Common Name: Magic-Kyun! Renaissance
Alternative Names: Maji-Kyun! Renaissance
Score: 7/10, 5/5
Length: 13 episodes
Genre: Romance, Music, Magic
Summary: To those who don't have the talent for it, truly great artists might look like they're some kind of magician. So, it's not a far cry to believe in a world where particularly talented people work literal magic when they're working at their art, hence the name Magical Arts. To follow in her mother's footsteps and master the art of flower arrangement Aigasaki Kohana has transferred to Hoshinomori Private Magical Arts High School for Artistas, people who can use the Magical Arts. Upon her arrival, she learns quickly that she has a lot to live up to given her mother's reputation. Now she must assemble the committee members for the Hoshinomori Summer Festa and make sure this yearly event goes off without a hitch. It'll be a difficult task to be sure.
Review: Huh, now that I've gotten through it, I honestly don't think I've watched a single otome anime between this one and Ouran High School Host Club, and I think that's just short of a 10 year gap. To anyone unfamiliar with the term, otome is the general term for dating sims intended for women which feature one woman (played by you) being romanced by several different men. Unlike their male-centered harem counterparts, otome anime and games usually feature much more deep and emotional plots. Unfortunately, these kinds of titles are usually held back be the fact that each guy needs to fit a particular profile so that it can be marketed to any girl. It's, in fact, very rare to see these characters break from their stereotypes, but it does happen occasionally.
But that doesn't happen in this show.
To be clear, the show is hardly ruined by this fact. It just means that it didn't have the drive or interest to be something great. It stuck to it's guns and told an interesting story full of hot and/or pretty dudes. I can hardly call that a fault.
Moving forward though, Magic-Kyun! Renaissance is a fun and interesting series, even for a guy like me who is hardly part of the target audience. It's a story told from the perspective of Aigasaki Kohana as she works to find her place in the world so she can become an artist in her own right. In other words, it's a story pretty much anyone can relate to or at least understand. Following in her mother's footsteps comes with some complications though. For starters, her mother was basically queen of the school when she went to Hoshinomori. Not to mention that simply being an Aigasaki means that she's the instant rival of the school's family of kings, the Ichijouji Family. Also, since he mother did it too, she's been picked for the year's Summer Festa committee along with the youngest son of the Ichijouji family. And last, but not least, none of the other committee members have any interest in showing up to the meetings for a variety of reasons.
So in the span of a month or two she needs to: A) actually become an artista in her own right, B) figure out a way to work with a guy who was raised to hate her family, C) assemble the other committee members, D) put together a great Summer Festa. Yeah, that sounds totally reasonable, but since this is based on a dating sim it totally happens because she's magically capable of helping people solve their personal hangups and is cute as a button too.
Seriously, she's like a god depressed artists pray to for salvation.
To be fair though, she does tackle their issues by also solving her own hangups like needing to live up her mother's legacy, being good enough to be at Hoshinomori, and stressing about her impossible schedule. You know, the usual problems for a high school student. If that's the best sarcastic complaint I can level at this show though, I have to say it did a pretty great job. The characters, while stereotypical are at least likable and charming in their own ways. Kohana, while not exactly a shining example of female power, isn't the standard blank slate of a character you'd expect from a dating sim anime. It's just kind of a cute and fun romance that lacks romantic closure, but that's just a necessary standard so that you don't piss off the fan base. The show told the story it wanted and then some and left with a fairly graceful bow. So, to summarize, it's pretty much exactly what I expected and hardly ever broke the mold, but I still found it highly entertaining and consider it well worth the time.