Mahou No Chocolate

I love chocolates! You know those dark brown chunky blocky bar shaped cocoa, butter and milk goodness when you put in your mouth, it starts to melt and you could feel ooooh lah lah, the sweetness of the taste and fragrance that not only melts your senses but your heart. Sorry, I actually got carried away a little back there.

 

Ahem ahem. So where was I. Ah yes, how often have I come across animes with chocolates as its main theme. Well, nil. Okay, maybe like Trouble Chocolate and such but nearly almost every romance anime has that Valentine Day whereby girls give their homemade chocolates to the guys that they love. Don’t even mention obligation chocolates. So if that guy really likes the girl, he will return some chocolates to her on White Day which is about a month later.

 

Thus with my love (addiction and obsession rather) of chocolates, I decided to check out this anime Mahou No Chocolate. However, this OVA has only 1 episode. That’s right. You can count them with the fingers on any 1 of your hands and still have balance. Haha. Just being sarcastic. Not only that, if you think 1 episode is pretty darn short, wait till you hear an even shorter news. The show only lasts about 8 minutes! Holy sweetness! There’re lots of other simple things which lasts pretty longer than that. Like eating chocolates. Tsk tsk tsk. One should take their time eating and enjoy to savoury goodness of chocolate rather than rush for time. Unless the chocolate is just a small insy tinsy mouth size bit, then it’s a different story.

 

Before I lose myself again, let me just go over briefly about the story. It’s about this girl Mami Itou who has a crush on her senpai (upper classman) Ishida, who’s also the captain of the school’s football team. Of course Mami hasn’t been successful in confessing her feelings to Ishida but when a mysterious person gives her some magic chocolates, supposedly have the magical ability to make a person’s wish come true, will Mami’s dream finally come true?

 

As the show starts off at Midorigaoka Middle School, we see Mami in a classroom alone with another person, Koko. At first impression, it might seem that Mami is trying to confess her feelings to Koko as she gives her a present. Koko then says she’ll accept them and is quite happy. What may look like a yuri scene because the viewing angle seems to make it so, it is revealed that they’re just rehearsing. Yup, Koko’s just acting as Mami’s boyfriend and playfully hits her head repeatedly and says "Why can’t you say a simple thing like that". Looks like the practice was a success but can it be so when the time comes?

 

So the duo leave the classroom and towards the shoe locker area, they talked on how Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Koko remembers that Mami ended up not giving Ishida her chocolates last year but Mami says that she did give away her chocolates. To her dad and little brother Kazuki. Mami then mentions that Koko did confessed to her loved-one, Suzuki, on Valentine’s Day and wonders if there’s a secret to make it go well. Koko proceeds to tell her there is and last year, a day before Valentine’s Day, she got some Valentine chocolate from a strange girl in black clothing near her house. That girl proceeds to tell Koko that magic chocolate would let her get a boy’s heart. Koko thought it was a trick but when she gave Suzuki the chocolates, it was a success. Jackpot! Mami can’t believe it either.

 

Mami and Koko are walking just outside the school field as Mami wonders if that person is a witch or what, when they caught glimpse of Ishida playing football. Well, in Mami’s eyes, he’s totally cool. Mami also notices that Ishida is popular with the girls with a group of them cheering him on and thinks that it might not work out well too this year. Koko then says is she going to waste all her hard effort in making the chocolates this year because she may not get another chance as Ishida is going to be playing football at an out-of-district school next year.

 

As Mami goes on blabbing how her love fortunes this week are worse for a couple, a football comes straight smack into her face. Of course Ishida comes running to her and wonders if she’s okay. I’m not sure if the bleeding from Mami’s nose is from the ball that hit her face or whether she saw the moe-ness of Ishida. Either she looks kinda happy before passing out.

 

At the infirmary, Koko comes in to know that Mami is still alive and resting on a bed with a cloth covering over her eyes. Mami wonders where Ishida is and Koko tells her that he went back to practice. Mami then says "What a waste of this cute face" as the both gave out a heartily laughter. Just as Mami starts blabbing how she made deformed chocolates last year, Koko notices Ishida coming in and quickly and sneakily sneaks out to let the duo be together. Mami went on ranting how Kazuki complained about her chocolates but ate the entire bitter stuff. Thus she tells Kazuki that she’s going to make some good tasting chocolate this year. But this made Ishida to have that ‘concern’ look on his face as he left. I think Mami realized that Ishida was there but it was too late.

 

On the way home, Koko tells Mami just to confess straight to that guy and clear the air by telling him Kazuki is her little bro. Mami seems a little gloomy and is resigned to the fact that it was just a dream and it won’t be granted anyway, thus it’s a good chance to give up. Before the duo parted ways, Koko tells Mami to smile.

 

In the cold of the night, Mami is sitting dejectedly alone on a swing and the chocolate she wrapped in a present in her hands while thinking back how she put in lots of effort in making it. Just as Mami gets up and decides to go home, she hears a voice who is asking her is she worried about love. Mami spots a cloaked girl at the playground as she continue saying how she feels sorry for girls who’re worrying about love and that she can’t leave them alone. Therefore, she decides to give her some magic chocolates which will make her wish come true. She tosses a box of nicely wrapped chocolates to her. But before Mami could say anything more, she has already disappeared.

 

The next morning, Valentine’s Day on a Sunday. Mami’s mom is advising her to lie down or else her fever would worsen. Mami’s dad just told her to leave Mami alone, since she was up late and messing around. Furthermore, Kazuki teases her by saying that it’s Valentine’s Day and that Mami is still chasing after that football captain club guy, making Mami a little mad. Mami’s mom thinks it’s a nice thing to confess to her loved-one on Valentine’s Day but her father doesn’t seem to like it. Yeah, he’s saying how he won’t accept that boy (even though he has never seen him) and that Mami’s lover can be no other than Koko-chan. What the? Is this the kind of relationship a father wants her daughter to be in? Does he have such fetish too? I hope he’s just joking.

 

Mami is rushing to her senpai because she thinks he’ll be leaving soon. She reaches in time soon as the practice is over and calls his name. Before Mami could say anything more, a bunch of fangirls pushed Mami aside. Haha. They want Ishida to accept their love filled chocolates. What’s this? Ishida instantly apologizes to them all and goes help out Mami. Wow. That rejection was fast. I was thinking he’d be hesitating a little but nope. He just showed his palm to those girls. Ishida didn’t say a word and brings along Mami as he takes her hand and they rush off somewhere. Yeah, those girls must be real disappointed now.

 

At a secluded part of the school, Mami wonders is this the effect of the magic chocolate as she catches her breath. Mami then muster up her courage and is going to give the magic chocolates to Ishida. But wait. Why is she hesitating? Her heartbeat is louder than anything else. Finally, Mami realizes that she can’t do it after all and that she’s no good. However, Ishida immediately blurts out that he loves Mami, surprising her. Ishida continues that even though that he knows she likes a guy named Kazuki, but he has always liked her. He apologizes that he has been a bother to her and rushes off. Mami tells him to wait and is going to give him her homemade chocolates when she collapses due to her fever.

 

Ishida then carried Mami on his back to her home and Mami thinks to herself how she felt lucky and panic to her dad. Haha, Mami’s dad split into half when he saw Ishida giving Mami a piggy back ride outside his house. Then later in bed, Mami wonders what kind of strange chocolate might be in that box and is curious to open it. When she does, she notes that how Koko has gotten her. Yup, the words written on the chocolate were "To Mami. From Koko with love". Erm… I think it must be a joke too. Because I don’t think Koko is serious about going into a yuri relationship. Well, not that I’d know since this show is too short anyway. Finally as Mami smiles, she asks viewers if they believe in magic because she completely believes in it.

 

Overall, for a pretty short series, I’d say it’s just pretty okay. So that mysterious cape girl is Koko, huh. Koko’s a true friend indeed. Probably she had that whole magic chocolate story cooked up. She knew Mami would have the strength to give her own chocolates and it would be a disaster if Ishida saw that message. Thus it goes to show that probably the magic here isn’t from the chocolate itself but one’s hearts. Believe in yourself. As for Ishida, I think that guy likes Mami all along and we see that the magic chocolates didn’t even have anything to do with his confession either. Mami did decide to give him her homemade ones instead of the magic ones, right?

 

One thing I’d like to note is that the drawing and animation of the show seems a little cartoonish. Uh huh. I’ve been watching too many bishonen and bishoujo animes so much so when I saw this one, it looked out of place. Furthermore, the animation is a little bit chunky. No, not like the chocolate, but a bit jerky. I wonder if it’s my player or hardware problem. The colouring seems a little light and though there are some shadings here and there, it still looks cartoonish. I also kinda notice that there are a few easy listening background music from the usual piano solo and the ones which sounds like bell chimes to me.

 

Well well. For me, I think it be pretty easy for a girl to steal my heart if she’d give me chocolates ;P. Uh huh. A way to a men’s heart is through his stomach. But what has that got to do with chocolates anyway. Now if chocolates weren’t so expensive, I’d be having a mouth full of them already. *Sighs*. Oh well, at least I can say the lack of devouring them helps me keep my shape. CHOCOLATES! I WANT TO EAT SOME CHOCOLATES!!! SOMEBODY GIVE ME CHOCOLATES PLEASE!!! Besides, who ever said chocolates are bad for health? Don’t go overboard, that is.