The battles against the Magia Lupus continue in Mashle Episode 9, as Mash and Lance go up against two of the strongest the group has to offer. Let’s see how it went for them in this review!
Mashle Episode 9 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 9. Click here to read the review of the previous episode of the show!
– Mashle Magic And Muscles Episode 9 Review does not contain spoilers –
Mashle Episode 9 Review- An Accelerated Battle
This was a decent and fun episode of the show, but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The one thing the show is decent at is the infrequent battles between students, and since this episode was established to be one featuring exactly and completely that, it was a good one. The show has to be commended for setting up a decent scenario to feature these battles in, as they now have a semblance of stake, which is important to have from time to time. I don’t mind the mindless fun, but the battles which receive acclaim are almost always ones that have been built up properly.
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Now, something else about Mashle Episode 9 was that it is becoming increasingly clear that one can enjoy the world and the storytelling that it leads into, but it is going to be despite the power system in it, and not because of it. There was absolutely no thought put into creating the magic system of this show, and most battles are decided on the basis of “who is the main character” rather than “who has superior magic or skills to use said magic”.
The first matchup featured Lance against one of the cooler-looking members of the Magia Lupus, so it was more of an “ikemen” contest than a magic one. Well, not really, but it should have been because the battle was barely any fun. We got to learn a little about Lance’s opponents and how he has the most generic background that one can have in a show such as this, and his pairing with Lance also didn’t make much sense because of that. We know what Lance is about, and he himself barely escapes the generic story allegations by having a villain’s story while fighting for the good side. This new guy did not stand a chance.
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On the other end, Mash’s battle with the masked member of Magia Lupus was much better and provided most of the stakes and entertaining action to Mashle Episode 9. How the masked person knew Mash’s secret was genuinely a great twist, and it was clear how they made for such a good opponent for Mash. Their background was also great and added a layer to the show that was welcome simply because of how unique it was, which Mashle isn’t generally known for. They had a fun skirmish with an expected result.
The animation of this show is a massive disappointment, and none of it is the fault of the animators working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring it to life. It appears that there just wasn’t enough budget granted to it to get enough animators or time to do justice to the source material, which doesn’t look like it lacks nearly as much detail as the show. The production, in general, is not up to par based on what we have seen from other recent jump adaptations, which have really raised the bar for the genre as a whole.
Verdict
Mashle Episode 9 was an engaging and fun little episode that featured a decent fight and a middling one alongside a clear path for our characters to clear through.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!