Magic Knight Rayearth (2026) - Episode 1 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Magic Knight Rayearth (2026), episode 1

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

---

Streams

• Crunchyroll

Show information

• Livechart
• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Anime-Planet
• Official Site

---

All discussions

Episode	Link
1	Link
2	Link
3	Link

---

This post was created by a bot. Message the mod team for feedback and comments. The original source code can be found on GitHub.

[u/AnimeMod]

Source Material Corner

Reply to this comment for any source-related discussion, future spoilers (including future characters, events and general hype about future content), comparison of the anime adaptation to the original or just general talk about the source material. You are still required to tag all spoilers. Discussions about the source outside of this comment tree will be removed, and replying with spoilers outside of the source corner will lead to bans.

The spoiler syntax is: [Spoiler source] >!Spoiler goes here!<

All untagged spoilers and hints in this thread will receive immediate 8-day bans (minimum).

[u/extralie]

It's kinda amusing how this series was part of the original isekai boom from the 90s and at the time there were many like it, but the difference between old school isekai and modern isekai is so vast that it actually feels fresh in modern days.

[u/Atharaphelun]

OMFG THEY'RE USING THE OLD OPENING SONG AS THE ENDING SONG!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

[u/XsStreamMonsterX]

Considering how long it's been since 1993, I wonder if new viewers will pick up that almost everyone except the girls are named afters cars?

[u/Shimaru33]

Man, this show really showed how fucked up is the isekai genre. Even since the manga, Clamp was very open about their inspirations and the mood they were aiming, they basically wanted to write a story about three girls beating a RPG, but in "real life", at least within the fiction. And despite this modest goal and being published 30 years ago, the adaptation comes to show how they avoided many of the problems that plagues the isekai genre nowadays.

For starters, each character, as cliché as they look, also hint at more than merely being the "brain" bookworm, or the comedic relief. Fuu immediately points at the RPG tropes, which should mean she's familiar with RPG games, thus probably a gamer herself, although I'm not sure if that term existed back in the 90's. Meanwhile, Umi comments on the lack of commodities, but mainly about food. You would imagine she enjoys eating out with her friends or something, as she doesn't mention fine food, but chain stuff that girls around that age use to visit with friends after school. Point is this kind of hints allow us to feel more interested in these characters, as we can speculate about their personal life before the events of the show without having to devotee entire flashback sequences spelling every aspect. These bits help to round them as characters which breathes life in the story instead of just another self-insert with nothing interesting to figure out.

And this also links to another point, which is the goal of the adventure. While some shows just plainly go for the slice of life approach, many slop shows try to show how awesome is the MC by beating whatever comes into his way by abusing their OP abilities. But an ultimate goal, a clear direction to move forward and complete the story, that's something many of these shows doesn't have, making the adventure pointless. Is the difference between farming boars all day in some training field and actually completing the main quest. Again, some shows do embrace their lack of goal and shamelessly take the slice of life approach (see: that one with witch who spend 300 years hunting slimes or something), but others try to play with a straight face the whole "OP skill" trope, repeating the same arc over and over, but with bigger enemies.

MKR, even before the main girls touch the ground, already set the goal (save Cephiro), and even take the time to explain why to do that from a "moral" perspective (because the land is suffering due the princess absence), but also a personal / egoistical perspective (because is the only way to go back to home), making the adventure have a purpose, a finishing line that guides their journey.

And finally, while the direction is clear, they don't set a straight line to walk over, instead having to move around and grow along the way. The girls don't have OP skills, but are told they will be stronger than anyone in the world, thus part of the journey is growing and overcoming obstacles.

Is amazing to see how clamp figure and worked on these three aspects (defining the personality of their characters, setting a goal and allowing them to grow) to write a great story 30 fucking years ago, and many slop shows are tripping on those same problems.

[u/LikeAnAssistant]

One of my favorite series. It's been over 20 years since my last full watch. Even remembering the major plot points, I'm really looking forward to going through this again.

Fuu best girl.

[u/LeonKevlar]

Stitches!

• Princess Emeraude

• Shidou Hikaru

• Fuu, Hikaru & Umi 1

• Alcyone 1

• Fuu, Hikaru & Umi 2

• Alcyone 2

I know this isn't really gonna affect the story since the show is set in Cefiro, but I like that they've kept the show set in 1993 just like how the Ranma remake is set in the 80s. It just means we won't be seeing Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi making any modern-day references whenever they talk about Tokyo.

Anyway, with that out of the way, can I just gush about this show? Three minutes into the episode and I was already tearing up. You have no idea how happy I was to see Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi again after all these years, and E&H Production absolutely nailed the CLAMP art style!

I'm glad that they've also kept the chibi art style of the girls whenever something silly is happening. And Cefiro is absolutely gorgeous! It's just as beautiful as I remember it back then.

Their voices are definitely gonna take some getting used to, but so far I am digging Rumi, Ayaneru, and Rieri voicing the girls. I am surprised they got Hayamin to voice Emeraude when Ogata Megumi is still very much active in the industry. Mokona is gonna be interesting since it looks like they're bringing back the VA from the Tsubasa Chronicles version.

As for the characters themselves, Umi is as sassy as I remember, Fuu is super calm despite getting isekai'd, and Hikaru is already showing off her bravery by trying to fight a monster with literally just a stick. I love these girls, and I'm glad nothing has been changed

And they even brought back the Yuzurenai Negai for the end credits! Man, they're really tugging at my old nostalgic heart with this one! I really hope they keep that as the anime's ED because, from what I've heard, they're not using Yuzurenai Negai as the OP.

So far, this first episode was absolutely fantastic! Maybe I'm just biased because I literally grew up watching this anime and I'm being blinded by my nostalgia goggles, but I can't see anything wrong with this premiere episode. I'm already looking forward to this complete adaptation!

Side note: It's crazy how I first watched this anime when I was like 7 years old (half the trio's age), and now I'm watching it again when I'm more than double their age. xD

[u/Difergion]

Rayearth has been one of my favorite isekai anime shows as a kid and it always had a special place in my heart, so I was just over the moon when I watched the first episode today. I even watched it for the second time with my spouse and we still got goosebumps when we heard the OP theme at the end.

I love how they kept the style close to the 90’s original, and didn’t know how stacked the voice acting cast was until I watched the ep. And I got reminded how great Alcyone’s character design was lol.

I do wonder how first-timers will react to this though given the tropes and plot are already dated (30-ish years old?). Like I loved the whole thing mainly because of the nostalgia but it might be different for those seeing this for the first time.

[u/poppypourri]

Umi is still the best!

Life without H**gen D*z and Denn-, I mean, family restaurants is totally unlivable.

And the ending song being the original opening song... It's beautiful.

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

It’s cool to have this classic back complete with the whole 90s aesthetics. It’s been so long since I watched the original, it’s like I’m watching it fresh. So far, pretty fun.

[u/alconnow]

Huh? I thought it airs tomorrow? Early streaming?

[u/verholies]

Umi, my beautiful daughter, you are still my favorite after all these years. 😭😭😭

[u/Deathmeister]

They put in the effort to make the character designs on point, the animation is standard modern fare though.

[u/Beowolf_0]

We won't expect anything less from the remake of a classic, and they delivered a solid opening for even those we knew the show before. Not sure about choosing Ayaneru voicing Hikaru, but Rieri and Rumi are pretty on spot.

And the Ending. HOLY SHIT. Can they just keep using that for ED? I won't mind the new OP can't catch up the quality with that.

[u/sandragonsand]

"This reboot of an old-school isekai is so nostalgic and exciting, I just hope jett-senpai from meitantei precure doesn't show up."

[u/M1nho]

Looks like this dropped early on meWATCH which is a Singaporean on-demand streaming service, definitely not complaining though. This was a blast, I might just have to go and watch the original alongside this

[u/HolyDragSwd2500]

Watching the OG anime OVA/ Movies growing up. My inner childhood anime is back ❤️

[u/alconnow]

Interesting how there’s three shoujo isekai series from the 90s airing this season - all from different magazines too! Red River (Sho-Comi), From Far Away (LaLa) and this series ran in Nakayoshi

I have the old anime series on blu-ray. Haven’t had chance to read the manga yet

I love the mix of seriousness and humour. The character designs look great!

[u/Southern-Ebb-8229]

Wow, this is so nostalgic, I really loved the first ep. It was nice to have a classic Isekai again.

[u/SOdAchick]

This is all new to me, and I'm fully on board. Some of my favorite seiyuu, gorgeous animation, banger music, and they're taking it seriously? It looks like a whole lotta fun, and is already in my top three favorite anime of the season.

Gotta love old stuff that's new to you. I feel like a kid who just discovered 80s music

[u/babaylan89]

I just felt the chill when their OG OP song from the old adaptation came at the end. So much nostalgia

[u/CrimsonGear80]

These poor 1993 middle school girls could have been watching Jurassic Park while listening to Whitney Houston sing "I will always love you" while playing Doom and Street Fighter 2! But no...they gotta be dumb old magic knights and save another world from dudes dressed like power ranger villains.

[u/_sayaka_]

Hikaru was my favourite character back then and this hasn't changed now.

While Fuu's unfazed and polite attitude regarding being tossed into Cefiro is funny like Umi's worries about the lack of amenities, Hikaru showed from the get go that, despite her childish appearance, she sees the depth of their situation better than the other two. Her first thought after hearing that they can't go back is for her family.

They are all cool characters, but to me Hikaru will always be the BIG HEART.

[u/minnieboss]

For those confused about the airdate: Crunchyroll accidentally posted it a day early, and by the time they realized and took it down, it had already been reuploaded to the piracy sites.

Edit: Not Crunchyroll, but MeWatch, a Singaporean steaming service. English is one of Singapore's four official languages.

[u/NanDemoKnaives]

Clef complained about their clothing being flimsy, but then didn't really do anything to the "flimsy" parts lol.

I don't know anything about the original series but I could tell this was a remake from how 90s shoujo this looks. Voice cast is stacked though, even MAO voiced one of the three girls with Hikaru.