The TV anime "Mahoaku" was based on the romantic comedy manga by the late Fujiwara Cocoa, known for the TV anime "Inu x Boku SS (Inu x Boku Secret Service)", and ended with the 12th episode broadcast on TOKYO MX and other stations on September 24th. The final episode had a touching ending in "spring", the season of encounters and beginnings. The original work is an "unfinished masterpiece" that Fujiwara left behind after her sudden death in 2015. When adapting it into an anime, director Ohashi Akiyo and the production team had the idea that "we don't want fans to feel lonely because the story ends halfway through" and "can we make it end in a way that makes it seem like it's over but continues". We asked director Ohashi Akiyo about the behind-the-scenes production of the final episode.
◇"No unnecessary additions" - the anime's commitment
"Mahoaku" is a romantic comedy manga that was serialized in "Gangan Comics JOKER" (Square Enix) from 2013 to 2015. Mira, an evil strategist who wants to destroy the world, falls in love at first sight with Byakuya Mimori, a magical girl who fights to protect the world. The story depicts the days of these two enemies who "kill and love" in a humorous way. The first three volumes of the manga have been released.
Director Ohashi said about the final episode, "From the beginning of the production of the anime, I thought about how I could end it in a way that the anime would end with the final episode, but the story would continue. I thought that the fans would be happy when the anime started, but when it ended, they would feel lonely again. I felt very sorry that the anime would make the fans feel the same way they did when the original ended halfway through, that they would never be able to see the rest of the story."
The anime's 12 episodes were produced under the common rule of "not adding anything unnecessary" to the original. The 12 episodes begin in autumn, go through winter, and end in spring, and were produced by "picking up what Coco-sensei had drawn," such as episodes from the original work and the drama CD. The ninth episode, "On Christmas Night," which was also called a divine episode among fans, was also an arrangement of a drama CD created by Fujiwara.
"When I listened to the drama CD, I was surprised that it was not an episode from the comics, but a completely original episode, and I thought, 'What great fan service, Kokoa-sensei!' I thought there was no way we couldn't depict this in the anime. However, the drama CD depicts Byakuya's birthday party, but even after looking through the original material, we couldn't find out when her birthday was, so we talked about whether it would be okay to just make it winter, and decided to arrange it into a Christmas episode as a special day in winter."
◇Byakuya and Mira: A fitting ending for the two of them
"SideB/SideM," which was drawn as the final episode of the anime, is an episode included in the second volume of the three-volume comics, and depicts Byakuya and Mira getting cozy throughout. Director Ohashi said, "We decided from the first scenario meeting that we would make this the final episode."
"In the final episode of the original work, many characters appear, but the story ends with them saying, 'We're going to move now.' I couldn't just make that expansion happen on my own, and I didn't want to, so I thought that the final episode of the anime would be centered on Byakuya and Mira, and that the surrounding characters would be placed in a way that related to them. I also directed the final episode, but it was an episode where Mira was tickling Byakuya, pinching his cheeks, and doing perverted things, so I wondered, 'Is this really okay for the final episode?' (laughs). Still, I think it turned out to be a final episode that suited the two of them."
In the final episode, he also paid particular attention to the timing of the opening and ending.
"It starts with an episode of Side B from Byakuya's point of view, then there's a commercial break, then Side M from Mira's point of view, and then the ending plays. Time flies from there to spring, and as the opening plays, everyone's daily lives are depicted. From the beginning of the production of the anime, I wanted it to start in autumn and end in spring. At the end, with cherry blossoms falling all over the place, I wanted the final episode to show how Byakuya has changed since the beginning, and what kind of expression she has at the end. That part is original to the anime, but I hope you can see Byakuya's emotional movements."
Director Ohashi said, "The anime is over, but we worked with the thought that 'it will continue forever' and 'these people are living somewhere and weaving a story,' so I hope you will feel the same way."
The anime "Mahoaku" condenses the charm of Fujiwara's original work into 12 episodes. I want to savor the "ongoing story" of Byakuya and Mira over and over again.
