Mahouka - Episode 8 Discussion / Poll

[wontaek]

2 questions.

1. The position of Engineer seems to be more about the device and not the actual magic use, thus seem perfect for the course 2 students. Why isn't there other course 2 students in the Engineering team? Or are they so few in number that they didn't get shown?

2. The main character does too many things too well. It is hard to believe why he isn't in Magic University or something higher. Why do the higher ups not place him in better research labs? There should be plenty of those, thus surely one or two might be in place that the main character might find acceptable.

[Flower]

Yep. Definitely my fave arc in process, and ep 8 continued to be another step in this plenty fine but not outrageously spectacular for me adaptation.

It was a delight to see Mikihiko, who is one of the more interesting characters in the series as far as I am concerned, and the final scenes of Miyuki flying were plain lovely, I thought. ^^

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by SinsI

Ugh, that Mirage Bat costume... Why is Miyuki, that is supposed to be extremely beautiful, so plain? They should seriously fire the character designer.

I laughed so hard the second you could see that ridiculous rag peeking out behind Tatsuya. It looked awful xD
At the same time I imagine people with certain tastes loving it. It's so cute. Goes perfectly with the virgin white underwear.
That whole scene was just so...so funny too. The ridiculously over-the top adoring looks, the cutesy floating. The FIGURE SKATING. I guess it's the Mahouka equivalent of spontaneous twerking xDD

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

F-Fairies can be sexy too!

[karice67]

Originally Posted by wontaek

2 questions.

1. The position of Engineer seems to be more about the device and not the actual magic use, thus seem perfect for the course 2 students. Why isn't there other course 2 students in the Engineering team? Or are they so few in number that they didn't get shown?

To be honest, I don't think we're really been shown what engineers have to do yet (all we know is that they're responsible for CAD calibration). We'll probably find out over the course of this arc - only after that will we probably be able to figure out whether it's something that would be perfect for course 2 students.

After all, we've also seen that Erika and Leo have specific magical skills that they're really good at - and those don't seem like that'd be useful for CAD calibration. .

Originally Posted by wontaek

2. The main character does too many things too well. It is hard to believe why he isn't in Magic University or something higher. Why do the higher ups not place him in better research labs? There should be plenty of those, thus surely one or two might be in place that the main character might find acceptable.

Good questions - given that what Tatsuya wants out of first high for himself is (1) access to restricted research outputs and (2) to graduate with a diploma from a magical high school, if he's this good at CAD development, then surely there are better uses of his skills than having him attend high school that would still give him similar benefits.

One answer might be that Miyuki has to go to high school - after all, he is her 'guardian', which probably means that he has to stay close to her. And that's what he wants to do as well, going by the end of the previous arc.

But is this the only reason?

[Guest2]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

That was before the character's births. They're in a cold(-ish) war now.

Not really, as glimpsed in the first episode things are still quite heated even after they were born.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

But not to the same person....

Uh yes it does. Organisations or people that have valuable information or great wealth are targeted constantly by hackers, terrorists and criminals. E.g. governments and oil companies.


Although I agree that in the novel the main difference is that their God(the author) is specifically targeting First High and making the response from the proper Japanese authorities more sluggish than one would expect it to be.

But then again, there are explanations about how the internal security and power structure within the magic community is based around certain prominent families and is quite archaic.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

This is pretty close to my own take on the episode. It was an interesting and enjoyable episode, but the Tatsuya promotion in this episode was a bit overly thick for me.

However, there are small solaces here. At least Tatsuya doesn't yet appear to be the best player on his futuristic soccer team - That appears to be this Yoshida guy. And I sincerely hope it remains Yoshida, as it would be nice for somebody to be better at Tatsuya at something of significance, even if it is sports.

I agree it was overly done. Some character building scenes for Miyuki's female classmates that originally pulled the brakes on people praising him were changed to extra scenes of them praising him.

But as emphasized in the earlier episodes, Tatsuya is really bad at magic and still got his ass whooped in the end in the first episode. I'm surprised you feel magic and martial arts are insignificant in this type of story.

Originally Posted by wontaek

2 questions.

1. The position of Engineer seems to be more about the device and not the actual magic use, thus seem perfect for the course 2 students. Why isn't there other course 2 students in the Engineering team? Or are they so few in number that they didn't get shown?

Magic Engineering in the novel requires advanced magic knowledge and experience that First Years don't yet have(There are no earlier schools government schools with magic as the main curriculum) and Course 2 students are normally bad at understanding magic theory due to lacking the ability to practice magic effectively, which greatly helps.

He was nominated because Azusa found out he had experience and was good at it.

Originally Posted by wontaek

2. The main character does too many things too well. It is hard to believe why he isn't in Magic University or something higher. Why do the higher ups not place him in better research labs? There should be plenty of those, thus surely one or two might be in place that the main character might find acceptable.

So far he's been shown to be be good at ninjutsu, magic theory and countering magic. Is that really too many things?

He's not in Magic University because he doesn't want to be and is a heavy sis-con. The scenes where he scans Miyuki and shows off his new device are actually in an advanced lab in his home's basement. Its still too early yet to claim the 'higher ups' haven't taken any action. Actually they skipped this info that should of been in the 1st episode.

[Marcus H.]

So far he's been shown to be be good at ninjutsu, magic theory and countering magic. Is that really too many things?

That's more than enough to fight any average mage, and is enough to survive against high-tier mages... well, except for mages who has hard counters to him like Juumonji.

[Rava]

Originally Posted by wontaek

[...]
2. The main character does too many things too well. It is hard to believe why he isn't in Magic University or something higher. Why do the higher ups not place him in better research labs? There should be plenty of those, thus surely one or two might be in place that the main character might find acceptable.

The reason he's in High School is to fulfill his Guardian duties with Miyuki. (That thing that was mentioned in Episode 7.) Getting access to the university data in the library is a bonus that also lets him work on his goals. He's also trying to keep a low profile for his own reasons, but I don't think they are stated at this point.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by wontaek

2 questions.

1. The position of Engineer seems to be more about the device and not the actual magic use, thus seem perfect for the course 2 students. Why isn't there other course 2 students in the Engineering team? Or are they so few in number that they didn't get shown?

It's either a status thing (because fuck Course 2), or because Course 2 really aren't as good at it (because they don't have teachers).

[Guest2]

Originally Posted by Marcus H.

That's more than enough to fight any average mage, and is enough to survive against high-tier mages... well, except for mages who has hard counters to him like Juumonji.

Combined with surprise, those special talents are enough against average people and magicians. But no, its not enough against high-tier magicians as seen in the first episode.

[cyth]

Would love to see Mahouka go all meta and have Tatsuya say "This life, this world, everything is just an illusion ready to serve me. My imouto, my skills, everything, a mere fabrication." Best fucking anime ever?

[wontaek]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

It's either a status thing (because fuck Course 2), or because Course 2 really aren't as good at it (because they don't have teachers).

So, lack of teachers means lack of theory education? I thought teachers were there for the actual spell use. Theory is theory, thus not practice. Why is Tatsuya only one well versed in theory but lacking in skill needed to be in course 1?

[Marcus H.]

Would love to see Mahouka go all meta and have Tatsuya say "This life, this world, everything is just an illusion ready to serve me. My imouto, my skills, everything, a mere fabrication." Best fucking anime ever?

We're not talking about NisioisiN here. If we do, Mayumi and Miyuki will cut their hair after the first major story arc and Erika will suddenly decide to grow out her hair.

So, lack of teachers means lack of theory education? I thought teachers were there for the actual spell use. Theory is theory, thus not practice. Why is Tatsuya only one well versed in theory but lacking in skill needed to be in course 1?

I guess Course 2s are more constrained that it seems to the point that it reminds me of the school in BakaTest. Course 1s may have a wider access of all educational facilities like libraries and training facilities, while Course 2s may have to wait for their turn... if their time is not entirely spent on catching up on the curriculum. Since they have no teachers, they have to push harder to get to a lesson, robbing themselves of any time to do practical training.

[Rava]

Originally Posted by wontaek

So, lack of teachers means lack of theory education? I thought teachers were there for the actual spell use. Theory is theory, thus not practice. Why is Tatsuya only one well versed in theory but lacking in skill needed to be in course 1?

He's actually not. They skipped mentioning the rankings for this episode

Spoiler for Skipped from Light Novel Volume 3, Chapter 1, which this episode covers:

, but the rankings in theory are Tatsuya in first, Miyuki in second and Mikihiko in third.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by wontaek

So, lack of teachers means lack of theory education? I thought teachers were there for the actual spell use. Theory is theory, thus not practice.

Magic engineering isn't purely theoretical. Magic engineers are still magicians (for the most part). Magic engineering teachers are therefore also magicians, and magician teachers are rare and reserved for Course 1.

Why is Tatsuya only one well versed in theory but lacking in skill needed to be in course 1?

Because he's Tatsuya, that's why.

Also, even if there are other students who are smart, but lacking in practical ability, they are "sacrificed" so Course 1 can have all the teachers.

[Guest2]

Originally Posted by wontaek

So, lack of teachers means lack of theory education? I thought teachers were there for the actual spell use. Theory is theory, thus not practice. Why is Tatsuya only one well versed in theory but lacking in skill needed to be in course 1?

No, understanding magic theory is stated to be heavily linked to one's ability to practice it, and the greater one's ability to use the magic - the easier for it is for them to understand why and how it works.

Due to the way magic works based on magi-physics in this novel, all the best magicians are highly intelligent and have pretty good knowledge of standard sciences relating to the magic they are god at.

I mentioned before it requires advanced magic knowledge and experience. Tatsuya was found to have both. What makes Tatsuya different is his rare 'eyes' and his exceptional instant memorization that aid understanding despite his lack of ability.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Also, even if there are other students who are smart, but lacking in practical ability, they are "sacrificed" so Course 1 can have all the teachers.

Rather than sacrificed, they are extras that can be promoted and are used as replacements due to the many possible failures that can occur in magic training.

[kyuudere]

Originally Posted by wontaek

2 questions.

1. The position of Engineer seems to be more about the device and not the actual magic use, thus seem perfect for the course 2 students. Why isn't there other course 2 students in the Engineering team? Or are they so few in number that they didn't get shown?

2. The main character does too many things too well. It is hard to believe why he isn't in Magic University or something higher. Why do the higher ups not place him in better research labs? There should be plenty of those, thus surely one or two might be in place that the main character might find acceptable.

I tried answer these questions based on what I know.

1. No the number of 2nd Course Students is equal with 1st Course Students. But just like what have been said in episode 8. Calibrating CAD is not an easy task, if failed it can lead to serious injuries. Of course this task is not something that can be easily given to a 1st year student, moreover a 2nd Course-1st Year Student, despite his/her capabilities in magic engineering.

2. Yes, Tatsuya actually can easily achieve a higher education without attending High School. But he has own reason why he can't do that, and that related to his circumstances with his sister. ( I will not explain more than this, it's may considered as spoiler).

Spoiler for missing LN scenes from beginning of the arc:

Actually in the beginning of Light Novel (Volume 3/ 9 Schools Competition Part I ), Tatsuya being called by teachers association, asking about his amazing result in magic theory exams, and his poor result in the magic practical exams. They suspected that Tatsuya had been lowering his skill in Magic Practical Exams. Of course there are some cases like him, Mikihiko : he got 3rd place in magic theory exams (2nd is Miyuki, and 1st is Tatsuya), Mizuki : she got 17th place in magic theory exams, Erika : she got 20th place in magic practical exams.

While the Magic Practical exams was dominated by 1st Course, but in Theory exams, 2nd Course student was dominated in top three rank (Tatsuya and Mikihiko). However the teachers think that "Even in theory and practical skill can be different, there should be a limit. " -> that's because Tatsuya's practical exams result was really bad.

He barely passed the final results (theory + practical). But the teachers still that's very odd. So they advised him (Tatsuya) to transfer into Fourth Magic High School in Hanamatsu. It's because Fourth Magic High School is renowned for their specialty in Magic Research.

Of course, Tatsuya declined their offers.

[playmaker2k]

After all that ninja training, he should have stayed still and kept quiet instead of trying to leave the meeting.

Kokonoe-sensei would be disappointed in you, Tatsuya.

Miki seems to fit in well with the cast. The whole bloomer scene was great.

Leo should have "panzer'd" his jewels.



Kula, is that you?

[My Zodiac Aries]

Originally Posted by cyth

Would love to see Mahouka go all meta and have Tatsuya say "This life, this world, everything is just an illusion ready to serve me. My imouto, my skills, everything, a mere fabrication." Best fucking anime ever?

Maybe that's the reason why the anime BD sales is very low and considered Failure compare to NGNL success.
The novel sales is also not receive significant boost compare to NGNL.

[Verisimilitude]

Originally Posted by My Zodiac Aries

Maybe that's the reason why the anime BD sales is very low and considered Failure compare to NGNL success.
The novel sales is also not receive significant boost compare to NGNL.

Lol wut. I'd say the LN boost was pretty good for Mahouka. Not as meteoric as NGNL, but still good.

[Marcus H.]

It's decent at best, but it needs to go higher if it wants to prove something.