You Definitely Shouldn’t Respond

This week I’m going to start the review off with a lightning round by briefly touching on a bunch of topics and characters.

First up is how the opening of this arc tied into the opening sequence (OP) of the series. This isn’t a revolutionary concept, but I like how it was done here. At first I thought it was just a quirky way to slide into the OP, but after the OP was over and the scene continued, it was clear something more was going on.

And speaking of the OP, I’m not sure if I’ve said this before, but the OP and ED of this series are worse than those of Madoka Magica. Sorry Magia Record and TrySail fans, but Connect by ClariS is a better song with better OP visuals. And although I do like ClariS, Magia by Kalafina is a much better ED.

Now, the first part of this episode also shows us where a bunch of the characters we’ve previously met are now. And to be honest, exactly what this means for the story isn’t quite clear to me.

We know that Tsuruno, Rena (depicted above with a pile of chairs and desks in classic Shaft fashion), and Momoko all attend the school Iroha has now transferred to. Kaede also attends that school, but isn’t present for an unknown reason — I did like that her house was full of plants though.

Then we have Felicia who’s a truant, but now working at Tsuruno’s family’s restaurant. And lastly there’s Yachiyo who apparently isn’t in school either. Is she supposed to be a college student or something?

Invisible Girl

The first of three rumors we’re told about (which appear to all be connected), is that of the invisible girl. As the rumor goes, there was a girl who didn’t really socialize with the other students in her class, so they slowly started ignoring her. Then, over time, she literally turned invisible due to a lack of people acknowledging her.

Although this rumor is introduced in this episode, we don’t actually get to explore it much further than that. We can assume it’s connected to the other two rumors in the episode though, and I’ll get into how it ties into those later on.

But for now, there’s basically four paths I could see this invisible girl rumor heading in. The first one that came to mind, which is definitely not going to be the case, is that Ui became a victim of this rumor. I’m ruling this one out because Ui didn’t merely become invisible, her entire presence — past and present — was erased.

The next option is that Kaede has become invisible, and that has something to do with why she isn’t responding to Iroha and Rena. I don’t think this is the case either because we see Kaede at her home. However, I will entertain the possibility that Kaede could turn invisible in the future.

Third option is that the invisible girl in question is from the one room schoolhouse which we’re shown in the “where are they now?” montage. And tied into this is the fourth option, which is that Sana Futaba — mentioned by the girl from the Wings of Magius — is the invisible girl.

I’ve combined options three and four because while they could be separate, I think Sana is the invisible girl and the empty seat in the one room schoolhouse is hers.

Electric Wave Girl

The electric wave girl rumor is seemingly unrelated to the invisible girl rumor, but once we get to the third rumor it will all come together. This rumor states that if you listen to your phone while underneath the radio tower, you’ll hear a girl crying for help.

However, as we see throughout the episode, the rumor doesn’t actually work out this way. If you do listen to your phone while under the radio tower, you’ll instead her a girl laughing. And this laughing is the same laugh we hear at the beginning of the episode when Iroha’s phone starts acting strange.

But it’s not as if the part of the rumor about the girl crying for help is entirely untrue. Once Iroha’s phone starts acting up, she receives a bunch of “emails” (which are what text messages are referred to as in most anime) from someone claiming to be locked up and in need of help.

So, since we know that Iroha is receiving these text messages, that the voice under the radio tower is laughing, and that the same voice was heard when Iroha’s phone started acting strange, we can come to the conclusion that all three are related. The rumor had all the right pieces, but they were placed together incorrectly.

It seems pretty clear that whoever’s laughing on the other end of the phone call is the culprit here. What isn’t clear is exactly who that is. Is it a member of the Wings of Magius? Is it a witch that’s not being controlled by them? Or, is it perhaps something else?

And before moving on to the final rumor, I’d like to say that the landscape below the radio tower being a massive, claustrophobic cemetery is an interesting choice.

Endless Solitude

The endless solitude is the third and final rumor of the episode which ties the other two together. But despite this being the case, we actually know the least about this rumor. All we know is that there’s a place called the endless solitude and that you don’t want to go there.

There’s also the fact that all but the most recent post online regarding the endless solitude have since been deleted. For now it’s unclear how this is related, though, so I I don’t have too much to say about that. But what I will say is this: perhaps these deleted posts are evidence of “deleted” people like Ui.

So, how exactly does the endless solitude tie everything together?

First, we know that it’s a place you don’t want to go to, and it’s implied it makes you disappear. This disappearing part is similar to the rumor about the invisible girl. Then, we know that the electric wave girl is being held captive somewhere unknown, and the endless solitude would be a great place to hold someone captive.

At the end of the episode we did actually get confirmation of that second point, which is rare. Iroha receives a text from the electric wave girl claiming that she’s within the endless solitude; usually we would have to wait until the next episode for the pieces to fall into place like that.

But, the invisible girl rumor is still only tangentially related at this point. We don’t actually know if it’s connected, but it’s highly implied.

We can also be pretty sure that this time around the Wings of the Magius aren’t involved. One of the White Feathers didn’t appear to have any knowledge of the electric girl or the endless solitude.

Conclusion

What did you think of Madoka Magica: Magia Record episode 8? I enjoyed how the three rumors started out separate, but were slowly revealed to be interconnected. It felt like a miniature version of the first seven episodes and how we learned all the previous rumors connected back to the Wings of the Magius.

But, do you think the Wings of the Magius are the ones controlling these new rumors? And how do you think the invisible girl rumor is going to tie into those of the electrical girl and endless solitude? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

I Want to Go Home With You

There’s a lot of information thrown at us in Madoka Magica: Magia Record episode 7. Unfortunately, none of this information actually gives us a complete understanding of anything. We get bits and pieces of various parts of the story, so while we know more than we did previously, we’re still basically in the dark.

For example, we now know that there’s an organization of magical girls who seem to be connected to everything that’s happened in the story so far. But, we don’t know exactly how they’re connected, why they’re connected, or what this means for the future. We simply know it exists.

And before we get into the real discussion of this episode, I just want to say that I can’t wait to see the Blu-ray release of it. The fight between Felicia, Kyouko, and the witch familiars was pretty good, and I’m sure it’s going to look even better once the real release comes out.

Blu-ray releases of anime generally include art and animation updates, but Shaft in particular is known for sometimes releasing drastically under-animated versions of their series for TV.

Wings of the Magius

Wings of the Magius is a cult-like organization of magical girls who seek the destruction of all witches. However, we don’t actually know how they plan to achieve this goal just yet. We basically only know that this plan differs somehow from the usual magical girl M.O. of seeking out individual witches and defeating them.

And interestingly, the Wings of Magius aren’t necessarily a “good” organization despite wanting to eradicate all witches. We know that part of doing this will bring peace to all magical girls, which is good, but they also don’t care about the civilian casualties they cause.

At first I was thinking that their plan to destroy all witches was to eradicate both witches and magical girls at the same time. After all, if there are no more magical girls, there will be no more witches. But, this doesn’t seem to be the case because of their insistence on saving magical girls at the expense of civilians.

Also, we still don’t know exactly when this side story is taking place. If it’s after the Mitakihara City magical girls learned the truth, then this idea would make even less sense. Magical girls and witches aren’t natural phenomena. They’re created by Kyubey for a purpose, and if they were all eradicated, Kyubey would simply make more.

Organizational Hierarchy

Even the hierarchy within the Wings of the Magius organization isn’t quite clear. We know that at the very top are the three Magius, but their identities are unknown. Are they magical girls? Are they witches? They could be anything or anyone as far as we know.

Below the Magius are the higher ranking magical girls, such as Mifuyu, Tsuruno and Yachiyo’s friend who went missing. Apparently when she disappeared she became a member of Wings of the Magius, though it’s not entirely clear why.

Next we have the White Feathers, who are the more standard magical girls. The only members of the White Feathers we know of so far (unless Mifuyu also counts as one) are the magical girl twins who attempt to recruit Felicia and Kyouko.

And finally we have the Black Feathers, which are hundreds or thousands of nameless girls who do all the organization’s grunt work. It’s heavily implied that all the girls who have gone missing due to various rumors were conscripted into the Black Feather ranks.

Could Ui be one of them?

I think Ui being one of the Black Feathers could make sense, but as far as we know she wasn’t a victim of one of the rumors. Her disappearance appears to be something entirely different, as shown by the fact that the Ui found in the Seance Shrine was “hollow.”

My guess is that the real Ui has become one of the three Magius, whatever that entails.

Are Grief Seeds Obsolete?

One thing we do learn from the Wings of the Magius is that grief seeds are apparently unnecessary within the confines of Kamihama City.

But, before I explain why that is in the anime, I want to point out that I think this ties into gameplay mechanics. Using grief seeds after each battle wouldn’t add anything to the game play. You’d basically have to use whatever you earned from each battle immediately, so there’s no point.

But, if we’re going to believe what we’re shown and told about the obsolescence of grief seeds, than things become a bit more interesting. Grief seeds aren’t used in Kamihama City because magical girls within this region cannot become corrupt and turn into witches.

When their soul gem becomes too cloudy, they simply turn into their pseudo-witch form, wreak some havoc, and then revert back to normal with their soul gem purified.

So from what I can tell, this is the plan of the Wings of the Magius: They lure all the witches (and magical girls) into Kamihama city. Then, the magical girls can defeat the witches without the risk of turning into witches themselves. Finally, there are no more witches, and all the magical girls no longer have to worry about becoming corrupt.

The only problem is that I don’t think grief seeds are actually obsolete anymore.

How is Kamihama city a safe haven from corruption? The Magius are probably using all the collected grief seeds to somehow turn the city into a place where soul gems are automatically purified once a witch transformation is triggered.

Thus, once there are no more grief seeds, soul gems will no longer be automatically purified and witches appear once again.

The End of the Beginning

Normally the saying would be, “the beginning of the end,” but I don’t think that actually applies here. While we’re officially past the halfway point for this series (it’s supposedly 13 episodes), it doesn’t exactly feel like we’re getting to the end game content.

Instead, the final scene of this episode felt like we had just concluded the prologue of the story. And if you’re a mobile game player, you’re welcome to confirm or deny this idea without spoiling anything.

We previously knew that Yachiyo lives in a boarding house for magical girls, or at least a boarding house where the inhabitants happened to be magical girls. But until now, she’s been the only one living there are Mifuyu had disappeared and Tsuruno moved out, I guess? Or maybe Tsuruno just never lived there, but I thought it was implied she did.

Anyway, it’s only at this point where the magical girl boarding house becomes a reality within the scope of the series. Yachiyo is no longer living there by herself; she’s now accompanied by Iroha, Felicia, and Tsuruno.

With their home base finally established and their potential true enemy, the Wings of the Magius, revealed, it feels like the real story can finally begin.

Conclusion

What did you think of Madoka Magica: Magia Record episode 7? Will Ui end up being a member of the Wings of the Magius? Perhaps even as one of the three Magius herself? And what do you think will happen once the witches are all eradicated? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

I’ll Do Anything

I’d like to start this week’s review off by saying I appreciate those of you who have been giving me some insight into how the Magia Record anime correlates to the game. Specifically, Minmin/Magical girl cult/Mami (you kept changing your username) in the comments and katiethetransbian over on Tumblr.

And speaking of that, later on in this review I’ll pose another question to the Magia Record mobile game players.

But there’s a lot of other things to cover before we get to that point — starting with the group of magical girls we see at the beginning of the episode.

Based on the promotional material for this series, I’m pretty sure the only one of these five girls who’s going to play a major role is Felicia. However, we also know the name of one other girl in this group, Akira. I don’t know if she’s supposed to be significant in any way, but she’s the only one who gets named.

Back in the comments of my episode 3 review, Minmin mentioned that magical girls are separated into five elemental groupings of forest, water, fire, light, and dark. I think it’s safe to say the middle three girls in the image above are fire, water, and forest from left to right, but what about Akira and Felicia?

This isn’t the question I was referring to having for the Magia Record players, but feel free to answer this one as well. Is Felicia dark and Akira light? My first impression of Akira was that she’s dark, but she is wearing a white outfit. And, I think dark would work better for Felicia’s berserker nature.

Felicia Mitsuki

You may recall that when Tsuruno Yui was introduced in episode 4 that I claimed she was the worst magical girl to date. Well, don’t worry, I’m not about to say the same thing about Felicia. I actually think Felicia is my favorite of the new Magia Record magical girls.

Some guy on Twitter was very unhappy with my take on Tsuruno, but he’s since deleted that tweet so I can’t give him a shout out.

Honestly, the very end of the episode made me not like her quite as much, but up until then, I really don’t see what’s not to love about Felicia. She has a hammer, she’s a berserker, she’s short, she has a fang, she loves money, and she’s excited about everything.

But, who is Felicia really? We know that she’s an orphan whose parents were killed by a witch, and because of this she has a stronger hatred for witches than most magical girls. And I’m guessing that her wish was influenced by this event — I doubt she was a magical girl before her parents were killed.

So, is it her magic that turns her into the powerhouse berserker we see wipe out an entire horde of witch familiars on her own? Did she simply wish for the power to kill as many witches as possible in exchange for becoming a magical girl? Because that sounds about right based on what we know.

Also she’s a mercenary, which is how she pays for her meals on account of being orphaned. What I’m wondering, though, is where she lives. Does she live on the streets and in abandoned buildings? Or does she sometimes stay in magical girl boarding houses like the one Yachiyo currently occupies?

Kyouko Sakura

Before this episode the only one of the original magical girls we had seen was Mami Tomoe. But now Kyouko Sakura has also made an appearance. However, Kyouko doesn’t seem like she’s going to be all that important. Mami’s in town to investigate the mass of witches on behalf of Kyubey, but Kyouko is just there to do some huntin’.

You may also be aware that Kyouko is my favorite of the original magical girls, so obviously her appearance is a big moment for me.

But, as マイスーン (@mahoshojomaisun) mentioned to me over on Twitter, Kyouko’s introduction into the series wasn’t all that special. I actually liked Mami’s introduction despite her being my least favorite of the original girls, but Kyouko’s — not so much.

She doesn’t do anything cool, and by that I mean she doesn’t really do anything at all. Mami asserted her dominance from the start by threatening to kill Iroha. By comparison, the scene of Yachiyo acknowledging that Kyouko is strong doesn’t really have the same impact.

However, lackluster as it was, Kyouko’s introduction appears to further cement when this side story takes place. We know that both Mami and Kyouko are working independently currently, just as they were before the events of the original series.

Additionally, we know that Mami and Kyouko worked together, or had some sort of relationship before the events of the original series as well. And, with both of them now in Kamihama City, this seems to be the place where they teamed up.

So now I’m thinking this might actually be a prequel.

Lucky Water

Here’s where my main question for the Magia Record mobile gamers comes in. I understand that the lucky water is tied to the current rumor the magical girls are looking into — so it’s not the same sort of game mechanic as the Coordinator or those pseudo-witch forms.

However, it’s definitely a game mechanic, isn’t it? At first I was thinking it was gacha related, but the more I saw of it the less I felt like that was right — although it would be pretty meta to have an arc about the “evil” gacha. It seems to me to be related to an event though.

And if it’s not associated with an event, which I still think is the most likely option, then is it related to how you actually play the game? Like in FGO you have to spend “AP” in order to play missions and then that AP regenerates over time. The fact that the lucky water is on a 24 hour cool down sort of has that vibe.

And, finally, we need to talk about evil Felicia at the end of the episode. Yes, she drank the lucky water earlier on, but that doesn’t seem to be what turned her “evil.” Iroha also drank it, and she’s perfectly fine as far as we know — which lends me to believe Felicia is just more easily corrupted.

While the witch familiars are offering to continue supplying the girls with lucky water every day as long as they stop investigating the rumor, that isn’t what turns Felicia. Instead, they offer to ally with her so that together they can eradicate all witches, which was already Felicia’s goal.

So clearly, whatever this lucky water is, it’s pretty important to the main plot of the anime. After all, the witch familiars who supply it are claiming to be the ones gathering all the witches in Kamihama city.

Conclusion

Also, before I conclude, I’d just like to say that the fact Felicia turns “evil” isn’t the only reason I started to dislike her a little bit. It also had to do with the art style which was chosen for this scene — it just doesn’t feel right for the series. When you compare it to Sayaka going berserk in the original series, the art style this time around just feels off, and that took away from the scene for me.

But, what did you think about this episode? I don’t think it was the best episode by any means, but it also definitely wasn’t the worst one either. I’m also wondering if we’ll see the other original magical girls, or if this is actually a prequel — don’t spoil that if you know it though.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

There’s No Place For You Here

Magia Record episode 5 was definitely better than I was expecting it to be. It also didn’t wrap up this arc as I expected it would, but that’s not exactly a good or a bad thing. It’s good in that it means the series might not be as formulaic as I was worried it would be.

But if the conclusion of this mini arc gets lost along the way, that would be bad. And normally I wouldn’t be concerned about that being the case, but this is an anime based on a mobile game. They aren’t typically known for having the most well-constructed story because of everything being crammed into so few episodes.

I will say that one of the complaints I have about this episode is that it introduces a bit too much. We’re introduced to the seance shrine, then pseudo witches are a thing, and Mami also reveals that Yachiyo is likely hiding something from her friends.

Are all of these things related? My guess is that none of them actually are. Which then means these mysteries won’t all be solved at once, so how far into the series will we be by the time they are? There will clearly be more mysteries to uncover as we go on, so again, I’m concerned about the time frame.

Episode limits are a real thing to worry about in a series like this which is trying to tell a complex story in a short amount of time. Just look at Babylon from last season (my review of that is up now so this reference will make more sense).

Fakes

Last week Iroha and Yachiyo met Ui and Mifuyu respectively upon entering the seance shrine. And at the time, I stated that I saw this as proof of Ui’s existence at some point in time. However, I’m less certain of that with this week’s developments.

When Iroha tries to hold a conversation with Ui, it’s clear that this is not actually her sister. This version of Ui is merely a shadow created by whoever is attempting to lure magical girls to Kamihama City. And, perhaps this Ui has no personality of her own because there’s no real Ui for her to be based on.

But I wouldn’t think that if Mifuyu was depicted in the same way. When Yachiyo kills her, it’s clear that this Mifuyu was also a fake, like the Ui. However, the shadow Mifuyu actually had Mifuyu’s personality, memories, and even abilities as a magical girl.

It’s clear that there’s a difference between the shadow versions of Ui and Mafuyu, and the only thing I can think of which would set them apart is whether or not they ever existed. Sure, Mifuyu was a magical girl while Ui wasn’t, but as far as we know that shouldn’t affect these shadow versions of them.

Additionally, the fact that Ui was saying things about magical girls being saved in Kamihama City may be important.

Remember, all of the magical girls who were drawn to Kamihama City had a dream in which someone told them to go there to be saved. This is exactly what Ui is saying to Iroha when they’re finally “reunited.” So, is it possible that Ui is just that person from Iroha’s dream?

Iroha Tamaki – Pseudo Witch

The second huge part of the episode after Ui and Mifuyu being revealed as fakes was the introduction of pseudo witches. I assume there’s a real name for these partial witch transformations, but I don’t know what it is yet, so I’m coining this term.

Basically, we saw Iroha transform into a witch, but she still retained her humanity. This happens when Iroha falls into despair and her soul gem becomes too cloudy. Normally this would result in a full witch transformation though, so it’s unclear why this wasn’t the case for Iroha.

Also, I’d like to point something else out about these pseudo witch transformations — because we also see the same thing happen to Kaede in the post-credit scene.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have not played the Magia Record game. However, I have played Fate/Grand Order, and this pseudo witch element really looks like some sort of “ultimate” move to me — like the Noble Phantasms in FGO.

This form can’t be used until the magical girl reaches her limit (there’s probably some bar in-game which needs to be filled), and then explosive power is released for a short amount of time. Just like the Coordinator, these pseudo witch transformations appear to be a byproduct of this anime being based on a mobile game.

Super Sleuth Mami Tomoe

Although she was introduced back in episode 3, Mami didn’t make an appearance in episode 4, and is just now showing up again. She was drawn to the magic of Iroha’s pseudo witch form, and thought that Iroha must be a witch disguised as a human.

This is interesting because it again brings up the question about when exactly in the timeline this spin-off takes place. At this point in time, does Mami know that magical girls become witches once their soul gems become too cloudy?

My guess is that she doesn’t.

If Mami knew that magical girls become witches at this point in time, she likely wouldn’t have threatened Iroha’s life — she would have wanted to save her. Also, the other magical girls from Mitakihara City probably would have been with her.

The only time we know Mami was a loner was before she teamed up with Madoka, Sayaka, and later Kyouko and Homura. Though it’s heavily implied that Mami and Kyouko have some sort of history in the original series, and I think this is confirmed in one of the manga.

So why would Mami be alone in Kamihama City if this side story takes place after she knows the true nature of witches?

Also, there’s that whole thing with Mami claiming that Yachiyo is hiding something from her friends. I’d comment more on that, but for now there’s really nothing to go on. I think the only thing she’s hiding is that she feels guilty for Mifuyu’s death.

Kaede, Rena, and Momoko

As mentioned earlier, we also see Kaede go into her pseudo witch form at the very end of the episode in order to protect Rena and Momoko. And from what we see, this isn’t something Kaede intended to do. In fact, she was quite visibly distraught by the fact that she turned into a partial witch — something Iroha doesn’t realize she did.

We saw that Iroha’s witch form was a giant bird, and Kaede’s was some sort of monster with a bunch of hands. I can’t really think of anything about these girls which connects them to their pseudo witch forms though. Nothing about that form seems to have anything to do with Kaede. So, are their full witch forms the same?

But, the final thing I want to mention, which is really why I included this section of the review, is the fate of Rena and Momoko. They appear to be either unconscious or dead — and it seemed to be a little implied that it was the latter.

After she returns to her magical girl state, Kaede attempts to help her friends but finds her hands to be covered in paint, which I assume was supposed to represent blood. Was this Rena and Momoko’s blood? And if so, were they injured by Kaede’s attack?

Kaede seems to possibly believe that she’s the one who injured her friends. Why else would she leave them behind and run away? I don’t think she’s trying to run away from the scene of the crime, but rather running away from her friends because she’s worried she’ll harm them even more if she loses control again.

Conclusion

So, what are your thoughts on Magia Record episode 5? Is Ui real or fake? Is Yachiyo really hiding something sinister from her friends? And, if you’ve played the mobile game, are the pseudo-witch forms used as “ultimate”-type attacks in it? Let me know in the comments.

When I previously asked about the Coordinator’s role in the game a couple of you responded in the comments and on social media, so please, clear this up once again (without spoiling anything preferably).

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And, come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

This Isn’t the Past

It’s unfortunate to say, but Madoka Magica: Magia Record episode 4 doesn’t really have all that much to discuss. Or, at least, there isn’t too much meaningful content to discuss. Sure, there’s Tsuruno and the hunt for the Seance Shrine, but they seem fairly straightforward.

The real mystery of this episode doesn’t come until the very end when Yachiyo and Iroha actually enter the Seance Shrine, and that’s nothing more than a closing scene. However, since this episode was basically all setup, I’m hoping that the next episode gives this mini arc a good conclusion unlike what we got from the chain monster arc.

I’m also beginning to get a feel for how this series is likely going to be set up, and I hope I’m wrong. It seems like this 12 episode series is going to have an introduction, four or five mini arcs, and then a conclusion. And those mini arcs are each going to focus on a rumor which could be (but ultimately isn’t) connected to Ui’s disappearance.

This is probably because they’re trying to compress a mobile game into such a short series, but I just don’t see this anime having a very compelling story in the end. At least, that’s the impression I have so far. Like I said, I hope I’m not correct.

Tsuruno Yui

The only new magical girl we’re introduced to in this episode is Tsuruno Yui. We actually do see two other random girls later on in the episode for a second or two, but I think that was just a cameo of more characters from the game, and not anyone important to this anime.

Tsuruno is a strange magical girl who Yachiyo warns Iroha not to get too close to. It’s not entirely clear why Yachiyo is so wary of Tsuruno, but it probably just has to do with the fact that the two basically have opposite personalities. After all, the two of them are friends to an extent, with Tsuruno referring to Yachiyo as her master.

Tsuruno’s family owns a restaurant which is known around town for being completely average — not really something to be proud of. And this is probably why she’s a fire-based magical girl. She cooks with fire in the kitchen, so that’s a major part of who she is.

What we don’t yet know, however, is what her wish was, if she has any other special magic besides fire, and if her use of fans signifies anything in particular. In the end, it could just turn out that she solely knows fire magic and uses her fans to, well, fan the flames.

The Seance Shrine

The Seance Shrine is another popular rumor which involves people disappearing just like that of the friendship ending staircase. However, this rumor targets a different demographic.

The friendship ending staircase required there to be two friends, with one of them wanting to break off the friendship. Then, once the friendship was broken, if either of the former friends attempted to reconcile, they would be taken by the chain monster. So the setup of that disappearance involved someone who was mad at someone else.

This time around, rather than targeting someone who’s mad at their friend, the rumor targets someone who misses someone else. Perhaps it could even be targeting the remaining friend after the other one was taken away by the chain monster.

As the rumor goes, all you have to do is locate the Seance Shrine, write down the name of the person you want to see again, and then you’ll get to see them. Except there’s one small caveat, which is that the people who go through with this rumor are never seen again themselves.

And one interesting thing to keep in mind about the Seance Shrine is that, like the friendship ending staircase, it’s not a witch’s labyrinth. There are little witch minion things involved, but as far as we can tell it’s not directly related to a witch. So, could the same witch be the cause of both these rumors?

Mifuyu and Ui

The final thing I want to discuss today is also what I think is the most interesting, though it’s also the thing we have the least information about. Once inside the Seance Shrine, Yachiyo and Iroha are reunited with the people they wanted to meet again.

For Yachiyo this was a girl named Mifuyu, and for Iroha this was obviously her sister Ui.

From the start I’ve assumed that Ui was once a real person. I’ve never entertained the idea that Ui never existed in the first place, though, sure, that could end up being the case I guess. But I’m also going to assume that since Ui was seen in the Seance Shrine that does in fact mean she existed at some point.

There’s no guarantee that the Seance Shrine can only show people who actually exist, but it just feels like that’s the case. So from my perspective, and probably Iroha’s as well, this is a confirmation that Ui is, or was, a real person.

Additionally, we have Mifuyu. We don’t know anything about Mifuyu other than that both Yachiyo and Tsuruno knew her. Based on that information, and the fact that Yachiyo and Tsuruno are friends, yet seem to keep their distance, I’m going to say Mifuyu was the third member of their group who was killed by a witch.

I’m also going to assume that Yachiyo blames herself for Mifuyu’s death because she wasn’t strong enough to protect her. This is probably why Yachiyo is mainly a loner now. She doesn’t hang out with Tsuruno, or anyone else, because she doesn’t want to lose them too.

Conclusion

What did you think of Magia Record episode 4? Is the series going to continue on with these mini arcs until Iroha finds Ui in the end? Is there a single, powerful witch behind all these rumors? And, what do you think the significance of Mifuyu is? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.