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Now in Japan
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 07 April 2005 12:38 |
 There's a certain amount of fear going into watching Magical Canan - you see, it started life as a hentai series (Septum Charm Magical Kanan - note the subtle spelling change),
which gives you a whole different attitude towards the characters
before you even see the show. This being the TV version, though,
you can safely expect it to have been toned down a lot. Even with that said, there's a hefty dose of fanservice here. Now, how about a story..?
1 - Magical Warrior Carmein Appears
A Devil's Seed has been stolen from the world of Evergreen, and brought
to Earth - if it should sprout while it's here, it could spell the end
for both Earth and Evergreen. Natsuki is sent to Earth to recover
the seed, but his mission almost comes to a premature end when he runs
into a high-school doctor with a penchant for dissection.
Fortunately, student Chihaya Hiiragi is on hand to save him from an
untimely demise - and become his partner in the fight against those who
would use the Seed for evil...
2 - The Mysterious Transfer Student
'The morning after the night before', and Chihaya has two things to get
used to - finding out that Natsuki's a guy, not a cute & cuddly
critter, and her having become a magical girl. She's not at all
happy with either of those little facts, and has told Natsuki that she
doesn't want to fight with him, but a TV report later in the day brings
home to her just how dangerous Seeded humans can be. Meanwhile,
there's a new transfer student in the school, Emi Kojima - she has
something of an attitude, and seems to know who Chihaya is...
I'll be honest and say that I couldn't really compare Magical Canan TV's
plot to the original series, even if I'd seen it, but that's really
kind of irrelevant (how many people watch hentai for the plot,
anyway?). So I'm approaching this as an all-new series, and
trying to banish any thoughts of the characters in 'compromising
positions' from my mind.
This show does have very nice character designs.
Anyway. Mahou shoujo is mahou shoujo to a certain extent, even if
it does have added fanservice to keep the guys interested. From
these two episodes, I predict a certain amount of 'monster-of-the-week'
stories before we finally get down to the real business of finding out
just who the mysterious evil woman we see from time to time is, and
what connection Emi has to her. And could there perhaps be a
blossoming romance between Chihaya and Natsuki?
Away from the so-far, so-stereotypical plot, and attention turns to the
presentation of the show - so far at least, it seems producers AIC have
lavished attention on the animation, and it's visually a joy to
behold. And did I mention the character designs? Add an
insanely catchy OP theme, and you have a winning combination.
Overall, then - what's not to like about beautifully-presented magical
girl shows? While it's being pitched at a different audience to
the likes of Tokyo Mew Mew and Pretty Cure, Magical Canan TV
is very much the same sort of show under the surface. If you
liked those shows, and the extra fanservice (which doesn't go so far as
to be over-the-top) doesn't bother you, you'll be on to a winner with
this. I'll certainly be watching.
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