Magic memory wipe - a full-on compex neurosurgery that needs the use of a (magic) tomograph. Magic truth serum - a magically altered barbiturate cocktail. Magic shield - itâs actually a magic explosive reactive armor. Magic animal mascot - a synthetic life-form with true AI. The show rightfully brags about having a dedicated military advisor, and it also sciences the shit out of anything magical. The big highlight of the series - itâs an absolute treat to any modern military buff, a hard sci-fi fan, or just anyone who likes authors doing their research. Again, Metal Gear is the most apt comparison. There is plenty of unadulterated brainless B-movie fun that would make for a totally inappropriate tonal clash if it was any less self-aware. Thatâs not to say this series is completely dramatic. Anyway, donât watch this if you canât handle torn-off limbs, just donât delude yourself into thinking oneâs sensibility has anything to do with the objective merits of the work of fiction. Try calling something like Saving Private Ryan âedgyâ and you will be laughed at, yet the same shit flies with anime for reasons that are not the topic of this review (*cough*, only children watch chinese cartoons, *cough*). Like I said, this is a military drama about war and terrorism - if a story like this isnât dark, then itâs toothless and fails to achieve its purpose.
And by âappropriatelyâ, I mean that if you hear someone calling a show like this âedgyâ or âgratuitousâ - those people are clueless. Naturally, given the genre and the height of its proverbial brow, this is an appropriately dark show. The writing is competent, dealing with the brought up themes in a mature and nuanced way. In fact, Metal Gear is an almost complete thematic match for this show - gut-wrenching military drama plus âtwenty minutes into the future and the world has gone to hellâ sci-fi plus wacky tongue-in-cheek comedy.Īs a military drama it touches on the themes of child soldiers (that is, magical girls), terrorism, PTSD of soldiers and civilians (one of the best and most accurate portrayals of PTSD in fiction, btw), the effect of a global war on the world order (the classical Mahou Shoujo battle with monsters was won by the MC several years before the series even begins), political fuckery between the competing military branches, battlefield camaraderie and so on - all the genre staples. Do not be misled by the words âMahou Shoujoâ in the title, this is a military/sci-fi drama about an anti-terrorist unit, it is far more in line with Ghost in the Shell/Metal Gear rather than with any actual mahou shoujo series.
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