Maburaho: the next Tenchi??

[Funkatron]

Man, this anime is funny. It just started in Japan a few weeks ago. This series just screams "Tenchi" with its premise:

Spoiler:

The main character, Shikimori, goes to school at a Magic academy. Your rated on how many times you can use magic in your entire life. While most people can use magic in the thousands, this poor guy is only destined to use magic only 8 times in his life. Ouch.

The fun part starts when he comes home from school to find a girl in his room, claiming to be his WIFE!!! Then a ell endowed blonde wants to...you know and the top female student iin the school wants to kill him!!!

Whats going on?? well, apparrently, his ancestors are magicians from all over the world. Though his magic sucks, his kid(if he ever has one) is destined to be a great magician with lots of magic potential. Sooo, in other words: Everyone wants to be his baby's mama!

[Karl Olson]

The question is, does it have all the backstory that made Tenchi (atleast the OVA) a bit more interesting than the usual harem anime? Only time will tell on that one.

[Funkatron]

probably does, considering the flashback in the first ep...

[Karl Olson]

flashbacks are a start. if we start getting complex family trees a la Tenchi (As in theoretically, all of the girls after Tenchi in the OVA are related if you go back far enough) and more backstory (see Tenchi episodes "Hello Baby." "Sasami/Tsunami," "Advent of the Goddess" and "Zero/Ryoko") then Maburaho would definetely be the inheritor to the thinking man's harem anime throne.

[Funkatron]

One thing that interests me is that it seems all of these girls are betrothed to him, as in thier respective families want it, which is why the third girl wants to kill him(so she can be free).

[Karl Olson]

One thing that interests me is that it seems all of these girls are betrothed to him, as in thier respective families want it, which is why the third girl wants to kill him(so she can be free).

shoot, that already sounds pretty messed up and interesting.

[lostrune]

Is this the series where his dad is a great magician, but the "gene" skips a generation, and that's why he's not, but his offspring will be, and that's why the girls want to bear his child?

[FlyByNite77]

He's not betrothed to any of the girls I don't think.

Yuma(I think her name is) talked to him as a child and he told her he wanted to marry her someday. Then she returns and he doesn't remember him. So it's not really a betrothal, but just something said a long time ago.

The other two girls have been told by their families to get the genes from him. So they've basically told their two teenage daughters respectively to try and seduce this kid and get knocked up with his child. Which is really messed up a number of levels.

[Karl Olson]

notes after watching the first episode of Maburaho:

1. certain shots from opening seem directly lifted from various anime:
-the windchime shot and the watermelon shot look like they are from Onegai Teacher.
-the bridge and waterway shot looks like it's from NieA_7.

2. it's from J.C. Staff, producers of Excel Saga and Azumanga Daioh. This should be interesting.

3. Wow, I'm already get a Harry Potter meets Tenchi vibe off this. That it a good thing. Except our star is a squib. Cute. Atypical of shonen romances though.

4. Nice. Western and Eastern magics seem to be getting equal time.

5. Ah, scifi magic mesuring system, which builds into a caste system. Getting even better.

6. Series set in France... names are insanely Japanese... unintensional humor.... seriously.

7. Ah, exploding school buildings! Now that's Tenchi-esque!

8. 8 Times. A mahormatic-esque tragedy possibility. If they have him die to save the girls, that'll be really bold for a shonen romance, because I don't think I've ever seen a shonen romantic tragedy.

9. This show sure does love it's panty shots. Jeez.

10. Cartoony crabs? Even more tenchi-eque-ness.

11. Backspin running = the funny. It's also something I'd expect out of the nutters at JC Staff. They are really building a legacy as a solid comedy studio.

12. Wait a second... three girls... one very adult, one very unreasonable, and one pretty good option... Gainax girl trilogy style? interesting.

13. Girls using magic, fighting over a man, man running like hell... helloooooooooo Tenchi.

14. Ah possible family infighting over a man/various factions fighting over a man because of his power. Even more Tenchi-esque.

15. Face hitting the camera gag. Again, signature JC Staff comedy.

16. More Western/Eastern magic fusion. Very cool.

17. Lazy ED animation. Even more Tenchi OVA esque.

all in all, I think it has a lot of potential. The service is blantant, but it fades into the background as such. the use of stuff like the previously mention backspin and camera in the face bit are nicely done, and quite amusing. The Tenchi-esque elements are in effect, but not so much as to come off as directly derivitive. The same can be said for the Potter-esque elements as well. They are there (especially with the whole ensemble cast element) but not blantant. Definetely one I'm going to follow.

[Funkatron]

I've made a believer out of olsen