- Genre: Comedy, magical girl, idol, supernatural, romance
- Episodes: 12
- Studio: Pierrot
You, yes You! Do you want to see a show about Magical Girls? How about idols. Cute girls, cute boys, manly men? Yuri, yaoi? Strong parental figures, Yakuza, corporate heck (literally). A show about adorable teddy bear demons with buff bodies, and devoted superfans. A silly parody that pokes fun at the twisted structures of fame and the entertainment industry while lovingly mocking traditional anime tropes? Well do I ever have a show for You! Magical girl Ore is here to cater to your every anime whims and many more. This isn’t a show that’s afraid to try things. All the things ! Did I mention it’s really very bloody?
I remember watching the first minute of episode 1 as it aired and promptly setting this show aside for later binge consumption. With my ongoing viewing of Shin Sekai Yori, all the silly comedies are making their way to the front of the line for contrast, and that’s how Ore got back on my watch schedule. I really liked that first minute. It had a lightly irreverent tone I enjoy. I couldn’t help but notice though that since then, the rating for the series has gone way down. Currently at an aggregated 6.5, It might as well be pure garbage. Let’s try to see where it all went wrong.
The art style is decent. Good even. Sakie’s magical boy form kept reminding me of Masrur from Magi and that’s high praise. It’s true that the goofy plot often plays with art quality for comedic purposes but on average it’s a good looking show. The animation is nothing to write home about, as you would expect. However, they overcame technical and budget limitations by hiding the shortcuts through humour.
For instance, it uses the old Royal Tutor trick (it’s a common technique but it was used so much in the Royal Tutor that I have associated the two together forevermore), of creating a few impressive animation showpieces to impress the viewers, then moving the bulk of the movements offscreen letting the audience infer the action from the sound effects and environmental cues. In this case the blood splatters. Once again…this is a bloody show.
I loved the voice acting. This cast has great chemistry. Saki and Sakyo’s roles being shared by two voice actors each, the performances could easily have been disjointed or uneven, but they maintain a perfect flow. It’s one of those shows that manages to really get the most out of obviously limited resources and even use some of those limits to its advantage. So really, I don’t think you can fault production for much, other than not being lavish.
I’m sure anime fans aren’t all abject snobs who will disregard any show that hasn’t poured in the moula. Surely the problem lies with the narrative.
Well it is a pure goofball comedy, with all the ills that implies. The humour is hardly what anyone would call sophisticated, and relies mostly on magical girl trope parodies, 4th wall breaks and playful chiding of anime culture. It’s generally kind-hearted though, avoiding anything even resembling a bitting commentary. So as these things go, if the humour doesn’t happen to line up with your sensibilities, it’s doubtful you’ll find much of interest in the show.
If your taste are anything like mine though, you’ll love it. Without ever speaking to me on a deeper level or anything, this show just made me happy. I caught myself grinning like an idiot through most episodes and was a little let down when they ran out. I enjoyed the premise of untalented idols for instance. I don’t remember when I heard such skillful bad singing. I mean it’s not the type of bad that sounds like someone is singing badly, it honestly sounds like someone is trying hard to sing well but is not good at it.
I also enjoyed the gender bending conceit. Of course the trick gets old pretty quickly but it’s treated earnestly enough to remain a little endearing rather than become annoying. And there’s enough random craziness going on at all times to keep you interested once one joke has grown stale.
Moreover, I really enjoyed the characters in this one. All of them in fact. They each had their own personality and quirks without becoming overbearing in my opinion….
What I’m saying is that I have no clue why people were so harsh on this particular comedy compared to other similar shows. This is a failure of a post! I’m sorry I’ve let us all down. Maybe I’m just too simple minded compared to the average fan. Or maybe it’s that light silly shows always get comparatively low grades. The comedy bias again. People should learn to enjoy laughing more! It’s fun…
But seriously though, this review is just bad at being a review. It’s all over the place yet goes nowhere at all. It’s a shame, because this shows made the evenings go by pleasantly and I would love to share it with some of you. One line summary: I liked Magical Girl Ore a lot. If you’re one of the rare few who did too, let me know
Favorite character: Konami Yamo
What this anime taught me: Don’t judge a book by it’s cover even when that cover is super accurate
Instead of complaining, I just wine
Suggested drink: Magic Hour
- Every time there’s a 4th wall break – take a small sip
- Every time there’s a colour or art fail – take a sip
- Every time you spot a classic anime reference – take a bow
- Every time we see the breakfast gag – get a snack
- Every time there’s blood everywhere – take a sip
- Every time a character bawls there eyes out – take a sip
- Every time there’s a heart motif – make one with your hands
- Every time we see an idol show – cheer
- Every time Hyao is really touchy feely – pay attention
- Every time the fairies are in chibi form – take a sip
- Every time anyone is bad at hiding – take a sip
- Every time Mohiro sings – claps
