Maburaho Volume 1: Bewitched and Bewildered - Eclipse Magazine
- Eclipse Magazine
- Sheldon A.Wiebe
- 06/02/05
- click here
In a world where everyone has access to magic, and power is measured by how many times you can use magic in your lifetime, Kazuki Shikimori is a loser. He?s short, slight and can only use magic eight times before turning to ash.
Shikimori is a joke at the elite Aoi Academy ? so why are three female students [the blonde bombshell, Kuriko; sweet, unaffected redhead, Yuna; the violent, bad-tempered Rin] so eager to become involved him? In a word, genes.
Shikimori?s family tree includes over fifty of the greatest magicians who ever lived ? and his children may well become some of the most powerful magicians in history. Thus Yuna insists that she?s his wife [though neither is old enough to marry]; Kuriko is continually attempting to jump his bones; and Rin, who is appalled at this weakling with whom she has been ordered to mate, would like nothing better than kill him and face whatever consequences ensue.
By the time we?ve gotten to know these characters, we?ve learned that nothing is quite what it seems ? Shikimori may not be able to use his magic more than eight times, but when he does use it, strange and wonderful things can happen.
Playing like a slightly risqué, but not too risqué high school version of ?Bewitched,? ?Maburaho? is possessed of a frothy good humor and a sneaky, but not sleazy sensuality. The first episode takes a bit too long to establish the characters and situations, but once the story gets moving, the series becomes a fine magical romantic farce.
Features include: ?Translator Notes? ? an interview with series translator, Richard Kim; clean opening and closing credit sequences; The Art of Maburaho?; and an insert laid out to resemble a high school newspaper, The Magic Times ? essentially a high school gossip rag that?s a lot of fun to read.
Grade: Maburaho, Vol. 1 ? B
Features: B
Final Grade: B
Posted on Thursday, June 02, 2005 (Archive on Saturday, July 02, 2005)