February 17, 2006
Magikano just got better with 100% more Halko
The funniest anime airing right now just got even better, with episode 5's introduction of Witch Hunter Marin Nijihara, voiced by Haruko Momoi (many thanks to cortana paging me on SA, or I would have missed this awesome series). Halko is still sharp as a tack. Here is a breakdown of her character and debut episode:
Marin, an agent of the vatican, is the retarded version of Ciel.
She hunts witches with her Holy Spear.
But she's an an adorable doofus who can't do anything right.
She employs unconventional tactics to exploit the enemy's weakness.
But often it just leads to more absurdity.
A misunderstanding leads Marin to believe that our male protagonist Haruo is actually a Saint, and that her purpose on earth is to serve him.
Of course, Maika is very hostile to any competition for her brother's affection.
Hilarious antics ensue as a race breaks out over who's lunch Haruo must eat.
A shrinking magic spell is unwittingly unleashed on all members involved, but OF COURSE it doesn't affect the clothes. Also at this point, Sakura Nogawa starts doing her Hina Ichigo voice to match her shrunk down character - and that's seriously cute.
As Marin gets smaller, her resemblance to Popotan's Mii becomes glaringly obvious.
Mii-tan, I mean Marin wins the race to deliver her lunch first!
OH.. MY.. GOD! IMAGINE THIS FACE WITH HALKO VOICE AMPLIFYING THE CUTENESS! CAN A MAN SURVIVE THIS?
Finally, everyone returns to normal, except now they're all in their underwear. So yeah, you get the idea...Halko doing ridiculously cheesy roles for a crazy humor show? That's just like her - and damn this is a good series. Even before she shows up I had laugh out loud moments..but now after episode 5 it's sheer heaven to watch this. Get it!
Posted by Paranda at February 17, 2006 5:19 AM
Comments
Fully agree. The show is hilarious. I especially like the character design on Ayumi. There are a lot of cat girls in anime, but the mostly are created just with putting ears (and sometimes, a tail) on a normal cute girl.
However, Ayumi's face seems to have more "cat-like" features, without even having "actual" cat ears (they are just hair clips). This remided me of the types of design choices made in Angel Tales. All the girls are based on different animals, but their "human" form evokes their original form, rather than directly referencing it. Of course, Magikano and Angel Tales share the same character designer, Takashi Kobayashi.
I also like the Nijihara-type of character (misplaced champion of justice) and agree that Halko was an inspired choice.
Posted by: Marty Pfeiffer at February 17, 2006 6:14 AM
Nijihara
Nice observation on Ayumi's facial features. She does appear very catlike, somehow...I also like the insanely ugly facial expressions on everyone - the more the better. This is like Dokuro-chan except it's funny enough to not have to stoop to ridiculous levels of ecchi appeal.
Posted by: Paranda 
at February 18, 2006 6:14 PM