English Dub Review: Mashle: Magic and Muscles “Mash Burnedead and His Good Friends”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Mash has successfully saved the school from Innocent Zero’s magic-nullifying monster, earning praise and respect from the magic students.  However, Mash must still complete his semester exams to stay at the academy.  Can his reliable friends help him study?

Our Take:   

Usually, a final episode of the season would’ve completed the arc in a big and spectacular way via a colossal battle.  But, in the case of Mashle, the season two finale is more of a low-stakes epilogue of Mash’s greatest accomplishment, having successfully saved his friends from Innocent Zero and earned acceptance from everybody except Olter.  Unfortunately, since Mash’s secret could spell doom to himself and the academy, the Divine Visionaries get the credit for driving the villain away.  Since Innocent now has both time and space magic, it’s only a matter of time before we see him again.

But Mash has bigger problems to worry about instead of the potential return of his father.  He needed to pass his semester exams or risk being expelled and executed by the Bureau.  Even just one failed exam can end his life permanently.  I experienced this similar moment during college, minus the execution part, so this episode is a relatable gesture to this challenging part of school life.  It also helps that it emphasizes how far Mash has gone in making friends, with Finn offering to help Mash with his problem as he did for him in earlier episodes.  It shows that Mash’s determination to protect his friends inspired them to perform a similar feat for Mash, further indicating they accept Mash for who he is, especially Lemon.

Sadly, even though Mash has passed his exams, he still has a long way to go before becoming a Divine Visionary.  But this time, there’s more at stake in making his impossible dream a reality.  Following a confrontation with a priest and his civilian mob, Wahlberg indicates that Mash’s exposure as a magic-less has made his friends criminals. This means Mash must work and study extra hard to save everyone he loves and prove the naysayers wrong.  This has been another incredible journey for the series, benefitting from an entertaining and inspiring season two finale.  With a sequel to the anime already announced, we could expect more of Mash’s magical adventures sooner rather than later.  Until then, if you haven’t caught up with the series, I recommend you do so.