Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
The Irregular at Magic High School

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Okay so let me just put this in perspective for you guys who are kinda edging towards reading it, but not to sure.

This is an amazing light novel, hands down one of the best, it has comedy, combat, romance to some extent, action, drama, intelligent and mind blowing scenes as well as interesting characters.

If you enjoy a strong male lead in a world fulled of magic and mystery, then this book is definitely for you. It's set in a world where magic can be used in everyday lives, mostly for the use of combat, but only by a select skilled few. In this ... world, magic itself is practically a skill which can be trained and developed through time, but in order to implement this skill, technology or machines known as Cads must be used. Somewhat like the same concept as a wand but more complex.

This novel revolves around Tatsuya Shiba and his sister enrolling within a school where they train such abilities. Upon entrance, due to certain circumstances, he is seen as a failure whilst his sister as a prodigy. From there on, Tastuya begins to show his true ability.

What could the down side be about such an amazing novel you might ask? Well, its simple - This novel is a novel made to make you think. Now this phrase might be slightly broad so let me elaborate.

For those of you who have watched the anime and given it a low ranking , presumably because you don't know whats going on half of the time, that's because you don't know about the fundamentals and the incredible make up of this fantasy world. The way this book as well as how the anime is done is based off the fundamentals of the novel and you need to know what these are in order to watch the anime. Its complex and complicated at some points which in turn make the reader even more interested and intrigued by how much thought has gone into this novel

This novel is with out a doubt a masterpiece in my mind. But don't be fooled, it may be amazingly cool in its combat scenes which keep you turning the page, well thought out and unique, but its doesn't have simple to understand scenarious and basic writing scemes. Its a proper well thought out novel, and you have to have a well matured mind to read it.

Overall, i believe that if you enjoy combat orientated novels with well though out conundrums and scenarious, then give this book a try. I personally found it to be refreshing and incredible, the way the magic is used, how their lives are affected in the school, and the hardships they have to face. Plus the main character is a bad-ass which makes everything so much more interesting

This is my first review,but just one thing that i can say about this novel from beginning, "Amazing"! So,there is my little review about MKnR:


Story: 9/10
The story is great (from my point of view). The siblings with very strong bound,a lot of 'comedy' between the siblings act that make the others have a misunderstanding about their relationships. The progress of story is very interesting,when tatsuya have to keep secret about his identity and his true power. But still his true power will be revealed little by little with the progress of story. Another side that make this novel more interesting is his relationship with the ... girl arround him,his sister jealousy (miyuki want tatsuya see her more than a little sister) and of course his expressions development,from just an expressionless face to more expressions.

Art (?) : 9/10
For a light novel,the art is well made although the portion for the picture is not too much. "A picture can express more than a thousand words"

Characters: 8/10
The character is good enough although a few of supporting character that appear and disappear without any detailed information. But still,the development of main character is good enough (especially tatsuya).

Enjoyment: 9/10
I can't get enough reading the story over and over,because i can enjoy the story. Especially when it comes to action part,make me think "what will happen next?" "What tatsuya will do to them?" "Will he use his true power in front of his friends?". And there is some part that make me enjoy the feeling of romantic scene between tatsuya and miyuki.

Overall: 9/10
Very good novel. A little confusing part when we have to read explanation about magic again and again. But still,for overall i'll give 9/10 or i can say,this novel is amazing! :)

I started off watching the first season of The Irregular at Magic High School and was absolutely blown away. Alternate universe? "Scientific magic"? Political themes dealing with the military and espionage? Unstoppable main character? The show had everything I wanted, and I craved for more.

I'm happy to tell others that enjoyed the series as much as I did that the light novel series is even better. This was my first entry into the world of light novels, and it was great.

Story:
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the series, Irregular does a great job at portraying the vast relationships in a world that takes place ... decades after a hypothetical World War 3, in which powerful magic technology was used.

Where Irregular shines particularly is in its worldbuilding. For those interested in modern conflicts, the series will certainly interest you. From dealings with the mafia and JSDF, to combating a new Soviet Union and China, the series tackles many different sides of the world.

In this world lies our two siblings, Tatsuya and Miyuki. Do you like overpowered characters? These are some of the most overpowered characters you'll get. With power comes great responsibility, and we'll be seeing how various challenges present themselves to them. As a reader, we are confident that they can overcome anything that gets thrown at them; the enjoyment comes from seeing how they do that. At the same time, we journey alongside them as they explore not only a hostile world, but also their own "sibling" relationship.

There are a few faults, however. One of the most glaring ones is the dragging out of plot lines. While the beginning was more quick and fast paced, it faltered out particularly towards the final volumes. It is obvious that Tsutomu Satou, the light novel's author, is inexperienced in his writing. There is also a generous amount of "technobabble". There are complex explanations given for different magic theories and spells that can take up pages of text. I didn't mind it too much, but others may be dissuaded by it.

The series has been accused of being a hotbed of Japanese right-wing nationalism. While I won't go in depth to that, I will say that the setting takes place in an incredibly hostile world with a human population that's less than half the population in our real world. It is no surprise that nationalism would be present in this series.

That being said, I was still entertained and engulfed in the world he created.

Art:
Kana Ishida did a good job with the art. It got the job done and portrayed key events in each volume well. Reading volume by volume, you will also see how Ishida's art improves and evolves. By the time we get to Volume 32, her art is miles better than the art from Volume 1. It was quite pleasant to see this advancement.

Character:
The Irregular mentioned in the title, Tatsuya Shiba, also nicknamed Godsuya. He is by far the most overpowered character in the series. He is not only physically strong but also extremely intelligent. His emotional growth is stunted due to circumstances explained in the novel, but we see him progress as a character through the series.

The second one of the siblings is Miyuki Shiba. She is, in short, a "brocon". Her own character centers around Tatsuya, so I do feel like her character growth is diminished in some ways, but she can certainly stand on her own as well.

The relationships between the siblings are a topic of contention in the series as well as the fanbase. I won't give spoilers, but I personally really enjoyed seeing how their relationship grew throughout the series.

Don't expect fleshed out side characters however. While they do get attention, some more than others, the main focus is centered on the pair of siblings.

Overall Enjoyment:
The Irregular at Magic High School proves itself to be a classic in the light novel medium. From its engaging storyline to its action packed fight scenes, the series never fails to keep you entertained. There is just "badassery" all around.

All hail Godsuya.

The anime is airing, so here's a review if you still aren't sure about this series. Note that it's a great and captivating series but the review does point out some negative aspects.

Story: 8/10
Character: 6/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall Rating Bias: +/- 1

Verdict:
I do recommend the series though, the world is worth discovering and the events that occur around the main character worth following. If you want a science fiction take on magic in a realistic setting, this is worth checking out.
Watching the anime will most likely relieve the technical explanations, setting descriptions and bring character depth.
...
If you are Caucasian or just not Chinese then you can pretty much ignore this first paragraph (rant). It's unfortunate but this series has an underlying bias, discriminate would be a bit too strong of a word, towards the Chinese. In every arc, the antagonists and/or their ultimate organization(s) are Chinese. This isn't the main problem, the issue is how they are portrayed. They and their actions are portrayed as dishonorable, villainous, aggressive, and unintelligent. Their magic and technology are archaic, incompetent, elementary and ineffective. Of the 3 named characters, one is sly, the other is arrogant, and the last one is supposed to be "the world's top 10 close combat magician" is a savage and has virtually no technique. Although there are other problems, this is the main reason for the lower rating accounted for in the rating bias.

As a novel, or maybe as a translated novel, a huge problem are the explanations. There are long and complex explanations on magic and magic techniques every chapter, so it really interrupts the flow of anything. You would have to choose between focusing on reading the story or understanding the explanations, that is how bad it is. And of course the first chapters are chock full of these and if you can't get around them you won't for the rest of the novels because it uses jargon.
Watching the anime first would probably enable you to skip these boring explanations, and the setting (also female appearance) descriptions.

Character wise, there are only two worth mentioning: Tatsuya (main) and Miyuki (sister). There are friends and others that appear consistently but their character depth do not go much further beyond their descriptions (looking at you Erika, Leo and Mizuki). The anime and voice acting will probably bring more life to them.

Tatsuya is interesting, at least when you don't know much about him, because at first he is a mysterious underdog who likes to keep a low profile and has a few secrets, and you know it has to do with being secretly strong. This is a refreshing MC that I like. However, as it goes on you may get tired of his self deprecating attitude despite being OP and the fact that there will be no real romance in the novel.

Miyuki is the heroine, if there has to be one. You either love her or hate her depending on whether you like sibling love. Later on her unconditional love for her brother is explained, but even then she's a bro con from the start. Her struggle with her feelings, Tatsuya and Miyuki's relationship with their family and their peers are all interesting things to watch. She's responsible for most of what fan service there is.

Americans are later introduced but naturally the ones of importance are just blonde anime characters, not quite Americans. The strongest US magician becomes a transfer student and develops some feelings for Tatsuya due to of course losing and departs as a rival.

As for the plot itself and its development, it is decent for the first two arcs, since the setting, magic, combat, and characters are still being laid down and revealed at the same time. The content itself is also engrossing, showing the school life at a magic high school and a magic competition between schools. The two later arcs are relatively less interesting with one being a one sided slaughter and the other about hunting vampires/parasites, hence some flaws are more apparent.

Still, the series was hard to put down because the overall plot was the driving force independent of the arcs, namely discovering Tatsuya's many talents, the drama within the magician families, the future of Tatsuya and Miyuki, their relationship and the revelation of their powers and identities. The world the author creates is also intriguing; set in the future with modern times as the history, and bringing magic into the mix.

The flaws mentioned earlier, I'm not sure how to put it, but something that feels like bad politics and strange logic on the authors part. It probably won't bug you if you don't think about it. Examples, but you may find more:
Japan has of course remained independent, but the Asian Alliance has the China, Korea and other countries as one while Canada and Mexico have been assimilated to the United States.
Japanese magic techniques rule all.
A common trope where high school students take the limelight, but here they are also the forefront in purging terrorists, military engagement, investigating and resolving murder cases.
Magician families have become the new nobility, but there is still a stigma against magicians in general public.
Despite university level facilities at the high school and classrooms that no longer require teachers, there are still no magic instructors half the students enrolled.

This is just a fair warning for anyone who want to read this LN it will get into a full harem from 0 to 100 in a single volume at vol 10 which goes on for another 17 volumes.(27 volumes of lightnovels total atm)

It does have themes like incest, heavy female abuse on males and blunt xenophobia in it.

It was an okaaayish read until vol 10 where it suddenly went into a whole other direction. You can also ignore my chapters read, because I certainly will not took out the LN's and count them.

If the writer had a discussion with his editor and stuff(which I ... assume) after vol 8 it did went this way:

1. Hey, we don't sell as much as before, any ideas?
2. How about we include vampires, everyone likes them! And a Harem, everyone likes that too!
3. Yeah best idea ever! I'll write it into it somehow.
4. How about androids on top of it?
1. Nah they're boring!
2. How about an android which is infected by an alien parasite which makes them fall in love with the MC.
3. WoW I never thought about that I'll write them into.
1. I heard that this show called Fate/Zero prints money like mad, especially because of that Saber gal.
3. NP I'll write her into it.
2. But you need to make her fall for the MC instantly! And she needs to be op!
3. Already done!
1. And didn't we have that loli girl Honoko which had like 10 pages total in 8 novels?
2. Everyone loves lolis! Make her another harem member!
3. Totally included.
1,2,4 Profit!




Volume 1-7 is mostly about an overpowered MC(Tatsuya) which needs to hide his true powers because of certain circumstances in his family tree while at the same time protecting his sister(Miyuki).

Both those siblings are completing overpowered, they could even start a WW on their own and Miyuki has a huge crush on her brother since a certain event in the past which is only explained in Volume 8 of the LN.

Before that point neither the male MC nor the female MC had any charbuilding or backstory. In fact the 8 volume is the only time you'll ever get to know anything about both MC's in 27 novels.(ongoing)

The whole novel suffers a lot because of an female cast of over 30(midway~vol14) and way more(I did stop counting at some point while reading).

The (female)cast is just way too huge.
Even if you would cut it by 50% you wouldn't remember half of them because they only get a few pages per book. At the same time you have a male cast of 4(if you're generous and do count masaki in it 5) which are more or less for domestic abuse against males "jokes"(leo/erica) or just side characters noone cares about.

On top of it you have a female stalker(Honoka) which sexually haresses the male mc every few pages after volume 10 while she got already rejected. No one cares about that while a certain male sidecharacter(Leo) gets constantly kicked/punched unconscious by his female crush(Erica) if he only looks slighty at another female.




You ask why I still read it till vol 27? That's because the actual mainstory is not bad at all it just get drowned with all that harem nonsense later on.

If you remove the spell explansions which sometimes go on for 3-6 pages just to conclude that the spell is a black hole, counterspell etc. and the harem bs the whole mainstory of 27 volumes could be told in 3-4 volumes.

*First review. Please be lenient.

I first found out about this series because the anime is one of the most hyped anime of the Spring 2014 anime series being released. Having watched the first 3 episodes, the series was interesting enough to check out the original source material. And it is great!

This is a MIGHTY LOOOOOOOOONG review. There will be very very minor spoilers***, but those probably won't mean much for those who've not read the LNs. For those who want a mini review, here's one. A (very) detailed one is below:

Story - 8
+ Interesting and well developed world and magic system
+ Plot gets increasingly interesting ... and complex
+ Pacing is overall good
+ Very hard to stop reading!

- Starts slow
- Increased complexity of plot leaves unanswered questions later
- Little bit biased against certain countries (in the future..,)
- Some things are a little hard to believe

Art - 10
+ Great, unique character designs (watch anime!)

Characters - 9
+ Big cast of varied and interesting characters
+ Plenty of interaction between side characters, not involving MC
+ MC is badass and mysterious
+ Unique and cool magical skills amongst the characters

+/- MC is super OP

- Some characters are underdeveloped or neglected
- MC sister has incestuous thoughts

Overall - 9
+ Author is very good story teller. Does great job in engaging reader.
# Not yet complete. Many storylines not yet resolved.


Story (8)
It is 2095, and scientific technology has made magic an accessible important scientific tool in the world. In Japan, Tatsuya and Miyuki are siblings who are starting school at National Magic University First Affiliated High School. However, Tatsuya is enrolled as a course 2 student, while his extremely talented sister, is a course 1 student, and hence, part of the top half of students that achieved the top grades in the school.

First, I will quickly mention that Tatsuya is the MC, and he is such a total badass that many claim he is OP (over powered). This is contrary to many shounen that start with wimpy kids that grow steadily throughout. The MC is already a powerful character, and the story progresses such that his motives, secrets and powers are slowly revealed in the events that follow, rather than the MC growing in strength as he encounters new events. More about this in the character section.

Now, the world of MKnR is extremely interesting. One of the best parts of the series is that the author explores many areas of society affected by magic. While the military and school system is most emphasised, other areas such as politics, media, international relations, civil rights, research etc are all explored to some extent, giving off the feeling that the world of MKnR could possibly work in such a way if magic did exist in that form.

The concept of magic as part of scientific development is one of the main issues elaborated on throughout the series. While fascinating to ponder upon, and rather unique, the detailed explanations throughout the series, and especially in the first volume, sometimes get confusing and, unfortunately, ruin the pace of the story. However, for those readers who love figuring out these things, this will prove a great treat as it is evident that the author poured a lot of effort into developing the magic system in the series.

Plot wise, the series proves very entertaining. The series is covered in several seperate arcs, that are each covered in 1 to 3 volumes, and almost always revolve around Tatsuya (Vol 5 is a collection of short stories, some without Tatsuya at all). Admittedly, and as many fans of the series have claimed, the first arc is rather slow, and even a little simple. This has been attributed to the fact that a lot of world-building and character introductions were done, and these are essential in understanding what goes on later. However, from volume 3 onwards, the pace picks up to a decent rate.

In many of the arcs, the stories go about in a manner similar to a highly complex and dangerous chess game (with Tatsuya as a rather OP chess piece). Each arc usually deals with some seperate group that intends harm on Tatsuya and his sister or those around them whom they consider important, and it is fascinating to see the various countermeasures or actions Tatsuya and his friends take to repel the enemy. While each arc can be considered a story on its own, all of them are connected in some way, and each slowly reveals a new side or secret of the mysterious Tatsuya.

Moving on to the later volumes, some have extremely complex plots with the participation of many factions with various hidden agendas in a single arc. This can be seen as both a pro and con. While this has increased the mystery and intrigue of the series, and sometimes, making it seem even more entertaining, the complexity does prove a little confusing in some instances, and leaves a few unanswered questions (vol 9,10 and 11).

Generally, the story does not have any really glaring plot holes, though, as mentioned just now, in later volumes, the added complexity does add some confusion.

One thing that needs to be mentioned is the bias and incredulity of some of the events within the story. The LN does seem to shed a rather negative light on Chinese, with many of the main antoganists being brutal or greedy people originating from China, or rather being part of the implied to be backwards Great Asian Alliance. Conversely, Japan is an independant country, with some of the most advanced technology and best magicians in the world. Furthermore, their high school students seem capable of matching, and even totally annihilating experts in warfare, or professional intelligence agents, with one particular student being more than extremely OP...

Yet, personally, while a little hard to swallow at first glance, I, as a reader, found myself not caring much about these. Hell, I'm a Chinese and even I was against the Chinese b******* in the series. This could be attributed to the skill of the author in presenting protagonists that anyone would easily want to support, or it could be because, the exoticness(?) of such a world makes it hard to see 'Chinese' as chinese, or Americans as Americans etc, but rather, as just opposing groups to the main characters that the reader has come to understand and root for. (Sometimes, I even WANTED the main characters to be more OP... -_-)

Finally, as far as atmosphere of the story goes, it is initially rather light and there are several comedic moments, often involving Tatsuya's resistance to embarassing situations. The atmosphere does darken somewhat and become more mysterious as the story progresses and enemies become more dangerous and difficult to detect, however, comedic moments are somehow snuck in on occasion to lighten the mood.


Art (10)
With the coming of the anime, art in the LN does seem a little irrelevant, so I won't go into this section too much, since all you have to do is watch the anime to get a much clearer image of the characters and their designs in the anime. However, I have to say that the character designs are very cool. Most illustrations are cleanly drawn, and the covers are nice to look at. The uniforms look especially interesting and, many have noted how modest the girls uniforms are, unlike ahem... most of those in school life anime (short, easily exposed skirts *cough cough*). Then again, there's no shortage of... beautiful females lacking complete coverage of their bodies, though none are truly 'ecchi'


Character (9)
MKnR has a big cast of characters. By volume 12, the number of significant characters probably numbers close to 30, though, in the series itself, only Tatsuya (and Miyuki?) have truly permanent and important recurring roles.

Initially, such a big cast of characters does become rather difficult to absorb. Maybe it's because I myself am not particularly good with Japanese names, but there were several occasions in the first few volumes where I had to recheck the names, not least because the characters would alternate between calling the family and first names of the characters to suit the occasions eg. Ichihara-san and Suzune being the same person!...

However, as we slowly uncover the quirks of each character, and sometimes go in depth into some of the more important characters, they start to become an essential and memorable part of the series. With so many characters, several different perspectives, from totally different backgrounds are explored, eg. Katsuto being a proud and noble heir to a Ten Master Clan, Sayaka being a course 2 student struggling for recognition, Morisaki a typical course 1 student looking down on 'weeds' etc, that overall, lead up to giving the reader a rather complete and well rounded impression of the world of MKnR.

Though, it is probably the individual powers of the characters that make such a large cast so fun. From the ice queen Miyuki, to Katsuto's Phalanx, Tatsuya's mysterious powers, Erika's swordsmanship, Yoshida's Spirit magic etc, all once again, show different perspectives and cover the rich variety of magic use in MKnR. Also, all the characters have their individual strengths and weaknesses (yes, Tatsuya has weaknesses!) and it gets highly entertaining when we see the various powers pitted against one another.

Unfortunately, sometimes, this large cast of characters does lead to some under development of the characters. Almost evey character interesting in some way, especially when it comes to their individual magical powers, though, to some degree, character development does not always get a really proper fleshing. eg. Ichijou Masaki, Mari, Azusa etc all do get some development etc, and contribute greatly in some instances, even make the series more interesting, but are all very much neglected in the later volumes.

Then again, the main character is Tatsuya, and it is probably more believable that he will deal with all sorts of people, and that it is maybe unrealistic to believe that so many will always stick with him and develop constantly throughout the series. Honestly, this LN has one of the more realistic interactions between characters I've read, in the sense that Tatsuya never really depends on any single one character for everything, nor does he force himself to be a loner when his friends can be of use. Besides, a big plus point I particularly liked was that many of the side characters form unique relationships between themselves that do not necessarily go through the MC. Ultimately, partially because of the above point, I believe that the occasional underdevelopment and negligence for some can be forgiven, even overlooked.

And then, we move on to the main character himself. Tatsuya probably proves to be one of the coolest badasses around. Unlike many of the side characters, we see no noticeable change in his powers or character throughout, leading some to claim he fails to develop at all. This is somewhat true, especially in the first 7 volumes. However, it can be said that the first 7 volumes were a slow buildup into revealing who Tatsuya really is as a person (with volume 8 finally giving us the final details as a flashback). And this steady unraveling of Tatsuya's secrets and character prove fascinating, (The culmination of all this proves to be bloody badass) and makes him probably the most interesting character of all. In fact, I may even go so far as to say that his unchanging and totally reliable badass-ery is one of the positive aspects of the series.

However, it is incorrect to say that Tatsuya does not develop. He does, though not very noticeably. Furthermore, with the introduction of a new character in volume 9 and some developments, there comes several instances of Tatsuya having to push himself.

Note, there are several incestuous moments in this LN, when it comes to Miyuki fawning over Tatsuya. However, none of them are really sexual, and tend to be on the more innocent side. The incest theme may put off some people, however, in MKnR, there is a full backstory that explains this interaction, so don't just ignore this series because you believe there's some pointless fetishes being thrown around xp

Additionally, occasionally there is the feeling that, when it comes to group fights, Tatsuya and his sister are so OP, you wonder if some of the side characters were really necessary.

Enjoyment (10)
I read 12 volumes in 7 days. That's at least 3600 pages. That was how addictive the series was. Satou Tsutomi is quite adept at building up the intensity and the anticipation of readers. As mentioned above, some enjoyment is taken away because of lengthy explanations that still prove confusing (this may be remedied by watching the anime, which will have animated sequences of what occurs), but the magic in the series is truly unique in its own way with it's combination of science and magical theories etc.

In some ways, MKnR seems like this great mixture of Sciece Fiction, Fantasy, and even some Mystery and Supernatural, and I believe fans of any of those genres may find MKnR a worthwhile read. For those currently watching the anime, I can confidently say, for those who don't mind reading thousands of pages, this LN is a must read. The detailed explanations and further exploration of the world in the LN will undoubtedly enrich the experience for fans of the series.

I will mention again that some suspension of disbelief is required to fully enjoy the story. I mean, it does get a bit hard to swallow when mere 15-18 year olds have combat abilities surpassing full time military men, or have the knowledge to construct and engineer nuclear reactors. But, again, Satou's storytelling skills are good enough that, it probably won't matter how astonishing some of the events may seem in reality, because the reader is more than likely to be too immersed in the story.


Overall (9)
I cannot give the series a 10 because it is not yet complete, and hence, there are too many unresolved issues in the story at the moment. Also, some of the minor blemishes do make the story a little short of great. However, the way things are going, and the very many possibilities that are open for Tatsuya and co. to take, expectations of MKnR are strong.

My First review also happens to be for the First Novel i ever read!


Story: 10/10
This is a great story for anyone who Enjoys shonen battle mangas. But in many ways, this story even has the potential to be a lot more popular than it already is. It is rare for any story to get overpowered done right but Mahouka does it perfectly. The novel takes a good look at the relationship between the weak and powerful, and it does well to create a world with a complete history. The explanations can get a little bit lengthy, but the complexity behind the magic theory adds ... a depth of reality to it all. I don't recall another supernatural action setting with such detailed, consistent, plausible explanations for supernatural combat techniques. If you read this for a volume or two, you should be impressed, as well as Intrigued to learn about the various spells and technologies/abilities.


Art : 10/10
Like the saying goes "A picture speaks of thousand things" the LN's are subjected to 2-3 illustrations of important plot points throughout Volumes, MKnR does a fantastic job in this department, the Artist has beautifully crafted the imagination of the author and blessed it with a touch of Life, It has a Mix of Shonen(ish)+a bit of Moe added in there...all in all Perfect Character Design that matches well with the tone of the story


Characters: 10/10
One of The strong point for me in this Novel are it's Varied and Vast Cast of Characters, The MC (Tatsuya) isn't a Social Outcast or Weak as the Title would suggest...he follows his own Established Code mixed in with Mary Stu syndrome and yet ends up flashing the "Anti-Hero" persona, Miyuki his younger Sister suffers from Bro-Complex without any Sexual innuendos but in a more Cutesy fashion...all the Supporting Characters play relevant roles in driving the plot forward and more and more of their Background are revealed as the series progresses.


Enjoyment: 10/10
With each installment my Enjoyment factors keep on rising, this is one of those rare cases that gets better and better with each passing chapters...i have re-read each arcs TWICE and i experience the same amount of Emotions the 2nd time over...which speaks for itself


Overall: 10/10
I Recommend this series to all who likes a bit of "Action+(H)Romance+Mystery+ Futuristic World-Building" mixed in to culminate a Masterpiece of it's Genre...

This is my first review and english is not my first language, so it will be filled with grammatical errors and I really don't care, improving my english is one of the main reasons I'm on this site.

As someone who has read the Light Novel AND watched the anime of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, or simply Mahouka, I couldn't help but notice the enormous disparity in quality between the two...

You see, this IS a good story, the characters ARE interesting and most of their aspects and reasons are properly explained... at least when talking about the light novel (LN), because almost nothing that makes ... the LN good was brought to the animation.

People's main complaints about this show:

- "THE MC IS TOO OP"

Yes he is... So? I don't see series like OPM getting the same hate and the reason is simple: Having an overpowered main character is not a problem in itself, it depends on how it's handled.
In the LN, his power, lack of emotions and great attachment to his sister are explained pretty well, which unfortunately wasn't done in the animation...

- "THERE IS INCEST"

Not exactly, it's pretty freaking obvious that his sister (Miyuki) loves him as member of the opposite sex, but it's never goes beyond this. But in all sincerity, who the fuck cares? There is absolutely no reason to hate this taboo. A bigger issue for me would be the fact her entire character is defined by obsession with her brother or her otherworldly beauty (even though she looks as beautiful as any of the other girls in the show)

- "THEY ARE HIGH SCHOOLERS BUT ARE STRONGER THAN THE ADULTS"

In Mahouka's world, magicians aren't just people capable of wielding power (like other crappy shows) they are pretty much like nobility, almost all of them are descendants of families which are given special privilegies in exchange for defending their country against external threats (the japanese at least). In other words, they aren't just your average animu teenagers getting involved in trouble for no good reason, they have responsibilities, they are supposed to grow up faster than normal people. Also, most of their foes were non-magicians so it is understandable.

- " TATSUYA IS A SHALLOW CHARACTER, HE NEVER SHOWS ANY EMOTIONS, SO BORING"

Whenever I read stuff like that in the forums I would feel a bit embarassed... you see, Tatsuya is , in my opinion, one of the most interesting anime characters I have ever seen. There IS a reason for his eternal deadpan face , but the anime never explained it so... meh

"THE BAD GUYS ARE ALWAYS FOREIGNERS, THIS SHIT IS XENOPHOBIC"

You got me there, it's true, the author seems to be very nationalistic, the japanese are always portrayed as the good guys with superior technology and military power who are constantly being attacked by groups of foreigners (chinese) or having to take care of problems caused by others (americans)

All in all, Mahouka is not for everyone, if you hate watching OP protagonists because it makes everything predictable (even though stuff like shounen are also predictable as fuck and people don't complain as often about it) then it's not for you. If you hate incest (even if it never really goes any further than verbal exchange), it's not for you. If you detest the good and old high school stuff, then it's not for you.

However, if you like a strong protagonists with nerves of steel ( and ordinary looks) capable of turning his enemies into dust and recovering from fatal attacks in less than 1 second, while everything is explained detail by detail by a complex system behind all the magic stuff, making it seem more like sci fi than fantasy...
Then it's definitely for you

SPOILERS
One last thing: From my point of view, Mahouka is not about the fights nor is it about a silly fantasy setting with focus on wish fulfillment (magic), it's about political struggle and social turmoil... It's about a guy born and raised to be a human weapon. It's about a guy who was treated like shit his entire life and feared for being a monster with enough power to destroy the world.

It's not about "hey look how cool I am" and "getting all the girls" (most girls here have their own romantic interests), it's about being incapable of living a proper life and having to fight for a world where magic and magicians are not viewed as merely tools of war.
Tatsuya is the embodiment of everything magic represents in his world (even though he is the irregular) and has to bear all of it's consequences, both positive and negative.

This novel is simply amazing.... Who wouldn't love anything related to magic!?!? With the imagination one could set into the aspect of magic, this novel surely brings it to life, even though at times it may be quite difficult.

Story: 9
The story starts out as quite mediocre as we all know the typical "first day high" cliche, and maybe even the "troublemaker" right off the bat. But as soon as the introduction is over, it's smooth sailing all the way. This is basically about a guy, and his sister, as they demolish everything in the magic world that's thrown to them. It sounds

Art: 9
The art is ... great. That's all there is too it. Although I do have to admit, that i'm rating it as a 9 and not as a 10 because of how I actually compare it to the manga and anime.

Character: 10
The characters are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself, but then again, i'm a sucker for those highly unfair/op characters. Even though there are a ton of OP characters, even those that aren't are still really described and brought well into the novel.

Enjoyment : 10
I simply love anything related to magic. Although i'm still quite picky regarding whether or not the magic in the novel/show/manga is worthwhile. This novel will surely sweep you off your feet if you give it a chance.

Overall: 10
The average would have been 9.5... but rounded off.... Anyways, Overall the novel is amazing, and although it gets quite confusing a ton of what's in it is the process of how magic works and whatever is related to it, it deserves to have many more readers.