April has started strong in terms of anime releases, and those that are yet to come. The return of ‘Kimetsu no Yaiba’ has completely eaten up almost the rest of the list, but among the new series that arrived this month it has slipped ‘Mashle: Muscles and Magic’… And it is possibly the perfect option if we miss ‘One-Punch Man’.
Proteins, weights and magic wands
The truth is that the manga of Hajime Komoto is currently one of the most popular series on Weekly Shonen Jump, so I had my eye on the anime with a bit of cautious curiosity but not much hope. And for now the first chapter has shut my mouth and has left me wanting the next one to arrive.
The story of ‘Mashle’ It is set in a fantasy world with dragons and all kinds of creatures where each neighbor’s son has magical abilities. Your powers determine your social status, and those without magic have it very raw. This is the reason why Mash Burnedeadwho was born without magic, has always lived secluded in a small house in the middle of the forest, where he has trained his muscles to the extreme and has become a brown beast.
This first chapter has very well and very quickly laid the foundations of the world and also the tone. Because even though anime has its dark subtexts, lWhat he’s handling darn well is humor.
My partner Randy referred to ‘Mashle’ a few weeks ago as “the Hogwarts of mazaos” and since then I can’t stop thinking about anime like this, mainly because the shameless parody of the entire ‘Harry Potter’ universe is well present. From the aesthetics of wizards and witches, through magic wands and not to mention the appearance of Easton Academy, which looks like the Landlord’s Hogwarts.
But the good thing is thatMashle‘ has known how to play by its own rules for magic and not stay just a cheap copy. And what he does best of course is handle comedy times, with a good fusion between ONE’s humor in ‘One-Punch Man’ and ‘Mob Psycho 100’ with ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.’.
For now, humor is his best hook, with a wonderful combination between fantasy and slice of life high school and a protagonist with horchata in his veins (and unexpectedly powerful). The animation of A-1 Pictures is not something to write home about and it lags far behind other big releases like ‘Hell’s Paradise’, but for the type of series that is ‘Mashle’ it does not even paint and handles the times very well .
If it has stung you a bit, we can follow ‘Mashle’ week by week through Crunchyroll. For now, the manga is still in publication and has 16 volumes, so we should not expect the anime to close soon. Now I just hope I can see more of Mash leaving the magicians stunned with the power of his muscles and that the rest of the season keep me just as hooked with this ridiculous humor.
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