Mahouka LN - Steeplechase Chapter (Volume 13) Discussion / Poll

[amtro]

It was already said in volume 13 that someone had leaked a rumor that the Kurobas were related to the Yotsuba.

[black_cat1]

Mikihiko already said that there is a rumour about Kuroba family is affiliated with Yotsuba clan.

[TrueAlchemist]

Originally Posted by black_cat1

Well, at least Maya only has Tatsuya and Miyuki as remaining family members. For someone who lost her past like Maya, it's understandable if she treasures her own niece and nephew, after all she is not emotionless. Both Maya and Miya are pitiable and I appreciate the author for not turning her to a heartless person.
Sooner or later, Tatsuya has to part with the JSDF. The reason he join 101 just because he lets them see his secret power in Yokohama incident. His sole priority is protecting Miyuki and with things keep building up between Yotsuba and JSDF and 10 Master Clans, I don't think he can remain in the military longer.

I think, you are looking at her too positively. At the end, she was the one who drop Tatsuya's status to guardian, a mere servant. Maybe, the author is trying to fix her a little bit. Who knows. But, it does not change the fact that Tatsuya is nemesis of Maya.

And, Tatsuya joined 101 because of the connection between Saeki and Maya.
Saeki is one of the few military officers with connection to Yotsuba.

Originally Posted by Echizen777

As I thought, Flash Cast is becoming more and more useless, Lina was already super fast, and with the thought controlled CAD everybody should be able to cast at a speed superior to the one of Miyuki in the Volume 2 for example. The twins are suspected but Miyuki was not? I wonder if there is a good reason for that.

I do not want to agree, but I think, you may be right.
One cannot put infinite amount of magics in the form of Flash cast, so it lost the diversification perspective of magic. It is not safe. It is efficient / fast ~~~

I think, it is the author's fault; he should allow Tatsuya to turn flash cast as empty slots within his head, and he should simply exchange the magics that can applied at the right location and time. But, if it happens, I really do not see difference between Tatsuya and robots.

Originally Posted by amtro

It was already said in volume 13 that someone had leaked a rumor that the Kurobas were related to the Yotsuba.

Yes, Miki said this rumour, but Kurobas victories at 9SC are making this rumour more plausible. I thought this guys are like spies......

By the way, I forgot to mention one more spoiler.

Spoiler for Vol.13:

There may be one more Yotsube showing up in the vol. 13. He is a mental magic user.
This guy's identity is not discovered yet. While Colonel Sakai's group was moving to another location, this old magician showed up and used the magic that created "black fog". He is fully dressed in suit with classical hat (the one, old guys wear). He said, "I will welcome you to the world of sleep" And, Sakai and group lost consciousness.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by amtro

It was already said in volume 13 that someone had leaked a rumor that the Kurobas were related to the Yotsuba.

I thought it was because of Mikihiko's ancient magic clan information network. Otherwise Tatsuya would have been aware of it without his information. Miyuki's talent made Mayumi and Mari think that nobody of her generation could have a MP superior to her and she was impressive in all her competitions, even this one where she has been MVP, if with all this she is not suspected...

[amtro]

She is suspected, Mayumi just decided to do her part in keeping the siblings' origins a secret when she made the connection of them being Yotsuba (albeit she believed they were Extras, which is wrong).

[black_cat1]

Originally Posted by TrueAlchemist

I think, you are looking at her too positively. At the end, she was the one who drop Tatsuya's status to guardian, a mere servant. Maybe, the author is trying to fix her a little bit. Who knows. But, it does not change the fact that Tatsuya is nemesis of Maya.

Well, base on the information that the author has revealed so far, I can sympathize with Maya a little bit.

- She is the head of Yotsuba clan, she must do everything for the sake of the clan and she herself does not have absolute power in the clan. If you re-read the Untouchable chapter, even Genzou cannot mobilize Yotsuba forces to avenge Maya without consents from his relatives.
- Maya herself resents Miya for taking away her past, even when Miya has passed away, it is understandable if she hold some sorts of grudge toward Miya's children.
- Because of "The Nightmare of 2062" incident, Guardian system was created

Spoiler for Guardian:

In response to Maya's tragedy, the Yotsuba enacted a policy of attaching guards to clan members who possessed an especially superior disposition for magic. The post was not assumed by temporary guards who worked for money; these guards risked their lives to fulfill their duty throughout the lifetime of the one they protected — thus the Guardians were created.

- Miyuki herself posses powerful magical abilities and being the top candidate as the future head, hence she needs to be protected carefully. Tatsuya has monstrous power but emotionless and cannot inherit the head position. Tatsuya only care about Miyuki, so it is understandable to appoint Tatsuya as the Guardian for Miyuki. For someone even stronger than Maya, Tatsuya is the perfect Guardian for Miyuki.

[amtro]

Tatsuya's appointment as a Guardian was his own doing. He is the one who insists on being Miyuki's Guardian and he is the one who worked extremely hard for a full year as a 6 year old to complete the Guardian training, something not even Minami has completed.

[Awrya]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

As I thought, Flash Cast is becoming more and more useless, Lina was already super fast, and with the thought controlled CAD everybody should be able to cast at a speed superior to the one of Miyuki in the Volume 2 for example. The twins are suspected but Miyuki was not? I wonder if there is a good reason for that.

The thought-controlled CAD just means that instead of pressing buttons on a smartphone-type CAD like Miyuki does or holding a gun-type like Tatsuya, it's possible to cast magic without being in direct contact with the CAD at the same speed.

It's not like having a thought control CAD automatically speeds up reading activation sequences and building magic sequences to Flash Cast level. Their casting speed might be slightly faster, but it's not possible to bridge the gap in casting speed between a normal magician and someone of Miyuki's calibre with just using a thought-controlled CAD or add-on.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by amtro

She is suspected, Mayumi just decided to do her part in keeping the siblings' origins a secret when she made the connection of them being Yotsuba (albeit she believed they were Extras, which is wrong).

Yes but compared to the twins he suspicion is light, I don't think Mikihiko suspects Miyuki of being a Yotsuba despite her amazing talent making her able to rival with TMC magicians.

Originally Posted by Awrya

The thought-controlled CAD just means that instead of pressing buttons on a smartphone-type CAD like Miyuki does or holding a gun-type like Tatsuya, it's possible to cast magic without being in direct contact with the CAD at the same speed.
It's not like having a thought control CAD automatically speeds up reading activation sequences and building magic sequences to Flash Cast level. Their casting speed might be slightly faster, but it's not possible to bridge the gap in casting speed between a normal magician and someone of Miyuki's calibre with just using a thought-controlled CAD or add-on.

I am not saying that FC is useless but it is becoming less useful, I am not saying that everyone will get a speed boost rivaling with FC but some will. It was mentioned that it even permits magicians not good a psion manipulation to correct the AS, so for magicians good at it the speed boost is higher because they choose the correct one from the start.

So, they think of the magic and the sequence is constructed. Let's take Miyuki for example, her activation speed was 235 ms with a bad equipment meaning that she is even faster with a good one, how fast will be her activation speed after this when the AS is immediately constructed by thought? FC works by remembering the AS and use the magic but some magicians can still keep up with this speed, Sanada was mentioned for example. In Vol 9 Tatsuya could not keep up with Lina's speed and it's not PIS because he Flash Casted a fixed declaration magic when he had the occasion to be able to stop Lina with his grenade. Miyuki despite her speed is unable to keep up with Lina, that's why she acted faster than her during their fight and emphasized on speed with her first attack.

Despite her speed, she can't keep up with the Parasites's speed, same for Tatsuya, the spoiler of TrueAlchemist confirmed it again. Flash Cast itself is certainly not exclusive to Tatsuya since the clan can give this ability to anyone and that the 101 refuses to apply this. Considering that they will surely fight more in the future the thought controlled CAD will be necessary to rival their speed, Kudou got what he wanted and can improve his Parasites, the results he obtained will surely be useful for the one the Yotsuba have too. All of this is an event showing that magic is evolving again, just like Ancient Magic I think Flash Cast will become outdated, the only difference is that Tatsuya remembers the activation sequence while for Miyuki and the rest it will be constructed with the CAD, both are triggered by thought. Lina will be super fast .

[Navinor]

I think, the moment some another magician gets a new power or renders one of Tatsuyas powers useless, Godtsuya will just dress in his "Taurus Silver" cloack aaaand:

Tadaaa. NEW SUPER POWER. BOOM!

Or he will get one if his limiters removed. We have to remember. Tatsuya Is a monster even with all his limiters activated on him. Especially the strongest limit is in his range. Miyuki.

But one day we will see Tatsuya going really enrage.

And at that day i will make a party, because Maya (and i hope the whole Yotsuba clan) could be anhilated till the last person. (Maybe even the rats in their house will not surve this hehe)

Revenge for Tatsuya!

Still, sad he is not participating this year in the tournament.

Hmm...but. Who could win against GoD?

[Echizen777]

The limiter only reduce his psion count making him unable to use MB. It's not a consequent powerup in a fight considering that his psion count is already way above the others. It doesn't fasten his Regrowth nor make the Decomposition more powerful.

[nosaer]

Originally Posted by amtro

Tatsuya's appointment as a Guardian was his own doing. He is the one who insists on being Miyuki's Guardian and he is the one who worked extremely hard for a full year as a 6 year old to complete the Guardian training, something not even Minami has completed.

Can you please point me to where I can find this in the LN? it runs completely opposite to everything I remember reading. If I overlooked it I'd like to check it out.

[TrueAlchemist]

Originally Posted by amtro

Tatsuya's appointment as a Guardian was his own doing. He is the one who insists on being Miyuki's Guardian and he is the one who worked extremely hard for a full year as a 6 year old to complete the Guardian training, something not even Minami has completed.

No, I do not think so.
He was forced to become a guardian because he cannot perform any magic like average magician. He was failure, and failure cannot become a member of Yotsuba.In the beginning, He may not refuse because he was weak. Now, Tatsuya is still looking for a way to overpower Yotsuba. Individually, he is already powerful, but I think he is looking for other ways to subdue Yotsuba. If it was his choice from the beginning, his behavior would be very similar to Minami, and he would be loyal to Yotsuba. And, I think, you confused with the past arc volume. He refused the order from Maya, and unfortunately, his decision to remain himself as Miyuki's guardian during the debate against Maya does not prove, it was Tatsuya's choice to become the guardian from the beginning.
His decision to remain as Miyuki's guardian was more like, I only care for Miyuki, and Yotsuba is none of my concern. And, the message was clear to Maya.

By the way, while I was reviewing the past arc.
I found something interesting. Well, something weird......

If you guys remember the discussion between Miya and Miyuki about Tatsuya's surgery, Miya said, his only remaining emotion is affection towards Miyuki.
And, Miya assumes, Tatsuya saved Miya and Sakurai because if they were dead, Miyuki may get sad.

At the end of volume 13, Tatsuya healed Mitsugu's arm against Mitsugu's will.
Tatsuya simply said, "You may be dissatisfied. But, if you are remaining like this, Fumiya and Ayako will be sad".
What do you guys think? Is something changing inside of Tatsuya? Simply, what is the author doing? Definitely, it is parallel with what Miya said to Miyuki.
I hope, it is the sign that Tatsuya is changing from the inside. Or, maybe, the author is preparing a possibility for Tatsuya to care others just like how he cares about Miyuki.

[amtro]

By the way, while I was reviewing the past arc.
I found something interesting. Well, something weird......

If you guys remember the discussion between Miya and Miyuki about Tatsuya's surgery, Miya said, his only remaining emotion is affection towards Miyuki.
And, Miya assumes, Tatsuya saved Miya and Sakurai because if they were dead, Miyuki may get sad.

At the end of volume 13, Tatsuya healed Mitsugu's arm against Mitsugu's will.
Tatsuya simply said, "You may be dissatisfied. But, if you are remaining like this, Fumiya and Ayako will be sad". What do you guys think? Is something changing inside of Tatsuya? Simply, what is the author doing?

There's been several hints at Tatsuya being more emotionally responsive than what was initially assumed. This isn't the first time he comes to the rescue of someone who is not Miyuki.

Definitely, it is parallel with what Miya said to Miyuki.

It runs counter to what Miya said, unless you choose to interpret what she said a bit differently.
Miya said that the only emotion that Tatsuya retained was his love for his sister, but she also said that she had not planned things out to that extent and if it was possible she would like for Tatsuya to keep just enough capacity for brotherly love.
This indicates that no one is 100% sure of what is actually left in there.

No, I do not think so.
He was forced to become a guardian because he cannot perform any magic like average magician. He was failure, and failure cannot become a member of Yotsuba.In the beginning, He may not refuse because he was weak.

He has been given several chances to back out, but he hasn't. Mitsugu and Maya both want Tatsuya to resign as Miyuki's Guardian and return to the main house. This implies that he is Miyuki's Guardian by his own will.

Now, Tatsuya is still looking for a way to overpower Yotsuba. Individually, he is already powerful, but I think he is looking for other ways to subdue Yotsuba. If it was his choice from the beginning, his behavior would be very similar to Minami, and he would be loyal to Yotsuba.

He is not loyal to the Yotsuba at large, he is loyal to Miyuki as long as it does not betray his own agenda.

And, I think, you confused with the past arc volume. He refused the order from Maya, and unfortunately, his decision to remain himself as Miyuki's guardian during the debate against Maya does not prove, it was Tatsuya's choice to become the guardian from the beginning.

I refer to volume 4.

"You are the ones to thank for unshackling the demon, Douglas Huang. Consciousness may be the force that propels strength, but emotions take that strength one step further."

Tatsuya became a fully fledged Yotsuba Guardian and rose to the highest ranks of their fighters in one short year. To begin with just becoming a Guardian is insanely difficult and is accompanied by excrutiating pain and often death. This could not have been accomplished unless he put his mind to it and unless he had a stake in it. He wanted to be by Miyuki's side at all cost and so he did the impossible and became her Guardian at 7 years old.

[Flere821]

Thanks for the spoilers, TrueAlchemist

Spoiler for comments on Vol13:

Just a WMG from me, but maybe Maya is setting the stage for reinstating Tatsuya as a full member of Yotsuba? Minami is sent as a Guardian for Miyuki, so Tatsuya's presence with his sister becomes 'only' extremely advantageous, not 'necessary'. Mitsugu didn't care that Tatsuya was irreverent to him, possibly because he suspects this possibility that Tatsuya will go from 'tool' to 'family' soon. The confinement said by Mitsugu not being physical could also mean this, making Tatsuya a part of the Yotsuba to shackle him and only be 'let out' in times of desperation.
As for the Yotsuba rule of what they define a magician to be, they might make an exception for Tatsuya given the scale he operates at - just consider him to be a type of BS magician and he's set.

[Jirachier]

Originally Posted by True Alchemist

Spoiler:

but Pixie saves a day by eavesdropping communication of Prime Fours and inform Tatsuya about Prime Fours upcoming attacks. At the end, Tatsuya defeated Prime Four before Pixie informing him about upcoming attacks.

Spoiler:

Did Tatsuya defeat the prime four, before or after receiveing the infos from Pixie

[XFire]

Originally Posted by Flere821

Thanks for the spoilers, TrueAlchemist

Spoiler for comments on Vol13:

Just a WMG from me, but maybe Maya is setting the stage for reinstating Tatsuya as a full member of Yotsuba? Minami is sent as a Guardian for Miyuki, so Tatsuya's presence with his sister becomes 'only' extremely advantageous, not 'necessary'. Mitsugu didn't care that Tatsuya was irreverent to him, possibly because he suspects this possibility that Tatsuya will go from 'tool' to 'family' soon. The confinement said by Mitsugu not being physical could also mean this, making Tatsuya a part of the Yotsuba to shackle him and only be 'let out' in times of desperation.
As for the Yotsuba rule of what they define a magician to be, they might make an exception for Tatsuya given the scale he operates at - just consider him to be a type of BS magician and he's set.

Please don't say stuff like this, I'll regress back to my happy delusions where Maya is pulling an Itachi and everything she's doing is for Tatsuyas sake rather than the clans.

[TrueAlchemist]

Originally Posted by amtro

There's been several hints at Tatsuya being more emotionally responsive than what was initially assumed. This isn't the first time he comes to the rescue of someone who is not Miyuki.
It runs counter to what Miya said, unless you choose to interpret what she said a bit differently.
Miya said that the only emotion that Tatsuya retained was his love for his sister, but she also said that she had not planned things out to that extent and if it was possible she would like for Tatsuya to keep just enough capacity for brotherly love.
This indicates that no one is 100% sure of what is actually left in there.

It was clear that, Miya was not sure whether there was any space left in Tatsuya's head or not, but she assumed, if there is one more space, she thought affection towards Miyuki would be the best because Miyuki would live longer than Miya. And, this was only emotional thing in his head. If there was additional space, she would leave other emotions such as his possible love for mother or parents. But, the space was obviously limited.
At least, this was the orginal concept of Tatsuya's condition.

This is a bridge that connects Miyuki and Tatsuya. And, it makes their relationship special. But, at the same time, this original concept of Tatsuya removes any posibilities of shipping with other female characters, and Mayumi's swimsuit scene, Honoka's confession, Kasumi's tsudare behavior and etc would go to waste. (excluding fans of Tatsuya x Miyuki, other shippers may walk about from Mahouka) I think the author is trying to open up the future possibilities.

On another hand, we can also assume logically with given condition of Tatsuya, he may have made a decision to keep a good term with Fumiya and Ayako in order to build a good relationship between Kuroba twins and Miyuki.

But, I think, the author purposely put this event in order to prepare something in the future volume.
I am just hoping for emotional upgrades or even a hidden emotional blocks that you mentioned in the your comments.

Originally Posted by Flere821

Spoiler for comments on Vol13:

Just a WMG from me, but maybe Maya is setting the stage for reinstating Tatsuya as a full member of Yotsuba? Minami is sent as a Guardian for Miyuki, so Tatsuya's presence with his sister becomes 'only' extremely advantageous, not 'necessary'. Mitsugu didn't care that Tatsuya was irreverent to him, possibly because he suspects this possibility that Tatsuya will go from 'tool' to 'family' soon. The confinement said by Mitsugu not being physical could also mean this, making Tatsuya a part of the Yotsuba to shackle him and only be 'let out' in times of desperation. As for the Yotsuba rule of what they define a magician to be, they might make an exception for Tatsuya given the scale he operates at - just consider him to be a type of BS magician and he's set.

Spoiler for Vol.13:

I think, Maya is considering Tatsuya as a family, but this does not support the idea of making Tatsuya as an official member of Yotsuba. But, I am still surprised, Maya described Tatsuya as a member of family.

And, you have to remember, Maya purposely sent Minami. Minami was not sent for only protecting Miyuki. She could send any other female guardians, but Maya chose Minami in order to pressure and influence Tatsuya. Sakurai Honami who looked just like Minami died protecting Tatsuya. I also feel like, Maya is building a huge web to trap Tatsuya within Yotsuba.

And, Mitsugu's comments on Tatsuya seeem to contain potential hidden plot for the future volume.

Originally Posted by Jirachier

Spoiler:

Did Tatsuya defeat the prime four, before or after receiveing the infos from Pixie

Spoiler for vol. 13:

In the beginning of the battle, he got supports from Pixie, and Pixie told Tatsuya what attacks are coming from Prime Four. But, Tatsuya read Prime Four's attack before Pixie told Tatsuya about the upcoming attacks. So, in some way, Tatsuya defeated them by himself at the end. Definitely, it was not an easy fight. Even Kudou, Kuki, and Kuzumi were cheering for their success because P-dolls may have been defeated, but they pushed Mahesvara to the edge. Maybe, we can say, Tatsuya (Mahesvara) may be considered to be the strongest at least within the army. By the way, seems like more and more people are learning the identity of Tatsuya... Is it good thing or bad thing?

[Diocar]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

I am not saying that FC is useless but it is becoming less useful, I am not saying that everyone will get a speed boost rivaling with FC but some will. It was mentioned that it even permits magicians not good a psion manipulation to correct the AS, so for magicians good at it the speed boost is higher because they choose the correct one from the start.

So, they think of the magic and the sequence is constructed. Let's take Miyuki for example, her activation speed was 235 ms with a bad equipment meaning that she is even faster with a good one, how fast will be her activation speed after this when the AS is immediately constructed by thought? FC works by remembering the AS and use the magic but some magicians can still keep up with this speed, Sanada was mentioned for example. In Vol 9 Tatsuya could not keep up with Lina's speed and it's not PIS because he Flash Casted a fixed declaration magic when he had the occasion to be able to stop Lina with his grenade. Miyuki despite her speed is unable to keep up with Lina, that's why she acted faster than her during their fight and emphasized on speed with her first attack.

Despite her speed, she can't keep up with the Parasites's speed, same for Tatsuya, the spoiler of TrueAlchemist confirmed it again. Flash Cast itself is certainly not exclusive to Tatsuya since the clan can give this ability to anyone and that the 101 refuses to apply this. Considering that they will surely fight more in the future the thought controlled CAD will be necessary to rival their speed, Kudou got what he wanted and can improve his Parasites, the results he obtained will surely be useful for the one the Yotsuba have too. All of this is an event showing that magic is evolving again, just like Ancient Magic I think Flash Cast will become outdated, the only difference is that Tatsuya remembers the activation sequence while for Miyuki and the rest it will be constructed with the CAD, both are triggered by thought. Lina will be super fast .

ARE YOU CRAZY???
the new cad is only going to give tats more advantages!
In case you haven t understood the new cad uses magic to select activation sequences on the old cad, after this the normal casting procedure occurs. So If you like tats developed a sistem where you don t have to use your fingers to select which magic you want to use, the AS is constructed exactly the same way it was before, the only boost magicians might have is If finger selection is slower than thought selection, and you should take into account that nobody has ever mesured how much time magicians take to select AS, so it is probably insignificant when compared to casting time...
So as you can see flash cast for tats is still WOW because thanks to having AS in his brain he can cast the MS immediatly.
Finally, this new cad is in reallity a technology that tats created to have more advantages in relation to other magicians because with his ES instead of knowing that a magican is going to cast magic thanks to reading his AS, he can know that someone is going to cast magic thanks to the magic that selects the AS, which gives him and only him more time to react.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by Diocar

ARE YOU CRAZY???
the new cad is only going to give tats more advantages!
In case you haven t understood the new cad uses magic to select activation sequences on the old cad, after this the normal casting procedure occurs. So If you like tats developed a sistem where you don t have to use your fingers to select which magic you want to use, the AS is constructed exactly the same way it was before, the only boost magicians might have is If finger selection is slower than thought selection, and you should take into account that nobody has ever mesured how much time magicians take to select AS, so it is probably insignificant when compared to casting time...
So as you can see flash cast for tats is still WOW because thanks to having AS in his brain he can cast the MS immediatly.

It doesn't only make them choose their magic by thoughts, it helps even magicians not well skilled in Psion manipulation when they use their magic, so it gives a considerable speed boost, if you are already good enough with this it's even better.
Normal CAD: You use your fingers and it activates.
Thought controlled CAD: You think and it activates. Isn't it the same as Flash Cast? For Tatsuya all of this just happens in his head.
FC is not immediate since there are magicians who can keep up with it and the Parasites's magic activation is faster. Instead of remembering the AS they just think about the magic, Tatsuya has to use his super memory to remember the AS instead.

Finally, this new cad is in reallity a technology that tats created to have more advantages in relation to other magicians because with his ES instead of knowing that a magician is going to cast magic thanks to reading his AS, he can know that someone is going to cast magic thanks to the magic that selects the AS, which gives him and only him more time to react.

It changes nothing at all. He reads the AS on the medal shaped CAD instead, besides he always needs to read the AS otherwise he can't use Gram Dispersion.