New Fantasy Anime On Crunchyroll Combines Superheroes With Romance
This anime season, Summer 2024, I was most interested in a series titled The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies. While the plot itself wasn’t terribly unique—a story about a magical girl fighting evil and falling in love—I had heard a lot of excitement about the story getting an anime adaptation and was curious to see what made the series so well-loved. After watching the first episode, I found it to be a cute series with a lot of potential, but I think it’s missing the connection I like to feel with the characters.
The Magical Girl And The Evil Lieutenant
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant follows the romance between the magical girl Byakuya Mimori (Mai Nakahara) and evil lieutenant Shun “Mira” Miller (Yuki Ono). As they fight over the fate of Earth, a bond develops between the two opposing sides, and they start to fall in love.
Overall, I think the story has potential. The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant had some interesting moments. I thought Byakuya was an amusing and interesting take on the classic magical girl, especially how she only became one due to being blackmailed, and by a yakuza kitty no less.
A Studio Bones Production
It’s also a beautiful first episode, as to be expected from Studio Bones (My Hero Academia). The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant has a classic transformation sequence, but the process is taken a step further with a stunning process featuring flowers, a very skimpy costume, and bright colors.
I’ll start by admitting that I’ve never read the manga, so I can’t compare the two. However, I was curious when I first heard about the anime how the two main characters of The Magical Girl and Evil Lieutenant fell in love, and how their jobs would put a strain on their relationship. I never expected her to be cared for and doted on by Lieutenant Shun while she worked herself to death because of the evil yakuza cat.
Could Benefit From More Expansive Storytelling
The only thing I didn’t really like about The Magical Girl and Evil Lieutenant was the style of story-telling. It’s only the first episode, so it’s hard to determine if this will be the way the entire show plays out, but I thought the mini-stories making up one episode were a little rough.
If done right, little mini-stories can be fun. However, I think there was a lot of story skipped over in the first episode, like more of Byakuya’s background, or the build-up of the romance between her and Shun.
Love At First Sight
The lack of a solid storyline in The Magical Girl and Evil Lieutenant, and the fact there wasn’t any background of the main characters made it hard to really connect to them or the story. I hope we get more information in future episodes to help us bond with the characters and the story more.
The speed of the romance was a little surprising to me, though not necessarily bad. I expected it to be a bit slower of a burn, with viewers seeing the two characters fight a few times first. However, despite the description, it appears to be a story about love at first sight.
Now Streaming On Crunchyroll
GFR SCORE
Currently, My Anime List users rate The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies at 7.41 out of 10. If you want to watch the first episode, and future episodes for yourself, this series is available on Crunchyroll for premium members.
