English Dub Review: Mashle: Magic and Muscles “Mash Burnedead and the Survival of the Fittest”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Even with a win over Love, Dot is battered and bruised. Milo gives up on using petrification magic on Mash and launches an attack on Dot. Suddenly, the Divine Visionary Rayne appears, and Milo collapses in an instant. Rayne was informed by Wahlberg that Innocent Zero’s agents were coming to school, and he showed up to respond. Meanwhile, Mash has made his way to the First Fang Abel. Mash reveals his quiet rage. What will be the course of this decisive battle?!

Our Take:
After five episodes, Mash has finally come face-to-face with the Magia Lupus’s leader, the puppet master Abel. We’re only one episode away from the season finale, and we already reached the final boss in Mash’s first year at Easton Academy. No wonder he’s strong enough to overcome any magic thrown at him.
This week’s episode mainly involves the thrilling showdown between Mash and Abel, with the former attempting to rescue the students who have been turned into dolls. Unfortunately, that includes Mash’s friend, Finn. Of course, as predicted in the previous episodes, Abel proves to be a formidable foe for the muscular “magician”, as he’s able to turn him into a doll, but not before Mash returns to normal with his spinal reflexes. After Mash knocks some sense into Abel, the episode makes another attempt to have us empathize with the characters’ adversaries. The reason behind Abel’s goal was that her kind, noble mother was killed by a commoner while helping the less fortunate. The tragedy resulted in Abel developing a hatred toward the people with no nobility and plotting to let the strong magic users take over.
Regardless, Mash was able to accomplish another impossible task thanks to his incredible spell-defying strength. However, that doesn’t mean all is well at the academy, as Rayne encounters another issue amid the confrontation. He discovers that Lance isn’t who he seems to be, as he’s actually a disguised mage from Innocent Zero who infiltrated the school to search for a peculiar item that Abel is searching for. Of course, Rayne will have to fight the serial killer Jon Pierre to get to the mage, who runs off to kill Abel.
The episode delivers another humorous and enticing battle involving Mash showcasing his undeniable strength. As for Abel’s backstory, it’s similar to Abyss’s tragic childhood that caused him to turn to the dark side. They’re both understandable as to why they’re performing heinous acts, which is due to people mistreating them based on their characteristics. Everyone feared Abyss because of his Evil Eye, while Abel targets the weak for killing his noble mother. With the Magia Lupus finally defeated, the muscular “magician” has one more enemy to beat to graduate his first year at Easton Academy, and I can tell that it’s going to be another fun showdown.