Gushing Over Magical Girls

Episode 9

Props to Gushing Over Magical Girls for winning me over last week. However, the catch-22 of that success is that I now have actual standards for evaluating it. Ahead of an overall critical approach to the show, however, I have to admit there's something freeing about feeling like I've met the show halfway enough (or have been afflicted with Stockholm Syndrome for it…) that I can engage with much of it on its terms. Even some standby gags like Sayo's struggles with her emergent masochism feel a bit funnier and more clever with their setup now. And there's something eminently appreciable about Kaoruko, of all people, turning out to be one of the cast's most normal, clear-headed members. Her training and suggestions to her Tres Magia teammates aren't purely borne out of pragmatism—she comes off as concerned about her place in the narrative itself. It is a small wonder she favors letting the Enormita factions duke it out so that the in-universe narrative can conceivably wrap back around to focusing on the heroic magical girls.

As they turned out to be last week, those inter-villain struggles and successful plot introduction continue to be the main thread unraveled here. Loco Musica is again the primary opponent, which makes sense, given that Utena didn't get a direct shot at her last week. However, the setup is about more than just filling out villainous tournament brackets. With more bad guys to go around now, Gushing Over Magical Girls finds a place to dig into the distinguishing power systems those villains wield. It's suitable for fueling a combative spectacle and demonstrating the layers of teamwork and personal interaction powering these character connections. Solid sexual roleplay, as with all relationships, is built on earnest personal chemistry between people, after all.

It's funny, because many of my criticisms of Gushing in its first half were that it wasn't concerned with exploring the proper personal dynamics that propel relationships, kinky or otherwise. The show still isn't interested in explicitly codifying the questions of consent and engagement when it comes to fetishism. Still, this episode, in particular, is at least clearly about relationships as an interpersonal device. Utena and Kiwi are effectively married and raising a child at this point, for instance. Kiwi even pulls the well-meaning-but-clueless dad move of buying Korisu a replacement toy, but not to her taste. It's the model kit she's glimpsed playing within the ED, in what I thought was a cute touch.

Utena's love for her found fucked-up family and the besmirching of the lessons on that love her cherished magical girl cartoons taught her is what drives her desire to go on the offensive against the other villains. On the opposite side of functionality, you have Loco Musica and Leberblume. Leberblume being able to create a captive audience to attack with Loco's musical powers means their abilities work well in…concert (sorry, not sorry). However, their actual relationship needs a lot of work. It's quite clever, and only a little funny, that Utena's able to witness their old-married-couple bickering and deduce that the two do have mutual care for one another—it's just of a frustrated, unspoken type that she can push to a crisis point to exploit.

Much of this fight lacks the dynamism of the giant blow-up in the last episode, but I think it makes up for it by showing off the capabilities of the personalized powers of the Enormita members. It's neat to see them shift into calculating and countering things like bodily control or manifesting manipulated plant vines, apart from any sexy setups. I mean, there is that too. Utena seems to be as hot and bothered from the pure combat clash as she is when she's getting down in top town, and she's able to indulge that saucy side of herself anyway in her defeat of the dysfunctional duo.

As…let's be generous and say conceptually effective as Utena's exhibitionist awakenings of Loco's true talent is, it still goes on a bit long. But like that segment earlier in the episode with Tres Magia, it still rings a little funnier and more entertaining (for one reason or another) alongside the anime's stronger showing with everything else. Plus, how Utena descends into the acts is a conscious indication of how far these recent events have caused her to fall (or rise, depending on your perspective). She's becoming a true blue villain, explicitly on the level of Lord Enorme herself. That presents a far more effectively crystallized character arc than having her experience some sadistic awakenings that I knew the series would never sit down and explore the rules of. If she has to cause some other awakenings in her opponents to get to that level, that's enough to carry the more irreverent parts of the show.

Rating:

I know; I cheaped out on the fanservice again last week. I should have waited a little later to deploy the ol' Toonami-style swimsuits. This week's episode features the classic salacious standby of a hot springs scene, which Cartoon Network covered up plenty of with that artificial airbrushing. But in the wake of that, I can promise I won't use any more American-styled censorship and provide you the bonus image you're so sorely here for.

Gushing Over Magical Girls is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

Chris is hoping that following this series at the same time he's keeping up with Precure won't result in him being put on a special list. Please direct any call-out posts to his increasingly decaying Twitter, or whip him into writing more quality material for his blog.