REVIEW: ‘Mashle: Magic and Muscles’ Episode 21 — “Wahlberg Baigan and the Magic of Darkness”

As the students desperately try to keep their frozen classmates safe, Walhberg (Mugihito) prepares to fight Innocent Zero (Shin’ichirô Miki). But there is a cruel surprise waiting for him in Mashle: Magic and Muscles Episode 21 “Wahlberg Baigan and the Magic of Darkness.”

Before the action kicks in, a flashback jumps into the distant past. With last week’s introduction of Adam Jobs, the master who trained Wahlberg and Zero and established much of the modern magical world, we get a deeper look into who he was. We learn about his power and how he set up the magic system and society. We also learn that he devoted his later years to helping the less fortunate—particularly those who can’t use magic. Finally, he entrusted the pursuit of his ideal, “Noblesse Oblige” (the strong exist for the weak) to his students.

This final element raises many questions about Wahlberg and how the viewer is supposed to feel about him. While played up as the noble old sorcerer, this revelation makes that difficult to accept. As the man who sits atop the magical world, he must know how individuals like Mash (Chiaki Kobayashi) are looked on by society. That there are camps where they are forced to concentrate. If he knew the man who built this society, idealized him as the greatest there ever was, and knows this is not what he would want, why did he ever allow it to come to pass? He must have seen the shift against magicless individuals happen. Why didn’t he stop it?

Pushing past this frustrating character issue, Mashle Episode 21 sees Zero present Wahlberg with an unhappy gift. The body of their master was restored. While he couldn’t bring back their master’s consciousness, his body still possesses the original’s full magical might. With one of his henchmen playing marionette, the body of Wahlberg’s deceased mentor lashes out at his former protege.

The magical clash that follows is fine. Between bursts of trash-talking, the participants fire off energy blasts of different shapes and claimed properties. This exchange delivers some solid visuals, but never truly makes it feel exciting. It’s a magical duel fantasy anime fans have seen many times before. I wish more creativity could’ve been utilized to make this come closer to the great fantasy clashes we see in other series.

From here, Mashle Episode 21 returns to Mash as he continues his battle with Cell War (Natsuki Hanae). While the opening half of the episode has some rough spots, this side of the narrative crashes and burns. Every weakness the series has is marched out for the viewer to experience again. Unfunny humor plagues the sequence. While the series desperately wants you to laugh, only yawns come as the show’s visuals flail in their attempt to make Mash an enjoyable character.

Along with the failure of humor comes another absurd resolution to a physical threat against Mash. While fantasy always takes liberties with things like physiology and physics, this sequence just goes too far. It would be as sensible if the show cut away for a minute and cut back, just to show Cell conscious on the ground with the narrator stating, “Mash won somehow.” If you make up every reason your hero wins, his wins will never feel like victories.

The narratively significant element in this half of Mashle Episode 21 informs both Mash and the viewer about why Zero seeks to steal Mash. To gain the perfect body, Zero must sacrifice six of his children. By merging their hearts with his, he will ascend to something greater. Which may be the most reasonable element of this section of the plot.

With Mash standing over the incapacitated body of his opponent, the episode ends. This unceremonious conclusion feels abrupt and unsatisfying. Rather than bring the narrative to a close, it simply stops. Jarring the viewer from what feels like the fever dream the back half of the episode is.

Mashle Episode 21 is a sad return to the struggles that have plagued much of the series. Questionable character choices, uninteresting combat, and humor that doesn’t come close to success all combine to deliver little to nothing. Hopefully, this entry will prove to be a hiccup and the series can rebound back to some level of quality.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles Season 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.