Okusama wa Mahou Shoujo

One thing that I like to see in anime is an interesting concept. However, it isn't enough to have an interesting concept; it has to be accompanied by good writing as well. Fortunately this anime title has an interesting concept and acceptable writing.

The concept of a 26-year old married mahou shoujo ("Agnes" -- Asaba Ureshiko) is certainly a new one. Most mahou shoujo are shoujo -- young girls. As such, the rulers of the magic kingdom (known as "Realm") where mahou shoujo come from have sent in the new 6th grade girl to Earth ("Cruje" -- Kurenai Sayaka) and to "Wonderland," their name for the town that is run in secret by the current manager mahou shoujo. As such, Agnes is supposed to hand over the ring of power to Cruje, who will then manage Wonderland, including changing it to whatever form she feels like. This is something that Agnes cannot abide as Wonderlands current form was created by her mother, then kept the same by succeeding manager until Agnes took over. Agnes fears the changes that Cruje will surely inflict upon the town.

Thus, we are introduced to the two central themes of the anime -- old vs. young and new vs. old. The young vs. old theme is pretty straight forward. With the passing of control from one generation to the next, the "old" generation often will experience anxiety over the changes the young will bring. However, it is always possible that the changes will be minor, not at all (assuming the young love the way things are), or will be radical. In the end, the decisions are up to the next generation. This is something that Agnes has to learn, but Cruje also has to learn why Agnes is so attached to the town in its current form.

The next theme of new vs. old is also pretty straight forward. Here, we have the ruling council and the folks of the Realm who use Wonderland for their amusement. Indeed, there are several adult mahou shoujo who live in the town (why no men from Realm live here, I don't know). However, the Realm council aren't that pleased that Wonderland has remained as this quiet, old, Japanese town for so long. To them, it is a sign of stagnation and they want a change to have Wonderland be a sign of hope. However, while Wonderland may not have undergone a radical transformation through three managers, there are changes happening all the time such as the birth of children, the bringing of new technology to the town, etc. Just because a thing is old doesn't mean it should be thrown out.

The other interesting concept here is having Agnes married to a human (Asaba Tamotsu-sensei, a writer) and going by the human name Asaba Ureshiko. However, her marriage is in a shambles due in part to the fact that Ureshiko-san cannot kiss a man lest she lose her magic. So she has the choice of continuing as manager and protecting the people in this town or losing her magical abilities with a single kiss. The fact that Ureshiko would marry a human seems odd since she didn't want to give up the power. I was never 100% sold here, but I'll go along for the ride.

Now add to the mix the recent college grad (Kagura Tatsumi; I'm pretty sure he's a college grad) who's taken a job at a small publishing firm within the town and rents a room at the home where Ureshiko-san and "Baasan" (a woman old enough to be a grandmother) live. Being a former athlete and a nice guy combined with Ureshiko-san's own loneliness due to her seperation from her husband (who's having an affair), it is no wonder that she would be attracted to Tatsumi-san. Her being a nice, attractive, "traditional" girl explains Tatsumi-san's attraction to her. From this, we have the romance.

Most of this is done rather well, hense my lengthy writing on the subject. There were a few flaws though. As I said, I never truly understood how Ureshiko and Tamotsu got married in the first place. The anime gives an explaination, but considering Ureshiko's reluctance to give up being Agnes combined with her reluctance to be straight forward with the man she fell for, I just couldn't quite buy them getting married. This element carried over somewhat with the Ureshiko-Tatsumi romance.

I didn't like how the writer made certain plot twist. They came off as just an excuse to stir the pot a bit. Also, I felt the final episode was WAY to sappy for my tastes. I also got a little annoyed at the lack of clothing change. Animators are really getting lazy to have the people wear the same clothes day after day.

Finally, we have the orgasmic henshin sequences. Being that this mahou shoujo title was targeted at the otaku crowd rather than the shoujo crowd, the henshin sequences are usually more ecchi in nature. This one takes the cake with both Agnes and Cruje not only getting naked during the transformation, but going all orgasmic as well (sans the orgasmic sound effects). I found this completely outrageous and uncalled for.

Bottom line: While this was a very enjoyable anime, the flaws and final episode were enough to knock this from a "Buy" to a good "Rent."

Last updated Tuesday, May 02 2006. Created Saturday, April 29 2006.