Anime Review No. 64-Magic Users Club TV

"Can dreams have sequels?"

MUC TV Review
Studio: Triangle Staff, Director-Junichi Sato
Writers: Chiaka J Nonaka, Sasayuki Murai and Michiko Yokote 

Well, now onto the TV Series. For details on Magic Users' Club, see my previous review as that information will help out in this review. So, Magic Users' Club OVA must have sold well as three years later in 1999 the series got a TV show, which ran from July 7^th to October 6^th that year. Junichi Sato returned as director along with Chiaka J. Nonaka doing series composition, which I suppose is a bit like being the head writer/script editor on at TV show. Production was handled by Triangle Staff with help by Bandai Visual.

So, what does this show do? Well, I see it as a very suitable sequel to an OVA that quite frankly is vastly under-rated. It continues the story of the Magic Users' Club, with a lot of earnest charm and fun. Of course, it does take some time to get going. One of the minor quips I have with the series is the first half, where it goes from 'let's wrap the events of the OVA as that is still a dangling plot thread' to 'oh, let's do slice of life stories'. Luckily, the writers decided to, you know, put some actual effort into stories that honestly could have been filler. In addition, some of the first few episodes have some rather interesting ideas when it comes to magic. Yeah, watching this actually makes me pine for more modern anime shows like that where more effort is put in. Granted, those kind of shows still exist, but they tend to be an exception rather then the rule.

Secondly, the characters certainly have grown and continue to do so, especially in the second half of the series. Episode 6 is more or less a turning point of the TV series, where the one-shot type format used in the first half is put aside in doing a definite story arc, sort of along the same line as the OVA. Sae, Nanaka, Akane, Aburatsubo and Takeo get developed to the point where by the end they seem complete. At the end, the message seems to be: be true to yourself.

But, here we hit a bump and that is the animation. The shift from the video/OVA to TV means one thing for most series: severe downgrade in animation quality. Magic Users' Club regrettably does not escape this, as there are several instances of animation slippage or lack of details. It looks a bit on the cheap side is what I'm saying. However, it doesn't deter too much from the charm and fun this series has.

It also doesn't hurt that same voice cast for the English dub returns for the TV series, but that's no surprise since both the OVA and TV Series were released within a year of each other here in the States. Well, for the most part, they somehow replaced the VA for Akane halfway through though the two sound so familiar that is practically a non-issue. Still, its an admirable effort by all involved to be sure.

Overall, Magic Users' Club is a fun and charming series that ought to get more recognition from the anime fandom at large. Great characters, good story, decent animation all sum up to fun time in watching this show. Magic Users' Club is readily available through RightStuf as a bundle with all 7 volumes or through the second hand market on Amazon and eBay. I wholeheartedly recommend this show.

Next time, well, I will take a look at Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and examine it through the lens of 'magnum opus'. This is a review that I have been looking forward to a lot, and for a series that I love very much.

Laterz,

The Eclectic Dude  

Anime Review No. 63-Magic Users Club OVA

"Believe in Yourself"

Magic Users' Club

1996 OVA, 6 episodes

Studio: Triangle Staff; Director-Junichi Sato
Writers: Akinori Endo and Junichi Sato (1), Chiaka J Nonaka (2-6) 

So, now I am doing a run of Magic themed series for the next three reviews, in case that fact escape you from the titles. Why? Because it's my blog, just so there! Anyway, first look is over Magic Users' Club, a 6 episode OVA from 1996 by Studio Triangle Staff and directed by Junichi Sato, who also directed Sailor Moon back in the days.

This show is about Sae Sawanoguchi and her friends in the local high school's Magic Club. Magicians in this world are simply people who can control their thoughts and imagination to make the impossible the possible. However, there exist only a select few. There's Takakura, the nerdy leader; Nanaka, Sae's requisite childhood friend; Akane, glam girl and 'ghost member' and Aburatsubo, the lone gay guy of the group. Together, they seek to blow up an invasion by the mysterious 'Bell' and its minions. However, it isn't just the Bell that they must deal. Be it some curious journalist or a childhood rival, it's all fun and adventure in Magic Users' Club.

Now, there are several things going well for this series, the OVA in particular. At first, it might seem it would be rather trite and cliched. But once the story develops, it goes off like a rocket, not really letting up much. I believe that's down to the writer they brought for the other five episodes: Chiaki J. Nonaka. For those of you not in the know, he's a writer on several other anime, like Armitage III and Serial Experiments Lain. Of course, I remember him as the writer for Digimon Tamers, the 3^rd series of that franchise which was really quite good. Similar to that series, Magic Users' Club has a nice and even blend of the fantastical and the horrifying (especially the Bell which is a nice spin on the 'detached otherworldly invader' concept which has been done quite a lot over time). Regardless of that, there is also this element of excellent earnestness about the whole OVA.

This earnestness is encapsulated into the main character, Sae herself. Not quite smart, a bit ditzy (reminds one of Usagi from Sailor Moon, no doubt), but she means well and tries her best, which makes her struggle quite compelling in parts. I was certainly rooting for her all the way through the story. Fortunately, the rest of the characters are very well-rounded in their own respect. Takakura might seem at first a hapless nerd, but he turns out to be a nice mentor figure for Sae, despite his conflict between being her mentor and being more than a friend shall we say. Nanaka isn't just a nice, kind childhood friend; she does argue with and try to get Sae to strive for more than what she is, to better herself. Akane, the girly girl/ghost member who wouldn't seem out of place in Sailor Moon much less Cardcaptor Sakura, but she actually does play a crucial part of the story. Aburatsubo is perhaps a standout character, one of the rare gay characters in anime that is written with a measure of dignity and respect, giving a rather subtle performance as the group's voice of reason. Even the minor characters (the teacher, Mizuha, the journalist and his lackey) are given enough time and presence as to not feel unnecessary.

The story is helped by the animation immensely. The production was done by Triangle Staff, which also was involved in the original story for this series. Triangle Staff has mostly done assistance on other shows like Lain, The SoulTaker, Sakura Wars, etc and they haven't done much since the early 2000s. That is a bit of a shame since the animation is very good. There are bits of early CG graphics in there, but thankfully they are used to a minimum, at least here in the OVA, with the majority of the show being very good 90s cel animation: fluid and dynamic, tactile, etc. The characters look like they come from Princess Tutu (sharing the same character designer) with my only quip is that all characters, even the dudes, have thick eyelashes when eyes are closed.

Finally, the english dub is fairly good. Though released by Media Blasters, the dub was made by NYAV Post founded by Michael Sinterniklaas, who also directed and wrote the english dub adaptation for Magic Users' Club. It is actually one of the better NY based dubs that I've heard that I don't hate, thankfully. That's due to some soild performances from some US Manga voice actors, like Jamie McGonnigal, Kevin T. Collins and Lisa Ortiz. But I think that the standout performance for this dub is Misty Daniels, who voices Sae in the dub. She's fantastic and hits the right tone in nearly every scene she's in. Bummer she isn't in any other dubs, as this and the TV Series for Magic Users' Club are her only credits on ANN.

So, the OVA is very enjoyable on a lot of fronts, and I recommend this series (both OVA and the TV Series). Next time, I will be looking at the TV Series made 3 years later.

Laterz,

The Eclectic Dude