Anime Summer 2024: THE MAGICAL GIRL AND THE EVIL LIEUTENANT USED TO BE ARCHENEMIES, From Deadly Serious to Just Silly

Look into my eyes.

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies
The first two episodes are now streaming on Crunchyroll. Subsequent episodes will debut every Tuesday.

Even a relative newbie like me, returning to sample a new season of anime, can recognize certain tropes when they arise. Said tropes can sometimes reassure, as in 'Oh! That's nice to see again.' At other times, they can disturb. 'Oh! Are we still promoting those less-tasteful elements?'

Familiar tropes are divisive among anime viewers. What I love, you may think is too precious or sentimental. What you love, I may find offensively sexist. In the case of The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archevenemies, I think that we can all agree that the animation of the fighting sequences is up to expectations. It's the characters and their actions where we may part ways.

By that, I mean that Mira, the titular 'evil lieutenant,' is tall and handsome and falls head over heels in love with Byakuya, the titular 'magical girl' when he first glimpses her. Thereafter, he is persistently portrayed with stars instead of eyes, his face flaming with embarrassment whenever he sees her, and his body turns clumsy in its actions.

In contrast, Byakuya easily transforms from civilian clothes into her 'magical girl' appearance, floating through the air and disarming Mira completely. Through two episodes so far, that's the extent of the character and plot development, which leads me to conclude that the manga series, written and illustrated by Cocoa Fujiwara, who sadly passed away in 2015, probably is beautiful to behold and tells a much more captivating story in print.

The anime series looks lovely, and the character designs are good, but it's pretty much a flatline adventure so far. I'll leave it off my watchlist for now, but am open to returning to visit it again as I have time later in the summer.

The teaser, embedded below, is quite a bit more mournful and sad than the rather chipper series, so fans of the manga series may want to tune in.

Summary: Not for me.