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Magikano (Majikano?) – Anime First Impressions

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Magikano (or Majikano?) seems like a pretty typical anime on the outside. It just looks like yet another magical harem where a few of the girls just happen to be the guy’s sisters. Taking a closer look though, I think Magikano has a lot of things going for it that set it apart from other anime coming out this season.

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Magikano (or Majikano?) seems like a pretty typical anime on the outside. It just looks like yet another magical harem where a few of the girls just happen to be the guy’s sisters. Taking a closer look though, I think Magikano has a lot of things going for it that set it apart from other anime coming out this season.


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The desperate middle school loser (and main character) in this anime is Yoshikawa Haruo. One day, he meets a cute girl who suddenly vanishes on him. He assumes she must have been a ghost, which captures the attention of his three cute sisters as well as some of his friends in the occult club. 

It turns out the ghost was really just a transfer student, Mamiya Ayumi, and for some reason she’s really pissed off at Haruo! During lunch, she’s accosted by some high school students when Haruo defends her. Actually, he kinda just gets beat up. Ayumi then shows off her magic skills and beats up the high school students. Later on, we learn that there’s a curse affecting Ayumi, and Haruo is the only one who can break the curse.

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So sure, the story sounds pretty generic. What I like about this anime is the execution. Not much happens in the first episode, but all of the characters are really interesting and have their own unique personalities. The comedy is wacky and strange, but that’s just the kind of anime I enjoy watching. The whole joke with the eel has probably already been done to death, but hey, that’s comedy gold!

There’s also small amount of fanservice in this show. I wouldn’t even mention it though, because I hardly noticed it. In comparison to other shows I’ve seen, the fanservice meter barely even registers.

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The character designs are surprisingly good. I’m thinking those things on Ayumi’s head are neko mimi, but I’m not really sure. Haruo’s youngest sister, Fuyuno, also has them. Either way, they’re cute! As I said earlier, all of the characters have their unique qualities. Fuyuno loves money, and Chiako loves exercise! 

The art style is pretty cool too. I like the bold outlines in some of the scenes and the good use of super deformation. Some people don’t like that kind of style, but personally, I think it’s really fun to watch. Overall, the characters are all really cute and wacky.

One more thing I want to note: I thought Fuyuno’s voice actor was really good, so I decided to look up who it was. It’s actually the same person how did Chiyo-chan in Azumanga Daioh! (Random Trivia: Tomoko Kaneda is also in Kagihime as the Alice Twins, and she was in Sensei no Ojikan as… a Soccer Ball!???!) Awesome!

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The OP is a song I could easily get stuck in my head. In fact, it’s stuck in my head at this very moment. It’s not the best OP in the world, but it’s at least above average. The ED is kind of forgettable overall. I do like the ending sequence though. It reminds me of the ED sequences for DearS and Happy Lesson.

Listen to the OP: Mottto! by Sakura Nogawa
Listen to the ED: Maji suki MAGIC by Clover

Overall, I’d say Magikano is probably one of the better anime of the new season. The wacky kind of humor is not for everyone, but I’ve been waiting a while for another weird anime to come out. I like the twist that this anime puts on the rather generic story it’s given. And plus next episode, a new girl shows up! I’ll definitely be watching more of Magikano as it’s released.

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9 replies on “Magikano (Majikano?) – Anime First Impressions”

It’s Sailor Moon reincarnated as a Sorceress, only much more mature, cooler, perverted and funny. (even though SM is still my fav)

.___.
perverted sailormoon…
*laughs hysterically*
hrmm… another harem anime 😀 i should tell my friend about this…

This is good, if I didn’t have such a pressing need to get my share ratio up on Azureus I’d be downloading a lot more of this.

Strange, I much prefer the ED song to the OP. Though I think that has more to do with all the chibis than the actual song itself…

I’m another one for the ED. The animation was cute and meshed well with the song. The OP was good but not that remarkable, partly because the first few bars of the song reminded me of another OP, can’t remember which.

I saw the first 3 eps., and I have to say for comedy and animation it’s quite a bit above average for a harem anime. Writing and directing is fairly tight.

[…] I actually did manage to finish a lot of shows, like Fate/stay night, Hantsuki, Kage Kara Mamoru, Kashimashi, Kamisama Kazoku, Magikano, Muteki Kanban Musume, Shakugan no Shana, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, and Zero no Tsukaima! I guess I still need to work harder when it comes to finishing series. So part of my new year’s anime resolution is to keep working at my backlog. I also have quite a few domestic releases to review, both purchased and received as review copies. Like the Sakura Wars, Akira, Haibane Renmei and NieA under Seven DVDs that I bought just hanging out on my computer… Couple that with some Negima, Moon Phase and Trinity Blood DVDs and we’re talkin’ about a serious backlog! I also have a lot of manga to review as well. I keep buying it, plus companies keep sending it to me for free to review! My life is hard, I know… […]

Magikano is a good anime, more focused on the wacky humor and the quirky characters than on any “fanservice” that seems to be common in these “one guy gets chased by all these girls” types of anime.

The characters are all very appealing and surprisingly well thought out, and I found just about all the episodes charming up until the last one and the lackluster non-ending. I really do hope there’ll be a second season at the very least.

Anyhow, it was surprising to find out that Tomoko Kaneda (the voice of Chiyo in Azumanga Daioh) was Fuyuno (the youngest sister), and that Sakura Nogawa (Kaorin in Azaumanga Daioh) was doing the voice of Ayumi Mamiya (the blonde female lead) because Ayumi Mamiya sounds literally nothing like Kaorin!

its soo scrud in last episodethey start all over why doint they say their withches to there brothere

Funny… I kinda like the ED better than the OP too. I also love chibis even though I kinda curse them because I once became in demand when my classmates found out I can draw them. It’s still haunting me to this very day…

Magikano is one cool anime. It is kinda above average and is VERY wacky!!! And Haruo’s sisters are sooo KAWAII!!!

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