarre, surreal hodgepodge coagulation of a show is still being talked out to this very day for being ground-breaking in its own right due in part to its symbolic content, unusualplot, and a well-versed OST by The Pillows. In essence, its unusual traits are the showcase of the now-famous franchise that has seen its downfall with Progressive and Alternative in recent years.
And in the same modern generation movement some 20+ years later, there's Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers, looking to carve a similar footnote as FLCL did back in the day. But this is 2023, not 2001, and almost every general idea conceived has been tested and proven at this point that it would take an insane amount of creativity just to create something new. And how the show got off to a weird start to then show off what it can do, I feel like it's kind of a missed opportunity to make an anime such as this, and not make it, at the very least, cohesive with its main theme of Otakuism vs. the world (at least extended to Japan only) at large.
You might be wondering who this rando Jun Inagawa dude is, who was credited with the original concept plan for the anime. As a startling fact, the now 24-year-old artist has quite a sizable reputation in Japan. Going by the handle @madmagicorchestra on Instagram, he's also a DJ and a graphic artist who represents the new generation of Tokyo's culture scene. Jun Inagawa works across a variety of fields, from collaborating with brands and artists to hosting solo exhibitions and partaking in other projects. The surprise twist is that chances are, you might have come across his manga or illustrations online at least once, and the creative is unapologetic about his otaku-culture aesthetic, which has a distinct taste from manga associated with Akihabara and is attached to the otaku archetype.
The idea for this show came about in 2020, while his graphic artist work consisted of magical girls that he'd drawn for artwork and collaborations, and characters like Slayer and Anarchy created the push that he illustrated girls "who are honest with themselves". In Jun Inagawa's own words: "There’s no specific backstory or anything, but you know how most people depict magical girls as these powerful and perfect ideals? I started drawing them because I thought it was better to have magical girls who possess a more human quality and are true to themselves. Before long, these characters were smoking and doing drugs. Whenever I would watch anime featuring magical girls with a strong sense of doing what’s right for others, I would assume weird things about them: "It doesn’t matter if they’re cute because they do bad things in the dark." So, I decided to draw magical girls with their bad sides out in the open. It’s not like I have a message I want to convey through these characters. Nothing deep. I’ve always enjoyed watching anime with girl protagonists and drawing girls, so it’s just an extension of that." Of course, this comes from the inspiration of shows like Madoka Magica, and even Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan, which have similar worldbuilding to his own story of magical girls wanting to act as their true selves. Heck, his art designs, which have been at the centre of Shibuya's Diesel Art Gallery, showcase certain Mahou Shoujo art drawings that would eventually become part of the anime that's made today. Jun Inagawa's level of Otakuism is simply unrivalled in a one-of-a-kind artist form.
As for the plot itself, the concept of a dystopian Japan that's indoctrinated by some kind of "cultist-level" oppression regime law that proclaims that "Otaku is dead", is not new in any sense. Take shows like Fall 2021's Gyakuten Sekai no Denchi Shoujo a.k.a Rumble Garanndoll, which features this show's plot, word-for-word, action-by-action. In the case of Magical Destroyers, it's the SSC under Shobon, who wears a formal suit but with a TV and a cute facial expression for a head vs. the Otaku Revolutionary Army, led by a lone Otaku Hero who's at the spearhead of the operation against their oppressors. To differentiate and blur the line even more, Magical Destroyers attempts Otakuism in the FLCL nonchalant style, and thanks to a certain scriptwriter by the name of Daishiro Tanimura, who's also acting as a debut series composer after a long hiatus since 2018, you could decide for yourself if the show ever made any sense to begin with.
At least the characters are striking at their very best, as expected of Jun Inagawa's bombastic style that's "very out there". Otaku Hero is just being Otaku Hero, and Shobon is just being Shobon. The two factions' leaders are the oh-so-typical protagonist-antagonist lead roles, but I have to admire Shobon's character design as a person with a TV for a head, it shows dysfunction in a dystopian world. What really matters in the show are the Mahou Shoujo girls themselves: the ill-tempered Anarchy wielding a staff with the Anarchy symbol embedded at the end of it (you can see a post on Jun Inagawa's Instagram on the exact drawing that is used for the anime); the extremely horny Blue wielding an odd-shaped scythe; the "Gobo gobo!" verbal tic of Pink wearing a gasmask and Blue's speakeasy to understand; and last but not least, the gothic-lolita style dressed Slayer working under Shobon, being a crazed version of Anarchy. Together with the Revolutionary Army sits the series' mascot, Kyotaro, the weird and strange floating, talking mascot creature who is often used as a meat shield due to his ability to regenerate from any kind of damage. He's mostly used for comedic effect, while the truth about it is shrouded in mystery. For one, like what Jun Inagawa envisioned of girls who act as their true selves, this is as true as it can get for a Mahou Shoujo show with the likes of influentials from Madoka Magica to Dokuro-chan, and this is the one aspect that Magical Destroyers got right from the get-go, and the only thing that I can praise about the show when it's broken down in pieces, thereby capturing the essence of what Jun Inagawa was looking for when bringing his characters to life, no less in anime form.
Directed by Tonikaku Kawaii's director Ikehata Hiroshi, he's pulling double-duty this season with the former's sequel, and for this show, which is facing the wrath of tight schedules, assistant director Masao Kawase is tasked with helping him out as someone who worked with Ikehata on the former's premiere season back in Fall 2020. That, and working together with Bibury Animation Studios to create one bombastic imitation of the FLCL-lookalike show, makes it definitely not an anime for the faint-hearted, as it encapsulates a lot of methodical themes that both make and don't make sense, but the cohesiveness of the message is there, even if explained at a rough or coarse level of understanding that will feel incomplete at times.
The music is a bona fide case of a specialty that is definitely intentional. Starting off with the OP, Aimi's "Magical Destroyers" has music-pumping beats that do not synchronise with the lyrics, but don't be fooled into thinking that this is the case of a badly-chosen song. The visuals, done by key animation and storyboarder Kenichi Kutsuna, are no short of striking and alluring at the very least, and when both song and visual align with one another, it's a trippy ride that screams originality, and though I'm not the biggest fan of things like these, I can at least appreciate the intentions of creating derivative works like these just to add flavour to the work. Ending things off with the ED song of The 13th tailor's "Gospelion in a classic love", it's just as trippy as the OP, but in a calm, yet soothing way that just boggles the mind of how a song like this manages to be THIS good, yet together with its own visuals of Otaku Hero surrounded by his army of Magical Destroyers in an almost Jesus Christ-like resurrection style, the amount of creativity flowing from this is just insane to say the least.
When all is said and done, the TL;DR is this: a concept show that's backed by an experimental, yet nonsensical plot, and I did bet that anyone would have turned their heads away even before this show could ever get off the ground. Which...sadly turned out to be true for most of the anime's run as a weird combination of originality: initially running off of some good ideas, however the execution, which sucked ass, ran its own race into obscurity, that comparing this show to the much-revered FLCL is just the case of the "Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man" meme at this point, it feels like a bin of talent that, like the much-hated 1993 gritty B-movie of Super Mario Bros., went to waste trying to appeal to everybody that ended up appealing to no one.
Chef Alvin Leung of MasterChef Canada says it best: "I like innovation, but you've got to put effort into creating innovation", and I echo this sentiment out loud at the contrast of how Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers had a really good concept but squandered it for any hopeful that thinks that the show was ever so crazy and bizarre to begin with that it'll turn out as a decent product overall by its procreation.
It's worth a try if you wish to watch the show as it is, but I wouldn't place my bets on thinking that Magical Destroyers is ever worth its time, not more than the 3-episode rule.
Mcsuper
Imagine a world where otaku culture was banned, and you couldn’t like what you wanted to like. Quite the dystopia am I right? As one would expect, this was quite the oddity of a show, and it definitely delivered in how insane it was. The animation reminded me of some Trigger/Gainax anime like FLCL for example, along with how fast paced and insane some of it was. The story is admittedly very messy, but for a show that doesn’t really take itself seriously at all, it works for what the show was trying to go for. The creator, Jun Inagawa, certainly cooked with this one,as funny as it sounds. It’s a show unlike any other I’ve seen, but comparisons I often see are to shows like Shimoneta.
This show is all about otaku culture, and people trying to suppress the voices of the otaku, so the gist of the anime is an all out war between otakus and people who want to eliminate all otakus. Sounds quite dumb, and it is, but it’s very entertaining, dumb fun. It uses very “meta” comedy, along with very colourful animation to tell such a story.
The animation is up and down in terms of its quality, but most of the time, I was glued to the screen due to how chaotic the art was. A nice job overall with the visuals for sure. They especially stood out in the opening, one that I’m sure many have watched and felt very confused by. The soundtrack was quite solid, with impactful tracks in the big moments, and the ending was my favourite of the season as well.
If there was a notable weaker part however, it would be the characters, who don’t really have much development, but are nonetheless very entertaining to watch due to their wacky personalities. The three magical girls are the highlights of the cast, in Anarchy, Blue, and Pink, and while they get a bit gimmicky with their actions, there was really no point in the anime that I wasn’t amused with their crazy, twisted antics.
I’ll keep this review relatively short, as you really have to see the show to understand what people are saying, instead of just reading what people have to say about it. It’s genuinely difficult to describe what this show is. It’s pure madness, and I was glad to embrace said madness for twelve weeks straight as I wondered what I was watching every week. The visuals were definitely the highlight, and while the story was nothing to write home about, I just had such a great time. It’s quite an indescribable experience, that’s for sure. Just don’t come in expecting the most deep of stories, come in expecting unfiltered insanity.
So basically, it’s like Marmite or Vegemite, you’ll either love it, or you’ll hate it, nothing in between.
EntidadeGD
This one is weeeeird, and not in a very fun way, First and foremost, the OP and ED for this anime are great! The animation is so well done, and it encapsulates the story in a way I saw very few OPs do. The ED has one of my favorite songs, and both have this surreal vibe that if the rest of the show compromised with it, it would be so much better than it is. So, watch the OP and ED, they really are the best this anime gets! As for the history, it is mediocre. It is somewhat surprising with its twists, and it foreshadowsenough so you can piece somethings by yourself. The setting is interesting, but used kinda poorly, besides the initial mystery, the menace of the government and villains are somewhat arbitrary, and none of the story beats really resonate with me.
But what kept me going back were the characters. There is something weird going on with the magical girls and the mistery of their origin is intriguing, and they are fun characters, although a little generic and shallow. The protag is kind of weird, hard to relate to most of the time.
I feel this one is such a wasted potential. It has a somewhat intriguing plot in theory that would have been much more interesting if it was more focused on it, because most episodes are boring and feel like filler. Furthermore, it is too generic for what it is trying to do, and not in a parodiesque sort of way.
This anime has this vibe, this evangelion-esque berserky vibe that all you are seeing now is a veil and something is going to go down that will change everything, and it does... at the very end. This was the final nail in the coffin for me. After 12 episodes of filler and teasing, the big twist is at the very end and "leaves something for your imagination". I swear, if the ending twist was in the middle, it would have been so much more interesting! Such wasted potential.
This one I can't recommend, is not the good kind of bad, it is just mediocre, and it could have been much better.
Kudo_Endo
Expectations for an original anime rely on trailers, production team, synopsis and our own references within the medium. All those considered, I can see why many would watch Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers (MSMD) fishing for hidden messages in the subtext, or trying to interpret the plot as a commentary on social phenomena. Dystopian stories with exquisite art directions tend to favour those expectations. However, MSMD doesn’t take itself seriously enough to spark deep conversations on each episode. If you want a wacky show to enjoy your Friday nights or to watch under influence, look no further. In a dystopian 2008 Japan, a censorious group aims tocrush otaku culture in the country. Akihabara, now in shambles, is the last refuge for the community. Otaku Hero, the main character, joins forces with the mysterious magical girls Anarchy, Pink and Blue to lead an uprising against the status quo.
Until the last episodes, there’s not much plot progression other than introducing characters, worldbuilding, paying homage to our beloved activities and brutally mauling Kyotaro in creative ways. Plenty of the show’s villains are otaku at heart. They may deny their status out of shame, but our heroes are there to smack some sense into them. In the end, we know some people who hate otaku the most are other otaku.
Animation was great during the later fights. There were some dips in quality, but nothing bizarre and overall solid. Both the overall art style and sequence of events look like what my friend told me about his acid trips. I’d say this is the main selling point, if you are interested in this type of art. The soundtrack is great. Both OP and ED are among the greatest for the 2023 Spring Season.
Overall, I’d recommend MSMD to anyone who loves absurdist comedy. I can see a resemblance with Shimoneta (premise), FLCL (trippy art), Flip Flappers (Mahou Shoujo) or Kill la Kill (frenetic action). I imagine this anime is what would happen if the Genshiken crew were to play a LARP with this background setting. An apt comparison would be to Panty & Stocking: magical girls with twisted personalities going on a frenzy amidst dirty jokes.
The MSMD project includes an action RPG game for mobile devices. It will probably resume the plot. Officially, the 12 episodes don’t constitute a closed story. It didn’t bother me, since they give enough answers for the setting, past events and characters. However, if you dislike open endings and for some reason get deeply invested in this story, this may be a factor to consider.
Tl;dr: If you are an otaku, sit back and enjoy. If not, don’t mind our bunkers.
rikiki109
“Living your own life just the way you want” -Otaku Hero Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers is truly an unique and ambitous anime. It's quite a weird and goofy anime with a synopsis whose equally as such, but becomes something way bigger than that, something quite great. But when you read the synopsis of the anime for the first time, your reaction might be something like : What the fuck ? And that's normal, it's the idea behind it, doing something very unique makes you able to use those tools to make something unexpected and that's what you get with the story of this anime. Who wouldhave guessed that Japan out of all places in a dystopian world (yep, truly is a wretched thing equally as bad as the end of the world) would ban the otaku culture and the fact of being hyped over something that you like and punishing the ones who don't follow order, quite a disatrous world this is. This anime was full of surprise, and abitious it was in trying something that has a very intense emotional luggage with a well written story, so let me show you how.
The story is this anime is quite the ride, just the premise is pretty intense and wtf in itself as explained prior. We get this dangerous organisation named SSC run by an evil guy with a :3 face on a TV, Shobon. He and his organisation who took over the government in place to create a dictatorship where they get to control the whole country and repress the most dangerous people on Earth.... WEEBS. They take those tens of thousands of dollars figurines collections of anime waifus in skimpy outfits, put them into a trash compactor and put all of the Attack On Titan fans into prison (though this might be a good thing...) just because they are too dangerous to be kept alive, seriously have you ever tried to stop an horde of dedicated otakus ? They truly are unstoppable, and the SSC understood this and took mesures in order to safely take over the world, in a dream of creating a new world, average antagonist stuff (if you exclude the otaku part lol). Shobon want to become the new god on this planet, but do you know what's closest to god in this world ? Exactly, it's magical girls (who would have thought that there would be magical girls in an anime with mahou shoujo in the title ?) and those girls do delivers quite the humor but also some nice reflexions and emotions because they're all so differents. First, we have Blue (tip on how to recognize her : she has blue hairs), she's very tall, likes to joke and is a fan of masochism (yeah) and weird kinky stuff. Secondly, we have Pink (tip on how to recognize her : she has pink hairs), she's quite small but also wears a gas mask so we never get to hear her, we only hear GOBO GOBOBOBOBOBO but that's why she's the best and cutest while she isn't injecting people with her syringes full of hard drugs (yeah), she's into that stuff. Finally, we have Anarchy (tip on how to recognize her : she's crazy) that's very straighforward and somewhat pretty dangerous (yeah, also she has red hairs). This combo of these 3 girls is really pretty fucked up, but it gives place to very funny moments while also setting up a very high level of emotions that evolves further as we progress trouhough the episodes. BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE IS THE HERO WE ALL NEEDED, THE CHAD OTAKU HERO !! The interesting thing about Otaku Hero is that he isn't really good, he doesn't have any type of strenght or (magical boy) power that makes him powerful, he's just a random dude who is very into anime/manga and more, he kinda took the role of leader of the revolution and a hero just like that, he's kinda the pillar of the revolution, everyone follows him and is determined to achieve the same goal as him, to be able to do and love whatever you love. The fact that he's just an average dude makes him even more relatable to the other otakus that's part of the resistance, but taking up the lead of such a dangerous and somewhat deadly mission isn't a chill ride. What I mean is that even with that fact, I think he's a great character that demonstrates how much determination can lead you, accompagnied with his harem of 3 magical girls, he uses tactics to save the world. He might not be an amazing tactician and 200 IQ one trick that every edgy anime teenagers who their favourite character is Ayanokouji from Classroom Of The Elite enjoys or a mastermind who secretly lead a terrorist organisation to destroy the government like a certain Lamperouche, but I digress. Even with that still, I think he tries his best and makes you respect him for what he do, while aknowledging his pain and enjoy the chill moments and achievements made during hard time. But this is only the base of the anime, the ground of it to understand it, how does it convert in the 12 episodes into something good (or bad?), I would say it is very interesting. What I especially liked about this anime is how the tense parts are, it's filled with many themes like drugs, failure, death, war and even more that you wouldn't expect from a show where they also do goofy stuff, but I think the balance between the two makes you apreciate more the characters for who they are and make them more human. I also especially liked the messages being sent from this anime, how collaboration and being together can achieve big things, while also finding the positive, as small as it can be, during the hardest time. Sure you might be fucking bombarded soon, but weebs still gotta debate about which anime from the Big Three is better, the otakus got their priorities straight. I think it adds a charm combined to all of the emotional parts, which can range from happy to sad and many in betweens. The only caveat that I have about the story is.... how tame it is ? Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say it's kid or family friendly, but people were hyping this up as the new Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica with the usual happiness before depression...., which it clearly isn't. I feel like they didn't went as far as they should in the mature themes in order to make you feel and get hit even more when something happens, it might be a bit better than the base minimum in terms of writing a dystopic story with very dark theme, but could have clearly been done better, I do think it had missed potential. Overall, the story was very ambitous, maybe a little too much so they didn't had the time and/or sheer dedication it needs to have higher highs and lower lows portraiyed into the anime.
The only other sad thing that I have to say about Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers are it's visual. Don't get me wrong, it's clearly not shitty, it's even pretty fucking good for a few moments, which is very highlighted by the first few episodes and the few last episodes (though I think the beginning was done better than the end), one great example of something very fucking epic are the magical girls transformation (though it's pretty normal for it to be of a very high quality since they re-use the transformation a lot, but it's by design). However, you wouldn't want a sandwhich with bread made by a baker today with a few bologna slices that are expiring in two days, the middle part is still key to the experience. Of course, it's not shitty bad quality like major outsourcing and time issues, I haven't really seen things like that, but I can see parts that could have been better, and I think the lack of hitting visuals during hard hittings story and emotion parts has contributed to the off feeling of the story epicness and tragedy. The animation for this anime was made by Bibury Animation Studios, which I wouldn't consider like a good studio, especially for an original anime story, they are pretty important in trying to portray in drawing form the idea of a writer that put everything he had into a story he just made, without that, you don't have another support of media to express it. Bibury Animation Studios don't make shitty stuff, but let's look at Quintessential Quintuplets season 2 and Movie that they did recently, it's by no mean bad visually, but it's just a harem anime with pretty chill movement, but not on this anime, it's an action show packed with many other things, the animation needs to be to an higher standart, which Bibury tried to achieve and succeded especially in the begining, but kinda lost the spirit for the time after, which sadly as I said impacted the emotional impact of what's being portraiyed into our eyes.
Talking about eyes, another cool sense that humans have is hearing. Was the sound in this anime good ? Especially good, that's why I wanna mention it. I don't always talk about the sound of an anime, because most of the time it's not worth talking and pretty generic, but clearly not Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers. I wanna applaude the people who worked on the OST and Insert Songs of this anime, it's fucking good. I think great OST is even more important than visuals during deep and emotional heavy moments, and I wanna say how this anime delivered something very good that I won't forget for a long time, it made tense moments even more tense and made me shiver on many occasions during the parts of the anime that needed it the most. Another very interesting thing to note are how disturbing/unique the OP and Ending are, it's quite magical how they made both of them and how they fully represent the vibe of the anime. You always seems to ask why they are so weird and uncanny at first (and obviously the earrape part of the OP is disturbing), which makes you think everytime you want it (also I really like the OP music even though I'm not much of a rock and heavy metal fan) and the more you progress in the anime, the more you can start to see why it's like that and how accurate is it to the vibe that the anime has to offer. The Ending is also great at presenting something quite sad, which you wouldn't think at first to fit the anime, but the more you listen to the Ending sang in english, the more you get to see how representative it is of the overall desesperate situation that we are in in the anime. It's also a great buffer to let you think about what just happened in the anime and how you'd feel about it. So yeah, very good stuff that's on par and maybe even better than the story itself which has a few flaws.
Indeed, flaws this anime has, but I don't think it was executed poorly and is a demonstration of something shitty, I think the background behind the story still has interesting reflexions that you wouldn't get anywhere else, with some quite funny and goofy moments that make you enjoy the small things in life and the passion of all otaku people. It is not a masterpiece, but I would still recommend you to give it a try, because the tense moments are still great to watch in my opinion. If you're an avanced level 999 weeb boss that like otaku culture and all of the Akihabara and anime shit with cool maids and all, I think you would be a good candidate to at least like it, but probably won't shock you up tremendously.
Got to keep on loving
degenburneracct
A show that exists only in extremes, and refuses to do anything less. Throughout the 12 episodes (which feel more like 24), the show bounces between mashing up magical girls with heavy drug use, serious emotional beats about war with a self-parodic "gamers are oppressed" gang weed premise, incredible character design with inconsistent animation, and esoteric metaphysical plot twists with underage boy fanservice. I choose to pretend that last one did not happen. Every show gets one mulligan. The show is constantly at odds with itself, but never completely tears itself apart. It has some great edgy, almost cynical little moments: our nerd-hero-loser-soldier going all littledark age smoking a cig, three girls created in a lab to be Disney characters & rebelling against it because one of them found emo music, another one found out how cool drugs are, the third changed her name to fuckin Anarchy. That shit is so lame & so cool. Yet this self-conscious earnestness is contrasted with a sincere and uncritical celebration of everything in the culture. It seeps into the bones of the tv show, drags it all down. The mc spends less time quietly vibing with the girls than he does doing harem shit. Their connection isnt founded on their rejection by society or even shared interests, but on classic anime "yes master" bullshit. There are about seven too many speeches giving the viewer a pat on the back for watching this show in the first place. Fortunately, about two of these speeches are actually really effective.
There's a perfect balance somewhere, between making cool ass characters that break the "nerd" stereotype vs making them actual turbo losers that find pure joy and fulfillment in the things they like. Neither I nor the show know where this balance is. But that's all beside the point, cause what this show does know is the power of a good fucking image. A man in a suit with a tv for a head. Fantasy anime girls hanging out in a drop top. A gas mask with a dress. Find a juxtaposition and draw it, no extra steps in between. I think sometimes that's all you need.
NyanFishy
Watching shows together with someone to discuss it as (and after) you're watching it is always a good idea. It helps you recontextualize everything. In the case of this one, I decided to watch it together with my brother. The first two episodes were... confusing, really. Mainly thanks to the pacing, which was awful. But it gave us something. Hope. Hope for a show that could outgrow it's initial clunkiness, and could surpass itself to become something truly great and memorable. It was mainly the visuals and symbolism in the opening and ending, and it's unique premise that gave us this feeling. However, as we watched on, we quickly noticedit was becoming a constant teeter-totter in quality. From the animation, to the story, to well, everything really.
I have genuinely never seen something that so perfectly encapsulates the meaning of "mixed bag" as this.
One thing that never disappointed was the music, but it was ultimately held back by inconsistency, on literally all the other fronts. Animation, tone, story build-up, etc. Every episode felt like a turn of the gachapon dial, never knowing what might come out of that wretched little plastic ball next.
Throughout it's 12 episode run there were a lot of good, and hell, even great concepts. The ones that leaned into the surreal and darker tone that was present in the op and ed genuinely captivated us. We agreed that out of all of them, 2, 5, 8 and 9 were the best episodes, truly showcasing what this show is capable of at it's peak.
So, I hear you asking, was this show any good? And, if not, was it even worth watching?
And to you, I raise,
who am I to tell you what to like, and how much to like it?
Tik23
I just got done watching this after recently also checking out Kiznaiver, though I don't compare the two a whole lot I do have one statement that I think was valuable to warrant this explanation. Kiznaiver is an interesting show and I suggest you watch it if you read this. Magical Destroyers is a fascinating show that breaks the mold in many ways and while it's quality may be lacking in certain areas like the animation and pacing, it's music, art direction, and story surprised me in many delightful ways. It kept me guessing as to what reality was at every point, and I think themessages it portrays are valuable not just to artists like myself, but also those who consume it as well.
As much as I want a season two I understand that it's not what the show is about. I think my real problem however is we just needed more time, with the characters, with their personalities. More time to hint and have characters interact with the overarching narrative would have been a better use of time than the unfortunately lacking beginning. Still, the ending left me pretty emotional and while it was a pretty disappointing show animation wise, the concept is so good I almost hope someone gets inspired to make a spiritual successor that really delivers on the themes and story.
It is admittedly a pretty rough watch though, very boring and not that funny, but there's passion and a real attempt to be more than the sum of its parts. Where Kiznaiver disappointed me by forcing itself into tropes and a by the numbers and really bumming ending, Magical Destroyers has me wishing the show was less afraid to show its hand and give proper buildup to its unique ending.
I've gone through a lot of anime lately that felt like they could've had more time in the oven, leaving me a little bittersweet. Even so, stuff like this is real art, I couldn't see any boardroom making something like Magical Destroyers ironically enough. It's a real experiment, and as they go, while I'm disappointed that its potential wasn't reached, it's gonna stick with me, and likely go on to inspire my own work.
..and for that, it was worth every second.
(And in accordance with the guidelines, you'll probably find it neat.)
Lolitroy
MEH. As a chronic yapper, this will probably be my shortest review by far. There's little to say, which is ironic, since the show seems so adamant about saying things. What things? The answer is yes. Art is pretty nice. I can't for the life of me remember anything about the soundtrack. A lot of visuals are interesting and funny and stuff. The opening/ED are the reason why I watched this show in the first place: they're great. Opening is insane in the best way possible and the ending eerie, catchy, intriguing. Good stuff. They're also borderline false advertisement and I feel scammed every time I rememberthem.
The story takes place in an alternate timeline where otaku stuff has been banned. Why? The answer is yes. It has all but been purged from society; however, a valiant group of rebels keep the embers alive on their hideout in Akihabara, aided by three magical girls who showed up as a gift to the MC, creatively named Otaku Hero(TM). Together, they fight the oppressive government who seeks to deploy conceptual erasure upon anime/manga.
Right off the bat, it reminded me of Shimoneta, which has basically the same premise except with dirty jokes instead of anime/manga. Thing is, Shimoneta HAD something to say. It wasn't particularly groundbreaking (authoritarianism bad, brainwashing citizens into mindless obedience leads to stagnation, chronic deprivation can lead to the exact opposite of the desired effect), but it didn't need to be. The appeal (?) was the comedy, anyway. Both aspects complimented each other rather than clash in a tonal disaster like this series.
An unfortunately common trap in gimmicky anime/manga/LN is that, unless the author is very creative, the jokes wear thin after a while, or perhaps the author feels like adding 'complexity', so the tone shifts from silly goofy to serious... until it doesn't, because the author then remembers it's supposed to be a comedy, so as a result, we get intense sequences of one-dimensional characters talking about boring problems in a one-dimensional world, but with jokes. While I get some of this is by design (quirky sparkly concepts sell), many, many authors have been able to sidestep this issue. Why? Easy: they add layers from the start. And this show tried. I think. Or maybe it imitated other shows while failing to understand why they worked? Speaking of unfortunately common traps--
We're digressing. This show started out silly, then failed to evoke emotional appeal due to its cardboard characters, cardboard world, and cardboard exploration of "themes". It's very cool that the girls have strong bonds with Otaku Hero(MC) and stuff, but I feel like I've seen that a few thousand times. What else? Otaku Hero(TM) feels conflicted about the sacrifices the rebels have made for their cause... okay, cool. He also wonders if it's worth it, and to that, having endured the ending, I must concur: WAS it worth it? If the society that wrongs you doesn't seem to care about you at all, and your cause of rebellion could be solved by finding another hobby (learn how to knit idk) then is it worth the loss of thousands of lives and resources?
The show's answer to this plight is that 'it's okay to like anime', which feels almost surreal at that point. People are dying, Kim. They did try to show adverse effects with non otaku society being gray and boring because, like, they enjoy normie stuff... which means they're gray and boring and not unique free thinkers like anime fans. It didn't land particularly well. In Shimoneta, you could actually see the daughter of the evil politician(tm) turning into the complete antithesis of her mom's ideals as a result of such extreme censorship (said daughter doesn't even recognize the unhinged stuff she does). Conversely, there was the other end of the spectrum, which, while theoretically agreeing with the MCs, only cared to spread debauchery as the new norm instead of promoting freedom of thought/expression. This show had none of that, really. The otakus(tm) are all the good guys and the normies(tm) the bad guys who don't respect other people's hobbies damn it mom it's not a phase
On top of the nothingburger of a "theme" (or perhaps, precisely because of this) the sequence of events are so nonsensical and stupid it makes me wonder if they just animated a first draft. Half of these things could've been smoothed over, but maybe nobody cared. Maybe whoever was in charge didn't want their vision to be tainted by silly things like coherent writing. Again, this imitates spectacle while failing to understand intent. Several 'twists' fell flat, or seemed to be there just to be quirky and unique. It's one of those series that makes me appreciate predictable, but coherent over nonsense that tries too hard. This is the latter. There's a reason why formulas exist: they work. There's a reason why deviating from the formula leads to trash like this so often: it's done without meaning.
This has no meaning. The characters are bland and uninteresting. The funny gimmicks wear off fast, both by design and incompetence. The storyline is unpredictable in the worst way possible, which is to say, a cautionary tale about why plot twists need... well... a PLOT to work. A premise is not a plot. A concept is not a plot. Why is that so hard to understand?
When I saw that banger opening and insane first episode, I thought I was in for a treat. There's plenty of underrated shows with insane humor and storyline that work for me yet aren't really popular, and so I figured based on the rating that this would be one of them... but no, you guys were absolutely right. This is a trashfire. Good presentation is meaningless the moment you take off the wrapping. What a waste of time. What a disappointment. It makes me feel for those involved who saw the writing on the wall yet tried their best to the bitter end. You're better off watching Shimoneta or Magical Girl Ore, which is another spoof of the genre with questionable moments yet is a sublime work of art the likes of which appear once a century. I'm only being half ironic here. Much like this anime. Very postmodern. It's not that deep, bro. It's just a shitpost, bro. (More shit than post.)
P.S. Is this even my shortest review? Probably not. Plot twist hahAHahHAhahHAHah
Night151
This anime breaks my heart. I loved it a lot it was the hidden gem of the season for me. Then episode 12 happened, and all my love for it went off a cliff. I don't understand how this happened I can not understate how much I was enjoying it. The op is still really good I've listened to it on repeat a bunch, and the magic transformations are great too. Is this another one of those Anime that destroyed their story at the end for some stupid Mobile game it kinda feels that way. Maybe another season can save it, but I really don'tknow. Really sad about this one.
2T-VRU-D
The story is mediocre. The writing is weak. The pacing is all over the place. The comedy is stale. The bad guys look stupid. The main character is kinda boring. No one can be taken seriously. The animation is good, but nothing fancy. Gobo gobo gobo gobo. The studio isn't really ticking off all the boxes for a successful anime here by today's standards. But what respectfully sets Magical Destroyers apart from the rest of this season is its approach to animation. The studio understands that good animation isn't just high budget, crazy angles and fancy particle effects. They take advantage of anime as anartistic form of expression with their own unique style of animation and creativity. (And on a sidenote, the side/background characters are actually interesting to look at and drawn fairly decently alsobluegirlishot.)
Even though the show doesn't take itself seriously (the social commentary is just a means to an end), the characters' individuality make the heavier moments have just enough impact. And on top of all of this, Magical Destroyers creates an original concept while disguising itself as a parody. It's a homage to the old that takes a step towards something new. Despite its shortcomings, Magical Destroyers acts as a nostalgic, over the top love letter to the otaku community. The creators' passion for anime and all things otaku are apparent in every episode. This show has fun simply for the sake of having fun: a meaningful reminder of the baseline we otakus tend to forget. To quote the late Yui Hirasawa, "Fun things are fun."
For those who enjoyed this anime for the right reasons, it is our sworn duty to gatekeep Magical Destroyers from our friends until it is their time to appreciate it. Be warned, the casual anime viewer will not enjoy Magical Destroyers to its fullest and may find it uninteresting. RAGE
Abaddon4242
Summary- Magical Destroyers will DESTROY your heart. Came for the girls development, left when it was ruined. Im not going to pull my punches here. Im an avid lover of psych. mystery and horror etc. And this anime just flat hurts. I grew to love the silliness and quirkyness of the girls. I accepted the cliche and niche otaku trope. But i couldnt accept the end or any of the major plot. I loved the characters and hoped for a nice resolution. Only for ragebaiting levels of denial and the erasure of their entire development to be given. Stop watching after you see what youwant. Listen to the ost maybe. Its a banger. Im very upset over the loss of a good plotline.
The gritty details
Shortly before the ending the entire plot goes stale to spicy to stale again randomely.
I got nothing to say negatively about personality for any of the characters. Backgrounds are blank slates and the mystery is "cringe". I thought they did well and got their goals to the finish line. But right before we get a promised rise to the top, the author has all the effort, progress, identity, stripped and burned like their otaku culture. Almost rage baiting levels of denial.
You could leave the anime at a good note after their Wanku concert is over. I dont suggest finishing it or at minimum dont take it to heart how the twist reverses all the point of the story.
I got invested specifically in the dynamic of the magical girls discovering themselves and their past or reason to exist. For them to have a climactic fight against superior foes. Only to be defeated and struggle to win despite it. Like a bleach esque fight.
But. They didnt get that. In fact. The prize for winning was losing everything they were. All the personality. All the reason to like them. Not to mention the dark ending making everything meaningless.
At the very. Very end. You get 1 single line. The catchphrase said a lot. Thats it. Make your guesses about what that meant. Infer what you can about the future. About how much the magic girls cried and suffered about their fate. Just for everything to end right there.
tipani
Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers was definitely one of my quirkier picks for the season based off the synopsis alone. An original anime too? After watching an original like Akiba Maid War (which I did enjoy) sure I'll give it a try and oh a I try I did to the very end. All twelve episodes. So I am confident in saying that this series was only carried by it's OP, ED, and OST. Nothing in between those three were substantial enough to save the series with it's lack of depth with both the characters and story. Don't fall into the trap of trying to watchthis series no matter how pretty the OP/ED are!! The series was so frustrating I had to create a MAL account to save others from this series. Anyone who is rating this higher than a 4 is delusional.
I had hopes through the series that it would somehow get better as time progressed but somehow became worse and worse. Which is a shame as I had high hope for the series as the creator was inspired from some of my favorites like Madoka Magica, etc, but I do not think the creator and I watched the same animes because whatever I watched was lacked any cohesion or really any inspiration for a decent story. Much earlier in the series when the story felt like it was going somewhere, the episode right after would throw it out the window. It wasn't until the end where the "intensity" ramped up because of seemingly random twists but overall the series fell flat with multiple gaps and lack of explanation for several things. Now this could be a build up to season 2 or whatever else may release in the future but I won't be there to support it. Sorry Otaku Hero. o7
jujubae
a deconstruction, of a deconstruction, of a deconstr- OK, but - throughout all the layers to this series, its humor and self-awareness make it one of the more enjoyable anime in recent memory. it's flashy, referential, spirited (and all to such extremes) that it is hard to look away at any given moment, because some small (but worth seeing) detail might get missed. it certainly has something, somewhere, for everybody, and so its a great one to watch with someone else/a small group. it's a polarizing one for sure, which honestly makes it all the more exciting so see it in its complete audaciousness. buuut allin all, regardless of where you stand at the end of everything, at the VERY least, it isn't an anime you will forget anytime soon. that's worth its merit, i think
thegreatdeadguy
There are very few pieces of media out there that have actually impressed me for succeeding so brutally at being absolutely horrible. It's to the point that part of my brain wants to take this whole thing as if it was purely a satire, a critic on the indulgent cliches of anime, but no, seems pretty legitimate. I just find it funny that there are people somewhere in the world that can look at such a creation and not even realize what they really have in their hands. This is pornography, of the worst kind, as its not even explicit in its showcase of theinnermost disgusting desires in the half-rotten brains of man. And when it's taken as legitimate the saddest part to see is that the show itself almost relishes on how clever and creative it is, it's like a toilet made out of post modernism. I just find it impressive overall, most "bad" media is usually just boring or dumb, this one is profoundly bad. Worth a watch just for the sake of experiencing such display of horribleness.
Snapshot426
I would say I’m more of an open man when it comes to watching anime. I pretty much like to watch any kind of anime. This season of anime for example, I’m watching a show about the dark side of the entertainment industry, a show about a father trying to outwit the Yakuza to protect his family, a show that puts Saitama in the Harry Potter world and even a show that’s pretty much a s**tpost with horrendous CG. As you can see, I’m open into watching any kind of anime, even a show like this one where it’s over the top fun thatdoes require you to turn your brain off to fully enjoy it. They tend to be shows that I enjoy at the beginning but their luster starts to wear off after a while. Is this another one of those shows or does it manage to maintain consistency from start to finish? Sadly, yes, kind of.
To summarize the premise, Otaku culture has been outlawed and all Otakus and their collections have been captured by the mysterious SSC organization. Only a handful of Otakus remain and have taken refuge inside the ruins of Akihabara and have formed a resistance. Lead by the appropriately named Otaku Hero and along with the a trio of magical girls, Anarchy, Blue and Pink, they fight back against the SSC so they once again can not be ashamed about what they like.
The show reminds me a lot of FLCL and that mainly comes from the art style and how it kind of wants you to assume that these things just happen and don’t question it. Why are there magical girls in this world? Who cares, they are here to kick ass and fight in the name of Otaku culture. That really is the motto of this show, “don’t question it, just enjoy it”, which is a motto that I’m happy with but I do look for some answers when you got magical girls, giant robots and an organization that comes out of nowhere to remove all semblance of Otaku culture. It’s a problem with many turn your brain off shows because you can only do it for so long until you want some things explained. They usually make good first impressions but they can never really keep it up or stick the landing. Magical Destroyers kind of falls into those same pitfalls but also does some things to keep it fresh.
It’s kind of half and half where it does enough but never embraces the dumb fun attitude because it’s also trying to tell its own story of not being ashamed to like what you want to like. While that is fine, it also means you are trying to do two things at once and you are not fully committing to either one. One episode will have Anarchy, Blue and Pink fight a giant robot, the next, you have an episode about how older Otakus feel about the more modern Otakus. It is held together by a consistent tone so it’s able to congeal all of this together. It’s why I don’t have too big of a gripe about it. It does have a story to follow instead of it being just simply being dumb fun as we walk aimlessly until the next big threat comes along (which it also has but that’s not the point). Yet it feels like it has potential to be more from both sides but it’s held back by the other. It tries to balance the fun action with the story of standing up for your tastes and beliefs and while it does that well, it doesn’t go far enough than it could have and as such, makes it feel like this show has missed potential.
One thing that this show does succeed though is its characters. They are generally fun and likeable characters and the main highlights are the three magical girls Anarchy, Blue and Pink. Each have a distinct personality to go with their look. Anarchy is a fiery redhead who clearly care about people and will act to protect them. Blue is a masochist who can be level headed despite her tastes and is usually the mouthpiece for Pink. As for Pink, she is a drug addict who wears a gas mask and the only word that come out of her mouth is “Gobo”. Each of them are entertaining in their own way and act as great moral support for Otaku Hero, our protagonist. He has his own personal struggle, which is the burden of leadership and standing up for your beliefs He’s one to crawl up into a ball but he’s also one to step up and will the courage when he needs to. He’s a character that never really wanted to be a leader but didn’t want to stand by and watch as everything he loves is outlawed. He’s a guy that you want to root for and hope he succeeds because he’s clearly doing what he can for all those he cares about and making sure Otaku culture doesn’t die. Of course, being an anime loving otaku does help because lets be honest, we all love anime. If you don’t, why are you here? You’re clearly in the wrong place.
The villains are fun, if one not but they clearly have something more to them that adds a bit of a mystery element to the plot that I didn’t really care too much about because it was fairly obvious why they ended up the way they did. Their fights actually do make for the highlights of the show due to what they bring to the table.
In terms of animation, it’s fine. Again, the art style and character designs are the main strength due to their rough yet lively look. They are able to strike nice poses and help make characters more distinct from one another. Unfortunately, the animation doesn’t quite match it. It’s does its job and it’s quite serviceable but it also ain’t anything special; which is kind of disappointing because I was hoping for it to look more over the top, but never feels like it goes far enough. It doesn’t detract from the action but it certainly doesn’t make you go on Youtube to look up those fights.
The soundtrack though does. I do think that this is a particularly good soundtrack with some entertaining action ost that is at least able to mask some of the flaws of the animation but I particularly love the villain osts that is able to capture their rather zany attitude. It clearly sound like it wants to have fun and I do think it is effective in that regard.
Then there is the OP and I am definitely aware that this is a VERY decisive and it mainly comes from that last bit of the OP where all sense is broken down. I however, think it’s one of the best OPs this season. For starters, I think it’s very well animated with a crisp art-style and when it does break down from all sense, it is at least creative, even if it does feel like you are going on an acid trip. It’s probably why people don’t like this OP so much because it devolves into noise and while I can see that, it is rather on brand with the shows attempt of being over the top and it is creative, I will give them that. I fully understand why people don’t like this one but for me, this is easily one of the best OPs this season.
Same goes for the ED as well, although this one is more sensible than the OP. The crisp art style returns, despite it just being sliding panels but does look really good. The visuals themselves are strange, not in the same vein as the ED but it makes you think of what it’s trying to hint at. It does make it strangely captivating. The song in particular though is the standout part in this. It’s very calm yet also ha a steady tempo where it doesn’t feel slow. Overall, I think this is a very good ED.
Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers is a show that I did enjoy to some degree but also fell off. I like turn your brain off shows but most of them can’t keep it going for 12/13 episodes and you kind of want more. That being said, there are things to like about this show. I like the cast of characters, I thought the ost was good and despite not being consistent with it, the over the top action is fun to watch. Yet it feels like it could’ve done so much more and what were left with is a show lesser than the sum of its parts. It isn’t able to be consistent with its storytelling, the animation is not able to keep up with the action and it just never goes far enough. You have Otakus and magical girls going up against an evil corporation with their own private military and yet it doesn’t get me fully excited. It kind of left the finale, which is meant to be the culmination to make everything go buck wild and to be fair, it did, it kind of left me with a rather “eh” expression. Like it’s fine but doesn’t get me pumped to watch and action packed finale. It’s kind of like how I feel about a show like Rust Eater Bisco from last year where it felt like, “Yeah I enjoyed it, but I felt like it could’ve done so much more.” That also applies to this show.
In the end, it does some things right but isn’t able to fully utilize its toolbox and kind of left with a rather “yeah it’s alright.” It’s fun for a good few episodes but can’t keep it up all the way through and ends up being somewhat of a dud despite its very obvious strengths.
Story: 5/10
Characters: 8/10
Animation: 6/10
Sound: 9/10
My Personal Enjoyment: 6.5/10
Overall Score: 6.9/10
Recommendation: Consider it
Halalex
Like me, your interest in this show was probably piqued by the absolutely bonkers OP that you saw on Youtube or that a friend showed you. And just like me, you were probably also somewhat disappointed with the show's actual content, but that’s not to say it didn’t have some stuff worth talking about. Most of my enjoyment of this show comes from the effort put into making it feel like an early 2000s show, an era of anime that I, myself am a very big fan of. So it's kind of just nostalgia bait for that era through and through, an idea I support butwasn’t that impressed by. When all is said and done, however, the show isn't really that pleasing to the eyes anyway, which unfortunately makes the whole concept fall kind of flat except for a few stand-out moments. I guess you could giga-brain it and say that the low-quality animation is meant to emulate the look of the lower-profile shows of that era, but I highly doubt that.
That said, the story, unlike the style, is basically non-existent. Well, to be precise, there is a story, but it kind of doesn’t matter at all, a fact that is further reinforced by how absolutely zero sense it makes. And yes, shows like this don’t have to have a cohesive, nuanced, or intriguing story, but in those cases I expect them to have something else to enjoy… which Magical Destroyers unfortunately mostly lacks. Almost all of the characters (including the main one) are abhorrently lame, the over-the-top action isn’t as well executed as one might expect, and the complete lack of personality all just eliminates any hope of the potentially fun ride that this show should’ve been.
Credit where credit’s due though, the three main magical girls all have unique, unconventional designs and quirks that I really enjoyed. They are the one aspects that I actually liked, and they are unfortunately done so dirty by the rest of the show.
5 / 10, was really hoping for this to be good. Turns out a concept like this only works for the first few episodes before the novelty wears off.
