RogerBW's Blog

2014, 12 episodes: AniDB

Modern magic. After the sun turns black and Arata's girlfriend disintegrates before his eyes, he now has to go to magician school.

This is basically a harem show, i.e. one in which the male protagonist becomes the object of affection of a number of young women, but while it's often generic it's at least aware that it is being generic. So while there's the usual accidental grabbing of breasts and comically violent retribution, Arata is at least able to admit that he enjoyed the feel he copped, rather than just turning red and stammering like the usual hero of such things. Yes, this is actually progress.

It's not much, I admit. The story is pretty messy, basically being there to throw the characters into contact. The magical system (each magician develops a "Thema" based on the deadly sin farthest from their own nature) is interesting but underdeveloped. The artists seemed to run out of character designs half-way through the cast and start recycling.

On the other hand the background imagery works very well, especially the design of the school, and the music sets the mood without being obtrusive.

Is it a masterfully subtle parody of harem tropes, or is it just trying to make a show by filling in the blanks in the template? Let's be honest, probably the latter; it fills space rather than being anything especially impressive.