Gushing Over Magical Girls

Episode 7

Amongst many other distinguishing developments, this week's episode of Gushing Over Magical Girls throws a wrench into understanding the world workings of its titular transforming heroines. That is, this episode makes apparent that there are regular old fictional anime magical girls in TV shows in this universe, alongside the reality-based ones dealing with monsters all over Japan. Utena is a fan of both kinds, which are displayed side-by-side at a recurring Magical Girl Expo.

It's not a continuity error or anything—it causes some of the complexities of the story to click. Nor is it a massive upset compared to some of the other wild reveals that get dropped on the audience this week. It is simply another layer of the gushy, creamy casserole that these Magical Girls have been cooking up over the weeks. I can't let myself overthink the world-building of the masochistic magical girl cartoon. This is a series that demands it be engaged on its own terms, after all, as those fluctuate from "minimal" to "recoil-worthy."

The actual focus for this entry is on Sayo AKA Magia Azure, in what's emerged as a round-robin of detailings for the heroic magical girl trio. Sayo's schtick has been emergent since early on, as she's undergone a particularly powerful masochistic awakening thanks to her interactions with Utena/Baiser. Of course, while a practiced, consensual kink relationship with understood boundaries can be fun for everyone involved, having it intrude into your mental state while you're trying to protect a town from monsters is decidedly less desirable. As I've gone over before, Gushing Over Magical Girls has no space to acknowledge that these tweens' sexual awakenings are being done the opposite of favors by lacking proper education and guidance in engaging with them—this was never going to be that kind of show. These were kids raised by cartoons, and it shows how they process situations far above their ESRB rating.

That's where those diegetic magical girl anime come in. Gushing has already showcased Utena's earnest appreciation and inspiration held for those classic kids' shows. She maintains that attitude despite her directly destructive goal toward actual magical girls in the present. Sayo, on the other hand, isn't able to reconcile that cognitive dissonance, perhaps on account of being on the receiving end of it. Her rejection of the idealism of fictitious magical girls at the behest of the "reality" she's suffered is dented a bit by the fact that this series has generally only treated its bondage of bad times as comedic. There certainly is something to be analyzed in how actual 12-year-olds would process regular sexual battery, but again, this is not that show. That's perhaps for the best for everyone's sanity, not that Sayo's shattering ideals do all that well otherwise.

What Gushing Over Magical Girls does do well with all this is set up for an exceptionally effective engagement enveloped in its x-rated escapades. It comes (as it does) in what's easily the show's most intensely explicit scene yet, Sayo grippingly gagged and forced to saddle a problematic panda. But far from the pure pornography of so much of Gushing's previous material, this is a character moment. Utena's cheering encouragements she was seen giving her beloved magical girls as a child return in a twisted refrain late in the episode here before that faith is shattered by Sayo's revelations. It even compliments previous one-off gags in the episode; Utena previously tried to shield little Korisu's virgin eyes from inappropriate interactions, and now she admonishes Azure's acquiescence because there might be children watching! It's a roller-coaster of character complications, strongly sold by Utena's voice actress Fūka Izumi, and the sheer range of emotions she experiences in these events.

That's the compliment to the production hardly letting the series down this week either. The darker nighttime palette of the fight scene masks much of its usual roughness, complemented by the coloring still allowing the characters to pop in the shadows. The combination of this having a big scene for the saucy material and on a character and thematic level means they draw all that pretty nicely, anyway. Even the music in this climactic scene is pretty great! I genuinely feel like this is Gushing Over Magical Girls properly living up to its potential, and it's capped off with the revelation of the broader villain group which could push some interesting story escalations forward. Or it'll blow its whole load on stupid deviant dalliances again. Just because I'm recognizing this show with an unquestionably solid grade after seven weeks doesn't mean it's earned enough of my trust to engage with it without a safe word.

Rating:

Funny behind-the-scenes trivia: my originally submitted bonus image for last week's review was too hot for ANN, necessitating a last-minute change. It's fine, it ultimately resulted in a funnier, if less fanservice-y image. I suppose that's unfair to you, the readers, who depend on me to give you some semblance of the uncut experience. But what can you do? Sometimes you sadly can't find the page you're looking for.

Gushing Over Magical Girls is currently streaming on HIDIVE.

Chris is hoping that following this series at the same time he's keeping up with Precure won't result in him being put on a special list. Please direct any call-out posts to his increasingly decaying Twitter, or whip him into writing more quality material for his blog.