“Mashle: Magic and Muscles” is the premiere parody anime of this season. though for anime-only fans, it will be a shocker to learn that Mashle is not just a “Harry Potter” parody, but it is instead a pop culture reference generating fax machine running on more watts of energy than your monthly electricity bill (Sorry my inner Dot is channelling himself). But let’s not further dally and let’s enter this rabbit hole of pop culture (Spoiler Warning for Anime only viewers).
Mashle Magic and Muscles: References and Character
Everyone knows the tale by now, magicless boy gets sent to the magic academy so that he can become the no.1 magician of all time (an obvious MHA reference yes). Mashle from its plot to its character trope and its blatant references, is a parody free for all that still somehow remains amazing to experience due to the sheer randomness and absurdity to them.
Not only that, but it also somehow provides us with a set of characters that perfectly exemplify the tropes that are tied to them and never fail to successfully land a gag, and even though it’s filled with references galore the twists it provides to them just keep everything fresh.
Reference Bonanza Olé!
To further interject my point on the series reference galore attitude, let’s list out some of the most iconic ones yet, shall we?
- The obvious one is that it’s a harry potter parody, with the series logo having a blatant lightning bolt and the bootleg quidditch that we get to experience ear (which was arguably more fun to watch than actual quidditch) and also the not-so-subtle bratty blonde rich boy.
- Another is its clear inspiration from One Punch Man, but the wholesome twist is that Saitama only ever wanted thrills after becoming all-powerful, Mashle just wants a peaceful life (Win for Mashle in life priorities).
- The series also has really clever Shonen references injected into it such as the blatant dragon ball and Naruto references, with a bad guy always busy monologuing while powering up and self-introspecting after being defeated. But the funny part about this is watching Mash’s no-nonsense attitude towards all of it.
Is it really a dragon ball reference?
No, in fact, that notion could not be any more wrong. While Mashle does contain its fair share of Dragon Ball references, Mash’s revival in particular is not one of them, what it is though? is one of the best Full Metal Alchemist references in recent memory.
I mean think about it. Mash is faced with a faceless God, who is sitting in an empty void that has an eerily familiar gate which just so happens to contain shadow hands that drag you away by force. Now where have we heard that before? oh, I know! It’s this guy.
Now if that’s not blatant enough for you, the same God proceeds to provide Mash with a choice to live again by sacrificing his memories or keeping his memories but dying instead (Cough Cough Equivalent Exchange Cough Cough), and Mash being the best protagonist that he just refuses both and proceeds to slam down the door and just annoy the God to send him back (Average Mashle Gag be like).
Conclusion
Hang on to the important things in life.
[via MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES] pic.twitter.com/IlGanurMZx
— Aniplex of America (@aniplexUSA) July 15, 2023
While its over-reliance on gags and references may be off-putting to an outside perspective, trust me when I say that Mashle has some of the smartest reference placements in all of anime, and it will be a massive, missed opportunity for all of you to never experience it for yourself.