Spectacular transformations, an adorable cat, and saving the world in the best tradition of Sailor Moon.
Anime series about magical girls became a real breakthrough in the 90s. Their creators explored topics of female friendship, adolescence, and first love. And the heroines were also endowed with remarkable physical strength, which had often been attributed only to male characters.
Since then, the emphasis in pop culture has shifted, and many topics in the movies are no longer surprising. But the magical girl genre continues to evolve, gradually coming up with new formulas.
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies Is a Fresh Take on the Genre
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies is a clear example of this. Balancing classic genre techniques and the hate-to-love trope, the creators were able to give viewers a charming deconstruction with a touch of satire.
The plot is based on the events of the 2013 manga of the same name by Cocoa Fujiwara. Unfortunately, the manga artist herself never found out that her story was being adapted.
She died long before work began on the anime adaptation, in 2015, while the manga was still being published in the Japanese magazine Gangan Joker. Fujiwara managed to publish the first two volumes herself, and permission to publish the third was given by the deceased's family.
Episode Running Time Is Perfect for Binge-Watching
The scriptwriters did not expand the original story with new storylines and worked exclusively with the legacy of the manga artist. As a result, the first season was short, with each of the 12 episodes lasting no longer than 13 minutes.
However, this did not stop the creators from bringing a bright story with interesting characters to the screen.
What Is The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies About?
The main characters at first seem too different to develop feelings between them. The evil officer Mira is a smart, cold, serious and calculating guy. He is also the right hand of a mysterious king and the leader of an evil organization that tries to destroy everything in its path.
When an evil officer attacks Earth with an army of monsters, magical girl Byakuya is called upon to protect the world. She is kind, compassionate, responsible, and always tries to do the right thing.
And since being a magical girl is her job, Byakuya works responsibly. Just like at the supermarket, the bar, the flower shop and many other places where she works part-time. Mimori doesn't feel like she's saving the world – for her, it's just one of many daily tasks. And she takes part-time jobs because she's very poor.
When she meets Mira, something unexpected happens: instead of fighting Byakuya, the officer falls in love with her.
This Anime Focuses More on Emotions
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies is a charming deconstruction of the genre, flirting with elements of romantic comedies and magical girl clichés.
Byakuya and Mira's relationship is shown very subtly, focusing on emotions rather than physical attraction. A pleasant bonus is the length of the episodes – in ten minutes of each episode, the creators manage to melt the hearts of the viewers with another interaction between the main characters and touch on relevant topics.
If you like titles where the main love line develops smoothly, without filler drama between characters and emotional swings, this anime is for you.
Where to Watch The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies?
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies is available to stream on Crunchyroll.