#i think langa could be good friends with mash

[cobaltfluff]

he eat cream puff

[isekai-crow]

Cherry Magic / 30-sai made Doutei dato Mahoutsukai ni nareru rashii Episode 1

Overall Score so far: 8/10

Mainly because Kiyoshi Adachi knows he is in a BL, and is very aware of what might happen to him, and the short hand title is fucking hilarious. Cherry Magic. Cherri Maho. Man I love Japanese.

Also GOOD CROWS ABOVE THIS ANIME IS GENRE-SAVVY. It knows exactly what it's doing, and feels like it's going to deliver what it promises. A wholesome lovey dovey little story.

The whole 1st episode almost feels self contained in a way that will definitely let you know if this show is for you or not. Capybara pointed out that this seems to be a common recent trend with anime for their first episodes. We saw it in Dr. Elise, Frieren, and Dungeon Meshi kind of felt that way too.

My first impression that might not make sense to some people is that this is a toned down Doppo and Hifumi from Matenrou/Hypnosis Mic.

Also, WE'VE GOT TWO POWERHOUSE VOICE ACTORS HERE!!

Adachi is being voiced by the lovely deadpan of Kobayashi, Chiaki - His other roles I know being Langa from SK∞, Gabimaru!! (my beloved) from Jigokuraku/Hell's Paradise, and Mash!! from MASHLE, also this season! I haven't seen Vinland Saga yet, but other might know him as Askeladd! Kobayashi-san has a very particular voice that doesn't fluctuate much, but he knows when to show emotion that gives a good impact. Quote from Capybara - "They picked this guy for his dead pan, but can he emote? Oh, he's Langa from sk8, oh yeah, he can emote."

Kurosawa is voiced by Suzuki, Ryouta a super memorable voice! - Ryusui from Dr. Stone, Yuu ishikami from Kaguya Sama, BISCO!!! FROM SABIKU BISCO!!! That is some RANGE right there! Loud and Prideful, Quiet and Dark, and then a Screamy Boy. This is a younger VA who has had some great starting roles, and has already become a memorable and impactful voice, making this a very good match up!

Anyways, nerding out about voice actors aside, Episode 1 spoilers below!

At first it seems like we're going to get the standard tropes that come with the BL(Boys Love)/Yaoi Genre...

Adachi is ON HIS GUARD and KNOWS THE TROPES.

But the show immediately spins those very same tropes on their head! It's great!! It's been so long since I watched a BL, and despite knowing that the genre in manga form has mostly moved away from a lot of the dub-con tropes (unless you're looking for it of course), it's lovely to see something that actually feels like a proper and semi-realistic romance.

Kurosawa seems like a super sweet dude who's ALSO aware this is a BL, but also that gay guys don't just exist everywhere and that the chance of his crush returning his affection is low.

But. There is no way Adachi is straight. He's absolutely either bi, and/or gay + somewhere on the ace-spec (demi?) depending on how things play out from here.

I bet Adachi stumbled into reading a BL manga (or two or three or) at some point in his younger years, and it had more of an impact on his psyche than he remembers, lmao.

His fascination with knowing Kurosawa has a crush on him is adorable, and he's absolute confusion at stumbling across the other man's fantasies is hilarious.

The tension between them is beautiful when Adachi is pretending to sleep, and we all KNOW Kurosawa is thinking of his sleeping face and then playing it off as just grabbing his phone. I repeat, there is NO WAY Adachi is straight, lmao.

In response to this rhetorical question, No and Yes. If Adachi was the woman, saying yes would imply that she was aware she was being asked to have sex and giving consent (at least by Japanese standards I ASSUME? I've never been in this situation). And if Kurosawa was the woman, that is one very forward and direct lady who is absolutely Down To Fuck (Again, by Japanese standards afaik).

God, then they go out for yakiniku/Korean bbq the next day, and he finds himself enjoying the other man's company and wishing they could be friends, only to brush up again him and remember this man is in love with him. Adachi, you precious child, this is why you're so lovable. The immediate regret for taking the other man's feelings so lightly and not knowing what to do as he runs away is heart wrenching and OF COURSE THE EPISODE ENDS THERE.

It's a running theme that Adachi is worried about other's opinions and doesn't know how to rely on other, which tends to be a negative, but in this case, he's so conscientious of hurting Kurosawa by taking his feelings lightly. Even though he ends up hurting him anyways, I see this as a favorable take on the typical people-pleaser type character.

I'm not really looking to the implied trope of "Best Friend who also has a crush and claims to know him best" in the next episode, but since everything else has been subverted, I'm hoping that will get subverted too? Especially knowing that Best Friend-kun is in the secondary pairing from the PVs.

I WANT TO BINGE THIS. THIS IS GOING TO BE SO DAMN CUTE.

The HypMic Reference:

Adachi is a Toned Down Doppo, who is an over worked businessman at a black company who might as well be Canadian for how often he says sorry, but goes into Berserker mode and absolutely destroys his opponents when pushed too far or his partners are hurt, and is Hifumi's emotion support human.

Kurosawa is a super Toned Down Hifumi, who is the #1 host at a club in Shinjuku and has a split personality of the perfect princely boyfriend, and a charai/flashy and "it'll be fine lol" personality, who is basically a housewife for Doppo and is also Doppo's emotional support human.

There aren't THAT many connection points between the two, but still, I like the comparison, aha.

Anyways, My Hopes For This Anime, having NOT read the manga and not wanting spoilers, are that these two get together by half way through the season and then we get the "newly dating" stages of their relationship, and various mishaps that only serve to strengthen their relationship. They seem like a very good couple and it would be a waste for them to not get together.

If they don't get together until episode 12, I will be so blue balled that I will have to drop it if only to get the circulation in my brain back.

Hype for more!

ep2 ep3 ep4 ep5 ep6 <- these will eventually become links