Here we go, another anime adapted from a Shonen Jump manga, and of course I have read the manga until its latest chapter. To describe what kind of a series Mashle is, it’s a Black Clover, Harry Potter and One Punch-Man parodies mixed into one.
Now, why would I described Mashle as a parody of these three? Because it’s very obvious from these similarities:
Harry Potter: Mashle takes place in a Real of Magic, where magic is part of people’s everyday lives. The cloth that most of the magicians are wearing is a black cloak akin to what Hogwarts students are wearing for exception of the academy’s symbol on its back and they’re not separated by colors, and they’re mainly using wands to use magic.
Black Clover: The protagonist Mash Burndead was born without a single ounce of magic and so he makes up his lack of magic by training his body physically, which is similar to Asta, the protagonist of Black Clover. Additionally, both are bad at studying.
One Punch-Man: The protagonist is insanely overpowered after years of training to the point that he can effortlessly defeated magicians solely with his physical strength despite his lack of magic. This is similar to One Punch-Man’s protagonist, Saitama, even down to their deadpan expression and reaction.
I never imagined that mixing these three aspects together would make such an entertaining story, especially with a protagonist like Mash. In the world of Mashle, those with magic is born with some sort of mark on their faces. Mash, having no magic, doesn’t have any mark on him and was dubbed the unmarked. Magic is considered as a gift from God, so the unmarked ones are considered pariah among the magician-filled society where an individual’s position within society are defined by the power and skill with magic.
To live a peaceful life with his grandfather, Mash must hide the fact that he’s an unmarked whenever he’s going out to town. Mash was found by his adopted grandfather as an abandoned baby. Mash’s grandfather, Regno Burndead, who was disowned by his family because of his lack of talent in magic, found kindred spirit in Mash and decided to adopt him even though hiding an unmarked would be considered a crime. For Mash’s safety, he had convinced him to do workouts everyday so he can at least do some self-defense, an instruction that led to an unexpected result.
Mash is a protagonist that I couldn’t help but love. His permanently deadpan expression and the other characters’ reactions in response to his seemingly absurd actions are the main source of entertainment. Because of Mash’s insanely powerful strength, he has difficulty in controlling his own power output, and coupled with his simplistic mind, Mash often break things without him meaning to, even doing the smallest thing like opening the door to his own house because he forgot whether to pull or push it. This might gave him an impression that he’s stupid (in a way, he is). What makes this part of him funniest, however, is how he could easily deflect or even destroy magical attacks with only his physical strength. His own father who had told him to train his body never even expected that Mash would be this strong and was equally shocked as his attackers when Mash play the magic attack like a play ball. LOL
However, while the comical moments brought out by Mash was what I enjoyed the most, what I like most about and Mash’s strongest point, like many shonen protagonists, is his kindness. When Mash was breaking things, it was never done out of malice. His bluntness also attributes to his honesty with no ill will. He never used his power to intimidate others and only fight when it’s necessary. He’s wiling to take risks, putting himself in danger, if it means he can live peacefully with his family, even if he has to face the whole world to achieve it.
Mash might have the characteristics of the typical shonen protagonists like Luffy, Naruto, Goku, Asta, being strong but not so smart, especially at studying. What sets Mash apart from them is his lack of expressions and quiet nature. He hardly lets out battle cry or even speaking at all, and he didn’t have any aspiration until after his and his family’s life was in danger. Even when he’s injured or angry, Mash’s expression hardly changes. Now, I’m not trying to undermine protagonists like the ones I’ve mentioned, I just found Mash to be a new amusing change from the Shonen Jump protagonist in general. Plus, it’s hard to hate a character who loves cream puffs very much. Mash kinda reminds me of my mom because she also loves cream puffs. XD
The first episode has successfully delivered the beginning of Mash’s adventure with a bang. I can’t wait to watch the many shenanigans Mash would bring comes to life on screen.
Possibility of Blogging: Definitely
