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Mikagura School Suite
Episode 5

by Paul Jensen,

I've enjoyed the way Mikagura School Suite focuses almost exclusively on being fun and lighthearted. Unfortunately, it's always possible to have too much of a good thing. That easygoing spirit takes over for most of this episode, and it ends up doing more harm than good. When your action comedy starts to feel more like a slice of life series, it's time to move the story along.

Eruna spends the majority of this episode enjoying the school festival that coincides with the rookie battle tournament. She spends too much money at the food stalls, helps out with a shooting gallery, and gets her portrait drawn. In the process, she runs into Seisa and some familiar faces from the drama, art, and flower arranging clubs. It's all pleasant and inconsequential until she decides to watch one of her fellow first-years take on a girl from the school band, at which point the mood turns serious in a hurry. Right as things finally start to get interesting, the end credits roll.

I've sung Eruna's praises in previous weeks, and she does a commendable job of carrying the show here. Her surplus of energy is the only thing that keeps this episode moving, and her personality provides a helpful base for the other characters to play off. At this point, the default method of character development in this series is to throw Eruna at someone and show us how they react to this season's most hyperactive heroine. Eruna often walks a fine line between upbeat and annoying, but she's managed to stay on the right side of the border thus far.

There's no getting around the fact that this episode wastes an awful lot of time, even if it does so in a pleasant manner. This series has a magical high school full of colorful characters with surprisingly creative abilities. You can't expect me to believe that there's nothing more interesting for Eruna and company to do than eat takoyaki and try to win a secondhand stuffed animal. If everyone's just going to wander around the school festival, I'd at least like to see more clever uses of the students' special skills. These kids ought to be painting with telekinesis and cooking with flamethrowers. As it stands, this is a stunningly bland installment of a normally stylish show.

The good news is that the final scene gives the story a swift and necessary kick in the pants. Up until now, the club battles have all been friendly competitions with a surplus of good sportsmanship. That all goes out the window in the match that Eruna observes. The winner doesn't just beat her opponent; she completely annihilates him. The battle is a humiliating slaughter, dragged out as long as possible just to rub salt in the wound. Even the normally stoic Seisa walks out in a fit of anger, muttering about how much she hates the club battle system. It looks like Mikagura School Suite might not be as toothless as it seems, and this scene's unapologetic tone has me intrigued.

Right now, it's tough to predict where this story is headed. This change of attitude could be a one-time deal, or it could be our first look at a more complex plot. Either way, it's an exciting development that almost makes up for the aimless dawdling that characterizes the first two thirds of this episode. Almost.

Rating: B-

Mikagura School Suite is currently streaming on Funimation.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.


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