Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - generic discussion thread (NO SPOILERS)

[zerozeronine]

How many copies has the 1st vol BD's/DVD's of Mahouka sold?Couldn't find 2nd week sales

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by zerozeronine

How many copies has the 1st vol BD's/DVD's of Mahouka sold?Couldn't find 2nd week sales

10.8k for first week i believe

[fujin of shadows]

A BEAUTIFUL ENGLISH FANDUB FOR MAHOUKA'S FIRST ENDING!!!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EhzYLO73Cw

[XFire]

Originally Posted by askara

except that he is his tutor and not a bad guy and while mentioning how he lose in pure taijitsu and how talented Tatsuya is



The thing is Tatsuya is way too op some much that magic doest matter. he is like Kamijo Touma with wide range imagine breaker, couple with super martial art, super regeneration, military grade radar and long range one hit KO sniper shot and super genius brain. thats why i feel we need a strong villain to knock him down a peg. he is like the final boss in a rpg but a starter player character

Ah, sorry, you misunderstood. I wasn't qualifying his weakness. I was explaining that the common perception of him being weak is wrong. Tatsuya is ridiculously strong, to the point anyone who sees his real magic pisses themselves.

A lot of people get the idea that Tatsuya is supposed to be weak because he "can't use magic". The point of his disability, however, is to prove that it isn't a disability and that the established system isn't worth bollocks. The author just didn't convey that well.

Tatsuya is meant to be ridiculously overpowered, both because lolcurbstomp and because the author has something against.... I don't know, authority (seriously, everyone in any major position of authority is at least semi-crooked) and is using Tats to prove how wrong that authority is.

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by XFire

Ah, sorry, you misunderstood. I wasn't qualifying his weakness. I was explaining that the common perception of him being weak is wrong. Tatsuya is ridiculously strong, to the point anyone who sees his real magic pisses themselves.

A lot of people get the idea that Tatsuya is supposed to be weak because he "can't use magic". The point of his disability, however, is to prove that it isn't a disability and that the established system isn't worth bollocks. The author just didn't convey that well.

Tatsuya is meant to be ridiculously overpowered, both because lolcurbstomp and because the author has something against.... I don't know, authority (seriously, everyone in any major position of authority is at least semi-crooked) and is using Tats to prove how wrong that authority is.

I thought it was covered really well in the LN. but the anime on the other hand....

[cyth]

Originally Posted by XFire

Tatsuya is meant to be ridiculously overpowered, both because lolcurbstomp and because the author has something against.... I don't know, authority (seriously, everyone in any major position of authority is at least semi-crooked) and is using Tats to prove how wrong that authority is.

You think so? How is authority wrong in Mahouka's world? Last I checked Tatsuya works for the government and hates terrorists, he actually went against them when their selling point was them hating on discrimination, the only point I'd make what Tatsuya hates about authority.

[XFire]

Originally Posted by cyth

You think so? How is authority wrong in Mahouka's world? Last I checked Tatsuya works for the government and hates terrorists, he actually went against them when their selling point was them hating on discrimination, the only point I'd make what Tatsuya hates about authority.

I meant the author has a thing about defying establishments.

Tatsuya defeats the "invincible" Ten Master Clans, defys categorization by the established school system, constantly shows up the main FLT branches with his band of misfits, proves second course students can beat first course students by using Miki and Leo, and so on.

A common theme I noticed was that someone or something would try to bind Tatsuya because he didn't fit such and such standard, and he promptly shatters that preconception with his awesome. Once or twice, I'd say it was just a trope put to good use. But it's done enough that it feels like the author is trying to prove a point.

[Ultragunner]

nah, he's just trying to tell a story with a different and interesting approach.

Like, normally, the issue with our MC would be the lack of strength and power so that he/she had to submit to some kind of predicament (defeat, losing loved ones...etc...).

Then what IF the MC is already super-powerful, and he can even destroy the world if he truly want to? Would he eliminate everything and everyone?
Tatsuya does NOT want to, and that's the key thing of this series (If he did, then where would his beloved imouto be? )

In Mahouka, despite being so mighty, Tatsuya is tied down by several external factors, be it customs, traditions, dogmas, and and many more. He doesn't need to worry about "small fries" for sure, but how to "fit in" and live in the world become much more important, remember this isn't like One Piece where you can just go and become a pirate to be free (like Roger and Whitebeard).

Another analogy is SAO vs Log Horizon:
_ In SAO, death in game is also death in real life => everything is simple yet serious
_ In Log Horizon, "death" is NOT an issue, sound good, eh? Not really, though not straightforward, there emerged tons of problems as you may know

[karice67]

Originally Posted by IceHism

I thought it was covered really well in the LN. but the anime on the other hand....

You mean the author spells it out in the LN? I think that's a really annoying story-telling technique, to be honest. It's not something I like in either the books I read or the shows I see, because identifying these kinds of themes without it being forced down my throat is what I got out of studying literature in high school.

But I think it's more like Ultragunner said. The problem is that everyone expects to see

Originally Posted by Ultragunner

Like, normally, the issue with our MC would be the lack of strength and power so that he/she had to submit to some kind of predicament (defeat, losing loved ones...etc...).

so that's the lens they evaluate Mahouka by. That is, there are patterns and storytelling structures that we unconsciously expect, which really affect what we 'see' in a show. Or how we interpret what we are shown, which feeds into the messages we think a series has.

I'm not going to argue that Mahouka is that well made, because it's not, but I think that this is the main issue that plagues it. And it's not just this series -- it happens all the time around here and in the wider ACG community -- but the problem for Mahouka is that the 'unusual message' that the author wants to suggest is the main message of the series. For most other series, even if there is an unusual message/idea/development that is misinterpreted, the main message is generally a lot more mainstream.

In my own experience, anyway.

[Rava]

Tatsuya is really more like the endboss a stealth game protagonist needs to overcome written as a main character.

Because if you show up on his radar, you're kind of screwed...

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by karice67

You mean the author spells it out in the LN? I think that's a really annoying story-telling technique, to be honest. It's not something I like in either the books I read or the shows I see, because identifying these kinds of themes without it being forced down my throat is what I got out of studying literature in high school.

But I think it's more like Ultragunner said. The problem is that everyone expects to see



so that's the lens they evaluate Mahouka by. That is, there are patterns and storytelling structures that we unconsciously expect, which really affect what we 'see' in a show. Or how we interpret what we are shown, which feeds into the messages we think a series has.

I'm not going to argue that Mahouka is that well made, because it's not, but I think that this is the main issue that plagues it. And it's not just this series -- it happens all the time around here and in the wider ACG community -- but the problem for Mahouka is that the 'unusual message' that the author wants to suggest is the main message of the series. For most other series, even if there is an unusual message/idea/development that is misinterpreted, the main message is generally a lot more mainstream.

In my own experience, anyway.

Its not spelled out in the LN but it is far easier to reach that conclusion in the LN. People love to talk about how there is a lot of information in the show but there is even more in the books.

[DOmus]

Guys, maybe of the thread but, is there any volume of mahouka translated to english in an actual book(like how is now being done with sao)??

[IceHism]

Originally Posted by DOmus

Guys, maybe of the thread but, is there any volume of mahouka translated to english in an actual book(like how is now being done with sao)??

No, it's not licensed and probably never will be.

[Echizen777]

The way I see it, Tatsuya is supposed to show to the magic community that their magic system is not perfect. He is a Course 2 but his feats in battle are one of a Course 1, he ridicules the Bloom/Weed system.

[cyth]

I think that argument suffers from the inevitability of Tatsuya's OPness. As much as I got from the anime, he's a weapon first genius second, he's also young and given that I'm afraid you'll have a hard time arguing he's in control of his agency. His worldview doesn't really matter. That he is able to ridicule those systems is because he's a Yotsuba and a military product, paths he himself didn't choose. He was given those roles. This is as close as one can say he was destined to become a powerful magician/tactician.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by cyth

I think that argument suffers from the inevitability of Tatsuya's OPness. As much as I got from the anime, he's a weapon first genius second, he's also young and given that I'm afraid you'll have a hard time arguing he's in control of his agency. His worldview doesn't really matter. That he is able to ridicule those systems is because he's a Yotsuba and a military product, paths he himself didn't choose. He was given those roles. This is as close as one can say he was destined to become a powerful magician/tactician.

And as he told Mizuki in episode 5, that's what he doesn't want to be.

[cyth]

He received training, supervision and all the support to become one, with access to military-grade equipment, CADs, magical artefacts, intel etc. Therefore, he effectively is a weapon, whether he believes he has agency of his own or not. I'm pretty sure he's aware just how much of a bitch he is right now, but we know he's working toward escaping that. However, running away from the Yotsubas and toward SDF isn't the answer, not if you want to argue he's anti-authoritarian. But I guess this is beside the point.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by cyth

I think that argument suffers from the inevitability of Tatsuya's OPness. As much as I got from the anime, he's a weapon first genius second, he's also young and given that I'm afraid you'll have a hard time arguing he's in control of his agency. His worldview doesn't really matter. That he is able to ridicule those systems is because he's a Yotsuba and a military product, paths he himself didn't choose. He was given those roles. This is as close as one can say he was destined to become a powerful magician/tactician.

Not because he is a Yotsuba. There are Mayumi(Saegusa), Katsuto(Juumonji) and Miyuki(Yotsuba), these 3 are from the Master Clans and elite students, ironically Miyuki is the top of her class because of this system and Tatsuya is a Course 2. This is to show that the system is not perfect and that magic skills are not necessarily the same as combat ability. Tatsuya is an "irregular" because his skills break the founding principles of the magic ranking system.

[cyth]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

Not because he is a Yotsuba. There are Mayumi(Saegusa), Katsuto(Juumonji) and Miyuki(Yotsuba), these 3 are from the Master Clans and elite students, ironically Miyuki is the top of her class because of this system and Tatsuya is a Course 2. This is to show that the system is not perfect and that magic skills are not necessarily the same as combat ability. Tatsuya is an "irregular" because his skills break the founding principles of the magic ranking system.

Perhaps this point was raised previously, but Tatsuya's thing is that he was given the opportunity to practice magic in a more applied manner. The rest of Mahouka's students are still sticking to "theory", whereas Tatsuya has been getting down and dirty with implementing it in military operations for a long time now. He understands first-hand that magic talent isn't everything. Everybody operating a customized CAD should.

Mahouka seems like an institution that celebrates magic in its purest form and theory surrounding it, and assesses people accordingly. What Tatsuya is ridiculing is the arrogance that stems from that, not the system and framing they set up. But isn't that something really petty to take a cause against? Most of the students will graduate and enter the real world soon enough where they will learn exactly what Tatsuya has already.

I don't know exactly whether his ability to store magic and activation sequences as images in memory is his innate ability or not, but then you can't use Tatsuya as a vehicle to prove the application of magic is what trumps everything else. Not when he has these abilities and has received the training needed to pull it off. Him walking into Mahouka to dismantle their arrogance is like an eight-grader picking on a first-grader. Tatsuya is an irregular, but that doesn't say anything about Mahouka's business. He's just that OP.

[karice67]

Originally Posted by cyth

Mahouka seems like an institution that celebrates magic in its purest form and theory surrounding it, and assesses people accordingly. What Tatsuya is ridiculing is the arrogance that stems from that, not the system and framing they set up. But isn't that something really petty to take a cause against? Most of the students will graduate and enter the real world soon enough where they will learn exactly what Tatsuya has already.

If you're talking about the story, yes, the character of Tatsuya is a tool by which the author can ridicule the system. I'm not sure that's exactly the point he's trying to make...but it's not something I think I'll find out until the LN series moves closer towards its conclusion.

However, in terms of it being petty to take a cause against that...I feel that Tatusya himself doesn't actually care about the fact that the system belies his magic ability. At least, that's what his behaviour (attempted avoidance of anything that will bring his abilities to light, and e.g. that time when he seemed to geniunely lament how slow his casting speed was - episode 2, 13:50) suggests to me.

edit: Just realised that my real issue was with this original post in the discussion:

Originally Posted by Echizen777

The way I see it, Tatsuya is supposed to show to the magic community that their magic system is not perfect. He is a Course 2 but his feats in battle are one of a Course 1, he ridicules the Bloom/Weed system.

I agree in general with this point (if we consider what Tatsuya's existence should mean to the people who determine what Mahouka's magic system is like). However, if you are also implying either that Tatsuya himself wants to challenge the magic system, or that this is the point of the series, then I'd disagree.