FIF#24-Magical Girl Raising Project

Ever since she was little, Koyuki has always dreamed of becoming a Magical Girl.  Now in middle school, Koyuki discovers the social RPG “Magical Girl Raising Project”, a game which claims to have the ability to grant 1 in 10,000 the chance to become an actual Magical Girl.  When Koyuki becomes the 16^th Magical Girl, she cant believe her dreams have come true.  But as she forms friendships with the other Magical Girls in town, a new rule is announced by the administrator of the game: 16 Magical Girls is too many and the number must be cut down.  What was once a cute and fun gaming experience is about to turn into a deadly, battle royale between Magical Girls.

Well, at the request of a good friend, I decided to sit down and give this one a shot.  It’s kind of a rare thing me on this blog.  MGRP just started airing in Japan only recently.  The last time I did a first impression this close to same time as Japan was probably Ace Attorney, so it’s kind of a wow factor for me.  Anyway, what did I think of this new venture into Magical Girl territory?

Well based on the trailer my friend showed me, I wasn’t expecting another potential Madoka Magica feels fest.  Between Madoka and Magical Girl Apocalypse (a totally F’ed up title btw) why is the world suddenly coming down so hard on Magical Girls?  Madoka was special though.  It was a Watchmen style look at the Magical Girl genre.  It was well written, gorgeously animated and bearing a brutal honesty but hopeful feeling that kept you optimistic until the end.  MGRP starts in the same vein as Madoka: opening with a pretty horrific image of several dead Magical Girls while one stands above them to battle a demon.  We then cut to Koyuki enjoying the new game and dreaming of becoming a Magical Girl.  Now that I know the premise, how long until the other shoe drops and the darkness starts popping in?

The inevitable slide to the dark side off the table for now, the gaming aspect intrigued me the most about this title.  Seeing the phone sprite graphics and RPG elements was a good way to spice things up a bit without going into full blown Sword Art Online territory.  The chatroom scene with the gathered girls reminded me of a more kid friendly environment rather than the more mature and adult chatroom we saw in the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.  The “admin” known as Fav creeped me out.  Having seen a tiny bit of Danganrompa, I cant help but notice the black and white and red eyed look to this little creature that screams, “RED ALERT”. 

I really admired the shows choice to make a boy a Magical Girl.  I’ve known plenty of guys who enjoy the Magical Girl genre, or female centered superheroine titles, and they have to hide their enjoyment because they fear social stigma.  I like that the show takes some guys preference to play as girls into account (almost reminds me of when I always choose to play Fem Shephard in Mass Effect and not Male Shephard-I love her voice mostly, Male Shep is pretty bland and wooden by comparison but then again Jennifer Hale is one of the best voice actresses ever for a reason…ahem im getting off topic aren’t I?)  Granted, Koyuki’s friendship with Souta is probably going to induce a lot of feels once s*** hits the fan eventually (seriously, this show is basically saying NOTHING is going to end well for everyone).  But at least they got to finally enjoy their mutual love for the genre that birthed their friendship so long ago.   

Lastly, that end theme, DREAMCATCHER by Nano, is absolutely amazing.  It has been a long time since an end theme has given me feels like it has, very hope inducing and bearing the ability to make you wonder about how far your imagination can take you…yeah it’s hard to explain.

So, will I keep up with this series?  Honestly, I may watch another episode or two but I’m really not looking to see another Magical Girl bloodbath.  Things could go another route, who knows.  Maybe I’ll just have my friend keep up with it and advise me further.  For now, the first episode was cute and offers and nice intro to the world…that is inevitably about to go to hell for 16 poor Magical Girls.