Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9: Tamara brought her A game
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Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9 Review: An Impractical General and the Assault Begins

Quick Summary of Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9

In Magical Girl Spec-Ops Askuka episode 9, “The Lid of Hell,” Yoshiaki Iizuka has to recall Asuka Ootorii and Kurumi Mugen from their field trip, but he had a good reason: They have to provide security for Spirit World representative conference. They meet Mia Cyrus and Tamara Volkova, two fellow Magical Girls, and Asuka’s reaction surprised all of them — except maybe Kurumi. The Spiritual World’s General arrives and gives Asuka a greeting that was both smothering and wildly inappropriate, much to Mia’s amusement. Just who is this General Tabira, and why is she so affectionate to Asuka? Meanwhile, at a location near the meeting site, Giess and Chisato Yonamine gather their Disas forces and begin an attack. Is their target really the meeting itself — or something else?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious. 

What’s in This Post

3 Favorite Moments in Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9

Moment 1: Asuka’s Happy Moment

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9: Asuka wasn't prepared for happy

Staying stoic in the face of adversity? That’s easy! Staying stoic in the face of happiness or joy? Now, that’s hard! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

Have you ever had to endure something difficult for years and years? If so, have you noticed that it becomes easy to maintain your composure in the face of that adversity, but the slightest kindness or unexpected delight can bring you to tears? Resignation followed by an unexpected hope can do that!

I thought about that when Kurumi and Asuka met Mia and Tamara for the first time in years (3:40). Kurumi and Asuka enter the room, and Kurumi starts talking to her old friends. Mia’s her chipper self, and Tamara nods a solemn welcome. Asuka, though, is frozen in the doorway. She surprises everyone, herself included, when tears begin streaming down her face. She tries to explain herself by saying that after the war, they returned to their home countries, and it probably can’t be the way it was before. “But we all survived that awful war together,” she said (4:11). “So I’m happy to see you all again.”

We’ve seem just how powerful Asuka is (and she’s very powerful); we’ve seen what she can withstand. Seeing that the sight of her friends bring tears to her eyes was a touching moment. Bonus points for Mia feeling so embarrassed that she had to look away.

Moment 2: Tamara Does What She Has To

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9: Tamara has an enormous stuffed bear

There’s something heart-warming about Tamara relying on a huge cute stuffed animal to help her get through the day. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

You’re probably going to get the wrong idea about why I like the next scene, and truth be told, I don’t blame you. But bear with me here. It’s the night before negotiations with the Spirit World are supposed to start. Asuka’s crashed on her bed, and she’s texting with Nozomi Makino (6:33). Pretty much what you’d expect from Asuka.

The scene switches to Tamara’s room. She appears to be her usual reserved self. That is, until she leaps on top of the gigantic stuffed animal taking up most of her bed and gives it a big squeeze (7:18). Overcome with emotion, she marveled at how cute Asuka was when she had cried at their meeting. The little mouse-type magical creature treated us to a bit of Magical Girl trivia, namely that Tamara loved cute things (as if that weren’t clear from the scene!).

Now, here’s where I’m pretty sure the misunderstanding will come in. I liked the scene because it gave us insight into Tamara’s coping mechanism: hugging cute things helps her relax and get to sleep. That’s how she deals with the war’s emotional aftermath. I thought that was a remarkably healthy coping mechanism. It’s much better than drinking alcohol (self-medication) or something like that! I didn’t like this moment because of how ridiculously cute Tamara looks in stripes. Seriously. It was the coping mechanism! 

Moment 3: Realistic Military Operations

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9: Mia was ready to fight

Mia seems pretty happy about her extrajudicial authorities! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

When I chose this series to review, the “Spec-Ops” in the title encouraged certain expectations, namely that we’d get some realistic (or at least seemingly realistic) military operations. In this episode, we got just that.

The first example was Giess kicking off his attack (12:23). He used the four-winged flying creature as his sighter. He had Cenobite-class Disas with the ability to hurl magic long distance as his artillery. Not only that, he even performed test firings before starting the full bombardment. That was all very cool! It’s exactly the kind of tactic I’d expect in that situation.

But do you know what really struck me? Our heroes are trying to decide how to respond when a messenger whispers to one of the high-ranking officers (15:53). Apparently, the Japanese Cabinet had decided that, under the Response to Magic-Related Incidents Act, the military could now respond “with all we’ve got.” Also cool? Mia mentioning that “Magical Girls have extrajudicial authorization to fight Disas” (17:37). It’s a little thing, but it’s civilized. It shows that the rule of law is still important. In fact, that might be one of the most hopeful things I’ve seen in this series so far! 

Thoughts about Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9

Look Up, JSDF!

I’m a little surprised the JSDF didn’t notice the four-winged Disas flying surveillance over their camp. You’d think that they’d be on the lookout for that sort of thing!

I still think the bridge to the Spirit World looks like the titular Stargate from Stargate SG-1. 

Confession time: Writing the Thoughts section for my review of episode 8 was hard. I went through more revisions and rewrites than any other review I’ve published. I knew what I wanted to say. I knew my perspective. What I didn’t know what how to set the context to get the ideas across.

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9: That's a gid Dias

I’m a little surprised our heroes didn’t see this thing flying above their base. It doesn’t exactly blend in! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

Two things changed since I posted that review.

First, I read reactions to episode 8. They were all over the place, which I’ve learned to expect for this show. But among the opinions I’ve come to think of as disapproving or negative, a theme appeared: the show’s presentation of brutality in one scene and frolicking girls in bikinis in the next seem discordant. It was either callous, absurd, or a combination of the two. It was too much!

Discordant or Realistic?

Second, Ospreyshire from OSPREYSHIRE’S REALM left a comment on my review of episode 8. That comment gave me the key I needed. It mentioned “I do like it when media realistically uses the concept of the cycle of violence. It’s a rarity in American media on so many levels.”

Because of my background and training, the first question I asked myself when I see something is “Is this true?” In the case of fiction, the question is “Is this realistic?” The question of how I feel about something — about the reaction it provokes in me — is completely separate and secondary. When I watched episode 8’s contrasts, I asked myself, “Is this realistic? Does reality match this kind of thing?” My answer was yes, it does, and I had facts to back it up. 

Did I like what Giess had to do in order to survive? Good God, no! But in the context of this story, it not only made perfect sense: it was a complete thematic fit. On one hand, the show is making a point about how both sides use similar tactics (e.g., Abigail torturing Nozomi and the seemingly parallel example of Kurumi torturing Nazani). On the other, the series is drawing clear distinctions on how the two sides treat one another and the general public. They both might do terrible things (like torture) to their enemies, but only one side targets civilians. 

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9: Only one side of the conflict targets civilians

Only one side of this conflict targets civilians. That’s a huge difference in tactics. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

Contrast Depends on Your Perspective

When I watched episode 8, I noticed that there was a gulf between Kurumi torturing Nazani and Asuka having fun with her friends on the beach. But you know what? That’s not in the least bit discordant. That’s the world we live in! Worse, it’s the world we see on cable news or via social media all the time. We see a scene of genocide; scroll down, we see a kid’s birthday party. Scroll down again, we see an advertisement for lingerie. And so on. 

If anything, in showing just two points on the continuum of taste, this series was tame compared to real life.

I think it’s clear that Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka isn’t for everyone. It makes no attempt to sugar-coat or otherwise hide the mirror it holds up to the more terrible aspects of our world. Im not sure, though, that getting mad at the show for being realistic is the right reaction. I wonder if it makes more sense to direct any outrage to the underlying realities? It’d be great if I could object to Asuka’s story because its violence was unrealistic. 

Because right now? It’s pretty much spot on. Or maybe even a bit naive.

What did you think of the military tactics in this episode? What were your favorite moments? Let me know in the comments!

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5 thoughts on “Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka Episode 9 Review: An Impractical General and the Assault Begins

  1. I had to laugh at seeing General Tabira so lovey-dovey with Auska. I remember a friend telling me about her aunt who would do the same thing,. The less said abouit the thong bikinis she brought back from her vacation in Rio for my friend’s 16th birhday, the better.

    The back story was that her aunt was her mom’s oldest sister, who never had children of her own and had never married. She loved children, especially the daughters of her sisters, and showed it by being overly affectionate with them. My friend’s mother advised her to endure it. because that’s just how Aunt Margaret was. The same went for the wildly inappropriate gifts. But Aunt Margaret supported her fully, encouraging her to reach for her dreams, introducing her to people in her dream field of work, effortlessly moving obstacles aside for her, finding her opportunities, and gifting her with things and experiences that helped get her started in the field.

    When Aunt Margaret passed away, my friend recieved a large portion of her estate, including a large number of investments, treasured items from her travels, her condo in New York, and a final letter that expressed all of her love and care, hoping she had helped my friend reach for her dreams.

    General Tabira reminded me of what my friend said of her Aunt Margaret. It appears to me that the General regards the Magical Girls as her own daughters.

    1. “But Aunt Margaret supported her fully, encouraging her to reach for her dreams, introducing her to people in her dream field of work, effortlessly moving obstacles aside for her, finding her opportunities, and gifting her with things and experiences that helped get her started in the field.”

      That’s amazing! Kinda inspiring, too. Makes me wonder if I missed some opportunities as an uncle!

      “and a final letter that expressed all of her love and care, hoping she had helped my friend reach for her dreams.”

      That’s also amazing. That had to be so inspiring for your friend!

      “It appears to me that the General regards the Magical Girls as her own daughters.”

      You know, I think you’re right. I got the sense she really cared about them, even if she kinda went over the top showing it! You could even see that the Magical Girls, while they weren’t thrilled about it, still cared about her, too. Just look at how Asuka reacted when it looked like Giess had killed General Tabira!

  2. The military tactics seems just a bit off… Where is the defender’s Quick Reaction Force? You’ve got a VVVIP present, and nobody was on a hair trigger? Nobody started deploying until they were actually under attack?

    Ditto the Magical Girls – if they’ve got unlimited authority to intervene, why didn’t they just GET GOING rather than standing around jawing?

    Back when I was in the Navy and worked with can neither-confirm-nor-deny, we were more ready on an average Saturday than these troops were in a high alert situation.

    1. “The military tactics seems just a bit off… Where is the defender’s Quick Reaction Force? You’ve got a VVVIP present, and nobody was on a hair trigger? Nobody started deploying until they were actually under attack?”

      In all honesty, I did notice that! I wanted to call attention to (what looked to me like) the enemy’s well-constructed attack.

      To your point, there was a four winged bird flying low — surely someone who would have seen it!

      “why didn’t they just GET GOING rather than standing around jawing?”

      Not sure it that was a character moment — showing they are different from Abigail, for example — or what. I interpreted it as they wanted to defer to the chain of command. But I don’t have any concrete evidence to back that up!

      “Back when I was in the Navy and worked with can neither-confirm-nor-deny, we were more ready on an average Saturday than these troops were in a high alert situation.”

      Let’s hope they redeem themselves in the next episode. Better late than never?

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