Renkin 3-kyu Magical Pokan (MagiPoka for short) is a 12 episode anime series produced by REMIC which aired on April 2006 and ended in June 2006. The director is Kenichi Yatani , who does not have any noteworthy titles under his belt. Magipoka caught my attention because I thought it might be a cute and light watch…
MagiPoka is about four teenage demon princesses from the netherworld who come to earth to see what life is like for humans. The four live together in a treehouse, trying to solve simple issues like finding cute guys or fitting in with human customs. There’s Liru, an energetic lycanthrope with a playful and energetic personality. Next up is Pachira, a vampire who is obsessed with finding the blood of attractive men and finding a cure to her flat chest. Then there’s Aiko, a female android who acts as the caretaker for the other three, cleaning and cooking for them. She wishes to obtain a human body, as she is sick of her poor memory capacity and heavy weight due to her iron body. She considers her weight extremely unattractive, and it inhibits her ability to get a boyfriend. Lastly, there is Uma, a third-rate magician who is extremely enthusiastic about exploring the various nuances of human life. Her childlike curiosity and attempts at magic often windup causing trouble for the rest of the crew.
Magipoka is a hit-or-miss comedy. Some jokes call back to Japanese folklore and culture which many western viewers will not understand and/or find funny. Execution is also a bit shoddy. Some times there are uncreative uses of standard tropes to obtain a cheap reaction from the viewer, like Pachira and her small-breast complex. Other times, character idiosyncrasies play off well of each other as the girls try to tackle/understand ordinary earth customs like Christmas. MagiPoka’s comedy is very character-centered, and there isn’t much development, change, or new revelations in their personalities from start to finish.. Although you might get a couple of surprises, you can basically expect where each episode will go from start to finish.
MagiPoka, being an ecchi comedy, has fanservice from time to time. Because it is not a prominently fanservice type show , there are no constant and completely-out-of-place panty shots. Many of the titillating moments actually go hand-in-hand with the slapstick nature of the show, and it comes in at the moments to catch a wandering viewers attention (read: mine). So if the comedy fails on you at points, you might find a bit of the fanservice tantalizing.
There are no other elements really worthy of notice. Technical aspects from animation to sound are satisfying but not really memorable. The opening credits give the impression that MagiPoka might be some kind of dark fantasy show for reasons which may or may not be comedic. The ending song is rather catchy and each time it is sung by one of the voice actresses for their respective character. The lyrics are slightly changed too, making it somewhat of a “character song” .
Overall, I did enjoy MagiPoka for being what it is: a slice of life comedy with cute girls. However it was unsurprisingly average. It’s a perfectly fine show for fans of the aforementioned genres, but any other viewers who come by looking for real substance will obviously be disappointed.
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