DAI MAHOU TOUGE
Review by: Craig “Clarisse, Is That You?” Norris
Length: 4 episodes
Genre: Dark comedy, senseless violence
Watched: All, subbed
Magical girl anime is such a storied and vaunted genre, I can’t help but snicker in delight when it gets satirized. Show me an anime that makes fun of young schoolgirls with magic wands and transformation sequences, and I’ll give it my undivided attention, busily taking notes on how the genre is systematically ripped apart. After I finished watching this satire, however, someone else has been doing all the note-taking; namely my therapist, as I go through all the emotional scarring this anime impressed upon me.
Plot synopsis: Punie Tanaka, Princess of the Magik Kingdum (which I purposely misspelled to avoid a lawsuit from you-know-who) has transferred to Earth for one year as part of her studies to succeed her mother, Queen Esmeralda. Her angelic smile and innocence make her an instant celebrity... until those who would challenge her step forward. Using her magical powers and her physical submission techniques, Punie wreaks havoc on the student body’s student bodies, in the hopes of one day unleashing her sadism on the Majic Kingdim as its uncontested ruler.
Artwork: The art takes an effective middle ground for a series that alternates between trying to make you laugh and trying to give you the dry heaves. The violence is portrayed comically, with broken limbs bent at all possible strange angles, and geysers of blood that flow forth as easily as cheap beer at a kegger. Character designs are somewhat subdued, especially considering how half of the characters are magical. The animators really seemed to cut loose on their landscapes of the Madgic Cingdom, as all manner of strange buildings and means of locomotion sprawl out across the screen in colors too numerous to mention. The artwork is appropriately off-beat, as is just about everything else in this anime.
Music: The first bit of music one is exposed to is the eyebrow-raising opening theme, which combines happy pop music with disturbingly violent lyrics, especially when sung in the cute voice of a teenage magical girl. The ending theme also goes the over-the-top route, using music and lyrics that convey epic and poignant drama, when the subject matter is anything but. The rest of the tracks are fine, but they get easily overshadowed by all the imagery.
Characters: Funny always starts with the characters, and this anime is no different. One need look no further than the leading lady, Punie, who demolishes the old definition of “bipolar,” in favor of something far more violent and intense. When at peace, she is as innocent and pure as any magical girl could ever hope to be. When provoked, however, she becomes an ultra-violent berserker who will break every bone in her opponent’s body. She also has the unique ability to give life to vegetables and control them, which is both strange and at times oddly effective. Her main earthly rival is Anego, the school’s female gang leader. Almost as violent as Punie, she becomes disgusted with her supposed purity and tries to pick a fight with her. Big mistake. After getting thoroughly trounced, she becomes Punie’s friend (sort of), and admires her cruelty from afar. Paya is Punie’s obligatory furry mascot, who alternates between being cute and being a feared and respected former military captain. When defeated by Punie and forced to become her mascot, Paya pledged his loyalty, but still tries to kill her on occasion. Pyun and Potaru are Punie’s eight year-old twin sisters, whose cuteness is only exceeded by their rudeness and desire for power. They are often the focal point of their older sister’s wrath, which ranges from spankings all the way up to her joint-obliterating submission tactics. Tetsuko is Punie’s classmate, and becomes fast friends with Punie, despite the fact that she is often aghast at Punie’s ruthlessness. She loves trains, which is quite appropriate, seeing as how most of her dealings with Punie turn into train wrecks. Eliz von Barbaroque is the daughter of the king deposed by Punie’s mother, and seeks revenge on Punie for her humiliation. After her thrashing at the hands of the sadistic magical girl, she simply goes about her business in class.
Plot: “Lyrical Tokarev, kill them all!” When a magical girl’s henshin sequence begins with those words, you know something morbid is about to happen. The mixture of slapstick comedy and graphic violence combine to form a product that is far more disturbing than this, or this, or even this! As far as actual plot goes, there’s not much. Punie is supposed to be using her time on earth to train for becoming queen of the Majjek Kingdem, but it is never clear exactly what lessons she learns by interacting with (read: beating the living shit out of) earthlings. Don’t expect any plot cohesion to show through all the pummelings and dark humor.
CHICKS!: Making a pass at just about any of these girls is tantamount to playing Russian roulette with an automatic pistol. If you pledge undying servitude to Punie and pay her tribute daily, there’s a slim chance that she won’t snap your neck, but I wouldn’t count on it. Anego takes too much pride in being a violent delinquent to be tamed by romantic banter, so anyone below a third degree black belt should steer clear of her at all costs. Eliz is no match for Punie, but she could kick just about anyone else’s ass, and would probably enjoy doing so a great deal. Tetsuko, though sweet and nonviolent by nature, is often in the red zone, so being close to her would mean taking some friendly fire. Instead of reserving a hotel room for a date with any of these girls, investing in a coffin would likely be a better option.
Overall: This anime is sick, twisted and warped to the core. That is both its main strength and its greatest weakness. I loved the concept, but sometimes it just went too far. Unless you have an extremely morbid and sadistic sense of humor, you will definitely be put off by this anime. If, however, you have www.rotten.com saved in your web browser’s shortcuts, this might be a very satisfying way to spend two hours.
IN A NUTSHELL
+ Boundary-shattering concept
+ Goes too far, in a good way
- Can also go too far in a bad way
Rating: 7/10
Return to Index