English Dub Review: Hatena Illusion “Episode 3”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

We begin with a few flashbacks after learning that Makoto has now been at the mansion for a month. (So where the hell is Mamoru?) Anyway, we learn that our young magician used to be bullied when he was a kid. That’s what drew him to magic in the first place. No matter how bad things were at school, when he was watching magic all his worries slipped away. He wanted to apprentice with Mamoru way back then, but the seasoned illusionist told the boy to wait until he was serious.

Kana’s flashback revealed how she first gained possession of her sacred artifact—Muffy the scarf. It turns out… um… her mother gave it to her.

Back in the present, Kokomi wants to take a bath with every female in the mansion: Kana, Yemeni, Ema, and her bodyguard, Mariah. Despite Ema being hesitant to relax at work, and Yemeni’s hatred of baths, the quintet disrobe anyway, and take a soothing bath together. Makoto, the big dope, accidentally walks in on them and gets an eyeful and an earful, but after that they all manage to relax. Yemeni finds particular comfort in Mariah’s curvature, and believes she’s built a lot like her mother.

After learning that Kana thought he was a girl, Makoto has an unsettling dream. However, it helps him realize how he misinterpreted Kana years ago. She thought he was always was privy to her family secrets, and when she asked to be partners, she meant as thieves.

Soon, the entire house is woken for an emergency. Maeve’s crest—a device that helps her create artifacts—has been stolen. The culprit is Mariah who is secretly Maeve’s younger sister and thus working on behalf of their evil family. Yemeni tracks the disgraced bodyguard with her “bat-computer”—an artifact only she can use—prompting Kana to pursue the dastardly woman all by herself.

Of course the household goes after her, not because they don’t trust Kana, because they legitimately want to help. And it’s a good thing they do, because even though “Master Thief Hatena” is able to hold her own against Mariah at first, as soon as her aunt deploys a pair of magic FLCL robots, Kana is captured.

Now, it’s Makoto to the rescue. From the safety of a towering shipping container, he puts on a little magic show that is as helpful as it is entertaining. One of his very first tricks releases Kana from bondage, so their newly minted team can fight Mariah together. As soon as they retrieve Maeve’s crest, Auntie makes a very slow getaway, leaving the victors with a stern warning. As long as they have artifacts, the family will be coming for them!

 

Our Take

Kokomi really needs to have words with whatever staffing company her family uses. The girl comes from one of Japan’s richest, most influential families that for whatever reason is incapable of preventing spies from gaining access to one of their most sensitive positions. I could understand if a mole cajoled their way into the mailroom, but Mariah managed to get hired as Kokomi’s personal bodyguard. What an utter lack in vetting, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, Kikyoin family.

That being said, I was—kind of—wrong about Kokomi. But in another more rewarding way, I was right. Our green-haired vixen didn’t become a preliminary antagonist like I thought. In fact, she behaved like a rather sincere friend before shit hit the fan. Outside of her desperate need to possess an artifact, she’s stalwart and relatively reliable.

Let’s all shed a collective tear over Makoto being bullied. The poor kid didn’t need that. He already had strange magicians dressing him up in girly kimonos, and there’s only so much a child can take. We did, however, get an insight into his strength. Nobody deserves to be bullied, but it’s empowering to see a lad like Makoto turn his tragic past into a positive motivational tool.

I’m glad we got rid of Kana’s irrational fear of boys within the first three episodes. Considering her strength—inside and out—such a phobia didn’t work for her character. It’s nice to know it all stemmed from embarrassment and disappointment—two actual teenage millstones that are far more relatable. I reckon we’re going to see Kana mature a lot over the next ten episodes, leaving us very little time for unnecessary roadblocks.

And just like that, our world has opened exponentially. In the previous episode we were introduced to the idea of Maeve’s evil and opportunistic family. However, for all intents and purposes we felt safe tucked away in Japan while they ruled tyrannically in another country. But with the introduction of Mariah, that threat now has a face that’s incredibly real and getting closer all the time.