(L+CR) Mahou Shoujo Tokushuusen Asuka

[Yu Ominae]

You're right in the sense that we don't know if the mangaka intentionally did that.

Also the "idea" that the USFJ won't intervene in the Naha Garrison raid, except for the MORG element that was in the garrison. It does show that Giess being savvy enough to at least avoid them from that aspect.

Bu tit would be interesting IMO if the manga does show more reality issues from the treaties between the two countries that affects defending Japan from attacks by BB.

Originally Posted by LG-MAX 2.o

This US-Japan defense agreement is quite complex. When foreign jets or ships invade Japanese territory, the SDF is sent to intercept them, since the agreement also says that Japan is responsible for the internal defense and USA for the external, and how that attack happened within the Japanese territory, they could use this as a pretext to leave it to the Japanese alone, since it could violate the country's sovereignty. That was the reason the Americans did not get involved in Gate, since the excuse was that the gate and the other side were part of the Japanese territory.

But if we are seeing this from the point of view of our world, just the fact that Japan is currently acquiring long-range missiles (developing and buying) and even 2 aircraft carriers (modifying), giving Japan military capability that by far increases its military power than would be a policy supposedly aimed solely at defense, already shows that the agreement is not strictly followed. If you read what is written in Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution and compare with current and future military developments, anyone notices that nothing there makes sense.

But anyway, this story is just fiction and I at least do not know if the author would follow our reality or not. Probably he just wanted to highlight his own country.

TBH, I think it's a highlight on Tokyo wanting to update Article 9. But on the other hand, the way Abe wants to do it partly by forcing the issue is not helping it at all. Reminds me of the debate that I had to do in my undergraduate studies.

[LG-MAX 2.o]

TBH, I think it's a highlight on Tokyo wanting to update Article 9. But on the other hand, the Abe wants to do it partly by forcing the issue is not helping it at all.

I do not blame him for wanting to update / change article 9, it alone is a fairy tale. Practically it is already dying, should not last 10 years. The USA-Japan agreement also, the idea that the Americans are required to use all their military power to help Japan in case it is attacked by another country, while the Japanese do not need to do anything is so unrealistic that sounds fiction and I doubt that if an American soldier dies in combat fighting for the Japanese without them giving support would not create a crisis between the two countries.

So I understand Abe's decisions, they already have problems with Chinese and North Koreans, and God knows how the friction with the South Koreans can be solved, and we still can not forget the territorial issue with russians.

So I understand the question of Japanese rearmament.

[Yu Ominae]

Reminds me of the EAUF terrorists.

Someone mentioned that it could be a political comment made towards the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front. Which is an interesting reference.

[LG-MAX 2.o]

Originally Posted by Yu Ominae

Reminds me of the EAUF terrorists.

Someone mentioned that it could be a political comment made towards the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front. Which is an interesting reference.

yeah, I remember seeing someone commenting on it. I think I saw this on yaraon. I found this development interesting. But then I never saw anyone commenting on it.

The 60s and 70s in Japan were pretty crazy.

[magnuskn]

Originally Posted by coded321

never seen this or heard of this series until recently, but i've been seeing a lot of screenshots(opening post pictures of the threads) pop up on 4chan. is this anime some kind of torture porn?

No. It's a "magical girls as spec ops agents" anime. However, the author seems to have some pretty wrong ideas about torture and the series has indulged in questionable scenes because of this. But it's a small part of the anime overall.

It's also not the "break the cutie" anime as that sperglord Pancakes at Random Curiosity insists it is. It has a lot of "pre-broken" magical girls, in that the protagonists have a lot of PTSD from the magical war which happened before the series even began. But overall the theme is more like "stronger together".

[Ghostfriendly]

Interesting comments on US-Japan relations although I can't imagine that current constitution or treaty with US would discourage Japan in the least from using all its defensive capabilities if attacked. Hopefully not beyond the wit of man for Japan to maintain/acquire capacity to defend itself while continuing to renounce aggressive war intentionally and clearly. If a bid to revise article 9 can be separated from the revisionist, ultranationalist baggage that seems to accompany it.

"The Japanese Prime Minister stood up and said, 'Tush, tush!',
someone threw a shepherd's pie, that hit his 'shepherd's bush'..."

If the Dias war ended with any kind of peace treaty, the US might be unwilling to get into another full-scale war by attacking Dias-like forces. I'm not sure if the Dias were completly smashed when the M5 killed their big boss, apart from the ones with the Babel Brigade, or the Dias world itself is diligently rearming for another invasion. What makes it surprising that the US wouldn't attack and kill any Dias that appear anywhere is that the Dias pose an active, inreconcilable threat to the US and the rest of the world, as monsters with no apparent concerns except devouring humanity. I can't think of any justification for humans not sending a magical nuke through a portal to Dias-world and wiping all of them out.

[Nivek von Beldo]

With Kurumi i don't know if watching an anime or a hentai..

Seems we got another francine look in the conversation about the virtual lines. And yeah seems they're looking for a magical formula..making their own magical girl?

So Taopei...talk about an extreme makeover and she now live with her loli

Those two now as maid...is the most normal this chapter so far.

Yuri...this anime have everything.

Those goals at the end...some ended very different....still amazing series, a suprise hit a 9/10 for me, i would love a second season and hope it happen

[Kazu-kun]

The Kurumi torturing Chisato scene was anime-original. Kurumi never tortured Chisato in the manga.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised the anime doesn't care about being faithful to the manga, or making sense at all. This ended up being a shit adaptation.

[magnuskn]

At the very least everything involving Kurumi was pretty bad, yes. The rest had more than a few high points. So it's a mixed bag for me.

[Friday]

ssssoooooo.....season 2?

[FlareKnight]

I mean of course they throw in another Kurumi torture scene. Also expanding her interests since she turned the first captive into her pet...Ok then.

Anyways not the worst last episode. You get some hints as to what Francine...I mean what the mysterious woman in a mask is after. After a big war. Either wants to make some super magical girl or make the magical girl themselves a world threat. No idea why any of this is going on, but we can at least start guessing at the goals.

And hey the last magical girl of the survivors got some screentime...looking nothing like she did in the OP. Kind of wondering why they even put her in the OP honestly since she was just a throw in at the end.

Considering where they ended it, this was an ok last episode. Trying to focus on Asuka's emotional state and a peek at the past. The show was fine. I'd say a good 7/10 overall. It had some good moments, some iffy moments, but decent as a whole.

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for final thoughts:

9/10

I was worried at first it was going to be too serious, but it managed to stay generally pretty comedic, so I think it was fairly fun to watch.
I would say... Hmm... Maybe Mahou Shoujo Site > Asuka > Ikusei Keikaku?
These types of Madoka-anime shouldn't try to be too serious, so obviously, Site, being the most absurd, is the top of these three. But since this one also has a whole bunch of big boobs and all, I think I should give this one a higher score.

I actually think a good amount of the "Magical" joke is anime-original... But hey, that means the staff knows what they are doing.
...Maybe? I mean, the anime-original episode was pretty bad, so... Yeah. Kinda mixed bags there.

But hey, lots of boobs and butts, ryona, magical spankings. It was pretty fun to watch.

...Surely the Queen isn't that magical girl, right? They can't be that predictable, right?
...Hmm...

[magnuskn]

I quite liked many aspects of the show. I liked many of the characters, the idea of magical girls as spec ops operatives and the Disas portrayal as evil stuffed toys.

However, the way the show glorified torture was really abominable. The manga also shows torture as an effective interrogation tool (which has been proven to be wrong in real life) and treats it as a first resort to go to. But it doesn't do it to the extent the anime goes to. Kurumi is another aspect where the show makes a more morally ambivalent character outright evil and psychopathic.

Also, the animation often was rather functional, especially with many fights showing a lot of still images.

Not sure how I feel about Tamara, the Russian magical girl, being psychologically manipulated in that way by the government (or you could also do a take that she is cray-cray as well and the government guy is actually just managing her crazyness). Since she has it so much together in the field and generally seems to be the second nicest of the magical five outside of Asuka, it really pissed me off to see the anime end with this scene of her hugging what is either a giant magical teddy. Or was that a Disas who is being held prisoner by the Russian government? Egggghhh....

Anyway, the show had many interesting ideas and some endearing characters and I would like to see more of it. But it doesn't rise above a 6,5/10 because of the problems mentioned above.

[Liddo-kun]

Watched episode 12:

Some more flashback scene to the time when they were still together. I guess everyone except Asuka has some sort of goal in mind.

Pei really changed her looks. But it seems it was not intentional, and she only changed because a situation forced her to.

Why do the masked boss of the Babel Brigade want even more war? She looks so much like that magical girl who died in the war. Maybe somebody revived and corrupted her?

The scene where Asuka saw a vision of dead friends made me smile. Did they really magically appear or she just remembered them from memory?

Nazani... well, being a waitress in cafe is better than going to jail for killing 10 cops.

Chisato wears stockings to hide her robot leg. Hopefully, she could have at least a more normal life now. She still keep the cellphone pic together with Giess, I guess she did care for him.

--- hoping for season 2

9/10

[Nachtwandler]

So much hate for this series. Eh... I won't even comment it.

Also, to bad SevenSeas does not provide a digital version of the manga.

They force me to read unofficial translastion.

[Ghostfriendly]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

The Kurumi torturing Chisato scene was anime-original. Kurumi never tortured Chisato in the manga.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised the anime doesn't care about being faithful to the manga, or making sense at all. This ended up being a shit adaptation.

Kurumi even seemed sympathetic to Chisato at the very end of ep11, surprising.

[Ghostfriendly]

Watched ep12, dear me, X years after Abu Ghraib, and the 'good guys' dragging a prisoner around on a dog lead is considered acceptable? Of course the 'good guys' aren't being shown as saints, but that's different from presenting something unacceptable as a reasonable unauestioned action.

[Nivek von Beldo]

Originally Posted by Ghostfriendly

Watched ep12, dear me, X years after Abu Ghraib, and the 'good guys' dragging a prisoner around on a dog lead is considered acceptable? Of course the 'good guys' aren't being shown as saints, but that's different from presenting something unacceptable as a reasonable unauestioned action.

Remember 24 was a megahit in japan. That might have inspired Kurumi actions

[Ghostfriendly]

Originally Posted by Nivek von Beldo

Remember 24 was a megahit in japan. That might have inspired Kurumi actions

Then they took their inspiration from the wrong place. Honestly, they needlessly torture someone who they want to work for them? Russian girl says that the dog lead is a just punishment for her crimes, if defiance of human rights charter and Abu Guraib prosecutors? Gratuitous torture verbally justified can't be justified as element of show. If Russian girl was Kurumi's love interest this would be as bad as Shield Hero.

[Akito Kinomoto]

In the post-Madoka Magica era, a lot of magical girl anime try to ape its success while taking the wrong lessons from it. This is thankfully not one of those shows

Instead of making the usual inversions on the genre that have happened over the past several years, the anime is first and foremost a military drama. A military drama with magical girls. It brings a lot of action scenes with it, and at its core it's a "where are they now?" character piece about war veterans--Asuka, mainly--after they've seen their fair share of battlefield trauma

It's easy to brace for a cascade of depression and PTSD episodes to the point of numbness in a post-war drama. The show is graciously adept at interweaving delicate subjects with delightful scenes, ensuring the sharp edge operating the action set pieces is anchored to the characters and never out of place. The color palette is a smart choice too, opting out of the darker atmosphere of its contemporaries in favor of showing things as-is and letting context take over. It has surety in itself and doesn't overcompensate

After Yuuki Yuuna, this show is the best "dark" magical girl anime to come out since Madoka Magica, since both of them learned all the right aspects from that series. As thoughtful as it is fun, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka is a great time, no alcohol required