Anime Review - Mashle: Magic and Muscles Seasons 1 and 2 (2024)

Imagine a world where everyone has magical powers. However, our lead doesn’t have any powers but gains a unique ability that no one else has. He must rise through the ranks to become the most powerful person. If that sounds familiar, it’s because this is the general setup for My Hero Academia, but it also applies to Mashle: Magic and Muscles. I wonder if this also sounds familiar: Mash attends a magic school where students are assigned to houses. He has a core cast of friends, gets dragged into sports due to his performance in class, and must defeat a dark lord of magic to bring peace to the magical world. If your first thought was Harry Potter, then you would be spot on.

Mashle is a comedy-action anime that essentially has one joke, which is repackaged in different ways. The joke is how this non-magical person uses his muscles to overcome the odds. This can range from German suplexing his opponent into the ground to running so fast that it looks like he’s flying on a broom. You might think that this gag would eventually wear thin. To be honest, how many times can they repackage the same type of joke and still make you laugh? However, Mashle does the impossible. Every time Mash uses his muscles to overcome the odds, it somehow remains laugh-out-loud funny. Some jokes don’t work, for example, when Mash somehow can’t tell if a door is a pull or a push and ends up ripping the door off. However, such instances are too few and far between to be an issue.

The show is brainless, and it wears that on its sleeve like a badge of honor. It is at its best when it’s a comedic mash-up of Harry Potter and My Hero Academia. However, it falters when it tries to be serious. In both seasons, there are moments when it takes itself very seriously with the main villains, and this pulls me out of the show. This is more the case in Season 2 than in Season 1, as we see more of Innocent Zero, who has time powers and can copy other people’s magic. To me, the show is at its best when we see Mash overcome the odds and get stronger, rather than focusing on other magical s getting stronger.

Even then, the show is just pretty good. There is a reason why I’m reviewing Seasons 1 and 2 together: most of the pros and cons are identical from season to season. The show is animated by A-1 Pictures, and it looks fine. It’s nothing incredible or even impressive; it just gets the job done. The English dub cast is great, and they play their respective characters well. The soundtrack is pretty good as well and kicks into high gear at the right moments.

The only thing that stands out above the rest is Season 2’s opening. ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ by Creepy Nuts is an undeniable banger and a strong contender for anime opening of the year. Its mix of rap verses and catchy, danceable chorus is simply infectious, and I find myself listening to it daily.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles Seasons 1 and 2 are just solid, fun anime. If you want a show that doesn’t require a lot of thinking and makes you laugh, look no further than this one.