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Now in Japan
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Thursday, 15 March 2007 00:00 |
 Back to the chaos that is the Yoshikawa household, as Haruo, his sisters, and resident maid /witch Ayumi continue to wreak havoc with just about anyone who comes near them. Ayumi tries to find out just why Maika loves her brother so much, the girls make themselves the hottest attraction for stalkers everywhere, and a new creator of mayhem appears on the scene. Is it safe to come out yet..?
3 - Are They Really Dangerous Siblings?
Maika's getting a little worried - everyone's being a little too accepting of Ayumi for her liking, and when she sees everyone sleepwalking towards Aymui's room it really rouses her suspicions. When she follows them, she opens the door to find... some sort of dark, strange, nightmare world, where Haruo's waiting to make her dreams come true. It's all just an illusion, of course - the dream world shows you your deepest desires, and Chiaki and Fuyuno are enjoying their own desires as well. Even Yuri's in on the act after dropping by the house and detecting magic at work. But what is Ayumi hoping to achieve..? Later, if there's one thing Ayumi, Yuri, Chiaki and Fuyuno agree on, it's that Maika's a little to obsessed with Haruo. According to Ciaki, though, they haven't always been like that - there was a time when they hated each other, and she would rather have the lovey-dovey present than the hellfire and brimstone past. Ayumi would like to know what changed Maika's mind, so with Time Magic License in hand (bogus, of course) and rather skimpy timetravel outfits, the girls head to the past to see what happened. Could Haruo have a dark secret..?
4 - Were We Really Robbed?
The girls are enjoying themselves at a hotspring - amazing what luxuries a little magic can bring to the home - but while they're there, someone sneaks into the changing room and steals their underwear, and Ayumi's prized pendant. In her own words she's screwed without her pendant, so Haruo decides to do whatever he can to help her get it back, and so the operation to lure the thief back begins. If underwear drew him to Haruo's house in the first place, maybe underwear will draw him back..?
5 - Is She Really a Witch Hunter?
Witch Hunter Marin Nijihara - the real underwear thief - is here to protect Haruo from the evil witches surrounding him, and Ayumi's first on her hitlist. Unfortunately for Marin's witch-hunting skills, she's also a grade-A klutz, so getting her holy spear near her victim (it only destroys a person's magical ability and doesn't cause physical damage, in case you were wondering) isn't always easy. Facing down Ayumi is also the first time Marin's actually seen magic in use and it gets a little scary for her - so she turns to Haruo and his sisters for help, unaware they're magic-users as well. Later, Ayumi steps up her plans to turn Haruo into the man of her dreams with a little magic-laced home cooking - but she's got competition from Maika, Yuri and Marin the the bento-box stakes. Will she ever be able to get her lunchbox to the top of Haruo's pile..?
Ayumi's efforts to be Haruo's dream girl (and turn him into her dream man) are always fun to watch. One of these days she's going to get her wish, and it probably isn't going to be pretty. Episode 3's effort is the most creative so far, and as usual comes close to going disastrously wrong when Haruo almost wakes up - and guess what happens to people inside Haruo's dreamworld when that happens? The second part of ep 3 wasn't quite as successful, as apart from the skimpy timetravel suits there wasn't much to really keep the interest.
Episode 4 was just out there. Note to the girls: hanging banners outside the house of yourselves in various states of undress was never not going to attract the pervert brigade. While it's fun to watch from a fanservice perspective, if this was a western cartoon there'd be a "Kids, don't try this at home" banner on the front - if it had even been made at all. Very silly.
Episode 5 is the best of the bunch, as Marin's another little cutie to add to the harem, and her efforts to deal with Ayumi's magical skills are almost doomed to failure from the start - she's just no match for her. It adds another side to the great Maika / Ayumi / Yuri contest, and immediately we see the competition step up a gear.
I'm still a little doubtful about Magikano's appeal over a full run, but I'm beginning to come round to the idea that it's just a fun show that, if you don't overdo it, will be one of those guilty little pleasures that is as daft as anything but manages to be very enjoyable at the same time. None of these episodes really goes anywhere - you'd never guess Ayumi was living with Haruo for any reason other than to jump his bones - but you know what? I don't really care. I'm too busy grinning - and that earns these episodes a recommendation. |
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