Gushing over Magical Girls Episode 1 Review

I Admire Magical Girls, and…

Gushing over Magical Girls is one of the few anime I’m watching this winter. And, after Episode 1, I can say that picking it up was a good choice. I mean, who doesn’t love a good magical girl anime?

Alright, so in case you don’t know what this series is, let me break it down for you. Gushing over Magical Girls is a magical girl anime. But, it’s not a normal one. It’s an ecchi parody of magical girl tropes. So, if you like magical girls, comedy, and ecchi, this is for you.

Episode 1 starts off by introducing us to the three main magical girls of the series. Though, I should mention that they aren’t the main characters. There’s Haruka “Magia Magenta” Hanabishi, Kaoruko “Magia Sulfur” Tenkawa, and Sayo “Magia Azul” Minakami. Together, these girls form the group Tres Magia and fight to protect the town.

Our protagonist, Utena Hiiragi, loves magical girls and is a huge fan of Tres Magia. But, she’s a completely average and boring girl. So, when a magical girl mascot character approaches her with an offer, she thinks there must be a mistake.

However, it turns out that this was no mistake. And this is no magical girl mascot character. It’s actually the mascot character of the villains here to recruit Utena to the dark side! I really liked how Utena responded to this. It showed off how much of an introverted, magical girl otaku she is.

Anyway, the Tres Magia girls and Utena all have special magic that hides their identities. So, despite being classmates who sit next to each other, they have no idea about each other’s alter egos. It must be weird for the Tres Magia girls to see Utena’s magical girl merch though.

A Villain is Born?!

Alright, so, as I mentioned, the mascot of the villains recruits Utena. And, despite her insistence that she doesn’t want to join the villains, she ends up doing so. Why? Because this is an evil organization, after all. They’re blackmailing her.

Venalita, the mascot, forced a magical transformation upon Utena when they first met. And, according to him (I don’t know what gender Venalita is), he filmed the transformation. If you’ve seen magical girl transformations, you’ll understand why Utena doesn’t want that video getting out. But, in this series, there’s no rainbow magic hiding anything.

Speaking about there being no rainbow magic to hide anything, let’s talk censorship. There are currently two versions of Gushing over Magical Girls. There’s the censored version and the uncensored version. Obviously, if you watch this series, you should watch the uncensored version. That’s the whole point of watching an ecchi anime.

However, the BluRay version is allegedly going to be an even more uncensored version. The current uncensored version already includes nipples. So, I can only imagine that the BD version of the series is going to be full-on hentai. If it is, I’ll have to give the series a rewatch when it comes out.

Now, back to Utena Hiiragi’s villain transformation. Unlike the magical girls of Tres Magia, her outfit is pretty revealing. Her chest is mostly exposed, with only pasties covering her. And her pants are so low-rise that they almost don’t cover what they need to.

As an introverted otaku, this outfit isn’t exactly Utena’s style. It even comes with a “domination whip” in place of a magical girl’s wand. So, it’s clear that Venalita didn’t take Utena’s taste and personality into consideration. Or, did he? As it turns out, this outfit is perfect for Utena.

The Sadist of Enormita

I hadn’t mentioned it yet, but the name of the evil organization is Enormita. I don’t think the name itself is important. But, calling it by name is easier than saying “evil organization” over and over.

What is Enormita after, though? Why did they recruit Utena? Well, since this is a parody, what Enormita wants is simple: world domination. But, based on what Venalita tells Utena, there may be a simpler reason for Enormita’s existence. They exist to fight against the magical girls. And the magical girls exist to fight against Enormita. That’s it.

As for why Utena was recruited, that becomes pretty clear as the first episode progresses. Yes, she loves magical girls. But, her love for them isn’t pure. It’s a sadistic love. It’s like when you see a cute girl and think, “She’d be even cuter if she was tied up.”

Utena doesn’t want to defeat the magical girls. She seems pretty sincere when she says that. But, why she doesn’t want to defeat the magical girls is up for debate. Is it because she loves magical girls? Or is it because she loves making magical girls suffer?

If she defeated the magical girls, she wouldn’t be able to torture them anymore. It would be like breaking her favorite toy. So, she can’t do that. However, now I’m wondering if it has to be magical girls for Utena. Would she get the same satisfaction from torturing non-magical girls?

If so, then she may really turn into a villain. But, for now, she hasn’t caused any trouble for anyone other than Tres Magia. Since this is a parody series, I assume it’s going to stay that way. And, there are still two more villains we haven’t met yet. I wonder what they’re like.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Gushing over Magical Girls Episode 1? Which member of Tres Magia is your favorite? So far, I like Kaoruko the most. Though, Haruka is good, too. And, whose magical transformation is the best? Do you prefer Utena’s or one of the Tres Magia girls’? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 2 is available now.