Mashle: Magic and Muscles

Episodes 1-3

Something you oughta know about me: I think magic is for nerds. Some stories have utilized such systems to constructive ends or presented a unique way of interacting with their worlds. But more often than not, you get baby-mode basic intonations of first-year Latin that showcase "spells" that are just whatever the plot needs to happen. So there was an immediate vindication to the first episode of Mashle: Magic and Muscles already featuring its hero commenting on the seeming pointlessness of magic indulgence, even before it settled into the deconstructive magic school approach. It feels borne out of original author Hajime Kōmoto's consternation I could sense such a kindred spirit with, seeing others get swept into these worlds of wands and wizardry and wondering just what the big deal was.

So as I was fully on board from that first episode, after Mashle moves into specifically tearing down the institution of magic schools, you know, it became 100% My Shit. Because already disliking magic stuff on principle meant I friggin' hated Harry Potter. When you're that well aligned with the intent, I admit that there is something palpable about a work like this making its target of derision that clear, from every character in this wizarding world sporting a distinguishing facial scar, to the episode titles following a "Mash Burnedead and the…" structure, to Mash tussling with a dime-store Draco in the third episode. This is not an affectionate riffing; this is Komoto tearing down the institution of a franchise as much as Mash is set to tear down the in-story power structures, and they want us to know it.

Of course, at this point, much of that denser commentary is still pending as Mashle gets underway. Instead, the show is content to be carried by the simple pleasures of effectively sending Saitama to Hogwarts to one-punch his way through all these doofuses. And as in One-Punch Man, we have a series that knows how to get the most out of its single joke. It's not a question of "if" Mash will be able to circumvent any given magical challenge thrown his way, but "how" he will do it solely through the power of swoleness. Sometimes it's obvious, if still amusing, like punching his way straight through the walls of a maze. But then the show will drop a trick like Mash "riding" a broom by pulling a Tao Pai Pai maneuver. Brilliant, no notes.

While I would have been happy to see Mash directly dedicated to dunking on all these Dumble-dorks, giving them swirlies, stuffing them into lockers, and the like, I will admit it's for the best that our hero isn't that mean-spirited. A story can be deconstructive without being entirely destructive, and Mashle seems expressly set out to show how basic kindness can stand above any allegedly meritocratic societal system. Mash is a simple guy, wholly dedicated to curls and cream puffs. He generally doesn't let his lack of understanding of more complex things lead to lashing-out frustrations, and he's willing to give a pretty broad benefit of the doubt to even blatant bullies, barring them crossing particular personal lines. As the show itself regularly reminds us, he is a Good Boy™, with the irony being that he's not about to be warped by the system but is instead here to smash it up from within.

That sort of challenge is the most apparent of the denser of Mashle's satire in these opening entries. It takes direct aim at the oft-challenged reverence for established societal systems in Jowling Kowling Rowling's wizard works, correctly deducing how hellacious things would be in a world where status was entirely predicated on magical ability. The vice principal even explains the actions of aforementioned Draco riff Lloyd Cavill as such, clearly indicating that they aren't the work of a singular, exploitative bully but rather reflective of how the whole system is set up to treat people of different statuses differently. Mash may be able to try to brute-force his way out by threatening to straight-up murder any oppressive staff who would seek to expel him (and you love to see it), but he really won't have a chance so long as that governs the walls around him highlighted magical bureaucracy. That sets us up for some satisfactory long-term goals, apart from all the punchy humor, to not only see Mash succeed but perhaps revolutionize the system that landed him in this situation where he needed to do so in this way in the first place.

It's a concept conducive to both comedy and commentary, and it's good that it stands so well on its setup since Mashle, as an anime, is only entirely functional at this point. The chunky character designs at least lend themselves well to the stiffer approach (at least, it's certainly not at the level of a slide show or motion comic by this point), and it's got the timing down for its particular brand of deadpan humor. That inspired rap soundtrack is doing a lot of heavy lifting for the energy of the series too. From the beginning, this was a show I was already inclined to like, as far as the satire goes. But I appreciate that even a near-full farce like this one can still take moments to demonstrate Mash's genuine compassion as he preps to recruit allies like Finn or Lemon. Parody aside, this one's still got the shonen heart of its source material beating, and to me, that kind of hot-blooded magic will always be way more impressive than waving any amount of wands around.

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Mashle: Magic and Muscles is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris is keeping busy keeping up with the new anime season and is excited to have you along. You can also find him writing about other stuff over on his blog, as well as spamming fanart retweets on his Twitter, for however much longer that lasts.