Magical Play

[Innocent Bystander]

So... is Magical Play (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/3043.php) worth $6?

[touma]

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Innocent Bystander said:
So... is Magical Play (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/3043.php) worth $6?

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I think so.
I agree with that review, but I liked the show even more than Chris seemed too.
The girls are rather cute, especially Padudu. And Myumyu has a bit of a loli fanservice thing going with her cat costume. The costume does not look like a cat, it is made of two live cats that, just barely, cover her naughty bits.
The show is a comedy, and for me the humor worked.

[Magic_Knight]

Yes, definately.

Magical Play is comprised of a thirty minute 3D CG episode and twenty 5 minute animated episodes. The 3D episode isn't nearly as good as the 2D episodes, and it ends as if they were planning on making more to continue it. The CG is cell shaded and a couple scenes looked impressive, but most of it wasn't all that great. It isn't as funny as the 2D episodes either. However, it is quite interesting comparing the 3D CG and the 2D versions.

The 2D episodes on the other hand are a blast. They aren't really connected to the CG episode, have a larger cast of characters, and are a lot funnier. There isn't much in the way of a story, but I was so busy enjoying the show that I didn't really care. While the episodes are only 5 minutes long, they do manage to cram a lot into them. Some episodes are a continuation of previous episodes, but for the most part the episodes are self contained.

Padudu and her friends usually end up fighting eachother for a flower point, since they all want to be magical girls. And even though they possess the ability to use magic, they don't use it all that much. Also worth noting is how the clothing the magical girls wear resembles different animals. For instance, Padudu wears a fish suit, and her magical wand is in the form of a fish skeleton. A couple episodes are more serious, revealing the past of certain characters, but the lack of a real story leaves them feeling rather unnecessary.

While most of it is animated, there is some CG at times and even one of the 5-minute episodes done almost entirely in CG. The animation isn't as good as you might expect from an OVA, since there isn't anything really flashy, but it's good enough. The opening and ending themes are really good and catchy.

This show is just a whole lot of fun. The only thing missing besides transformation sequences is a conclusion. But it doesn't really follow a story anyways so it didn't bother me. Magical Play gets my recommendation.

[aquapermanence]

That's what I paid, and I think it was worth it.

Character designs by Azuma Kiyohiko of Azumanga Daioh, music by Seikou Nagaoka of Tenchi, directed by Hiroki Hayashi of El Hazard. It may be light and fluffy, but that hint of self-aware meanness is still there to tell you things are gonna be alright. While the series doesn't go much of anywhere, you should get a few chuckles out of it, and the episode commentary makes a fun follow-up. Fans of Magical Project S should be right at home with this show.

[ScorpioEyez]

I absolutely love this show! It drives me nuts that it's only a very short OVA series but for six dollars I would jump on it! Sami Harte is absolutely hilarious as Pippin!

[chotto]

I got this at the $6 price and so far I have watched the first 2 (or 10) episodes. I really like this show so far and would rank it pretty high on a list. I love the animation style/character design. It feels like a perfect disk just to pop in every once in a while. I really don't think you can go wrong for $6, I would have felt more than satisfied paying regular prices for it. This does seem like the type of show that could polarize people, but if you skim a couple of review summaries I think you would get an idea of whether it would work for you.

[Innocent Bystander]

I'm sold. Just ordered it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

[ScorpioEyez]

The ending (or lack thereof) will probably annoy you but other than that you made a very wise purchase!

[XenoCrisis0153]

who's selling it for six bucks?? I must know!! This series was so funny, I watched it on the Anime Network and fell in love with it. Pippin is my fave :D

That poor poor fish (what's his name again?). He's tortured so much.

[Magic_Knight]

You can get it for $6 at ADV's website when they are running the sale (they currently are not, though). The shipping will be expensive for 1 DVD though, so you might want to get some other DVD's with it if you do place an order.

[sawmill]

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Magic Knight said:
You can get it for $6 at ADV's website when they are running the sale (they currently are not, though). The shipping will be expensive for 1 DVD though, so you might want to get some other DVD's with it if you do place an order.

[/ QUOTE ]Or wait for TRSI to put it on sale which happens from time to time.

[aquapermanence]

Or visit stores that sell used anime like EB or GameStop. I just picked up two volumes of Sailor Moon S and one of Ultramaniac for $2 each thanks to their deals.

[Damaramu]

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XenoCrisis0153 said:
That poor poor fish (what's his name again?). He's tortured so much.

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The brilliantly tasty when grilled on an open fire Uokochi. Most sympathetic character in the series for me.

I thought the show was OK, but frustratingly didn't go anywhere; it felt like characters on a journey in an RPG and there's a quest, but it's only a sliver of a gnat in terms of relevance to the mini episodes and the antics of the characters (ok, maybe not so miniscule, but felt that way, as they don't really get anywhere during the series. They showed a goal that would have been interesting to get to, but were apparently never intent on getting that far). Gags didn't hit my funny bone either /images/graemlins/sad.gif

The 3D version on the 2nd disc i was far less fond of. Resets the world, and takes a darker spin that really chafes with the designs, settings and direction.

I'd recommend purchasing only if you're intensly curious and you don't care either way about the $6 or whatever you can get it for.

[SnowfairyX]

This was dreck, at least from what I've seen of it, which was about 1/4 or 1/3 of it. The last time I touched it was about 2 years ago and I'm still in no mood to continue finishing it. Everything about it was horrible from the animation, character designs, music and general unfunniness of it. I guess it's supposed to be a parody of the magical girl genre, but I just didn't find it very funny or interesting enough to keep me awake. I paid $15-17 over 2 years ago, and from what I've watched, I don't think it's even worth $6. For something similar but infinitely better, I thought Puni Puni Poemy was absolutely hilarious /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif, but of course that show isn't for everbody as well. I thought that one was well worth it even if I had paid full price.

[chotto]

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Innocent Bystander said:
I'm sold. Just ordered it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

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Since this topic is coming up again, I would be interested to see what your opinion of the show is once you watch it.

[Innocent Bystander]

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chotto said:
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Innocent Bystander said:
I'm sold. Just ordered it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

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Since this topic is coming up again, I would be interested to see what your opinion of the show is once you watch it.

[/ QUOTE ]Looking at my backlog, it may be some time until I get around to watching it... /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

[XenoCrisis0153]

There's a trailer for it on Azumanga Daioh Volume 3, I believe. I know I saw it the other day and it reminded me of how much I liked the opening theme... pa-pa-doo-wa /images/graemlins/happy.gif

There were also more "side characters" than I remembered: the two police girls, the evil Queen and her horny minion, that tough girl who everyone was afraid of, amoung others. I'm bad with names, can't ya tell?

[chotto]

For anyone interested, Magical Play is $5.99 in the Right Stuf weekly specials this week.