Mahō Yūgi is a comedy series that could only exist in the early ’00s: the screwball humor, the blatent sexuality, and the pop-culture brand of surrealism seems to have been a staple in comedy, during that era of anime! But, while Renkin 3-kyū Magical? Pokān established itself as somewhat of a cult classic, Mahō Yūgi came away without much of a devoted following. Unlike the aforementioned series ("Magical Pokān"), Magical PLAY feels empty and the characters are cardboard, despite their striking designs! ⚠️ This review of Mahō Yūgi Tobidasu!! Hanamaru Daibōken will be spoiler-free ⚠️ —Story/Characters The comparison between "Magical Pokān" and "Magical Play" is kind of anodd coincidence, because the director of Pokān, Ken'ichi Yatani, directed the second and third OVA installments of Tenchi Muyō! Ryōōki — while the director of "Magical Play" directed the first OVA of the Tenchi Muyō! franchise. Part of me suspects that there may have been a sort of rivalry going on between the two of them, because both shows are highly referential, have a colorfully designed main cast (with an obligatory gyaru in both series), and are magical girl shows. Though, the definition of the word is used in a broadest sense of the term!

Probably the most interesting use of pragmatism is the use of their animal companions, Padudu has a fish cloak and MyuMyu wears a... living cat bikini? The cat bikini helps her win in eating contests, doubles as a bungee wire, but if it gets exhausted, she's left buck naked! Ketchup and Mustard were entertaining, they reminded me a lot of Mihoshi and Kiyone ("Tenchi Muyō!"), and it's no wonder, when you look at the director's history in the industry! I really enjoyed how both of them would just be chilling at the station, and something ludicrous would stir them from their repose!

Nonononn and Purilun have a heated rivalry (tilting towards a ho-yay relationship) though, it doesn't get nearly enough of the spotlight. It was something that I thought was genuinely interesting, but it gets delayed until the subsequent episodes, and instead of getting a gratifying finale... we are treated to some of the word 3D computer graphic in anime history! It was like "Xavier Renegade Angel" levels of second-rate CG! It was like the animators decided to give up on making a moe series, and did a copious amount of drugs instead! It's a shame that this show ended so poorly, because I thought some of the humor was actually funny!

—Technical

Luna's Favorite Works by Each Respective Creator = ✅

Hiroki Hayashi (director), notable works:
* Battle Programmer Shirase
* Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040
* El Hazard: The Magnificent World ✅
* Explorer Woman Ray
* Gall Force 2: Destruction (co-director)
* Katayoku no Khronos Gear
* Tenchi Muyō! Ryōōki (first season) ✅

Commentary: Mr. Hayashi directed Mahō Yūgi like an experimental Tenchi Muyō! — there are similar story and comedy beats in the production. The facial expression are choreographed identically to shots in El Hazard. The character Purilun even has a cloak that is indistinguishable from those worn by the Jurai royal family. I think I made my point, Mahō Yūgi has a similar comfort food, fantasy feel to its predecessors! Great job with the visual direction, Mr. Hayashi!

Good Seiyū Work = ✅

Really Enjoyed the Seiyū's Performance = ✅ ✅

One of Luna's Favorite Performances OF ALL TIME = ✅ ✅ ✅

Ai Tokunaga as Padudu, notable roles:
* Miki Noda, GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class
* Viola, Kiddy Grade
* Cheko, Pugyuru
* Maho Yumeno, Saki ✅✅
* Tsubomi Moroboshi, UG☆Ultimate Girls

Commentary: I haven't seen many of her roles, I want to hear what she sounds like as Viola, because I initially watched "Kiddy Grade" with the English dub Ms. Tokunaga voices very cute and endearing characters, I remember Maho ("Saki") fitting that role, and despite Padudu's (often idiotic) simplicity — she comes off as endearing! Wonderful acting!

Ryōka Shima as Pipin, notable roles:
* Hibari Hanakoganei, Akihabara Dennō-gumi
* Yūki Kurama, G-On Riders
* Fumitsuki Nanakorobi, Happy☆Lesson

Commentary: I haven't seen Ms. Shima's other roles, though Akihabara Dennō-gumi has been sitting in my bucket list forever! Her role as Pipin is not very memorable, but is good enough with the quality of the script. Nice work!

Kazusa Murai as MyuMyu, notable roles:
* Chiharu Nitta, Boys Be...
* Kazumi Takiura, Devilman Lady ✅
* Nemu, Haibane Renmei ✅✅
* Marina, Pokémon (series)
* Ribbon-chan ("Bijou"), Tottoko Hamtarō ✅✅

Commentary: I really enjoyed MyuMyu's character, I would say, along with Ketchup and Mustard's buddy cop routine and Padudu's silliness, that she had the best performance in the series. Though, Purilun (seiyū: Yuko Minaguchi) had a very pretty voice, too. Ms. Murai was able to have the dualism of making MyuMyu both attractive and cunning in her interpretation of the character. Amazing job!

Nanae Katō as Mustard, notable roles:
* Chika Yurikasa, Asagiri no Miko
* Mikiharu Kawaguchi, Bakegyamon
* Croket, Croket
* Noramimi, Noramimi
* Ahiru Arima, Princess Tutu ✅✅✅
* Domino, Shakugan no Shana
* Miki, Shugo Chara!

Commentary: The more hot-blooded side of the buddy cop duo, Ms. Katō has a voice that is both distinct and adorable, like with Ahiru ("Princess Tutu"). Incredible work!

Ryoko Nagata as Ketchup, notable roles:
* Mimiko Katsuragi, Black Blood Brothers
* Éclair, Kiddy Grade
* Wina Lightning, Last Exile (series) ✅
* Noel, Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch
* Rouge, Power Stone
* Takako Nakanishi, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu ✅
* Fūka Esumi, Yoiko

Commentary: I haven't seen many of her roles, I want to hear what she sounds like as Éclair, because I initially watched "Kiddy Grade" with the English dub. Ms. Nagata is the blue oni side of the buddy cop duo and she is very sensible, it reminds me of her role as the trustable Wina ("Last Exile"), though the character herself has a similar aura to Kiyone ("Tenchi Muyō!"). Great work, Ms. Nagata has a very calming presence!

Yuko Minaguchi as Purilun, notable roles:
* Mercelida Ygvar, Astarotte no Omocha!
* Sayaka Murakami, Bio Hunter
* Hotaru Tomoe, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon ✅✅✅
* Apricot, Bosco Daibōken
* Ringo, Casshern Sins ✅✅
* Midori Yamabuki, Dr. Slump
* Pan, Dragon Ball GT
* Videl, Dragon Ball Z
* Klose Rinz, Eiyū Densetsu: Sora no Kiseki the Animation
* Linaly Klauser, Final Fantasy ✅
* Key Mii, Greed
* Hoshimi Kimizuka, Maps
* Yakumo Shindō, Mushrambo
* Musse, One Piece
* Yaone, Saiyūki ✅
* Farah Oersted, Tales of Eternia ✅
* Girl, Tori no Uta ✅✅
* Hinoto, X/1999 ✅✅
* Yawara Inokuma, Yawara!

Commentary: Ms. Minaguchi typically plays pretty female characters, and Purilun is no exception to that rule. Though her presence in this series is thin as a paper wall, she still has an irresistibly charming voice! Fantastic job, as always!

Tomo Saeki as Nonononn, notable roles:
* Satoshi Imamiya, Abenobashi Mahō☆Shōtengai ✅✅
* Salt, Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar ("A Little Snow Fairy Sugar")
* Cō Erhard, Di Gi Charat (series)
* Akatsuki, Ojamajo Doremi (series)
* Mondo Ōya, Rokumon Tengai Mon Colle Knights
* Janny Mann, Sol Bianca: Taiyō no Fune

Commentary: I really only know Ms. Saeki from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi." It seems that she is typecast mostly as little boy characters and that makes sense, seeing as Nonononn is very masculine. Great work!

Conclusively, this show is very forgettable, apart from the indelible design work — penned by Kiyohiko Azuma, creator of "Azumanga Daiō" and "Yotsuba&!". From what I could gather, from trackinga few sources down, "Magical Play" seemed to have a more receptive audience in the US then in Japan, I would wager that it was because ADV promoted it heavily around the height of Azumanga Daiō's popularity! I remember seeing advertisements for it plastered all over issues of various Newtype USA magazines, though now, ADV has relinquished the rights and it is in Sentai Filmworks' care! I give Mahō Yūgi a 4/10, and the 3D special a 2/10!

※Mahō Yūgi is streaming on Hulu, if you have any interest in checking it out.

Rankings:

2D ★★☆☆☆

3D ★☆☆☆☆