Machikado Mazoku: 2-choume

The time hath cometh… For a sequel! Oh man, I never thought this would get a sequel but I guess in today’s time, anything is possible. So Machikado Mazoku: 2-choume came to me as a surprise since I wasn’t expecting it. Uhm, maybe I did but I forgot all about it. Heh. It was 3 years ago since the first season came out so I suppose it is about time. Better than waiting 10 years down the road for one, eh? Before many like yours truly start to really forget what is going and worse, don’t even remember the anime itself. Extreme worse case of amnesia. So thankfully the sequel is timely since I still generally remember (barely) what happened the last time. Uhm… What was it again? Demon girl and a magical girl trying to be friends and enemies at the same time, or something like that?

Episode 1
Shamiko trying to write a challenge letter to Momo but since there are lots of stuffs she doesn’t know, her teacher guides her to write it. Sure, it turns out looking great but Momo doesn’t understand all that stuff and thinks Shamiko want to just hang out! So when they both meet, it’s like the biggest WTF face they put up to each other. So they hang out in town until Momo learns the truth behind the challenge letter and becomes depressed! Oh really! Don’t fall into darkness now! Worried Shamiko hangs out with her to bust away those blues. At the end of the day, they both feel pretty good about it. As for the challenge, just let her know when she’s ready, okay? Uhm, is it supposed to work like that? On another day, Mikan is seen looking around Shamiko’s place. Turns out she is renting a place on her own and looks like she will be Shamiko’s new neighbour! I hope Momo wasn’t being annoying. Maybe her weird training routine is… Also, Mikan owes a lot to Momo and Sakura so she doesn’t want to further stay indebted to them. The topic then changes into finding clues about Sakura’s whereabouts. Of course Lilith would love that as a top priority as Sakura is the only one who doesn’t torment her. She is a top dog of her area so having her back will be very assuring. She might also know about curses and can help lift the one befallen on Shamiko’s dad, Joshua (he turned into a box, remember?). And of course, if Lilith has the chance, she’ll turn Sakura into her vassal, hahaha! Don’t look now but Momo is here! Lilith teasing her she got lonely and as a result, Momo tosses her out. Whatever her reason, Momo claims she is also going to stay here for the summer vacation and hence Shamiko will be sandwiched between 2 magical girls for the holidays! Is this a blessing or a curse? And both magical girls show their hospitality by showering our poor demon family with gifts. Oh wow. Momo giving some meat! You’re supposed to cook and eat them, not worship it like God! Since Momo won’t allow Mikan to add citrus to every cooking, she has her go shopping with Ryouko. Wait, she still picking citrus ingredients? Well, Momo herself looks like she is bad at cooking and this has Shamiko observed that she tries to do everything herself. So yeah, please rely on others more. They have a great party that night. Well, Shamiko wondering if Momo’s cooking is ‘out of this world’. Because, weird depictions of what it tastes like… And Mikan trying to add citrus to everything to taste better. Trust her…

Episode 2
Mikan brings in a bunch of boxes that is similar to Shamiko’s dad. Drunk Seiko thinks of mixing it up to make a guess! Oh no you don’t! Anyway, Momo theorizes that with the similar looking packaging, could it be that Sakura sealed Joshua in it. Since they come from the ruins of where Mikan once lived, they decide to head there to find some clues. While waiting for Momo to get the key, Mikan talks to Shamiko about her past. Her father owned this factory and when times became desperate, he summoned a demon to keep the factory. But it went awry and ended up cursing Mikan. It was also about the time she met Momo. Flashback 10 years ago when Mikan was all alone living in this warehouse, Momo was sent by Sakura to help her. Mikan feared her curse would hurt her but since Momo was strong, she wasn’t hurt. Hence Momo gave her the encouragement not to shoulder this alone. Too bad anything more, Momo prevents Mikan from leaking anything embarrassing. Inside, Mikan is shocked to find the entire warehouse gone. Momo notes it was already destroyed when she came shortly after Sakura went missing. Looking for clues, they see a familiar Sakura attack pattern on the destroyed wall. It could be traces that Sakura left behind before disappearing. Mikan then asks Shamiko about Momo because she hasn’t been smiling lately. She used to do that a lot in the past. As they look among the wreckage, Shamiko finds a magic wand. But as she tries to show it to them, it turns into a fork? What the fork?! They think she’s hungry and hallucinating. Back home, when Seiko draws the wand, Shamiko recognizes that is it. She knows it was something that belonged to Joshua. An ancient object from Mesopotamia that can multiply the power of their clan. Unfortunately she can’t remember its name. So does Lilith. They allow Shamiko to keep it as it is an important family heirloom. But soon they discover that whatever Shamiko thinks off as a toll, the fork transforms into it. Shamiko then thinks of using this to cheer up Momo and make her laugh. So she turns it into a giant fork and makes a lame pun of it. CRINGE!!! Momo being considerate as she claims she didn’t hear it. Oh well Shamiko, it’s your fault this time so don’t go blaming magical girls.

Episode 3
Momo sets up internet in Shamiko’s place. And you can tell Shamiko being an internet noob as she butchers all the terminologies. Momo also lectures her about some internet lessons so as she won’t get scammed by the dark side of the web. Shamiko then tries to learn the web herself. What a daunting task. Yeah, be prepared to learn that millions of people have access to it and not just mere 50 people! She then sets up a social network account, thinking she could spy on Momo this way. But how to know which account is Momo’s? Guess it’s time to seek Momo’s help. Too bad she still won’t share her name. But that night Shamiko gets a request to join and she soon finds out it is Momo. Now they’re connected. Great. Until Momo trolls that she accepted her request to keep tabs on her. Don’t think you’ve won just yet! With Mikan joining the chat, it’s getting noisy at night so Momo thinks of cutting off the internet… Later Momo asks Lilith if she has seen Sakura. Because Joshua carries her around in the past, there might be a chance she has seen her sister. Too bad Lilith doesn’t remember a thing! Hey, there’s some truth in that because ever since she was sealed 2000 years ago, her powers continually grow weaker. She was cut from the outside world until hearing Shamiko’s voice brought her some joy. Feeling bad now, Momo? Because Momo feels bad for hurling Lilith sometimes, Shamiko has an idea. She’ll let Lilith borrow her body for a day for them to work things out. But first, Momo drilling off the adhesive she put on Lilith. Here comes the surgery pain! With Lilith borrowing Shamiko’s body, she’s acting so high and mighty that it annoys Momo. Normally Momo wants to beat the crap out of her but she doesn’t want to hurt Shamiko’s body. Even more so, Lilith bragging how she bought clothes via internet and thinks it is free! That’s not how the internet works! Momo is trying hard to restrain herself with Lilith being a dick. Since she wants to go to a real hotspring and there’s no time, Momo brings her to the same one they’ve been before. And makes her work out to pay for her share! When a short blackout occurs, Lilith becomes scared. The irony that the mistress of darkness is afraid of the dark… It reminds her of how she was sealed for the first time. The electricity comes back on and they resume their hotspring enjoyment. Once Shamiko gets her body back, Momo whispers to Lilith and plays back that cry when she was afraid of darkness. Yup. Blackmail. Do anything stupid and she’ll spread this recording. Don’t want your precious Shamiko to find out who’s afraid of the dark, eh? Do magical girls play dirty?! And Shamiko thinks they’re getting along fine. Trouble not over for Lilith as Seiko dries her out for the debt she owes from the internet purchase! Shall we auction her off?!

Episode 4
Shamiko is tasked to find the hidden demon in town for clues about Sakura’s whereabouts. Of course the magical girls cannot go along with her since a magical barrier may obstruct their mission. Where to start looking? Shamiko asks Anri. Do you think she would know- OH SH*T! SHE KNOWS?! She claims there is a demon running a café named Café Asura. As Shamiko makes her way in, she meets this fox demon, Lico. But she is not the owner. This tapir is, Shirosawa. Uhm, did he escape from Animal Crossing? Anyway, before Shamiko could ask for clues, Shirosawa begs her to work here. Because he is injured, he is short on manpower. Please try it out at least for 3 years! Shamiko tries to escape but they capture her and with Shirosawa telling more sob story, you bet gullible Shamiko is going to help. She is shown the ropes on what to do. Shamiko thinks of working long enough and then find the right time to ask the questions before leaving. But as you can see, she gets pretty hooked on her job. Also, she gets to eat here for free! Is that the clincher? So when she goes home, you can see her reporting all about manual labour and tasty food. Clearly she has forgotten… As Shamiko looks forward to her waitress job, the magical girls and Lilith knows something has gone wrong. They know demons are at Asura but their priority is to take back Shamiko. So at a faraway hill, the plan is for Mikan to snipe an arrow through the café’s barrier. Using Lilith in a doll’s body riding a magical wand. This method allows them to break through the barrier in a split second because a counterattack gets triggered if an outsider tries to mess with the barrier. If this fails, don’t worry, Momo has prepared 10 extra ‘spare lives’ for Lilith to retry. Oh sh*t. 10up… I guess all the lives were used before Momo can successfully barge in. She sees Shamiko in a daze in the staff room. She accuses them of brainwashing her. While it is revealed that Lico’s food is so good that it makes one forget their stress, Shirosawa claims that even if this is true, this means the ones putting the stress on Shamiko is no other than Momo, right? Shirosawa thinks he has the upper hand asking for compensation when Lico reveals for the first time that if one eats her food 10 times, one will really forget. This is the case for Shamiko as she has been bringing back leftovers and eating them at home so as not to go to waste. This is the reason why she is spacing out and getting high right now as it takes you at least a day to recover. I guess Shirosawa has to apologize now. As for the negotiations, Momo will take it another day as she’ll bring Shamiko back to rest first. On the way back, Shamiko seems to somewhat remember her real mission: To make Momo smile. Okay… Maybe she needs more rest.

Episode 5
Shirosawa and Lico are at Shamiko’s place. Shirosawa bolts the moment he thinks Momo who lives next door is Shamiko’s bodyguard. Yeah, his injuries are going to get even worse. Anyway, the duo are here to apologize as well as take the initiative to answer Shamiko’s questions. Shirosawa apparently met Sakura before but the last time was Christmas 10 years ago when he opened his store. It was that same time when Sakura left Lico in his care. Lico talks about cores running all over the place and she has seen many in animal forms but none that indicates Sakura. Interestingly, Momo has seen cores too but they are mostly motionless crystals. As Shirosawa still wants Shamiko’s help to work at his place, this is met with great opposition from Momo. She her mom now? Well, Momo doesn’t want Shamiko to be further dragged into this complicated search for her sister. However Shirosawa who is the original design of this character called Tama Sakura whom Momo is a big fan off, after bribing loads of memorabilia, Momo bites the hook. It seems Momo is fond of it because it reminds her of Sakura. At least her accessories. This has Shirosawa explain how he drew inspiration to arrive at this design. After opening his shop and doing errands, he spotted this strange cat with white and red collar. They both acknowledge each other before it disappeared through a wall. Ever since, his business boomed so he got his inspiration there for luck. Suddenly Ryouko hits an idea. She has him describe when and where he saw that cat because she believed that is Sakura’s core. She traces that wall to a hospital where Shamiko was often hospitalized when young. Of course she doesn’t remember anything but Seiko points out that Shamiko often talked about a cat. Momo can’t stop bugging Shamiko for details she can’t remember… Lilith then suggests using Shamiko’s power of diving into such dreams. Sorry, just like Shamiko, I don’t actually understand how it works! Long story short, Shamiko must dive into her own dream to find out. The magical girls can’t come as they will get kicked out. Only Lilith can accompany since they are related. Shamiko goes to sleep and pops up at the hospital. Past trauma coming back to haunt her in the form of living syringes and IV drops! As they sneak around, Lilith loses contact and gets kicked out. This makes Shamiko panic. But a voice tells her to use the fork and imagine it as a giant weapon against those pesky enemies. Well, it’s her imagination so it works. The voice then tells her to keep focusing and voila! Sakura now materializes before her. Shamiko in shock.

Episode 6
Shamiko is so delighted to see her but she must calm down and not get too excited or else Sakura cannot maintain this form. She tells her how to control her powers and focus. Then it’s time to delve into a little flashback. When Sakura first met Shamiko, she was in an even worse condition than this. The curse was ravaging her to almost nothing. So when Sakura eventually ran out of magic and was in her cat form, she went to see Shamiko for one last time. Noting Shamiko as the kind girl who took Momo’s share of curse, Sakura decided to become a core inside her. This will help sustain Shamiko’s life. Thus if she is taken out right now, Shamiko may not survive. But Sakura notes that Momo doesn’t need her or the city right now. One day Shamiko will become a super strong demon and only then perhaps Sakura’s core can be removed. Before Sakura disappears, she whispers a favour of her. Meanwhile Momo gets desperate to go save Shamiko that she is even considering using her own blood! Stop her! With Lilith having some suggestions, they hit an idea. Shamiko is trying to find her way out and is surrounded by those dreaded needles! Luckily Momo to the rescue! What’s this? She’s in her dark demon outfit? Cool! Shamiko excited to see her but they’ll have to leave that for later as they must make haste to the exit Lilith has created for them. Shamiko wakes up in Shion’s lab. Basically they explain the idea of temporarily turning Momo into Shamiko’s vassal to enter her dream (via drinking Shion’s yucky elixir!). This means she is part demon now. But to avoid her drifting into the dark side, Mikan blasts her with light magic to turn her back. Too bad Shamiko, can’t make Momo stay your vassal even if it’s for good intentions. After that, a host of bad luck occurs due to Mikan’s magic but luckily they manage to escape the lab before being crushed. Later Shamiko tells Momo about her find and she feels bad about having her core inside her. But Momo doesn’t mind because as long as she knows where her sister is, it’s okay. After all, they’ll just have to wait for Shamiko to become stronger, right? She might not complete her goal to find her sister but her focus now is to keep Shamiko happy and that is to protect this city. Wow. Shamiko in tears because Momo smiled!!! OMG! Oh sorry, shedding eye juice! Heh. Shamiko remembers Sakura’s favour to look after Momo and of course she will because she is her arch enemy. So the duo commemorate their rival-cum-friendship with this frozen icicle treat. Yeah. As long as they’re together, right?

Episode 7
The story so far… EH???!!! How come I don’t remember this?! WTF Shamiko awakens in a deserted hospital and being besieged by zombies! Rambo Lilith rescues her and brings her to the mall where the survivors gather and hole up as they fight against the zombie apocalypse!!! Turns out it was just a trolling dream so Shamiko has to give us the real recap in seconds. Too bad she sucks. Why does she have to make it sound like rap? Now that summer vacation is here, WTF Shamiko doesn’t know what to do? May I ask how has she done it in previous years? Asking Lilith won’t do any good as back in her days, summer vacation wasn’t even a concept. Heading down to Asura, she knows better than to ask Shirosawa because to him, summer vacation is all about manual labour from students! Lico suggests the fireworks festival and lends her a yukata. While Shamiko has her fun there, it feels she feels something amiss. Is it because she is alone? Then an announcement calling for her. Yeah, making it sound like she’s a lost child, eh? Embarrassing. Turns out it is Momo and Mikan. They dropped by Asura to ask about Shamiko and they were lent yukata for the festival too. So as they have fun, another announcement asking for Momo this time. Definitely Lilith requesting her help to leave her wallet with her! Momo feigns ignorance and pretends not to hear. After the festival ends, Shamiko returns the yukata to Lico. Turns out it is just a leaf and Shamiko is horrified to know she went walking about in one. Shamiko trying to do her homework and forcing an unmotivated Momo to do hers too! Momo of course doesn’t see the need to do this illegal unpaid study time as she paid attention in class. Wow, since you put it that way… Then she tries to scam Shamiko into doing more physical training instead. But after Shamiko borrows Sakura’s name and is doing this to look after her, Momo relents and starts doing her homework. Shamiko thinks of brainwashing her but Momo isn’t buying the bait. Since they’re noisy, Seiko kicks them out. Back in Momo’s room, they continue their homework. But Momo in her magical girl outfit? For better concentration, huh? In the end, Momo completes hers while Shamiko is stuck at maths. Come on Shamiko, finish what you start. And Momo is here to make sure you do that! Gonna have to pull an all-nighter if you have to! Don’t think you’ve won this time, magical girl…

Episode 8
Momo teaching Shamiko martial arts. But it looks like the latter is getting abused. And since magical girls don’t fight this way, feel free to forget about it. Onore… Shamiko can’t cook decently but she needs to do it to impress Momo. Hence she heads to Asura for help. Lico will gladly teach her but be warned on what kind of ingredients she puts into her food. Yeah, the onigiri is sparkling in rainbow colours! I wonder if this has the same effect like drugs… We also hear Lico’s story of how she likes cooking but before she came here, her cooking caused lots of trouble and she had to move around before ending up here. Then they talk about magical girls whom are normal humans who forge a pact with the Light Clan. Since they don’t know much about it, Shamiko’s best bet is to ask Momo herself. Momo thought it would be a happy outing with Shamiko at the zoo. Turns out the Asura duo and Mikan are here too. Can Momo hold in her anger? Especially Lico in cutely irritating mode? So as they start their zoo picnic, Mikan wonders if she doesn’t like them. On the contrary, she thought she won’t get along well with them after crashing into their café. And there’s this weird part everyone is more impressed and wants to pet Shirosawa than the real tapirs in the zoo. Yeah, zookeepers almost caught him but let him go scot free since he is a foreign tapir! Like, huh?! Later Shamiko wonders what Shirosawa said about this picnic having an important mission. Soon Shamiko approaches Momo and claims everyone suddenly left for home. As they spend time together, Momo then beats her up for using this underhanded trick. Turns out to be Lico in disguise. Shamiko specialist knows this is an imposter for every reaction from her body, posture and talking manner, a direct opposite of Shamiko! The plan was to make Momo eat some herbal leaves that would stabilize her unstable magic power in which they sensed. It is perhaps that time she gave herself to the darkness that caused this unstableness. There’s no way Momo is going to eat all that raw leaves… Then Shamiko reminds her of her true intent coming here: Petting some fluffy tiger. Too bad she’s too late and the petting session is over. Lico offers herself. She’s fluffy too, you know. No choice, Momo does so but doesn’t look happy… A rare moment as Momo quotes Shamiko’s trademark line. Don’t think you’ve won yet…

Episode 9
One morning when Momo wakes up, suddenly she transforms into her dark side. In this form, she cannot regulate her strength and you’ve guessed it that she’ll destroy anything she touches so she needs to revert back to normal ASAP. First, they head next door to forcefully wake up Mikan so she can shoot her magic through her in hopes of reverting her back. It didn’t work. All that rude awakening for nothing and it’s making Mikan grumpy! Then they try calling Asura but of course Lico’s reassuring attempt has an opposite effect so better not risk it. Now that Momo is being transparent and there’s a chance she might disappear, the only ‘hope’ left is Shion. Speaking of the devil, she is here! She knows because she has been stalking them and waiting for a chance! Due to her research, she theorizes that the reason why she changed into this form is because of negative emotions. Due to her delicate situation, she needs to re-establish her link with the Light Clan again. With Momo being depressed and fine with fading away, Shamiko acts quick as she feeds Momo her lunch and in no time, Momo is back to normal. Everyone is happy. Including Shion who has got some valuable data. Hoping for a next time for more data? But soon Momo is feeling very weak after using up most of her magic in her dark form. Don’t worry, once again Shion has the answer! Not sure about her dramatic explanation about a mythical hotspring that can rejuvenate magical girls but they’re going to try it out. She knows about it thanks to deciphering Sakura’s notes. As an indoor person, Shion won’t come with them and will have them extract its water for her experiments. The duo head over there and after some weird warning of traps, Momo falls into some of them. But don’t worry, they all have some sort of safety. She tries to bait Shamiko into the traps but somehow Momo ends up in them. Feeling like falling to the dark side? Then there is this weak guard trying to get them. Shamiko sure panicking all the way to deal with it but with lots of luck, she finally defeats it. She gets a pink stone from it and considers it her treasure. Momo then stands under the waterfall (was it not a hotspring?) and soon the effects come in and Momo gets her strength back. Back home, Shion is delighted with the bottles of water Shamiko has gotten. She thinks the pink stone is some souvenir and takes and grinds it into powder. Poor Shamiko… Oh well, the real treasure are those memories that live in your heart forever, right?

Episode 10
Mikan is panicking. She seeks Shamiko’s help. Apparently while cleaning up her place, she stumbles into those scary little bugs. Oh you know… COCKROACHES!!! Of course Shamiko isn’t afraid since as a poor girl, she is used to their presence. Plus, she’s making us feeling guilty for killing those innocent creatures minding their own business! I DISAGREE! NOW GET RID OF THOSE ROACHES! And don’t scoop them up! While cleaning up her room, Mikan brags about being friends with Momo for a long time. This has Shamiko think about the stuffs she doesn’t know about her and it somewhat makes her feel frustrated. Somehow all this has put a bad luck on Momo and she’s in some bad luck streak. She suggests putting some magic barriers to keep those roaches out. But why is Shamiko the one who has to infuse her magic into this paper barrier? Oh, part of her training to be strong, huh? Yeah, won’t last long. Keep up the training then… Since it is a nice day to air the futon, Shamiko uses her fork to become a rod for it to hang. Momo is not impressed since she is supposed to treat an important object with respect. An object that is meant to protect her. Since Shamiko claims she can only transform it into some stick shape, with Ryouko they brainstorm for ideas to have Shamiko transform it into other forms. Unfortunately it returns to a fork every time she is conscious so it is better for her to stay dumb? Is that an insult?! Since all the ideas didn’t work, Lilith believes to train inside her dream as Shamiko might be subconsciously restraining herself. Ryouko joins Shamiko in the dream world and she meets Lilith in person for the first time. Lilith manifests 30,000 clones of hers in which Shamiko must defeat them all. Since this is taking time and Shamiko’s attacking is inefficient and wearing her out, Ryouko gives some advice like turning her fork into weapons she uses in video games. This did the trick as Shamiko destroys all the clones in no time with various weapons. Ryouko takes a photo of Lilith for commemoration and as they return to the world and Ryouko going to print it out, the photo turns out to be a haunting one. I guess Photoshop and editing can’t make this one better, huh?

Episode 11
With the new school semester, Mikan is now a new transfer student in Shamiko’s school. After a nervous introduction and also a warning not to surprise her because it will activate her curse, looks like many wants to be friends with her and spam her questions. As part of the school rules, everyone must join a committee. Let’s see… Anatomical model polishing committee… Spinach planting committee… Zombie survival committee?! Wow… Does this school have any normal committees?! Learning Anri is on the sports committee, Mikan wants to join this one. Now that she is in, they get started to plan for the sports festival. Too bad time is running out and they’re not close in finishing it. Shamiko is roped in to help. Even Momo. Though, she wished she wasn’t here doing this… Before they set the sports standards based on weak Shamiko, better get Mikan to stand in for the new standard. Then an accident causes Mikan to spill paint on the beautifully painted festival signboard. Although it is not her fault, Mikan blames herself. Even when everyone remains optimistic, Mikan continues to wallow in depression. She thinks her curse has caused everyone trouble. It didn’t get worse only because Momo was around. She needs time to think for herself and would hate to see others get hurt because of her. She’s going to summon the little devil residing inside her. Of course Shamiko and Momo will not leave their friend alone. They’re going to help her by barging into her heart and talk to that demon. Well, since they’re so adamant, I guess Mikan have to divulge some secrets like how her family calls this demon Ugallu and is more power than the myth portrays it to be. It started out as a simple familiar but then turned into something complex with its own will. Soon they lost control of it and it uses Mikan’s magic as nourishment. With Mikan’s permission, Shamiko and Momo dive into Mikan’s heart.

Episode 12
Wading through the darkness, they arrive to where Mikan is sealed in some dark force. However the force attacks them and seeing it has no reasoning ability, Shamiko remembers Ryouko’s words so she summons a legendary spear. Turns out to be a giant egg beater. This manages to have the darkness take a form of a little girl who is of course Ugallu. With Mikan tired out, it is all up to Momo to do the talking. Can she? We’re worried… Yeah, she is more inclined to use her fist as the easiest form of communication! Ugallu claims she is Mikan’s protector and won’t leave. Of course she is under the wrong impression that she did a good job. Once Momo manages to get that through her, Ugallu feels that she has no more purpose and will disappear forever. Can’t have that, right? At that point Mikan wakes up (because Anri visited and propped up her sleeping head?) and she is not pleased about Ugallu’s conclusion. Mikan explains how friends in this town accepted her despite failing big time. Because Ugallu came to be because of a bad summoning ritual, the next mission is to re-summon her in the real world properly. So they wake up and start brainstorming for ways. I bet Shion is waiting for this moment to share her expertise. Yeah, from Sakura’s notes, she knows a way. Basically they need some supplies. They need someone who can provide high grade meat (Anri) and someone who can do magic cooking (Lico), some fur of a mythical beast (Shirosawa) and some soil for the vessel (that dirt Shamiko got from the waterfall). Wow. How convenient. After getting them all (I bet Lico showing her true colours as she plucks all tied up Shirosawa’s tail), the sports committee completes the finishing touches to draw the magic circle. With Shamiko casting her magic from the rod, voila! Ugallu is now properly materialized in this world. Now that Ugallu has become such a complex being, Mikan doesn’t need her as a familiar anymore and wants her to be free and do as she wishes. However since she is still new, Mikan will continue to be her master until she gets a hold of herself. This means living with her because we’re like family, right? And that is how we get a new ally as Ugallu now calls Shamiko her boss because Mikan said so. Momo to follow suit? But she notes thanks to Shamiko, somebody found a place to call their own. It is proof her way of doing things is working and it’s pretty similar to how Sakura operates.

The Great Shamiko Will Not Be Defeated!
Does the end seem a bit too rushed? It’s like everything was so convenient and falling into place at a rapid pace so that we can have a new character in the final episode or something. A feel good ending so to speak. Oh heck, it doesn’t matter because as long as everybody is happy and living a peaceful life, it is all that matters, right? Life has just getting started and going to get a little bit noisier with newcomers into the fray. So carry on, Shamiko. Don’t give up! The fun has only just begun!

This season seems to have pretty much solved the mystery of Sakura’s whereabouts. Well, I have a hunch of where it was although I didn’t accurately guessed it was inside Shamiko herself. Okay, okay. So I still missed the mark by a mile. I suppose my prediction that it would be somewhere close to them, somewhere right underneath their noses wasn’t close enough an answer. However sometimes it feels like there was nothing much to tell this season and that’s why Sakura’s mystery was resolved halfway and then for the remainder of the season, it felt like filler episodes. The gang having fun and all and ending with a mini arc that puts Mikan in the spotlight. So yeah, once we all pretty know where Sakura has been and the circumstances underlying why she came to be, there’s nothing else left to tell. Even if they dragged this mystery revelation towards the end of the season and spam filler-like episodes in between, I guess it won’t make any difference. So they just want to get this Sakura’s mystery out of the way first, allay our anxious hearts and minds, before having the final stretch as mostly something fun for our main characters.

I feel that whatever problems between the Light Clan and Dark Clan in this series, that isn’t the main driving force of this series. I always feel that it is about Shamiko and Momo trying to become each other best friends (or frenemies) and that’s the whole point of the series that only matters. Whatever bone their respective clan or ancestors have to pick with each other, all that is irrelevant. Because yeah, with the duo spending so much time together, doing things for each other, whether they like it or not, whether they get on each other’s nerves or not, you can’t deny the fact that their friendship is solid is as solid as a rock! Do you not agree?! Sure, the occasional squabbles and all but that is part and parcel of their dynamic friendship. Heck, with Momo moving in close to Shamiko’s quarters and practically they’re neighbours, do you not see this as the next level plot to bridge closer their friendship? Now the series can live up to its name as the demon girl next door! Yeah. While we may not see their friendship as near perfection but I think this is THE perfection of their friendship. I can’t see it any other way. The moment it starts to change, I have a bad feeling the world is gonna end! HAHAHA! So yeah, Shamiko please continue remaining as the cheerful, helpful and naïve poor demon girl while Momo please continue to be the emotionless and pessimistic good natured magical girl. We all love you just the way you are.

To add more spice this season, that’s why we see Momo having a dark side and hence a transformation and outfit to match this. So she’s like having the best of both worlds? Yeah, somehow I feel this dark version fits Momo’s nature more than her magical girl persona. Now we wait and see if Shamiko has a magical girl version too. Oh never mind, she’s given this special fork so I’m pretty sure it’ll be something of use once she masters it. Otherwise, WHAT THE FORK?! HAHA! Can’t resist in wanting to make that pun! Yeah, I’ve been waiting to do that!

It also feels that they don’t want to leave Mikan out but because she’ll be like the third wheel in between Shamiko and Momo’s friendship, I am heavily speculating that is why they give her the spotlight for the final couple of episodes this season. I mean, not only Momo is the one who is having problems, right? Now that Momo knows where her sister’s whereabouts and all that is left is to train Shamiko to become stronger, who else is there left with her unresolved past? And since we have a few episodes left… Yup. That’s right. So yeah, Mikan may not be memorable in the first half so now they have her face her inner demons so that Shamiko and her magical girl neighbours can continue living a happy simple life together. Is that not what they’re striving for eventually? I even almost forgot about Metako. Who? Oh. Momo’s pet cat familiar. Making very sparing appearances this season, it feels like it almost never existed at all. Maybe it’s a good thing Momo didn’t bring it to come live with her in the poverty quarters and left it behind in her big mansion.

The other recurring characters don’t do much either and they don’t change much from what we know from them the last time. Like Ryouko who still looks up to her big sister and still has ambitions to serve as her advisor. Well, at this rate it’s going to take a long time not because Ryouko is the incompetent one… Get what I mean? Seiko still the cool mom getting by but at least they are not heavily cursed by poverty now although they are still living in poverty. Just not as bad as before. Lilith, the smug ancestor who feels like she wants to have more fun in this era than bringing back the glory and revival of the Dark Clan. Yeah, we’re living in peaceful modern times with so much amenities, freedom and choices. Why go fight centuries’ old of stupid wars, right?! Can’t say about the other cities and Light Clan and Dark Clan members, though. Shion and Anri have very minimal screen time in the first half. That’s why I felt that in order to have us remember them, that’s why in some episodes, there were unrelated short segments about them doing silly stuffs just to fill up time. Well, I guess it’s not funny because it wasn’t memorable to me. Heh. Now looks like it is a new running joke for Shion to be some sort of stalker because there’s a permanent trapdoor in the apartment she specially made where she can bust out from her hiding whenever she is called.

Then we have a couple of new characters especially the pair from Asura. They breathe some new spice into the season. As expected, they’re a bunch of oddballs and are fun in their own ways. For instance Shirosawa isn’t exactly a bad person nor is he exploitive. But he feels that he always needs that manpower his café lacks and hence the pressure to not let that precious manpower slip away. That’s you, Shamiko. Are you gullible enough to work there for the rest of your life as an eternal intern?! Otherwise he is quite a nice and reasonable tapir. His personality is of course better than Lico who seems to always do things at her own pace and even stepping over Shirosawa’s authority. Be it using his name or doing stuffs with lots of liberty, it’s like as though she’s the boss and the one calling the shots. Yeah, she really takes the liberty in doing them that sometimes to a certain extent, shocking her boss. If you have this kind of staff that do as she wishes, your business is definitely on its way to ruin.

With last season’s seiyuus retained, the new ones joining are Ayasa Itou as Lico (Arisa in BanG Dream), Takashi Matsuyama as Shirasawa (Saizou in Samurai Deeper Kyo), Ai Fairouz as Ugallu (Takechiyo in Hanyou No Yashahime) and Hisako Kanemoto as Sakura (titular character in Shinryaku! Ika Musume). Hats off to Ayasa Itou playing Lico because she sounds very cute in her Kansai accent. It makes her sound dreamy and lovely. Oh boy, falling in love with her cute way of speech? I bet I’ll be convinced with whatever ruse she sells to me. This season, our Shamiko and Momo pair reprise their roles in singing the opening theme. Tokimeki Rendezvous sounds a bit better than their first season stint since it has this jazzy tune to it and its fanfare gives this grand Broadway feel. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the ending theme. Machikado (the quartet behind Shamiko, Momo, Lilith and Mikan, if you remember) despite reprising their roles for the ending theme, Yoikagen Tetragon is a huge mess. Oh boy. Where to start? The frantic pace of the song can cause people in their deepest slumber to have a rude wakeup call! To put it bluntly, this song is more noise than music. It’s like the just throw whatever cacophony they have into this piece and what comes out of it is this WTF mess. Making it even worse, not sure what some of those weird looking creatures are in the ending credits animation. Did they run out of ideas and decide to go with whatever pops up in their head?

Overall, the second season is still as fun but it feels like it lacks that oomph to surpass that and be better than the first season. It’s basically more or less the same thing. Super diehard fans may only love the sequel but for casual viewers like yours truly, it’s just pretty okay and ordinary. Nothing that super special that would make me want to yearn for another season. Oh gosh, will there be one? Hard to say with this day and age. So this so called magical theme series would lie in between darker ones like Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaki, as well as super boring and peaceful ones like Mahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desu Kara. Better to have some friendly spat filled with sugary smiles and huge twinkling eyes than seeing magical girls blow each other’s head off, right? Middle ground the better alternative? Well… Don’t think this means this anime has won just yet!

The time hath cometh…

Machikado Mazoku

The time hath cometh… For another magical girl anime series? Not quite. Machikado Mazoku isn’t technically focusing on a magical girl as a protagonist. A normal high school girl one day realizes that her dark demonic powers have awakened. Hwahahahahaha!!! And so she unleashes havoc and reign of terror upon the townspeople! Oops. Sorry. Not quite. Actually she needs to defeat a magical girl in order to lift a curse on her family but since she is quite weak physically (and at times, mentally), she needs to undergo some training. The irony is that the magical girl who saved her from death the first time she ventured out as a demon, becomes her trainer. Damn, this is going to be awkward… And what’s this about them soon cooperating with each other to protect the peace of the city? Damn, this is already awkward, magical girls and demon girls working together…

Episode 1
A demon tries to awaken Yuuko Yoshida to her destiny. Sorry. Too sleepy. When Yuuko wakes up, she is shocked to find she has demon horns and tail! Not a dream! Mom! Mom! What’s going on?! Well, Seiko explains they aren’t actually normally people but from the Dark Clan. So basically demons? However their mortal enemies of the Light Clan (angels?) put a curse on them by stripping their powers and wealth. No wonder they live in poverty. Because Yuuko has shown signs of her power awakening, her goal is to defeat a magical girl to break the curse. Then offer her blood to their demon god statue of their ancestors. Uhm, you mean this door stopper is that statue? And off Yuuko AKA Shamiko (that’s short for Shadow Mistress) goes for the hunt. However bad luck follows her as she clumsily stumbles her way. Until she is about to be hit by a truck, suddenly a magical girl stops it with just a hand. Oh Shamiko, don’t think she is a cosplay maniac with such Superman powers. Because Shamiko looks so hungry, Momo Chiyoda even gives her some food. Taking pity on a demon girl? Shamiko feels insulted but she is forced to retreat for today. In school, Shamiko’s friends, Anri Sada and Shion Ogura aren’t shocked she has demon horns and tail. Because this town is filled with weirdoes! Heck, Anri even tries to make her horn useful by hanging her bag! They even point out a magical girl in the next class. Uhm, isn’t that Momo?! Shamiko uses an excuse recess is almost up and needs to head back. But because Anri is baying for blood, she thinks there is enough time for them to fight and calls out to Momo! Traitor! Oh, Momo is taller than you by a head! Shamiko gets offended of being called small. However her so called threatening call to end her life is more cute than intimidating since she flub he lines. Yeah, they even tease her for it! Shamiko begins by throwing lots of weak punches. Then she tires out… And she might have thrown her hip. Either Momo is that strong or Shamiko is really a wimp… Heck, Momo even teaches her how to throw a proper punch. Slightly better than before but still a wimpy punch. Heh. Even Momo thinks she is better off using a projectile. Poor Shamiko got offended and retreats in tears. Oh, she’ll train hard to become a great demon to defeat her one day! Just you wait! Shamiko’s little sister, Ryouko sees her training. Her sides are killing her… I think training is going to take a while… And can she be a demon lord by then? Nah!

Episode 2
Even though Momo says she is the weakest among the magical girls, Shamiko is still scared of her presence. Yeah, shows how weak this demon girl is. Despite tales of Momo saving the world, that was only because she had assistance. Shamiko vows to train hard to beat her. 500g dumbbell enough? Until she sees Momo with a bigger dumbbell. So demotivating… Because Shamiko didn’t give an exact date on the weekend for their rematch, Momo actually waited there and got tanned. Feeling bad? Yeah well, exchange contacts in the meantime. Noticing Shamiko isn’t fit, Momo suggests training her. Hence they go jogging. Shamiko is huffing and puffing… Can she be fit in time? And then she realizes they have run for 4km! Can borrow 500 yen to take the train back? So tired Shamiko that she fell asleep on the train and when she woke up, it’s already at the last station. Basically lost. With Seiko realizing Shamiko is having a hard time defeating the magical girl, she decides to increase her allowance. From 120 yen to 500 yen. That’s a lot for a poor girl! Uhm, isn’t that the amount she owes Momo? Yeah, Momo even offers instalment repayment plan. Does Shamiko have a choice? But in this state, she cannot defeat her because it would look bad for a debtor to beat up a person she owes. Also, she must quickly repay it in case Momo dies or forever be haunted by debt and bankruptcy! Taking the instalment plan of 50 yen, now Shamiko goes to buy a weapon (those friends tag along too for some reason). Obviously everything costs a lot more. Shamiko thought they are trying to trick her to buy food. But after all the resisting and that health is of importance, Shamiko spends some on some salty udon. With 120 yen left, need a drink? Sure this is not a scam to make her spend?! Shamiko tries resisting but after whatever Anri said, something that makes Shamiko think she has always been watching over her, Shamiko decides to live life to the fullest and buy a cola. Ah, that hit the spot. But now she’s broke. But poor Shamiko thinks everyone was just scamming her because then they see a free water dispenser… Oh Shamiko, if you only knew how to utilize free resources…

Episode 3
It’s that demon trying to talk to Shamiko in he dreams again. Too sleepy to even care! Anyway, after forcing her to pay attention, she is actually Dark Clan’s founder and ancestor, Lilith. First things first. She berates Shamiko for being weak and talentless. Is she the one to say as she herself has never defeated the Light Clan? Then some weird moment where Lilith got hooked by the cola she introduced. Because Seiko is calling for Shamiko to wake up, Lilith has to leave and tells her lots of stuffs. Can Shamiko remember all that? Shamiko tries to pen it down when she wakes up. But with Seiko busy reciting the grocery list, you bet Shamiko forgot them all! But first Shamiko must learn how to do the laundry since she messed up washing her own uniform. Since she is wearing gym clothes to school, Momo is kind enough to lend hers. A bit oversized, though… Shamiko might not be close in coming to defeat the magical girl but at least she realizes she will be at a disadvantage during close quarters. Hence Ryouko has researched she should try projectiles that suit he. So uhm, this low quality rubber band gun is her projectile? Damn, even Momo feels the need to help train Shamiko use it! So at a factory she once own (say what?!), here she teaches Momo how to use her lame projectile. Ironically, Shamiko is full of pessimism and doesn’t want to do it and Momo sounds like a dictator forcing her to do it. Momo even lends her wand and gives encouragement for her to project some sort of magic. Heh. A magical girl putting ideas of world destruction into a demon girl’s mind. I guess after all that futile time wasting and Momo calling her an idiot, probably that lit some fire in Shamiko as she can now project… Just a tiny bubble? Small and slow but if it hits back at you, it can cause a little pain like those injections. Yeah, Momo returns the wand and run like hell! But you know, Momo is so out of shape and slow that the bubble catches up and hits her. Ouch. Momo saying she wants to train her for a while, did she mispronounce that as enjoying seeing her being in torment?

Episode 4
Shamiko introduces Momo to that statue of hers. Her friends help by giving some offerings. Momo notices a switch underneath and flips it. Nothing happens… Except Shamiko suddenly becomes lifeless! It seems Shamiko is now inside the statue and sees Lilith lazing around. Quick! Put away those stuffs! As mentioned, looks like when all the conditions are right, Lilith will be able to swap bodies with her. This means she can avenge the Light Clan on her behalf so sit back and watch. Now that Lilith has possessed Shamiko’s body, she might sound intimidating but you know, she’s as idiotic as Shamiko. She’s making a fool out of herself than being threatening. Yeah, those friends are having fun. Lilith realizes the unfit body means she too is at her limits. Even more so her own magic deflects back! Just when she thought Momo is going to kill her, she gives up! When Shamiko wakes up, she is in a hot spa with her friends. Yeah, this was Lilith’s last wish. To add more insult, not only her body is aching all over, Lilith didn’t have money to pay for this and puts it on Shamiko’s tab! The debt has just grown! Because of this, her friends suggest a job where she can earn and pay it all at one go. But Seiko warns her about saving too much because the curse of the Light Clan means any extra money more than 400 yen will somehow slip away. Maybe Seiko’s just a klutz… But don’t worry. It isn’t a shady job and it’s just to sell wieners. Tastes good, huh? Shamiko believes this is what she’ll do after defeating Momo. And then speak of the devil… Magical girl, rather. Eek! Momo! Shamiko tells her reason for working here when she accidentally spills the pot of wieners. Oh no! All her hard work gone? Luckily Momo transforms into a magical girl to save them. But why? Momo says she doesn’t want to transform often because she has bad memories as a magical girl. However seeing Shamiko work so hard, she doesn’t want it all to go to waste. Shamiko feels bad and even more so when Momo buys up all the wieners. Thank you for your patronage. At the end of the day, the owner who promised Shamiko to take back extra wieners, well, here is plain yoghurt as substitute since all wieners were unexpectedly sold out. Shamiko then realizes it could be Momo’s devilish plan all along when she bought them all up. Curse you!

Episode 5
Shamiko has made enough from the job to pay Momo back. Now let’s do battle! Momo seems reluctant and after hearing how she don’t have money to buy what Ryouko wants, Momo rejects this offer. She even tempts Shamiko with free food if she accepts this plan! Shamiko realizes the lunch she always makes by herself. Momo reveals she has no family. Damn… So sad… As it turns out, Momo accompanies Shamiko to go shopping with Ryouko. Shamiko warns her not to reveal her identity since Ryouko is always told she is always engaged in a fierce magical girl battle. It seems the stuffs Ryouko want to get, a medkit and book on strategies, is she really thoughtful of big sis? Momo realizes the mini camera she has been staring at so Shamiko buys that for her. Shamiko is glad to have not paid her debts to Momo because seeing Ryouko’s happy face was worth it. And with Ryouko and Momo talking about the technical stuffs of computers and cameras, Shamiko feels so left behind. What the heck are they talking about?! Momo then lends her laptop as she gives it to Shamiko so that Ryouko can use it. But is warned to handle it with care. Don’t drop it or get it wet. You know how much that thing costs, right? Gulp. And so shaky Shamiko has to battle her way through Anri and Shion who are dangerously holding tennis balls and a bucket of water respectively. Is fate really testing her? If she passed that, on her way home now she has to deal with that scary dog (albeit in reality it is just a tiny mutt). Her fear has somewhat made Lilith to summon some sort of crisis management outfit for her? Here’s your sexy transformation scene. It just made Shamiko even more embarrassed and as the dog owner takes it for a walk, yeah, they do a double take on this weirdo Shamiko. It’s not over yet because when Shamiko reaches home, she trips on the statue and drops it! Worse, Ryouko comes running and accidentally steps on it! And Seiko also comes spilling water all over it! The Yoshida household in panic! But as they test, the laptop still works. Then a note from Momo stating she knew Shamiko will be clumsy and has put some finishing touches like waterproofing and shock absorbent. Shamiko views this as a defeat since Momo was able to predict her moves. Curse you! Ryouko is able to do (and exaggerate) a great cover story about her sister. Shamiko loves it and won’t let Momo read the printout. But the data is still saved on her laptop… Curse you!!!

Episode 6
It seems there is enough magic power for Lilith to bug Shamiko to enter into Momo’s consciousness and control her. Why does Shamiko feel so bad about it? Yeah, can’t think about any bad thoughts on Momo. After smashing this magic mirror, it seems Shamiko falls into Momo’s consciousness. She sees a young Momo and she has serious low self-esteem. So much so Shamiko has to ask her assistance to clean up the muck. But once that is done, time is up and Shamiko wakes up. On the way to school, Shamiko stumbles into a sick Momo. She claims she had a bad dream but somewhat felt happy at the end of it. Oddly, Shamiko decides to bring Momo home and nurse her. Isn’t this the perfect chance to defeat Momo? Seeing her in such a pitiful state, maybe another time. To Shamiko, Momo’s normal house looks big! Shamiko meets Metako, Momo’s cat navigator. Treat him nice and he’ll tell you some oracle but lately it’s been 97% cat ever since Momo lost her motivation. Shamiko tries to find some medicine but stumbles into this hideous thing in the fridge. It’s Momo’s failed hamburger cooking. Sure it’s not some demon poisoning thingy? Apparently she was trying to cook this because of a promise with Shamiko. Trying to cheer up the mood, Shamiko hopes to invite Momo to her home and cook this. After Momo falls asleep, Shamiko returns home to get some supplies. But apparently Momo followed her. Now she knows where she lives. She points out a seal by the Light Clan outside her door (it’s not a door deco, Shamiko) that prevents others from coming into her place. Even though it is worn out, only an invitation allows those invited to find the place. Because Shamiko earlier swiped some small blood off Momo, it is believed she might have unlocked something. Well, it’s the statue who can now directly talk to them in the real world! Momo feels disgusted. She got sick and her power drained just for this sh*t? In view of this, Momo wants Shamiko to help her protect this city while she recovers. Shamiko can’t say no after Shamiko makes her feel guilty for all the things she has done and lent. Sneaky… But for a week, Shamiko really takes care of Momo at her home. Wow. For the first time Momo lost?

Episode 7
Lilith sure made a very inaccurate recap of Shamiko’s exploits. All lies! Even if it is just a dream, Shamiko rejects it! When a police officer returns 1000 yen to mom, it is a sign that the curse is lifted! Wow! So much money! Hence Seiko buys lots of food to celebrate. Lilith thinks it’s time to flex her authority but Seiko lets her get drunk with some drink and let her soak in hot water. Shift in power balance… Then they realize the fridge is damaged from the recent blackout. How will they keep all this food Seiko bought? Seiko will have to cook all of them and they must finish it! Luckily, thoughtful Shamiko brings some to Momo since she is still recovering from her illness. Though, Shamiko isn’t a good liar that this is all so she can recover and then she’ll steal more of her blood later. Once Momo has recovered, instantly she puts Shamiko under her training regimen. You mean she has to build muscles by dragging this huge wheel? I know she has to take over her magical girl role but isn’t this too much for this weakling? Hence Anri suggests so and instead should start off with training that increases Shamiko’s courage like bungee jumping. Sometimes you wonder if she is friend or foe. Shamiko tries to convince Momo to regain her own strength and magic. When Shamiko asks about her weakness, Momo says it’s some mochi balls. Hence Shamiko rushes all the way to go get them. Even queuing for hours just to get a couple of them. Turns out to be a ploy to make Shamiko do some exercise. But there is some truth that Momo fears those balls. Her sister (not blood related, though) used to like this so Momo stopped eating this as it brought back unwanted memories. Seeing Shamiko trying her best, Momo thinks she might also want to try overcoming her fear and maybe help get some of her magic back. Then Shamiko gets tricked to get some green tea… By this time, Momo thinks it is time for Shamiko to build some muscles. So move that big tyre if you want to go home! It’s not budging… One day, Anri has a job for Shamiko. I guess it’s because she is small enough to fit into this mascot outfit. The kids are hounding her to hand out candies. Luckily a girl saves her from tripping and tells the kids to be orderly. To Shamiko’s dismay, this girl is a magical girl! Oh no!

Episode 8
Mikan Hinatsuki definitely isn’t a passing cosplayer and she’s on patrol and not on vacation! The more panicky Shamiko gets, the more suspicious Mikan becomes. Then in the alley, Mikan forces Shamiko to take off her gear. Shamiko panics and transforms. It seems Mikan was purely concerned if Shamiko was having heatstroke in that outfit. With Momo here, she explains Mikan is the friend whom she called to help in her place. Shamiko gets offended when Mikan thinks she is younger than them. As Shamiko cleans up in school, here comes Mikan. It seems she is going to transfer here too. Shamiko is happy to think that Mikan is a normal girl since she is more level-headed than Momo. However it seems Mikan is very worried about a curse she is having trouble keeping at bay. And then all the cleaned up trash explodes! It seems whenever Mikan gets anxious (especially when being praised), this will cause her curse to go berserk and bring bad luck to others. This is why Momo is late since she got caught up in all her bad luck. Shamiko tries reverse psychology like being the bad demon girl who will take her blood but Mikan thinks she is pitying her and her curse activates. In the end, Shamiko is forced to look for her statue that is now somewhere in the pile of garbage thanks to Mikan’s curse. On another day, Shamiko is forced to train by Momo. This time, she is going to transform into that outfit. Mikan would love to tell about her younger days with Momo but Momo doesn’t appreciate it and threatens her with cooking! So that’s why Mikan has forgot most of them. Shamiko somehow cannot transform. Momo thinks it is because she doesn’t feel like she is in danger so Momo is seriously going to beat her up. However she tires out due to the strain. Mikan explains when Shamiko took her blood, it could have been a matter of life and death for a magical girl depending on the situation. And although magical girls don’t die, their souls end up scattering in the air! Gee, that sounds as bad. Shamiko tries to cheer Momo up that she’ll work harder. But with Momo getting ready to get violent on Shamiko, I don’t suppose we can put off this training tomorrow? Shamiko is so scared that she finally transforms. There. Don’t forget that feeling ever. Poor Shamiko runs away in tears!

Episode 9
Shamiko complains about the need to fix this sexy transformation dress but Lilith says the more skin it shows, the more power she receives! So technically shouldn’t she be fighting naked then? Because Shamiko wants Momo to acknowledge her as an equal, Anri suggests beating her using brains. Conveniently the test is coming up so Shamiko challenges Momo to see who can score higher. Be warned, Momo has very good grades. She got a subject that scored 100%! Shamiko burns the midnight oil but what strategy Lilith proposed for her to ace? Well, it sounds a lot like cheating! Hey, that’s what the Dark Clan supposed to do, right? However Shamiko will not accept it and will fight Momo fair and square. In the end, although Shamiko did very well, Momo still scored higher. But wait. Why is Lilith in the top 10 placing?! Somehow she convinced the teacher to let her take the test. This means Momo lost to her. She claims Lilith cheated somehow as Shamiko’s notes were left in the bag but seriously Lilith never actually thought of this method (Lilith is good in history since she lived through those times). But ultimately, Shamiko feels she still lost… Seiko is happy when her new fridge arrives. But it is too big to fit through the door so she spends the whole day crying… Mikan calls Shamiko to go watch a movie. This is not just for fun but to help overcome their weakness. Yeah, this summer zombie movie! Don’t worry. Mikan is prepared to pay for her food and everything. Including her hospital fees! Oh sh*t. While it might look like Mikan is psyching herself up to be brave, the moment it starts, let’s hope nothing really bad happens… In the end, Mikan passes out and Shamiko ended up being fascinated with the movie since she sided with the zombies who went all out to overwhelm the overpowered heroes. When they decide to go see another movie, Momo is there too. From what I understand, Momo feels jealous she’s been left out since the duo look like they’re having fun. With Momo leaving hastily, Mikan feels bad about it. Oh no… Curse activating… Hey, at least they got some popcorn from the exploded popcorn machine. The next time the trio have nabe together, Momo says she’s not mad but clearly we don’t feel that way… Shamiko excuses herself and leaves poor Mikan alone with Momo…

Episode 10
Because Momo detects Shamiko lacks muscle mass, she makes some special ‘glowing’ drink for her to drink. And when she lets her watch some macho men exercising video, I guess that’s where she draws the line. Shamiko runs away! Did I mention that Shion is from the black magic club? She didn’t mince her words when she wants Shamiko to become her experiment subject! Don’t worry. Momo will go with her. Somehow Momo becomes her manager and rejects all of Shion’s suggestions to experiment on her. When Shion spots Lilith, she wants to experiment on her. Lilith surprisingly agrees in hopes to find a way out of their curse. She might be regretting it after Shion drills holes into her… Shion suggests creating a new vessel for her to easily move around. If only that clay isn’t made out of horse dung! The scrawny limbs make the statue crawl like a creepy bug! Pathetic. Eventually the leftover clay is made into a decent doll. Lilith loves it as she can move freely. However her evil thoughts are telepathically transmitted and hence Momo uses her magic to control Lilith like a rag doll. Dance dolly, dance! Ryouko realizes the borrowed laptop isn’t working. No worries. Shamiko can take and go ask Momo to see what’s wrong. Are you sure of ignoring that premonition of her beating your ass with more training? Anyway they go and see her and as Shamiko puts it, she doesn’t mind putting up with this ‘friendship’ seeing it helps Ryouko. But seeing her so innocent and honest, do they have the heart to continue lying? Hence Shamiko explains the truth about Momo being a magical girl. But wait. Ryouko already knows! However… She thinks that Momo is Shamiko’s subordinate! Please tell me stories of how you subdued this magical girl into your army! I guess the lies are piling up. It gets complicated when Mikan comes in. Huh? What subordinate? Until Momo tortures her and forces her to play along with this. In the end, there is nothing wrong with the laptop. It just overheated because their room has no air-cond. Momo even allows them to come here to use it if they find it more conducive. Just make sure Shamiko cooks some great food for her. Back home, with Momo lending stuffs to back up the laptop, looks like Shamiko’s debts are also piling. Realizing the need to live up to Ryouko’s expectations, Shamiko realizes she doesn’t know much on Momo. She even asks her future advisor on how to seek an enemy’s weakness. Wow this little girl is sure good and technical. Shamiko feeling bad? And then Ryouko spots a picture Momo left inside. A picture of Shamiko in her transformation outfit. Shamiko declares war on magical girls!

Episode 11
Brainstorming on how to get Momo to open her heart, Lilith of course has this devilish idea to ambush her dreams. Something that Shamiko is reluctant to do but here we go. Inside the outer subconscious realm, Shamiko encounters a human version of Metako. Or at least the Light Clan’s angel guardian. As Metako is unable to determine Shamiko’s nature, demon girl innocently blabs out the truth of wanting to attack Momo. Naturally she is going to be purged! Calling Lilith for help, she arrives in that strange bug form. So cat loves chasing bugs? Whatever. Entering the door to Momo’s dream, it seems Momo knows what is going on. Lucid dreaming. Uh oh. This is going to be hard. And Shamiko can’t leave… The door is locked! After getting scolded, Momo is stumped about Shamiko persistently trying to fight her. Wasn’t it to undo the curse? Shamiko believes her dad is away working hard to pay off the debts and this has Momo believing there is more to the story. That seal outside her door is actually to keep magical girls away. Long ago, Light Clans used to hunt Dark Clans and earn points. Of course such hunts today are very rare. It is very likely Seiko is the key to all this and that she is harbouring some secret. As Mikan is trying to wake up Momo, Momo tells Shamiko she is coming to her house after this. With that, Shamiko panics and thinks she is going to ‘grill’ her mom and prepares for battle. Yup, Momo is going to ‘grill’ her. The interrogation wise, not the cooking one. Shamiko still won’t let her in and this standoff has Seiko unable to tolerate this further and has both of them come in as she reveals the truth.

This city has a barrier that protects the Dark Clan and it was setup by the previous magical girl. Momo is shocked when Shamiko knows it is Sakura (because Metako mentioned it). Sakura is Momo’s mentor and sister-in-law. But she went missing 10 years ago. When Shamiko was born, she had a very frail body and was always in hospital. It could be she inherited a lot of the Dark Clan’s blood and suffered its effects. Otherwise take a look at Ryouko. She’s so normal. Thanks to Sakura and Seiko’s husband’s efforts, they managed to keep the balance albeit not perfect. That’s why they got the 400 yen curse. At the same time Seiko was also pregnant with Ryouko and placed in the same hospital. It is rumoured Sakura lost her magic and since she was unable to protect the city, Seiko’s husband offered to cooperate with her. But after Shamiko became healthy enough to be discharged, her husband went missing. Actually he is sealed in this very mikan box! A note was left outside their doorstep saying so. At the same time Sakura went missing. After hearing all this, Momo feels very bad. Her sister took away a family’s husband and father. Perhaps they are really mortal enemies after all. Depressed Momo leaves for home.

Episode 12
Seiko admits she never told Shamiko about this because she fears this would put a further strain to her frail body then. She now realizes it wasn’t right to lie to her and should have put her faith more in her. She shows him a picture of dad during their younger days. Boyish looks. So much shorter! Oh my. There is this fear that Shamiko did take after him… When Seiko says she stopped aging after becoming a vassal of dad, Shamiko goes out to find Momo. But she stumbles into Mikan and tells her the truth. Since this is the first time she is hearing, Mikan panics and of course brings a lot of bad luck. Although they brainstorm where to find Momo, Mikan can’t come with her because in her anxiety state, she might make things worse. You’re on your own. Eventually Shamiko manages to find Momo hanging out at a park where she often goes with Sakura. She is here to make a deal with Momo. Give up being a magical girl and be her vassal! Because of the seal placed by a magical girl, the logic behind is that if she stops being one, she can start searching for Sakura without those barriers. Yeah, Shamiko throwing in some freebies like 3 meals and a nap… Momo looks happy since this is Shamiko’s idea and seems resolved to fall to the dark side as long as Shamiko never leaves her alone. However! Something feels amiss. She’ll become weaker if she becomes her vassal, right? Lilith reluctantly admits so Momo flings her away! Now Momo has a new deal. Even if Momo doesn’t become a demon, Shamiko can still look for Sakura in her place, right? All she needs to do is to protect her and make her stronger. She’ll throw in a few protein shakes to go with that! How about this deal! So it’s like status quo, huh? Since it ends in a deadlock, they break for lunch. If only Shamiko can break the popsicle in half to share… Oh dear, need training? Back home, it seems Ryouko never believed mom’s lies about dad being away on some intergalactic business thanks to the crime novels she read. But she is glad to know that dad is imprisoned nearby. As for dad’s real name, it is Joseph! You mean they have Mesopotamia roots? So Tarou Yamada was just an alias, huh? Shamiko writes a challenge letter to Momo. However the teacher believes it is against the law and helps her write some love letter and the contents resembles like a penpal letter. Although she lets Momo read it, it eventually does sound like a challenge letter but her contents are so over the place that Momo doesn’t understand what she wants. So Shamiko wants to ditch practice and hang out to have fun? And boy, to Shamiko’s surprise she turns up in real nice clothes.

How To Train Your Shamiko
Don’t give up, Shamiko! Continue to try your best, Shamiko! Ah yes. It seems status quo seems to be the best ending that Shamiko and Momo as well as the rest of the other characters here could have. Forget about whatever war the Light Clan and Dark Clan are having. Forget about the rivalry between magical girls and demons. Forget about winning and losing. All they need to do is to bolster their friendship right now. Because that is what it looks like it is heading, right? So it’s not just Shamiko who mustn’t give up and try her best. Don’t give up, Momo! Continue to try your best, Momo!

From what we have seen all the while, I believe that Shamiko and Momo just want to be friends rather than becoming real mortal enemies. It feels a lot like that very much from the beginning. You can just tell from their half-hearted threats that they’re not interested in killing or even hurting each other. It’s just some sort of excuse to, uhm, interact. Of course Shamiko being more naïve and emotional, she reacts to almost everything and it might seemed that she is being bullied. I believe her trademark catchphrase of “Don’t think this means you’ve won this time!” is just her way of saying “Goodbye. See you next time” with some emotions.

After all, what kind of mortal enemies would go so far as to help each other so that they could regain their strength and fight each other at full power? Isn’t that what rivals do? I mean, if Shamiko really hated Momo, she wouldn’t have cooked for her and would just let her be and not care about her eating habits. And we do see how Shamiko takes the trouble to come to Momo’s house just to cook a wholesome meal for her. Although it looks like it backfires but that is in the short term, in the long run I believe this has a greater positive effect. I hope.

On the other hand, I also believe that Momo has taken a liking for Shamiko. Just that she is such a poker face girl so you can’t obviously tell she is enjoying her company. Further proof she considers Shamiko her friend: The time when Shamiko hang out with Mikan, that depressed Momo face was just classic. And as said that Shamiko is being such a naïve demon girl, because she is also cute with her reactions, it makes Momo want to tease her even more. That’s why all the strength training I believe isn’t really helping in making Shamiko strong. It wasn’t meant to make her strong in the first place at all! It is just part of some prank routine to be with her ‘friend’. If Momo was serious in her job to hunt down the Dark Clan members, she wouldn’t have been so kind to Shamiko or even lend her laptop to Ryouko who really looks forward to become Shamiko’s tactical advisor. It’s like Momo is digging her own grave, no? Which kind of money lender would have the most flexible repayment scheme ever?! Momo, I want to borrow money from you! Therefore in spite of the different backgrounds they come from and the things they have done, they’re like best friends.

Even Shamiko’s friends, Anri and Shion may come off looking like sadists and troublemakers who love to see Shamiko in trouble. I’m sure they mean no harm with their pranks and silly ideas but like I’ve said about Shamiko being naïve and gullible, the incentive is there to tease her and see her cute reactions. Yeah, best friends, right? Or maybe they could just simply well be sadistic troublemakers who love to see Shamiko in trouble. Yeah, best friends indeed.

Poor Ryouko as the series’ most innocent character, we fear this loli might end up experiencing the biggest disappointment in her life when she learns about the truth. With Shamiko and Momo continuing their charade, it makes it even harder for them to destroy her hopes. See those innocent sparkling eyes filled with hope? Hear her honest innocent voice filled with confidence and hope? See every action she does with earnest sincerity from the heart? Yup. How could anyone bear the fact to tell this girl the truth! Hence the question if they are protecting her or just delaying the inevitable. But I figure that Ryouko being Ryouko, even if the whole truth comes out, it’s not like she’ll turn into a bag of hatred. I mean, there is a very remote possibility but being the smart girl she is, I have faith she wouldn’t. I hope.

Despite the rivalry between the Light Clan and Dark Clan sounding like some epic legendary conflict, I believe that it is all blown up and out of proportion. To put it bluntly, I think they’re all just idiots. In a funny sense, that is. Not sure if time has mellowed them but take a look at Lilith. Instead of being a scary and almighty ancestor, you could say that she is just as idiotic as Shamiko. Must be in the blood and genes, huh? But then again, it could be that with the change in eras, the mind-set started to change alongside the culture. Because back then I believe even the deities didn’t have the luxury of enjoying human technologies like the internet or Smartphone so they can’t troll and do cyber bullying. Of course this is just me assuming and applying a blanket assumption over the entire world and it could be just those in this city are incompetent. But as narrated in the final scene of the final episode, this town is the only town in the world that is being protected and where magical girls and demons coexist peacefully.

So elsewhere, it might still be archaic witch hunt. So whatever actually happened to Sakura is still a big mystery but I guess that is not the point of this series. At least not this season. She might be outside this town, protecting the barrier from Light Clan and Dark Clan alike trying to infiltrate into this peaceful city. But at any rate we’ve discovered Shamiko’s dad’s whereabouts. Yeah, they’ll treat the mikan box kinder next time. Lilith being used as a stopper, paperweight and the likes, yeah maybe this is why she has turned incompetent. And then with Shamiko, Momo and Mikan looking quite complacent and incompetent, I’d say this war isn’t as brutal as it seemed it would be. At least in this city. I mean, heard of any brutal magical girl and demon deaths around?

The lines between a magical girl and demon has been blurred because sometimes you think Shamiko is more like a magical girl while Momo and Mikan are suitable to be demons. For instance, Shamiko’s kind-hearted nature as well as her own magical transformation scene. Seeing all the weird cosplays these days, this kind of revealing outfit is nothing! Haha! On the other hand, Momo sometimes has very dark and shady thoughts that Shamiko often rebukes to be just pure evil. And Mikan’s curse of attracting trouble to others? Doesn’t this fit a demon’s attribute? With the Light Clan using to hunt the Dark Clan for points being brought to light, it just throws into question who the real baddies are. Maybe it’s all that yin yang thingy and both sides exist because of each other. That’s why it isn’t just about the demon girl next door. It is also the magical girl next door.

Artwork and animation feel pretty okay. Nothing to shout about or complain. Everything is bright and colourful. The characters are cutely designed so you can tell from the start that this isn’t some dark themed magical girl series. Oddly, Momo’s magical girl outfit has this uncanny resemblance to Madoka of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica fame. Almost. Just because they’re both overwhelmingly pink and they spot twintails. And I can’t help notice but Shamiko’s devil horns look like mini croissants… I think my stomach is growling… This anime is animated by J.C. Staff who is famous for One Punch Man, Shokugeki No Souma, DanMachi, Little Busters, Shakugan No Shana and Toradora.

Voice acting, I only recognized Sayaka Ohara as Seiko. Not the typical villainess role that I often pigeonholed her to always perfectly play. But sometimes the nicest ladies too like Alicia of Aria The Animation. Initially I mistook Eri Kitamura to be behind to voice of Lilith. I guess I was wrong. Lilith is voiced by Minami Takahashi (Megumi in Shokugeki No Souma). The other casts are Konomi Kohara as Shamiko (Chika in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai), Akari Kitou as Momo (Kaho in Blend S), Hitomi Ohwada as Ryouko (Eagle in Girly Air Force), Tomoyo Takayanagi as Mikan (Oguri Cap in Uma Musume: Pretty Derby), Sayaka Senbongi as Anri (Mumei in Koutetsujou No Kabaneri) and Ayaka Suwa as Shion (Non in Akkun To Kanojo).

The opening theme is Machikado Tangent by Shami Momo (if you haven’t guessed it, it is the duo behind Shamiko and Momo). Pretty generic lively anime pop if you ask me. Nothing that special. As for the ending theme, Yoimachi Cantare by Coro Machikado (the quartet behind Shamiko, Momo, Lilith and Mikan) sounds pretty frantic. It’s like they want to match the somewhat crazy pace of the series but it comes off as weird. Even the animation is pretty weird. You have the characters in chibi format, some demonic monkeys and goat, it’s like one big LSD trip or a very weird cartoonish dream.

Overall, this is a silly but fun anime to watch and it brings back some similarity with Gabriel Dropout because it’s about a fallen race just trying to their best or the minimum to get back up. Despite they fail but you can’t help continue to cheer them on because, well, at least they’re trying. That being said in the loosest form. The cute and humorous interaction between Shamiko and Momo is amusing to watch and breaks the traditional barrier that mortal enemies don’t mean being mortal enemies forever. Whatever beef the ancestors had a long time ago, doesn’t mean future generations should just blindly follow that fate. In this time and age where the rivalry of magical girls and demons are no longer trending (at least the setting of this anime), isn’t being friends a much better alternative? Even if you’re being jerks to each other? That’s what friendship is about, right? Yeah to be honest, I still have my doubts… While other anime series has magical girls and demons still at each other’s throat, at least this one has proven that friendship has succeeded in making both bitter rivals get along with each other. Don’t think this means friendship has won just yet!

The time hath cometh…