Maburaho Vol. 2: Magic and Mayhem 2003 - 2004   ADV Films Official Japanese Site Buy It Now

Okay guys, what would you do if suddenly, three very attractive women were after you, but the only thing that they really wanted was you genes? Ummmm . . . . let's rephrase that. What if you were an ANIME character and this happened. Okay, wait . . . . and not in a hentai series. So . . . . maybe you wouldn't do what Kazuki Shikimori has been doing in Maburaho, and that's trying to keep the girls away. Just like with the first volume though, the second volume of Maburaho is about, what else, "Magic and Mayhem."

To recap just a little for those of you who are coming in late, Aoi Campus is the place to be is you're a magician of great power. In this world however, magic works a little differently, and each magician has a certain number of time they can cast spells before they turn into dust. In the cast of Kazuki Shikimori though, his number is now under ten. That's right, just a few more spells and it's highly possible that Kazuki will be no more. What makes him so special though is that not only are his spells tremendously powerful when he does use them, but the blood of many great wizards flows within him, making his genes a precious commodity. Now, he has not one, but three women that are chasing after him to get some of that power, Rin, Kuriko, and Yuna . . . . not to mention Elizabeth, a ghost that the group helped out in the previous volume.

The episodes on this volume play out the same more or less. You've got Kuriko trying her best to get to get to him first while Rin tries to suppress those violent tendencies that she has. Yuna on the other hand still plays the nice, sweet girl that she truly is, but Kazuki hasn't given into anyone, at least not yet. Instead however, he's found himself using his magic to help others, and it's pushing him more and more to the brink to possible destruction. As the volume draws to a close, he has a mere three times that he can use his magic and it's all over . . . . at least that's the theory.

In this volume you will find everything from a little cosplay to help out Rin to the girls trying to impress Kazuki's parents, or at least making the right preparations. As the case happens to be with a number of anime that revolve around high school, you will also get the chance to see Aoi Campus' annual cultural festival. There are also some very blatant innuendos as well such as Yuna wanting Kazuki's help to "make her a woman." What she's really talking about though is getting help handling eels, his parent's favorite dish, and you can imagine where they decided to put the eel during this sequence. There even is an episode that seems to have a potential rival introduced in Kazuki's childhood friend Chihaya Yamase, but apparently having four women chasing after him would be too much, and I'm inclined to agree, but the episode is still rather touching.

While Maburaho does end up being a little repetitive, and you can call the flow of the series almost immediately, the series still has a great deal of charm to it. There is a heavy air of sexual tension of course, but there are a number of laugh-out-loud portions to the series as well. I still have a fairly good idea of how it's all going to turn out, but this time I'm just keeping quite . . . . . though I'd think that with such healthy and desirable genes, the best solution would just be to share them. There's enough to go around I'm sure, but that would just be my approach.

There isn't much change with the extra material that comes packed into this volume. Fans of the dubbed version will be thrilled to discover commentary with Blake Shepard (Kazuki) and Luci Christian (Chihaya Yamase.) There is also a collection of art from the series as well as the standard clean versions of the opening and closing animations. What I do like however is the mock newspaper that serves as the insert for the disc, The Magic Times, and it's a nice little addition.

I don't think that you're going to see this type of high sexual tension with the next Harry Potter film, and Maburaho gives an all-new meaning to "let me see your magic wand." It might be somewhat predictable, but this is one time that I can let that slide and just sit back and have a good laugh. If you haven't checked out Maburaho yet, I'd suggest you pick it up and get a load of what all the fuss is about.

Episode 5 - She Made It

One of Rin's fellow classmates is leaving and she'd like to do something nice for him. Rin however isn't a pro when it comes to being a lady, so she asks Kuriko and Yuna for help. After a rather embarrassing cosplay show to find the right look, it's time to get into the kitchen. But, after all her hard work it looks like the lunch might end up on the floor . . . . unless Kazuki's magic can help.

Episode 6 - We Were Found Out

Kazuki's parents are coming and each of the girls is trying to figure out a way to impress them in order to get his genes. Rin is working on the perfect greeting, something that isn't easy for someone who can't smile too often. Both Kuriko and Yuna however are trying to prepare eel, his parent's favorite dish, but Yuna discovers she just can't handle touching them and asks for help.

Episode 7 - We Met

The school festival is coming up in just four days, but Kazuki's class hasn't prepared anything. His childhood friend, Chikaya Yamase, suggests that their classes do a presentation together, and after some convincing, Kazuki's class finally agrees. But, they don't intend on helping at all, and instead have a little surprise prepared for the rival class that ultimately costs Kazuki another use of his magic.

Episode 8 - Gone and Done It

Nakamura has found some necklaces that he believes to be valuable, but there's a young boy out to get them back. He's even followed him to school and while Nakamura wants to catch the "thief," Kazuki wants to hear why he wants them so badly. But, in his effort to protect him, Kazuki attempts to use his magic and ends up in the nurses office.

-mike-