Magical Destroyers

"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.

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.

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.

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.