Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club is another one of those highly neglected anime which doesn’t deserve that kind of lack of attention. To give a small indication, even the RAWS stopped appearing at a certain point. When you compare this to series like Zaizen Jotaro, you have to wonder whether something’s wrong. In any case, like the title suggests, it’s a mahou shoujo, focusing on Sasami, better known from the Tenchi Muyo series. Luckily, it has absolutely no harem-elements.

This series definitely shines in its middle part. Episodes 5 till 19 are filled with some awesome character studies, a couple of very successful chaotic episodes and some extremely funny moments, all extremely well balanced into the episodes. It’s at these points where the characters become extremely touching. The first four episodes serve as an introduction. Nice and all, but nothing special, that’s not really a major flaw, though. The main problem is that this series starts to loose a bit of its flame after episode 19. It becomes more predictable, and characters aren’t as touching as they were before. Luckily, the final two episodes become worthwhile again.

Still, there’s one thing that’s consistently good over the entire anime: the graphics. Especially the use of CG is brilliant in this anime. The art of the different characters also is extremely cute. Not what you’d expect from the promo-art. The music also offers an excellent selection, though this anime makes the mistake of overusing one or two tracks a bit too much.

Overall, Sasami has been a very good example why I love neglected shows so much. They either turn out very good or very bad. In this case, it’s the former. It’s a pity. While anime like Haruhi Suzumiya get hyped to death, shows like this one get left in the shadows.

Ah, and so ends Sasami Mahou Shoujo Club. Seeing as it’s the final episode, it’s time to get critical again, as I’ve seen lots of awesome anime who rather screwed up with their ending. Let me first start with some things I really liked about this episode:

- Sasami as a little child. Seriously, the episode started with such an immensely KAWAII shot of her young version, playing and discovering her own powers, and that for the first time in the series.
- Sasami and Ami-chan at the first half of the episode. The two of them are just not involved in the fighting at all, they’re just with the two of them. Surprisingly touching.
- Washuu. I’m glad that she’s back to her chaotic self, seeing her hysterical screaming was as hilarious as always. I wish she had a bigger role in the Misao-arc. It would have made them a great deal better. She really is a brilliant character when she’s in her element. ^_^
- The CG. It was of the same high quality as always.

There was one thing I didn’t like: the five girls from the magical world. It felt like the creators couldn’t find a good role for them for the final episodes, so they just sent them after Misao and the others. A short fight follows, and they let them go without any problems. The only time we see them back is at the end of the episode, as normal schoolgirls.

But what about the ending itself? Well, it was decent. I liked how Sasami never really fought, even though she’s the main character, and the strongest out of everyone. Ami-chan’s way to sacrifice himself was decent, just was the fact that he didn’t wake up. The moment right before Sasami made her speech also was interesting. Though ultimately, the ending itself didn’t capture my interest. After the main climax, Ami-chan makes a short trip, in which everyone is happy and smiling, and in the end, nothing really remains of Keura.

Overall, it’s been a fun show. I hope someone’s going to sub this. Still, there are better cute mahou shoujo around. It didn’t manage to beat Akazukin in the end, and now that I’ve seen a number of episodes of Futago Hime, I also have to say that that’s a better show. Still, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. Especially the middle part was awesome.

The previous episodes had been rather disappointing. Sure, Misao and her feelings were nice and all, though the anime didn’t delve as deep into the characters as the first season did, and neither did it have the mystery of the first half of the second season. It’s been rather straight-forward and predictable, with as best point the great graphics. Because of this, I didn’t suspect much out of the current episode.

But boy, that was so incredibly charming. At its semi-final episode, this anime suddenly takes a step back and focuses on the characters again, and how the past few episodes and Amitabu have affected Sasami’s and the others’s lives. My faith into this series was immediately restored again. Especially Ami-chan and Sasami were so touching. :)

Now that Misao’s problems have been solved, she actually turned much more cheerful, so that the final two episodes can really focus on Ginji, Ami-chan and Sasami. Misao also made up with Monta, and the two are head into a good direction. ^_^

Sasami, meanwhile, is getting a bit annoyed at Ami-chan, who keeps clinging to Ginji whenever he has the chance, quite hilarious. It appears that Ginji was the only one who ever showed kindness to him. I also like how he also is content with spending time with Sasami, whenever Ginji is away. The two of them were SO CUTE when they were alone. At a certain moment, Ami-chan also started singing the same song that we’ve heard from him a number of times before. Really, that really works every time I hear it. Cute!

Then there’s still this matter of the other Ami-chan being released. He’s causing quite a havoc, Kanbu is about to die again, and he even crossed over to the normal world. Itoki noticed this, and she heads to Washuu to warn her. Washuu, by the way, also seems to have her eye on someone. ^_^ Anyway, things get even better when it seems that Ginji has to involve Ami-chan once more, in order to make the other Ami-chan disappear. This is quite a shock for both Ginji and Ami-chan, with some great results. The definite highlight of the episode was when Ami-chan found out, ran away, Sasami chased after him, and the two of them make up. Great moment. :)

Well then, the question does remain: will this anime end well? It does seem that the creators took a bit of time for it, so it probably won’t be incredibly rushed. This episode also made sure of some interesting development between the different characters, which also can be good. But what can the creators do to make this interesting?

Ah, so they went back to episode thirteen, where the five girls had to conjure up a flower, though this time, it’s a bit more extreme, when it’s Kanbu who has to be calmed. Unfortunately, my lack of japanese didn’t manage to pick up what role Kanbu actually plays, unfortunately, and why he’s so imprtant to the story. Still, the things I did understand were a nice watch as usual.

The major episode basically focuses on giving some life back to Kanbu. Sasami, Misao and the others hold hands like before, which causes them to be able to communicate with each other through thoughts. Like before, they ahve to make their minds one in order to properly functionate, though this time Misao disrupts things a bit, or rather Anri, Tsukasa and Makoto’s annoyance with her. It’s a nice discussion. Especially Tsukasa surprised me, seeing as she showed a more serious side than she ever has.

At the end of the episode, we also learn who’s going to be the final enemy in this anime. The head priestess seems to have unsealed the other Aamitabu. I’m still not sure why she did that *kicks lack of Japanese*. In any case, Amitabu’s look, at the end of the episode when Sasami brings him some food was priceless. ^_^

Still, I’m afraid to say it, though this anime seems to have lost its spark a bit. The height definitely was from eps 5 till 17. At those episodes, the characters were the most touching and funny. Though now, it’s trying to make a good finish.

Ah, that was a great episode! not only does Sasami managed to save Misao, some more information about the evil party is given as well, and we still have three more episodes to go.

The brainwashed friend has been overdone a lot of times, though I couldn’t help but love Sasami’s and Misao’s confrontation. The two of them were just SO incredibly cute. ^_^ Anri, Tsukasa and Makoto also played their part perfectly, and Itoki finally returns again. This time, it seems that she turned against the main priestess. Ginji and Amitabu were the surprise savers of the day, as it seemed that both Amitabus have some link to Ginji.

During the second half of the episode, Sasami wants to know exactly what’s going on. A lot of things are explained, and well… I couldn’t follow half of it. *kicks lack of Japanese* It seems that Amitabu is some kind of Keura, with Keura being his trapped-in-thorns-version. Sasami also seems to be the main goal of the witches, due to her magic of light. It seems that she’s the only one who can use it.

The great evil seems to be named Kanbu. For some reason, I felt like Sasami already heard his cries before. At the end of the episode, it turns out to be that he’s been sealed in some kind of statue. Quite creepy. Also, what will Misao’s role be in the final episodes? Surely she can’t stay asleep forever, no? ;)

I’m really wondering how Nanami Kamimura managed to get hold of the ninth episode so early, as I only managed to see it on Share about two days ago. It’s getting a bit annoying. Ah well, at least the episode was amazing, and that’s what counts. :)

It’s divided in two halves, and the moods of these parts are totally polar opposites. During the first half, the major focus lies on Sasami, who runs into Amitabu again. The song which followed afterwards was SO incredibly CUTE. That song works perfectly for this anime. Then the second half came. Boy, that was dramatic.

I never thought Misao would change even further, but now it seems that she actually grew into an adult-form, after merging with the Amitabu who’s been tied up. Those were some great scenes. It really seems that the climax is about to come, though there still are four episodes left. That means that there’ll probably be a few twists left.

Misao did look quite scary during this episode. That’s probably due to the great use of graphics, especially in this episode. The scene in which the butterflies appeared was quite magnificently done, even though it almost crashed my pc. ^^; This definitely was one of the more touching episodes of this anime. :)

Ah, I finally managed to get my hands on the eighth episode. If I had to guess, then I’d say that this show had some kind of break from its usual schedule last week, which is why even on share no files appeared. In any case, this episode had a very clear focus: getting Misao back from the witches. Misao, on her turn, has been ordered to dispose of Sasami, as she’s posing some kind of thread. She’s getting help from the older witches, who have come to see her as their master, apparently. Meanwhile, Sasami’s father found out that she headed to the magical world, and went after her, along with Ryoumi.

The episode was pretty interesting. Especially Misao is getting interesting. She’s really struggling with herself now, as at certain points of the episode, she really began to look desperate. At the end of the episode, she also overhears some older witches talk about her in a negative way, and we already know that Misao is extremely to those kinds of things. :)

The fight between the two Mahou Shoujo clubs also was very interesting to see. In the beginning, Sasami and the others obviously don’t stand a chance, as the other Mahou Shoujo club has much more experience, and furthermore, they’ve got similar powers, so both Anri, Tsukasa and Makoto get easily wiped out by their own kind of power. But once Sasami starts using her powers the tables are turned. I also loved how Anri managed to escape from everyone. It’s indeed a real tongue-twister to say “Basugasubakuhatsu” three times after each other as fast as possible (yeah… I tried ^^).

I knew it! Misao finally cuts her hair! During this episode, it also gets clear why the witches were so interested in Misao: she’s got the same kind of power as Sasami. This episode was mostly meant to develop both of them. The witches try to give Misao a feeling of comfort, while Sasami debates whether to go after her (after all, she went on her own will).

As usual, the dramatic moments were awesome. Sasami really has her own way of worrying, and the fact that Misao disappeared, and the police had to arrive only made this better, as rumours started to appear about her. Anri, Tsukasa and Makoto were great, trying to cheer her up. Washuu also tries her best to do something in her own special way. She actually attempts to learn magic herself. She really is one of my favourite characters of this show, with the others being Sasami and Misao.

The episode ended rather interesting, with Sasami, about to head to the magical world and Misao, who got the instructions of eliminating Sasami. The next episode should prove to be an awesome one. But then again, each episode so far has been awesome in a sense. :)

This episode was solely meant to prepare for the unfortunate event at the end. Poor Misao. Because she’s grown up without any friends, she’s become so easy to manipulate. Especially now that her powers are actually needed, the witches decided to abuse this fact, and now she’s taken away to the magical world. If I’m not mistaken, it’ll be there where she’ll get her haircut.

The major part of the episode is spent on cooking. Misao for Monta and Sasami for Amitabu, who seems to be paying a visit later on. We also receive some nice background info about him. My lack of Japanese prevented me from fully understanding it, but it seems that the witches failed to seal off the evil in the past. For that, Amitabu had to be used in a rather violent way in order to help seal this evil. This explains why he was trapped in such thorns, but what about the second Amitabu?

If I had to make a prediction, then I think that there are two major arcs left. The current one, in which the main focus will be retrieving Misao from the magical world, and more importantly, make her see that the witches are actually trying to use her. The second arc will then focus on Sasami and Amitabu, and this evil which has been sealed.

It’s a pity so little people know of this series. It’s brilliant. Most people probably seem to think that it’s a show for kids, meaning that it’s not worth it to check it out. Well, guess what? The fact that it looks like it’s meant for children has nothing to do with whether it’s good or not. Muahaha.

Okay, you know a show is unpopular when even the friggin raws have trouble appearing! Seriously, I actually had to use Share in order to get the file for the fifth episode. (On a side-note: I still have the file, is people are interested, I could put it in a torrent and share it) It’s such a darn shame, as this is probably one of the best shows to air in the fall-season. This episode was no exception. It was awesome!

Last episode ended with Itoki suddenly appearing, and holding the Mahou Shoujo Club and Monta hostage in the school, in order to get them back to the magical world. Misao really started out awesome, as suddenly the witches who were nice to her started to attack her. What follows really is a perfect combination of drama and comedy. Especially Washuu was brilliant as ever. It’s really obvious that she sees herself as an adult who has to protect the children who were entrusted into her care. Still, in the end, she gets chased by a bunch of water dragons. ^^;

She’s forced to send Ryoki in to save Sasami and the others, who, as expected, does a very fine job of preventing Sasami (who’s been separated from the others, along with Monta, looking for Misao who has run off) to be taken away to the magical world. The funny thing is that Itoki has been following her movements from outside all this time, and Washuu, who has no idea what’s happening inside of the building, just can tell by Itoki’s reaction what Ryoki has been up to.

Sasami then finds a crying Misao while Monta gets swept away by another current, only to land to a dam, built by Tsukasa, Anri and Makoto (probably Tsukasa’s idea). They then have to find a way to get to Sasami and the others. The solution: a wind-propelled banana turned into a rubber boat with Anri’s power as navigation system. Washuu, meanwhile, manages to knock out Itoki for a second, but then she gets caught because of her carelessness. Sasami, meanwhile, manages to cheer up Misao a bit. Can it get any better than this? ^^

Then, the climax: Monta and the others find Sasami and Misao, while Itoki find their location again, and sends another of her water dragons after them. The girls’ powers have no effect in stopping them. It heads for Sasami and Misao, Monta tries to protect them and Sasami and Misao both release the same power as in the episode where Washuu almost left. Though it’s not as bad this time, as the light disappears after a while.

The next episode should prove to be very interesting. Remember the other Mahou Shoujo Club from the first couple of episodes from the second season? Well, they’ve been sent to retrieve Sasami and the others. They arrived at Misao’s room, just when she finished to recreate the ring that was broken, causing it to break again. Talk about symbolism. And when exactly will she be cutting her hair?