Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Taiyou to Kaze no Sakamichi
(Rent- or Watch+)
(All episodes watched):
This seems like a laid-back, slice-of-life sort of show that takes an attitude of of course magic exists! It gives a sort of practical look at magic; that is, if magic really existed, surely this is how modern-day magicians would be trained and managed. It makes so much sense that for awhile I forgot that magic was involved in the first place! But this approach, where magic seems to be used in a helpful manner, seemed more plausible and somehow even more interesting than the usual shows where it is employed to fight soul-eating monsters or anything like that. So, I think this was a good idea. The first episode consisted entirely of the main character, Sora, getting ready to move from her family farm in Hokkaido to a Magic Academy in Tokyo after being accepted. Thus the pace is slow, but I'm curious to see how this naive girl will react to big city life. The background artwork is splendid in a curious way--it is clearly based on actual photographs with animation cells pasted on top of them. One minor problem is that the character designs are relatively simple ("cartoony") in comparison, and at times the two clash. One thing I noticed was that the trouble was taken to animate a bus turning 180 degrees (and viewed from one spot). No doubt some sort of computer animation was used, but it looked as if it had been done by hand.
How do I describe this laid-back, slow paced show? Sora is serving as an apprentice magician, being sent out to the addresses of people who have filled out the required paperwork in order to request magical help with various problems. Some are obnoxious, others expect miracles--again, unusually realistic. Indeed, sometimes the apprentice magicians are treated as little more than crap by the people who, ironically, have requested their services. It's as if ordinary people hate and fear magicians and jump at an opportunity to offend them. One classmate is driven to drop out, and recieves the usual never-give-up lecture from the others. There are signs that Sora may fall in love with another magician trainee. It's unclear where the longterm plot is going, but it does seem to be slowly going somewhere.
Not really knowing whaere the show was going in the first place, I was surprised when we learn that Sora is afflicted with a sort of magical illness. That seemed to come out of nowhere and not make much sense. The series didn't have the sort of ending I was expecting. I guess I never really understood where this show was going right up to the very end. Was the focus going to be on romance? Sort of, but in a restrained manner. Magic? Likewise, there is some but it's realistic and doesn't attempt to awe you. Friendship? Again, it plays a part but couldn't carry the series as a whole. Maybe having seen the series this one is based on would have helped. It was kind of fun and sweet, and did have a fairly powerful conclusion, though. Call this a slice-of-life magic series, if that makes any sense.
Last updated Monday, October 27 2008. Created Monday, July 07 2008.
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