The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians

Episode 6

Wait, wait, wait. The cat is the school nurse? Other similar witchy school shows have done this sort of thing before (Little Witch Academia immediately comes to mind), but it feels more significant here. That's because it shows us, without a doubt, that Ms. Suzuki isn't the only teacher questioning Rettoran's methods – the school nurse is unequivocally involved with the boy who turns into a spaniel, and they've been both observing and facilitating little incidents all around the school. It can't be a coincidence that the nurse is the proctor sent to supervise the standard class' exams; the only question is whether or not the head of the Magumi is aware of their extracurricular activities.

This episode also continues to raise questions about how, precisely, students are chosen for the magic program. Yuzu's admission that she's a legacy student and the daughter of two government magicians isn't a surprise (there had to be a reason the other two citrus girls, Lemone and Mikana, were following her beyond the fruity connotations of their names), but, oddly, she was rejected from the magic program. Anniku's expulsion from it raises questions because his failing test grade sounds like an afterthought since he failed to complete the marathon last week. The race was discussed as a gym class activity or something fun, like the equivalent of a sports day in other school anime. Who gets booted from a program because they fail at gym or something purportedly “fun?” Even the strictest of anime schools don't go that far.

Along with spelling Anniku's doom in the magumi, this also says something about why the standard class was awarded a prize, despite coming in third. Perhaps the race wasn't so much a fun event as it was a test of students' determination and ability to overcome obstacles. The kids of the standard class emphatically demonstrated both of those qualities, forcing the school to acknowledge them, even as it continues to treat them as second-class citizens – and may also be a salve to Yuzu's parents, although perhaps they're not as powerful as she implies they are. But many shady things are happening at Rettoran, and the people who sound the craziest may be the ones with a better grasp of what's going on.

They also might be the people best placed to help Kurumi past her slump. Failing to use magic during the race has her rethinking her entire existence, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure that that wasn't part of Rettoran's plans. (I'd be more secure in this theory if Yuzu was not a legacy student.) If the Magumi is designed to foster the next generation of magical leaders, an unknown kid from the countryside like Kurumi would be close to the bottom of the list for admission, no matter how smart she is. Right now she's been beaten down to the point where she's forgotten all of the charms her grandmother taught her, a skill that had her very close to a breakthrough before she lost hope. But with Maki, Mike, Sally, and the others all making clear progress in their chosen fields while she continues to stumble, it's not surprising that she would have this crisis. Kurumi is swimming against the tide, and Ms. Suzuki's absence only reinforces how tired she's growing.

All hope is not lost, though. Yuzu's greater understanding of herself and willingness to be friends with Kurumi may be just the push Kurumi needs, and seeing how crushed Anniku is by his demotion could also remind her of why it's important not to gatekeep magic in the first place. Rettoran seems very keen on telling its students who they can't be – it looks like Kurumi may finally be able to start proving them wrong next week.

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The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.