An inter-house competition is going strong in Mashle Episode 5, as the good and the bad houses fight to see which one can bully the other more. Let’s see how things went in this review!
Mashle Episode 5 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 5. Click here to read the review of the previous episode of the show!
– Mashle Magic And Muscles Episode 5 Review does not contain spoilers –
Mashle Episode 5 Review- Time For Some Competition
This has been stewing inside me for a while, so it is time to tell you what I think about a certain facet of the show that has been the bane of my existence since it first aired. The opening to Mashle is, without question, the worst opening I’ve heard this season and is in close contention for the worst opening I’ve ever heard in my life. It doesn’t have a good rhythm, it has several nonsensical key changes that are annoying, and it seems to go on forever while being a pain in my ears every second that it’s on.
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I don’t skip openings, as they are an intended part of an anime-watching experience and tell a good story in their own way, but this is the first opening in ages that I’ve considered skipping since the day it came on first. The ending isn’t all that either, but it is at least somewhat cute and non-offensive, which is much more than what I can say about this opening. I absolutely hate it, and I’m glad to have this out of the way so that we can talk about the parts of this show that I actually liked.
There was another almost direct parody of a famous Harry Potter scene, this time from the second movie. Lance, Mash, and Finn attempt to quiet down a screeching potion ingredient, and it goes exactly as well as you would expect. Mash has to beat the hell out of his plant, as one would expect, and the show did manage to make a great joke out of it by displaying Mash’s cooking abilities and his limitations. The dynamic between the three housemates was also set up nicely.
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The show continues to world-build while borrowing heavily from the Harry Potter universe, although this is also just a British thing, so I don’t know how much of it should be attributed to the books. We are, of course, talking about houses and students being put into them. Like the well-known books, there is one house that is cartoonishly evil and is out to get all the others. I’m not arguing against it, as it certainly makes for entertaining television, however unrealistic that might be.
Several new characters were introduced in Mashle Episode 5, and some of them looked like they would be making an immediate impact on the show. The final side cast member got his introduction in Dot Barrett, and he has me praying that he doesn’t just turn out to be another clone and has an actual personality. He is funny so far, and his ideals make him stand out well. The bad guy introduced here should do well as a minor villain and holds enough power to annoy Mash, if not trouble him. This was a perfectly fine episode of the show that did a lot right.
Verdict
Mashle Episode 5 was a good one. There was some fun world-building and a few great characters who were introduced to add some more bodies onto a bare world.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!