What happens when an absolute knucklehead goes up against fascist teachers with nothing but fists? Mashle Episode 2, that’s what! Let’s see how well it went for old Mashe Burndead in this review!
Mashle Episode 2 Overview
Mashle is an action, adventure, and comedy anime produced as a part of the Spring 2023 season of anime. The show is based on a Shounen Jump manga written and drawn by Hajime Koumoto. The show is being directed by Tomoya Tanaka, whose previous contributions to the industry include directing episodes of Hunter x Hunter and helming Engage Kiss.
The show is being produced and animated by studio A-1 Pictures, a prolific studio in the industry known for titles like Sword Art Online, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and Fairy Tail. The show is also called Mashle Magic and Muscles, and thus, this episode is also called Mashle Magic And Muscles Episode 2. Click here to read the review of the previous episode of the show!
– Mashle Magic And Muscles Episode 2 Review does not contain spoilers –
Mashle Episode 2 Review- Makes Some Sense
Mashle is stupid. It doesn’t have much going for it- It’s not particularly well animated, it does not have the best soundtrack, the character introduced so far have all been spineless, and the story hasn’t had the chance to progress yet properly but still doesn’t have a lot of nuances. There is a lot more than can be said about this that would amount to “this is not a particularly high-quality show”, so let’s just say that much and lay that to rest. This is a stupid show, and that is okay.
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Not everything has to be high art. Not everything has to have meaning and progression, and not everything has to give you enough life lessons to make you a better person in life. To have value, things don’t need to make a difference in the world, and this is where Mashle currently stands. It’s just stupid, goofy fun, which doesn’t make much sense and doesn’t have to. It exists so you can smile a little every few seconds and for not much else, and it has done that job admirably for the first two episodes.
Things are moving along well for Mash as he continues to punch his way through everything he comes across, standing in front of his goal. His character has no subtlety to him, and what you see is what you get. He is a meathead who loves to work out, but he is also someone who knows his limitations and can look for solutions that are beyond his abilities by using the abilities that he does have. All the entrance examinations to join Easton Academy proved his abilities very well. They say a comedy anime protagonist is just as powerful as it takes him to be funny, and Mash is the embodiment of that.
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However, he isn’t immune to people getting sick of him very soon, as there’s not much to him beyond what we’ve already talked about. He needs characters to play off of so that he doesn’t become stale, and that’s where the side characters of this show come in. We saw two of those get their first appearances in Mashle Episode 2, and they didn’t leave much of an impact either way. For now, they appear to be pretty generic in the way they are designed and act, and we will need more information on them to form an opinion.
The world of Mashle is much crueller than the light tone of the show indicates. This is a world that kills anyone that doesn’t possess magic, a world so meritocratic that it even looks down on people who do possess magic if they aren’t strong enough. This is the kind of world that would be a pleasure to see Mash destroy. Not much can be predicted about Mashle, and the quality so far has yet to excite one enough only to expect good things. It’s still fun, and not much else matters at the end of the day.
Verdict
Mashle Episode 2 was fun and introduced many new characters to the story. The quality of the show is still a little shaky, but you can see the potential here.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!