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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.