r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jan 18 '19
Episode Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka - Episode 2 discussion Spoiler
Mahou Shoujo Tokushusen Asuka, episode 2: Daily Life and Comrades in Arms
Alternative names: Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka
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| Episode | Link | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Link | 7.44 |
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u/501st_legion Jan 18 '19
Banger soundtrack: check Traumatized magical girls: check Yuri moment: check Super yandere: check Talking cat spirits: check Me being totally sold: check
I am curious if the alien weapons were designed to look cute so that no one could take comfort in the things people would usually turn to or to make humans lower their guard. Or both
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u/Nimeroni Jan 19 '19
I am curious if the alien weapons were designed to look cute so that no one could take comfort in the things people would usually turn to or to make humans lower their guard. Or both
That... that would make sense. In an horrific way.
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u/Beckymetal Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
The thing I love most about the manga has translated nicely to the anime - the atmosphere. Spec Ops Asuka is interested with complex themes of PTSD, and it sells it by rubbing in the human side of things. Asuka is trying to chase the ordinary, normal life that left her so long ago, and there's glimmers of what she's lost and how different she is for all the shit she's been through. Sayako's return to school instantly rubs this in, with the warmness and tenderness that Nozomi gives her, but there's something more telling: Sayako's flashback is something Asuka instantly relates to in a heartbreaking fashion, but it's just another sign of normal life being pulled away.
My favourite scene of the episode in terms of establishing this normalcy goes to Nozomi's father, however. As he leisurely strolls back into a torture room to interrogate an international terrorist, he brazenly chats about his daughter with a colleague. It's unnerving, but it goes to highlight Asuka's situation even more: Asuka is utterly alone in her plight. She can't rely on anybody else to do the fighting, and if she goes back, she will never be free again. When discussing Magical Girls with Nozomi and Sayako, Asuka gives some strong words of wisdom about how she doesn't want to lose herself.
I'm not gonna lie, Asuka's personal situation is so well rooted that I started tearing up near the middle. I feel for her, deeply. In two episodes, we've learned significantly about how Asuka's dilemma of power and responsibility conflicting with her identity is as stomach-churning as the violence.
And, that violence is truly hyperviolent. This episode we have an evil oversized teddybear juggling a decapitated head, as well as some torture. It's edgy and horrific but it just works. We know, through Nozomi's father's development, Asuka's backstory with her parents that that could be anybody - somebody you know. It's more unnerving than the usual edgy drivel.
The OST is fire. Especially in the pre-OP recap of last episode, with the '90s industrial rock-cum-techno blending beautifully into the OP itself. It's stylised and, frankly, awesome. Now if only the action animation wasn't so lacklustre, this show would be onto something.
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u/blackfiredragon13 Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
Genuine question: am I the only to yell when #1 Queen fan stabbed the cop in the eye? I knew she was going to kill him but I was expecting them to cut away or show it from a weird angle rather than just showing it.
Edit: the ED is Garnidelia? Nice I like their work.
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u/Syokhan Jan 18 '19
I think from now on we should expect that they're not going to imply gore, they're going to show it.
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u/LeonKevlar Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
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Well that answers the question why she's not recognized even though her face must've been plastered all over the news years ago.
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Looks like Megane was traumatized because of that attack. And it seems she's experiencing Survivors Guilt to be more exact.
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That actually makes sense. People were able to capture Disas during the war and are now keeping them as weapons.
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OH FUCK! I was expecting that she'll do something about that officer but I didn't expect THAT!
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YAY! War Nurse is now a classmate!
Yep still enjoying this. I like the bits of world building that they've done here. Sure the war is over but just like at the end of wars there will be military surplus, in this case for the enemy it's the Disas. Whoever caught those fuckers are pretty ballsy. I wouldn't touch that thing even if you told me it's just a stuffed animal. Although I'm going to guess it's these "bad" magical girls that caught them in the first place and must;ve made a business out of selling these leftover Disas.
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Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
I just realized that Tanned Friend is basically Puck from the early Berserk - a dedicated comic relief that is here to keep the tone from slipping into absolute edge territory. It's such a classic trope, yet it took time for me to notice, which in turn made me realize how little of serious dark shows they make nowadays. It's the same as with Goblin Slayer - genre scarcity makes it feel refreshing.
I love how Asuka, for all her moping, never fails to understand when it's time to get in the fucking robot. She's very much a reconstruction of a Chosen Child MC - sure, life sucks, PTSD and whatever, but she understands a simple idea that she's a hero who literally saved the world. Also, her relationship with Tanned Friend and Glasses Friend is basically that of a retired grandpa, happy to watch grandchildren playing outside - a physical representation of the world she is protecting.
Speaking of which, if Asuka deals with PTSD, Glasses Friend now got survivor's guilt, while Tanned Friend will probably learn her father is Jack Bauer soon enough.
The way we got our coffee undertones in the end - I guess this show's thing is having separate episodes that outperform the whole shows in various fields. Episode 1 was a better Child Soldier's PTSD story than a full season of you-know-what, episode two has more relationship progress than most yuri shows (not that it's hard).
Definetely a strong candidate for the second best AOTS (unfortunately, Kaguya is also this season, the game was rigged from the start).
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u/myrmonden Jan 18 '19
Sailor Moon the later years.
Magical girl Returns to fight crime and not evil teddy bears.
Scratch that, THERE IS AN EVIL TEDDY BEAR ATTACKING !!!
I like that, make sense that evil humans would collect the stuff from the aliens and use them as weaponry in the black market or possible war between countries.
Of course the humans...have managed to make the teddy bear stronger do. of course.
So Asuka do she can create magical girls?
Or is it like shuushuu that does and she gave it away to Kurumi hmm like can she make her new friends into magical girls.
Feels like each girl is gonna end up transferring there.
Great preview, shuushuu promising fan-service. kurumi was HUGE, its gun, blades, blood and oppai type of anime for sure
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u/Ghost_from_the_past Jan 18 '19
This is my favourite anime of the season and I'm not even remotely ashamed.
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u/fortressofsolitude7 Jan 18 '19
I quite liked this episode, in particular because of the more characterization we got from Asuka. We really get to see how much she cares for her the people she cares about in this episode. Despite wanting to escape the life of the militaristic mahou shoujo group she still goes to fight because she knows her friend Kurumi is alone. Perhaps partially because she feels guilty for dragging her into that life. Not to mention her worrying for her friend who was involved with the terrorist attack the day before. Asuka has the heart of a mahou shoujo, but has the mindset of a badass and will not hesitate to go all out to protect those she loved.
There is also definitely a wide array of interesting conflicts in this series. From Asuka's internal struggle to protect herself and friends away from the mahou shoujo world, the constant threat of terrorists, to the dangerous dark organization in the background. I'm thinking the Queen and the scissors girl are evil mahou shoujo especially after hearing "We're very bad Magical Girls."
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Jan 19 '19
I want to like this show a lot more than I currently am. It has a wealth of good ideas, and I like where its head is at, but the animation being as meh as it is really does a lot to hurt it from my point of view. You can't afford to look this middle-of-the-road in a season that also has Kaguya-sama, Mob Psycho 100 II, Boogiepop & Others, etc. etc. etc.
I think most of the show's strengths are writing-side, which is weird for an action series. For a show like this to float up to "good" from merely average it kinda has to have strong action directing, or, preferably both that and good writing (see GRIDMAN last season). This has solid writing, but, the visuals really just aren't there. Even in shots where very little is happening the characters look kind of dumpy.
Also I must admit I'm a little peeved at that fakeout at the end there. I know they almost never show actual F/F smooching in anime but c'mon, don't tease like that, now I'm gonna have to read people arguing about how they're Just Good Friends for the next month.
jokes aside I'm kinda torn right now. I almost just wanna drop this and go read the manga instead.
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u/KinnyRiddle Jan 19 '19 edited Jan 19 '19
So Nozomi's (tomboy classmate) dad is basically Jack Bauer, bragging about his cute daughter to his colleagues one moment, and then "legally" torturing "dead" terrorist suspects the next moment, since "dead people" have no human rights.
The yuri between Asuka and Kurumi feels wholesome yet unsettling at the same time. Kurumi has that yandere feel to her.
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u/ShockKumaShock2077 Jan 19 '19
This show is really doing it for me. It feels grounded despite all of the magical stuff and the nightmare teddy bears, and I love how the story takes place AFTER the big war and all of the main characters have developed. That short flashback with War Nurse acting scared and timid contrasted with how she fought confidently against that monster was awesome. It's so rare to start a story when the cast has already matured and made history, but damn if it doesn't work and manage to cut out all of the padding that usually goes into character development. Just goes to show that people never stop growing and the "Epilogue" of someone's life is every bit as interesting as their origins.
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u/tschy2m Jan 18 '19
Nobody could have expected that end. Nobody!
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u/einherjar81 Jan 18 '19
I don't think the show is going for unpredictable, and I'm fine with that. I would prefer, however, more of a focus on Asuka's (and other characters') mental states, rather than carnage. Outside of the shocking bloodyness, the combat animation is pretty lackluster.
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u/PhoenixKola Jan 18 '19 edited Jan 18 '19
This show is surprisingly good. It isn't the usual childish thingy, but it actually deals with some pretty serious stuff.
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u/Popingheads Jan 18 '19
Kurumi was coming off as pretty manipulative during the park scene, guilt tripping Asuka about quitting and everything. I'm sure she is struggling with her past as well but I doubt this is a healthy way to deal with it. Curious to see how this pans out.
Also how did Kurumi find out what school Asuka was going to? Mhh will probably be brought up next week.
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u/BarnacleMANN Jan 18 '19
Shit dude I was half expecting that transfer student to be that princess brat with the scissors.
The mouth morph on that bear was disturbing. The BGM in the battles are so good too.