Well, I just finished reading Mx0. What can I say? It is a truly enjoyable series and I am sorry that it ended prematurely. The overall score I give is 9 out of 10, which is just 1 point less than what I gave Negima, another manga series of the magical school genre, so many years ago.
The presentation of magic is creative. Instead of the traditional wands and broomsticks in other works of the same genre, namely Harry Potter and Negima, they use cards to cast spells in Mx0. And their card system is even more complex than those offered by commercial banks for their
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credit cards, although I felt sure that the Mx0 system was inspired by commercial credit cards. There isn't just a simple hierarchy of regular cards followed by silver and ending with the ultimate gold. There are like 9 different levels among for the first years before they can progress to the silver tier. Later on, depending on what kind of magic user you are, you are grouped into different card types. White gold, strengthened alloy or rare metal. This would make for a great RPG game in my opinion.
The characters give me a feel good feeling and are easy to for the reader to like or identify with. So far there hasn't been a truly evil villain. If you ask me, the reason for this is probably because the series ended prematurely, and NOT because the author was going for a shallow plot. I get the feeling he was spending time (90 odd chapters) to develop his characters before making them face true adversaries. At the time the series ended (prematurely!), they all had magical class battles and I couldn't help but think that if the series were allowed to continue, they might face off with magical students from other schools or even other countries. Kinda like the Tri-Wizard tournament in the Harry Potter series.
Mx0 is a comedy of misunderstandings. Basically, the protagonist who couldn't use magic accidentally enrolled in a magical school and although he's really the weakest, what with his inability to use magic, he was thought to be the strongest due to a series of coincidences. If you like that kind of comedy routine, then read Mx0.
Now there are many speculations out there about why this series ended. Mainly, fans of the series think it is due to lack of fan service. However, I disagree. Highly popular works like Bleach are lacking in fan service as well. And there are romantic sub-plots involving various heroines going on in Mx0, which you don't see in Bleach. So yeah, probably not due to lack of fan service and romance.
So could it be due to the way magic works in Mx0? In other fantasy fictional works, if magic works then it pretty much works everywhere. Take the Harry Potter-verse for example. The students aren't allowed to use magic out of school, BUT it still works.
So maybe this rule in the Mx0 world, that magic can only work in school, just doesn't appeal to fans of the magic school genre? Maybe it doesn't give them a sense of security? Thus making it hard for the reader to project himself into the world? Could there be readers out there who think, "Hey, I worked hard for my reward and so why aren't I allowed to keep it? Why do I have to return it to the teacher when I leave the school?"
Another rule of magic in that world states that once you graduate or transfer or drop out, you forget all magic-related memories. Again, that rule doesn't exist in other fictional works about magic schools. In Irregular at Magic High (a more recent work), the whole point of magic high schools is to make sure you know your magic and GRADUATE with that knowledge so you can be useful. In Harry Potter as well.
But in Mx0, it was only later (towards the end) when it was revealed that Black Plate holders are exceptions. For all others, perhaps 99% of the student body, they get their memories wiped. I think that rule makes it less appealing to fans of school and magic school genres. After all, even in fictional works about normal high schools, it kinda renders the whole story pointless if you are told beforehand that the protagonists and his pals will forget their most precious memories IMMEDIATELY after leaving school. Then what's the point of the story arcs lasting 3 years? What's the point of intense fights and training WHEN THEY WILL JUST FORGET EVERYTHING AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL? Yes yes yes. I know ONLY memories related to magic will get wiped, but they are the most intense and interesting in the series. A lot of friendships are formed during magical training and battles after all. One can't help but worry that friends and lovers might drift about if the magic is taken away.
So perhaps readers don't want to invest too much emotion into a story that's supposed to be about making memories with precious friends when those memories can be so easily forgotten. There's no sense of security there, when hard-won rewards can be so easily taken away.
Hard work leads to victory and rewards. That's a dominant theme in Shonen Jump manga series. But when the victory is only temporary and rewards can expire after a short amount of time, then what's the point? The transient nature of their magical powers could be a reason why it wasn't popular with Shonen Jump readers.
So yeah, perhaps it wasn't due to lack of fan service. It was probably because the two rules of magic run contrary to the idea of how magic should work, as established by other fictional works about magic. And that since it didn't inspire a sense of security in the readers, they couldn't project themselves into the world and become true fans.
But overall, I do like the series. I enjoyed reading all 99 chapters. But because of that one flaw (the laws of magic), I gave the series a 9 out of 10.
Oct 31, 2014
Well, I just finished reading Mx0. What can I say? It is a truly enjoyable series and I am sorry that it ended prematurely. The overall score I give is 9 out of 10, which is just 1 point less than what I gave Negima, another manga series of the magical school genre, so many years ago.
The presentation of magic is creative. Instead of the traditional wands and broomsticks in other works of the same genre, namely Harry Potter and Negima, they use cards to cast spells in Mx0. And their card system is even more complex than those offered by commercial banks for their ... |
