Gushing over Magical Girls (Season One) – Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
Utena Hiragi is the biggest Magical Girl fan around. So, when a mysterious flying mascot approaches her and offers to make her dreams a reality, she jumps at the chance. However, she never expected to become a villain!
Gushing over Magical Girls (Season One) – Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
What did you watch?
As a renowned fan of ecchi, it would be ridiculous for me to give Gushing Over Magical Girls a miss. So, here we are. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of magical girls except for when the series subverts the genre. I really enjoyed Magical Girl Raising Project which gave it a far more horrific twist as the girls took part in a battle royale. This series takes things in a very different way by giving it an unashamed ecchi tag. Basically, what would happen if Magical Girls embraced their innermost desires? Well, let’s find out if it worked!
What happened?
Utena had been given the powers of a magical girl by the mysterious creature called Venalita. She was so excited that it took her a couple of seconds to realise that her new costume was not what she would typically associate with magical girls. That was when Venalita explained that she was now a part of Enormita – the villains. How could that be? Utena loved magical girls. She didn’t want to hurt them. However, before she could really get over the initial shock, Tres Magia, the local magical girl group appeared and identified her as a villain. Utena hadn’t done anything or hurt anyone. Why were they targeting her?
Venalita quickly explained how Utena’s powers worked, giving her a chance to defend herself. She used her wand to create a mutant plant monster. With it, she was able to restrain the magical girls. Her shock slowly turned to joy as she got to play with her favourite magical girls. She got to see them as no other had seen them before, and she loved it. Then, as she lovingly spanked the girls’ bums, she realised what she was doing and retreated, leaving Tres Magia to nurse their wounds. What had she done?
Utena headed to a shrine to seek guidance. However, instead of guidance, she found a trail of S&M magazines. The excitement of flicking through the pages made her transform involuntarily. Unfortunately, Azul was nearby and quickly intercepted her, despite her once again not doing anything. Utena’s mind was fresh with ideas on how to defend herself. She bound Azul and once again found herself revelling in the idea of playing with a magical girl. Satisfied, she left. Was she getting into this?
What did you think?
I was not expecting to like this series… this much! Sure, I thought it would be fun and packed full of ecchi moments, which it was, but I never thought I would have to think about the things that were happening. On the face of things, there is a lot of fetish material covered. Everything from bondage, to being a baby, voyeurism, exhibitionism, spanking, teasing, girl-on-girl, etc. You name it, it’s probably in the show. But on top of that, there were some interesting ideas. For example, I found myself wondering just who the villains were. Utena and her friends would appear in their villain costumes and be instantly attacked by Tres Magia. They hadn’t done anything to warrant an attack. And every time, Utena’s team won and then retreated before destroying them completely. In fact, the one time that Azul submitted completely to Utena, she was distraught, thinking she had broken the magical girl. This is a great series and much more than just a bunch of kinks (which were also a lot of fun).
What was your favourite moment?
There were a lot of great moments in this series and most of my favourite ones involved Utena and Azul. It was fairly clear from early on that Azul was getting more pleasure from Utena’s attacks than anyone else. I loved that Utena helped her embrace who she was and then turned that into a power of her own. In the final episode, we saw the next evolution of Azul’s magical girl state and she was able to redirect attacks and take them full on, embracing the pleasure she felt from the pain of the attacks.
There were two notable moments that paved the way for this. The first was when Utena made Azul submit to her. She was ready to lick Utena’s boots and become her permanent plaything. However, that’s not what Utena wants. She may well be a dom, but she’s not interested in the meek. She relishes making someone powerful submit to her. She was disappointed in Azul, but also herself, I think.
Then, they met again but this time Utena was herself and not Magia Baser. Of course, Azul doesn’t know that Utena is Magia Baser so that probably helped her to come to terms with the fact that she loves being dominated. She was able to let her guard down even more. They have a complicated relationship and all the secrets that come with their conflicting identities don’t help.
What was your least favourite moment?
Sadly, while I didn’t mind Nero Alice because her power was pretty interesting, I found most of the scenes with her to be not to my taste. The one where she trapped Magenta in her doll house and then treated her like a baby was probably the most awkward moment in the series. I’m sure there are those out there who may enjoy that particular fetish, but it does nothing for me. Sorry, Alice!
Who was your favourite character?
I found most of the characters to be a lot of fun, however, Utena wins this by a country mile. I loved how quiet and unassuming she was most of the time and how quickly she got into things when she started to defend herself. You could really see the joy on her face. When she defeated Lord Enorme by turning her into a little girl and spanking her bottom was hilarious, however, Utena’s face was the best part. She was the purest character in the series, embracing her love without restraint. The same was true for Kiwi. And Azul finally got it too. Remind me who the villains were again!
Who was your least favourite character?
Honestly, I don’t want to pick anyone. So, instead, I’m going to talk about another character who was fantastic. That is Venalita. I loved how Venalita was able to convey such menace with pretty much a deadpan face. They were hilarious and I loved how they were responsible for everything that happened. Part of me wonders if Vatz and Venalita are the same entity working towards a single purpose, whatever that is. And I really want to know what that is. Venalita, what are you plotting?
Would you like some more?
I would love some more. This series was hilarious, lewd, shocking, and deeply insightful. I have to wonder if the fact that the heroes would attack without cause because they judged the way Utena and the others looked is not a commentary on the way the world looks down on anything that isn’t considered the norm. The way Azul changed and embraced her passion is a pretty good indicator of that. I look forward to seeing the other girls work it out too. That, and the ongoing battles between Magia Baser and Tres Magia.
What have you learned?
This show is basically saying that appearances can be deceptive and that we need to look deeper than that before we act. Tres Magia wore cute outfits in pale colours that instantly tell you that they are the good guys. Magia Baser and her group are wearing scantly clad outfits with bras and panties on display… if they were wearing any! Obviously, they are the villains. However, the actions of both groups paint a slightly different picture. There was a point when Utena’s group was fighting Lord Enorme’s group and Sulfur remarked that they should just leave them to destroy each other. However, Utena’s group were the first ones to fight Lord Enorme’s monsters and save the people. Everything is far more grey than it first appears. I love the ambiguity and how it’s up to the viewer to decide which side they agree with.
Other shows from Winter 2024
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Season One) – Sousou no Frieren
- Chained Soldier (Season One) – Mato Seihei no Slave
- Solo Leveling (Season One) – Ore dake Level Up na Ken
- The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (Season One) – Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha
- Tales of Wedding Rings (Season One) – Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari
- Gushing over Magical Girls (Season One) – Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete
- My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! (Season One) – Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n desu ga
- The Witch and the Beast (Season One) – Majo to Yajuu
- The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (Season One) – Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata
- Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (Season One) – Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi
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