Whenever I’m having a stressful week, it’s nice to come home and watch a pleasant and wholesome anime. Machikado Mazoku outshines itself with each new episode and this week’s brought a a great big smile to me. To put it simply, this anime is incredibly refreshing! I love the characters! I love their interactions! It by no means is reinventing the wheel, but the dynamic and balance that it brings each week just keeps me going. I know it’s still early in the season, but if this anime keeps doing what it’s doing I will keep coming back to brighten up my day.
This time around, the beautiful Lilith makes her mighty return as by some stroke of luck, Shamiko has managed to meet all the conditions to reconnect with her ancestor. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when Lilith appeared in full lounge mode! It was something that I watched and immediately thought “Oh, me if I were a demon”. I love the little details that were included, such as explaining the purpose for the holder for the statue, but also just seeing Lilith eating the offerings and coke when Shamiko arrived. It feels like a lot of care goes into each moment and that’s certainly not something I will complain about. But of course, how could I forget the best moment in this segment? Lilith coming forth and taking control over Shamiko’s body was absolutely fantastic. In other anime we’ve seen moments where someone gets possessed and the possessor comments on the limitation of the host body. However, Machikado Mazoku went above and beyond and just kept reiterating just how weak Shamiko is compared to Momo. Heck, not even Momo, just a normal person. Watching Lilith come to the realization so slowly just made it all that more enjoyable! Ultimately it ends with the group going to a health spring as part of Lilith’s dying wish which allows us to transition nicely into the second segment of the episode. (Though! I do think Shamiko’s friends were a little harsh when they told Lilith they didn’t like her as much….)
The next part of the episode focused on Shamiko getting a part time job in order to pay back Momo for her “massive” amount of debt. And let me tell you, as much as I enjoyed the first part of the episode, this second half was just absolutely wonderful! We had some really good interactions between Shamiko and Momo and I love seeing Shamiko try her best while at the same time allowing Momo to become more comfortable around her! We still don’t know exactly what Momo’s life as a magical girl was, but watching her smile around Shamiko and try to help her – I just can’t get enough of that!
Overall, both segments were really good this week! I’m really glad that we’re able to see these two interact each week and watch their rivalry/friendship deepen with each interaction. Sure, Shamiko isn’t really aiming to become Momo’s best friend, but heck! It works out really well for these two! But! I want to know who the mysterious Orange Magical girl is! Hopefully we’re getting close to meeting her!
