Mahouka - Episode 7 Discussion / Poll

[Triple_R]

Honestly, I felt the terrorists were reasonably well-prepared, all things considered.

They had two aces up their sleeve, either of which probably would have worked against the vast majority of mages. They just were brutally unlucky to draw the very overpowered Tatsuya as their enemy.

Don't get me wrong, it is kind of silly that they just stood there in disbelief as Tatsuya casually walks through their ranks. But that sort of theatrics in anime combat scenes is fairly common, so this degree of lack of realism I can roll with pretty easily.

However, I don't get why the antinite didn't work on Tatsuya. This sort of thing worries me a bit, but I'm not going to get into it much yet. I'll wait to see what the next arc shows.


I'm not sure how I feel about Miyuki's extremely violent reactions to people threatening her brother. While it is a bit disturbing, it's arguably the most interesting aspect of her character to date. I mean, at this point, I wouldn't even find her worth talking about if not for this. So maybe her character needs this brutality element to her just to give her an interesting edge.


I liked how the misunderstanding between Mari and Mibu was explained in this episode. It would have seemed strange without that explanation, and that explanation served to make Blanche seem a bit extra vile, and Mibu less dumb and more sympathetic. All of that being helpful to this opening arc and its aims, I think.


On the whole, I found it a pretty entertaining episode, a decent conclusion to an opening arc. The suggestive hints in the last few minutes were nicely handled, continuing to organically flesh out this fictional world and the key players in it.

Introducing this Masaki guy post-credits was a very good call, in my view. Nice way to build up anticipation for the next arc, and start to bring some focus on who I can only assume will be a major rival for Tatsuya.

[germanturkey]

also, Erika. so fun. all her sass can't be contained.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

also, Erika. so fun. all her sass can't be contained.

Erika is definitely essential in rounding out this cast. They'd be a bit too formal/stuffy without her. Having her there adds a lot of color and fun to group scenes.

[CatRules]

Originally Posted by ~Yami~

psychokinetic stuff?

Both Psychic powers and Qi exist in Mahouka....... Madhouse just madhoused them from ep1 and 3 though.

Spoiler for Missing Info dump: Qi:

Qi was first mentioned during "Date with Erika" when they discussed about Martial Arts as one of many mechanisms that move human body. It's probably the reason why Tatsuya and Erika who are practitioners of traditional martial arts(Ninjustu and Ancient-styled Fencing) could move with superhuman speed.

There is a (very tiny) clue for other supernatural powers in ep1

Spoiler for Ep1:

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

The magic most mages use today is the systematized product................

then what are the things that haven't been systematized?

P.S.

Spoiler for Another Notable Missing Info Dump(Ep3): Evil Eyes:

Nakajou's innate magic Azusayumi was the first mind-related magic introduced in the story. It foreshadowed the terrorist's Evil Eyes as well as Pushion-based magic which the later are plot device in later arcs.

[Lexxus]

Finally this arc is over! I can finally watch the 9 school arc!

[rladls2121]

But to think only six Magic School students were able to beat these anti-magic terrorists, and solve the case. Count only four if Leo and Erika did not do anything.

Juumonji and Kirihara were not bad at all either, they both proceeded smoothly without a scratch.

And Masaki at the end of the episode was expecting terrorist to get beaten by the students.
Just what has Mahouka world is heading towards to?

One last thing, this Yotsuba, more I think about it, it reminds me of Yotsuba Group from Death Note.
There is always conspiracy involving the Yotsuba.
Just my imagination though.

[CatRules]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

However, I don't get why the antinite didn't work on Tatsuya. This sort of thing worries me a bit, but I'm not going to get into it much yet. I'll wait to see what the next arc shows.

As the name suggest It's "cast jamming(interfere.. the author must love this word)" not "cast preventing"

It only disturbs casting making magics likely to fail but they're not fully effective against high class mages like Tatsuya, Miyuki and Katsuto who can still cast their magic even under its effect. Clearly, these guys(and most people in Mahouka) didn't know how overpowered elite class mages actually are(and these are just the tips of an gigantic iceberg).

I'm not sure how I feel about Miyuki's extremely violent reactions to people threatening her brother. While it is a bit disturbing, it's arguably the most interesting aspect of her character to date. I mean, at this point, I wouldn't even find her worth talking about if not for this. So maybe her character needs this brutality element to her just to give her an interesting edge.

I glad this didn't get madhoused.

[gill]

Spoiler for ep 7:

first thing, those who think that abandoned facility is it's stronghold is maybe wrong, because it's actually a hiding place. ex: you bunch what to robe a bank the rent a house as hiding place at three block away from the bank so you can observe it's environtment, then patroling those hiding place is totally wrong , that would just show you away.

and second the time, the terorist attack is at noon and those hiding place invasion is at afternoon at the same day. as I believe those hiding place is also where the terorist that attack the school is came from, they my think that it's imposibble that a batalion of police or army would find them that fast , the nearest people that would attack them is from those magic high school. then again saying that the terorist was unprepared is also wrong , they did have 2 very powerfull weapon against magician. antinite would render those any ability that those magicians have , then from that they can either kill them using their weapon or instead make them their pawn using the evil eye.

the missing point about this episode according to me is because they cut the bianche leader dialog , that make the evil eye looks really a crappy magic, but it's actually not only hipnosys magic but also brainwasing magic . a little quote from LN that shows how autis actually those bianche leader

He threw the fake pair of rimless glasses aside, raised his forehead, and caught Tatsuya's gaze.
"Shiba Tatsuya, become one of our companions!"
Tsukasa Hajime's eyes took on a strange glow.
Tatsuya's already few expressions disappeared, his right hand holding the CAD dropped as if every ounce of strength had been sapped away.
"Ha ha ha ha ha, and now you are one of us!"
Tsukasa Hajime abandoned any pretense of hiding the wildness about him. Even though the aura about him did not command respect or awe, it was still something worthy of a leader's mantle.
"The first thing you shall do, is to personally execute the little sister that came along with you!
To die at the hands of your beloved Onii-sama is probably your fondest wish!"
This wasn't acting any more. He had already become accustomed to giving out orders.
Truly, he had already forced many people to obey him.
His twisted smile revealed his complete confidence in his own abilities.
"......It's about time to stop with the monkey antics. Anyone who even sees you would be embarrassed on your behalf."
However, that expression was transfixed at Tatsuya's mocking words.
"Consciousness Interference Type Non-Systematic Magic, Evil Eye.
Even with that lofty name, the truth is that the light emitted from the eyes sends out hypnotizing waves, using the speed of light to bypass the limits of human sensory abilities, directly influencing the opponent through sight using light wave oscillation type magic.
It is merely a tangent from brainwashing techniques, a skill that could be replicated with a projector: hypnotism.

thus , their only incompetence is that thay didn't have enough information about their enemies, which is shiba siblings and they really underestimate the skill of magic high schooler. afterall shiba siblings is not your regular magicians but the irregular one, treating them like how you usually treat other magicians is really a bad move, especially tatsuya, he's bad at regular magic like firaga, frezee or thundaga but he's only excel in one magic that is excalibur #iykwim

other than that , that was a nice adaptation to this episode, to actually see erika making joke with tatsuya
seeing those bautiful aunty
and also those homo combo bishonen masaki and george is nice addition

so next week we can see erika fanservice right

[karice67]

Ah yes, and just realised on my second skim through the episode:

Originally Posted by Irisiel

And what does Miyuki do, when faced with a bunch of unarmed nincompoops whose only offense is having their firearms disassembled in their hands and staring in awe at the siblings? She activates a fucking wide-area kill spell (from what I can tell from her reactions) on them. (And of course [from what I think that after-battle scene seems to be saying] we get a hint that the only reason why they survived is because Tatsuya put a limiter on her casting-aid-thingie when casting the kill spell, without Miyuki's permission/awareness

Putting aside all your other 'comments' about what you think happened here, I don't think Tatsuya didn't put any sort of limiter on her CAD without her permission/awareness. After Jumonji came in and stopped the bleeding on the Blanche branch leader, Tatsuya pointed his CAD back in the direction he'd come from, i.e. back in the direction of where he'd left Miyuki to deal with the goons, and fired. Whatever magic he did then is probably the reason Miyuki later thanked him (whether he simply prevented their deaths or actually revived them...though the latter would make him way too OP even for my liking).

[InfinityDragonGod]

Since some people are confused about Cast Jamming, Antinite, and Tatsuya's magic.
Here are some quotes from the light novel that wasn't covered in the anime that explained about why cast jamming didn't work on Tatsuya

Spoiler for Tatsuya's Magic:

Note that this is just a tip of the iceberg of his magic.

Tatsuya was only able to freely manipulate two magics. The first was "Decomposition", which was able to render assault rifles into psions.
Panicked sounds were heard once more.
Relying on his sensory ability, his magic was able to disassemble not just Magic Sequences, but Activation Sequences as well. It was a side effect from a wholly different magic.
Identify the design, decompose the design.
As long as it was an object, he could translate the physical object into signals, and then rewrite or erase the base design at his leisure.
If it was an Information Body, then he could directly disassemble the design.
This was one of the most difficult magics imaginable, able to directly interfere with the design information.
And it was because he was born with such an ability, that Tatsuya was unable to use other magics.
He was only able to use imitation and theoretical magic.
His Magic Calculation Area was completely dominated by those two highly difficult magics.

The second magic has not been revealed yet so that's spoiler.

Spoiler for Cast Jamming:

…Tatsuya raised his right arm and squeezed the trigger on his CAD.
This wasn't a gun. It could only fire bullet-like projectiles that were composed of small lasers and electrically-charged particles.
Even so, every man that was hit by the shots collapsed with blood spewing from their thighs.
There were two small points - one in the front and one in the back.
There was a tiny hole the size of a needle that severed the nerves and completely penetrated the thigh.
Tatsuya kept squeezing the trigger.
Wounds appeared on shoulders and legs as men fell left and right.
In the line of fire formed by Tatsuya's Magic Sequence, the parts that formed the human body, including skin, flesh, nerves, body fluids, bones, and cellular structures were decomposed at a molecular level, creating a piercing hole.
He was only able to rewrite a small portion of the entire Information Body.
This was one of the most challenging techniques in modern magic. In recompense for using such a precise ability, Tatsuya's Magic Calculation Area was completely focused on this technique to the exclusion of all others.
"Why?"
Exactly how many times had this man uttered this line?
It seemed excessively foolish to search one's memory for the answer.
"Why are you able to use magic while under Cast Jamming?"
Cast Jamming was a type of Non-Systematic Magic able to create psion noise that disrupted other people from casting magic. The psion noise caused by Antinite was designed to interfere with the formation of Magic Sequences.
Tatsuya simply decomposed that design and changed the oscillations of the psion noise.
Cast Jamming was an obstacle that obstructed the path of Magic Sequences. It was precisely this obstacle that Tatsuya used magic to dissolve.
But, it wasn't only that.
The man who used Evil Eye couldn't even comprehend that.

[kenshinstyle]

Well just as I expected, flawless victory for Tatsuya and gang. I'm not even getting into how the terrorist is stupid and their reaction or how the Tatsuya group is like superheroes cleaning up the villians of the day discussion. The problem is its boring. There are no tension in the battles, their dialogue and actions are typical, being all flash no substance. Basically, its "I can already see the ending". I actually zoned out for a while when watching this episode cause you already know no matter what the terrorists pull, Tatsuya and gang will laugh in their face and proceed to own them. It really takes out the excitement and I was left appreciating the animation which is the remaining saving grace of the battle.

I'm really close to dropping this but I hope with the introduction of Suzaku (damn they really look similar other than the mole), things will get a lot more interesting.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

The most important point when it comes to battle is information. "Know thine enemy" you know?
The fact they shelter themselves in this fashion is awkward as hell: they have no way to assess how many magicians are coming at them, nor -when-, and there is little to no way for them to ambush in this fashion (even if Tatsuya has the ability to render ambush useless).

The terrorists were basically making themselves sitting ducks because they are packed in the same perimeter, which is moronic at best.
You need platoons to effectively avoid major loss from a single massive attack. Several groups with effective perimeter and communication network would allow support and possibility of two pronged attacks.

Really, a single conventional grenade or a bombard spell would have been enough to wipe all of them without any possible retaliation. In fact, Tatsuya showing up like that was ludicrous in my book. It would have been far more pragmatic and effective to have Miyuki launching an AOE spell from afar, especially he could asses how many terrorists were camping and the distance between them.

I was watching the episode and thought, "oh come on, Terros! You could have at least set up some booby traps like the classical door tied to a wire that shoot spikes or bolts, the ovious wire trap that hide another trap..."

The arc was painful to sit through, the sixth episode being the worst when it turned the lead characters into Ayn Rand wannabe's mouthpieces. I don't know how it was in the LN but the animated adaptation made the characters come off as this. Even Total Eclipse's first arc, with all its "YOU JAPANESE DOLL" vs "LOL YOU AMERICAN BAKA GAIJIN!", was more entertaining.

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by The Green One

How is showing regret over overreacting in a combat situation and potentially using lethal force when it was unnecessary not believable? I get that you don't like the show currently for various reasons and I respect those reasons, but please refrain from twisting the facts.

Originally Posted by karice67

"Plus, its no good to anyone if she felt "distressed" after." is irrelevant because it's not about the victims so much as it's about how Miyuki feels and why she feels that way. 'How' is pretty clear; 'why' is something we can only speculate about.

First off, stating an opinion does not equal to twisting facts.

Because I honestly couldn't give a darn if or why an uninteresting, underdeveloped, unrealistically written character feels a little bit bad about her unnecessary murder spree. The show has done absolutely nothing to make me want to care.
For another, because I don't buy into the way it's written. It's again very fanfic-y. Pretty sure in 6th grade everyone wrote a scene feeling and sounding exactly like this in their first time effort at writing something featuring their favourite character: they are extra op, extra unreasonable extra brutal "because that's so cool yar"

And it's not believable because even a person with a minimum bit of realistic sense would not have done it in the first place. Same goes to Kirihara. There was no point in his action and anyone with a whiff of common sense would've realised. I was just over the top melodramatic and to insert some nice but awkward, forced, no-stakes, boring action scenes for an artificial coolness factor.
Granted, they were nice to watch without context, but it is the thinly thought out context that makes this so weak in my eyes.
This scene is supposed to make me think there's more to Miyuki than we've seen, bla bla, but I don't buy it, as it's overly forced and awkward and a dead obvious attempt at doing so.
I am under the impression that there might be an overall idea or plan behind things, but the immediate execution falls short.

They're not meant to be 'normal people', or even 'normal magicians', so why would they be believable?

They're still characters in a show that's supposed to engage the audience and thus their characterisation should not feel like chewing on a piece of cardboard.
If their actions and behaviour aren't believable in context, it's bad writing.

If you need backstory, then this show/story probably isn't for you, given how it seems to be taking its time revealing all of it.

Missing the point. It's better than first year middle school writing that I need.

As for 'likeable', that's probably a matter of taste. I personally quite like Tatsuya's sense of humour, e.g. How he double-teamed with Erika to troll Kirihara in this episode. YMMV, and that's completely fine. But if you are finding nothing to like in this series, then why keep torturing yourself?

Hence I said I'm probably dropping it. But even if I wasn't, and just wanted to be critical of a show, that would be my prerogative. I am still free to state my opinion on something I watch, whether I like it or not. Discussion thread, not praise Mahouka thread.
But yes. There's an element of taste involved. An element of expectation too. I expect my cast not to sound and act like they've been dropped a bit too much as babies at least

That said, I wouldn't be half as bored by this show or half as critical, if it just fixed it's mediocre execution.

[My Zodiac Aries]

Originally Posted by kenshinstyle

Well just as I expected, flawless victory for Tatsuya and gang. I'm not even getting into how the terrorist is stupid and their reaction or how the Tatsuya group is like superheroes cleaning up the villians of the day discussion. The problem is its boring. There are no tension in the battles, their dialogue and actions are typical, being all flash no substance. Basically, its "I can already see the ending". I actually zoned out for a while when watching this episode cause you already know no matter what the terrorists pull, Tatsuya and gang will laugh in their face and proceed to own them. It really takes out the excitement and I was left appreciating the animation which is the remaining saving grace of the battle.

I'm really close to dropping this but I hope with the introduction of Suzaku (damn they really look similar other than the mole), things will get a lot more interesting.

If you want good action battle brawler, I suggest you to drop this series.
Believe me, every battle involving tatsuya and miyuki is not entertaining.
Why ? Yes, because "You can already see the ending".
If you want Political mind battle, maybe you can continue.

[Echizen777]

Originally Posted by My Zodiac Aries

If you want good action battle brawler, I suggest you to drop this series.
Believe me, every battle involving tatsuya and miyuki is not entertaining.
Why ? Yes, because "You can already see the ending".
If you want Political mind battle, maybe you can continue.

How are the battles not entertaining? In terms of battle, plot and everything this arc is by far the weakest. And it's true that terrorists were silly in this arc but no matter how you look at it the following ones are way better.

[kenshinstyle]

Originally Posted by My Zodiac Aries

If you want good action battle brawler, I suggest you to drop this series.
Believe me, every battle involving tatsuya and miyuki is not entertaining.
Why ? Yes, because "You can already see the ending".
If you want Political mind battle, maybe you can continue.

I'm not looking for mindless action brawler like bleach. I just need the fights to be interesting and logical. I enjoy mind battles but I fail to see any up till current episode. The "debate" about the discrimination of weeds students is laughable at best and there isn't any political games going on. Maybe there will be in upcoming episodes?

[My Zodiac Aries]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

How are the battles not entertaining? In terms of battle, plot and everything this arc is by far the weakest. And it's true that terrorists were silly in this arc but no matter how you look at it the following ones are way better.

i think you read the LN.
i myself also believe that " i can see the ending " of the fight.
tatsuya is overpowered, that's the truth.

Originally Posted by kenshinstyle

I'm not looking for mindless action brawler like bleach. I just need the fights to be interesting and logical. I enjoy mind battles but I fail to see any up till current episode. The "debate" about the discrimination of weeds students is laughable at best and there isn't any political games going on. Maybe there will be in upcoming episodes?

i understand what you're saying. yes it is boring. i admit that.
slow pace, info dump, and maybe overpowered protagonist.
however later in this series, you wil know that Power alone is not enough.

except you want Dictator Ending like Lelouch in code geass. even though i also think that's impossible in this world setting.
in episode one, you see the Big Bomb ?
you will find it later, what really happen and why...

[cyth]

I didn't mind the battle theatrics since I thought OP protag will be OP, but Kirihara's subsequent punishment over Blanche's leader was completely unnecessary. It felt like slaying a defenseless goat. This whole operation was unnecessary and in hindsight dangerous. Of course, we have OP protag so they can pull it off (but I alluded to this last week). And then there's the "let's keep it all under wraps" cliche, because anime.

Also, that awkward moment about Mibu's confession to Tatsuya, that the only reason she can't be with him is because he's light years better than her (and her lover). Tatsuya is so fucking great everyone needs to say it out loud, to the detriment of their own integrity as characters.

I decided to give this series another chance, it was a mistake. If I ever get around to watching another ep, it will be purely because this show is so easy to pick on. I don't mind admitting this. Its badness is entertaining at least.

Also this thread lol what a spoiler fest.

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by Echizen777

How are the battles not entertaining? In terms of battle, plot and everything this arc is by far the weakest. And it's true that terrorists were silly in this arc but no matter how you look at it the following ones are way better.

Like this:

Spoiler for Text:

It's not just that you automatically know how it will end, it's that you know exactly how it will play out.

It's all a variation of:
Random 1: hurr durr tatsuyurr I am so stronk
Randoms 2-4: yes he is
Tatsuya: yes you are. I suck. (Wtfpwns and tells you all about it while he does)
Miyuki: oniisamaaaahhhrr (wftpwns whoever still stands)
Tatsuya: I suck.
Miyuki: onisamaaaa

Minor variations for the so called debate. If different characters are fighting, just replace the names and adjust dialogue, still essentially amounting to "you are so wonderful and everyone else is a peasant".
But essentially there's nothing to lose, not a sliver of doubt how it will and and even less so how it will play out.

So yeah... I can definitely see why people don't think there is much substance in terms of the confrontations so far, be it verbal or physical. There really isn't much.

For that matter, I love both intelligent fights and good debates, but I'm getting neither from this arc.

Originally Posted by cyth

Also, that awkward moment about Mibu's confession to Tatsuya, that the only reason she can't be with him is because he's light years better than her (and her lover). Tatsuya is so fucking great everyone needs to say it out loud, to the detriment of their own integrity as characters.

.

Oh god, I had completely blanked that bit out. That was ridiculously bad and somewhat repulsive. Starting from the fact that she was in love with him at all and the cringeworthy drivel that followed.
Whenever things like this happen, I can't even decide if this show is just badly written or could it actually be this toxic.
And I agree on how easy it is to pick on it's badness

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by cyth

I didn't mind the battle theatrics since I thought OP protag will be OP, but Kirihara's subsequent punishment over Blanche's leader was completely unnecessary. It felt like slaying a defenseless goat. This whole operation was unnecessary and in hindsight dangerous. Of course, we have OP protag so they can pull it off (but I alluded to this last week). And then there's the "let's keep it all under wraps" cliche, because anime.

In Kirihara's defense, the bad guy did have a weapon: his CAD. Also, he'd already cut down the mooks, why should the leader be spared?

But yeah, it was all rather silly.