Never would have expected Digitalis Flammalacia to turn out to be Yumiko, or at least Yumiko’s body being used for the revival of Digitalis. Pretty interesting twist though if I look back on it, I’d probably would have guessed something was up with Yumiko and Misa fighting. Speaking of which, glad she wasn’t actually dead, but if she’s alive, why does she have a ghostscript? Looks like she’s fully healed since that fight and was just resting. On the other hand, Soushirou is actually a more important character now. Being resistant to magic is pretty neat, and he looked really badass with those earphones on. The only other person that would have phones on while fighting would be Yoh from Shaman King or Neku from TWEWY. I wonder if Yumiko actually bought that iPod or just jacked it.

Well I did say I wanted a better Misa vs. Yumiko fight and… well, I kinda got it. It was pretty cool to see, actually so I’m satisfied. Misa’s ghostcript is pro, though. She’s able to summon a rift to another dimension
that would’ve sealed Digitalis forever, but Yumiko’s gesture was rational, yet bold. Kinda weird how dramatic it was that they were gonna get sucked in, and they did, but then the rift only shrinks a tiny bit, and they just crawled out (lawl). Misa’s ghostscript takes Huang with her to the other world and that’s the last we’ll see of her. I guess they didn’t have to make it seem so important since it’s only just Misa’s ghostscript. Now Digitalis is a part of Yumiko but it’s kind of open-ended because we don’t really know what happens from there. Might as well just make something up where they actually do separate Digitalis from Yumiko, then kill her off. Really makes no difference in the end. And what better way to end it all than with curry and wash basins? Never fails. …Yeah, I know. It wasn’t so climatic.

Review and Final Thoughts

Gendai Mahou‘s concept was practically just like mahou shoujo, but with a different style that gave the show certain twists. The key word is “modern magic,” which was taking the classy, traditional hocus pocus poofs and muxed it into formulaic codes that are created through computers and found in other electronics. It’s quite humble of a series. There’s nothing that makes it stand out as far as I could tell, but if you want a different take on how magic is usually portrayed in anime, this would be one of those shows. As far as production goes, the animation is decent at its best. Character designs are particularly generic save for the very bright colors thanks to the outline of Yumiko’s and Koyomi’s hair. The characters themselves were a typical sort of bunch. A klutz, her tech-savvy friend, the admirable female mage, her no-nonsense brother, and the conspicuous classic magician who evolved from her loli nopan image and carrier of a third name. Okay, maybe that doesn’t sound that typical anymore. I was very surprised that the soundtrack is actually pretty good a listen. Having looked through the staff, I find that its done by Hashimoto Yukari, who had worked on special effects in the Dragon Ball (Z) anime series and movies and also worked on many theme song compositions and arrangements. Incidentally, most of them were magic-themed anime. As for background music itself, the only ones I found listed besides Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou are Toradora!, which had a good OST, and Kanamemo, which is funny because Kanamemo had terribly generic music and Gendai Mahou‘s music is anything but terribly generic. Maybe Hashimoto put more effort into Gendai Mahou. I mean, those two shows were airing at the same time of the season. The seiyuu talent was full of familiar names like Nonaka Ai, Tomatsu Haruka, Nabatame Hitomi, and newfound stars Fujimura Ayumi (Xam’d, Taishou Yakyuu Musume, Hatsukoi Limited) and Kotobuki Minako (K-ON!, Umi Monogatari). Even Minako’s K-ON! bandmates Hikasa Yoko (Mio) and Satou Satomi (Ritsu) made guest appearances.

So to break it down, if you’re looking for something action packed and dramatic, Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou is not what you’re looking for. If you want to try something a little different and magical at the same time, give it a try and see where it takes you. The way the episodes and plot are structured sort of feels like a western-style cartoon about magic so there are a few episodes where if feels like nothing significant, and it does do that, but it has its good moments if you are patient for it.