Sara Talks Anime

Video version:

Text version:

Wow, yet another one of these where despite backdating the post, I have to take time out of my real life to rewrite the intro section because it makes more sense in the video version compared to having it out in text! So I’m just going to write a little fun fact about the creation of the thumbnail: the hat you see me wear in the thumbnail is actually a hat for a credit union that I don’t use, but I wore it backward so that people can’t argue about whether or not I’m promoting it. Hell, you probably didn’t even know that fact until I brought it up. Anyway, cue the preliminary opinion post!

The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians begins with a young Kurumi wanting to see something like a comet or something that could only be seen with a clear sky, and her grandmother teaching her a charm for clear weather. This charm fails, however, and there is stuff to block the weather anyway. Because screw being happy.

But this is a PG show! We can’t leave something upsetting the kiddies without providing a satisfying way to wrap it all up eventually! So, a magician (who Kurumi refers to as Miss Magician in the Crunchyroll subtitles) clears up the sky on her behalf, leaving Kurumi with a notebook, and Kurumi promises to become a magician!

Unfortunately, this backfires because Kurumi does not get into the Magumi, the sole magic course. I will take a break from basically recapping the first episode to provide one of my biggest issues with The Stories of Girls Who Couldn’t Be Magicians: many side characters feel one-note throughout the first three episodes. Probably the only ones that aren’t are the lackeys of Yuzu, the mean girl, but that’s probably because they’re near a character that – if the description for the series on Crunchyroll is leading me correctly – will become important later in the series.

While the side characters stand out, they only stand out to me because they constantly display their quirks. Like, we get it! You want to build a railroad, you are a pretty damn good opera singer, and you wanna grow a garden! And if I recall correctly, you want to become a reporter of some kind! I don’t know, maybe my memories of a show that I’m not making a Preliminary Opinion video of are melding in too much with my memories of this show.

Kids deserve better than one-note characters for their side characters. I genuinely hope that these characters get development as the series goes on, as I’d hate to be stuck with characters that I literally only remember because of whatever quirk the creator of the source material chose to give these characters.

The Standard Class, which Kurumi gets into, begins without an instructor…but that’s okay, because at the end of the episode, they get an instructor…AND she promises to make everyone in the Standard Class magicians, much to everyone’s confusion, but also to Kurumi’s delight.

In the remaining two episodes (though I wrote this after the series aired Episodes 4 and 5, which…oops.), we learn more about the magic system in the world. And while there’s more in Episode 4, I can’t talk about it because I told myself Preliminary Opinion posts would only cover the first three episodes, and plus, SPOILERS!

However, do I believe that the plot is suitable for a show intended for children? Yes! Do I think it will teach good lessons? I mean, I get the vibe that the big message of the series will be “keep chasing after your dreams no matter how many people tear you down, because anything is possible if you put your mind to it”, so yes!

And the theme songs? Oh, they stick out to me. Especially the opening. In fact, this is the first time I heard Puffy (or, as they’re known in America, Puffy AmiYumi) singing anything since I last watched Teen Titans! Though, I’m guessing the style of music is more the style of TOBOE, whomever they are. Sorry, I’m not really familiar with their music, unlike Puffy, where I have some familiarity.

I also really love the color palette used for this show! To be honest, I think I just have a bias for shows with a more pastel color palette. But in this show, it’s genuinely so clean to look at. I also love the animation itself. Sure, some people may think that it’s on the simpler side, but I think it works for this show, as it appears to be going at a slower pace.

This show is best for those who don’t mind a slower paced show intended for a younger audience that has magic. Bonus points if you’re actually part of that younger audience. As for where it streams, it’s the usual. Although, it’s only for the first three episodes…? I know Crunchyroll does that with some of the series it simulcasts, dunno why, though. By the way, here’s your obligatory reminder to research where it streams where you live!