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The Honor at Magic High School Episode 4 Review – Quick Summary
In The Honor at Magic High School Episode 4, “Friends,” Miyuki Shiba grew increasingly concerned that her friends Honoka Mitsui, Shizuku Kitayama, and Eimi Akechi seemed to be up to something. Why were they excluding her? Later, her brother Tatsuya Shiba shocked the heck out of Mayumi Saegusa when he casually asked her about the terrorist group Blanche. She had not known that he knew about them! Mayumi decided to bring him into the conversation about their counter-measures, seeing he knew as much as she did about them. After school, Honoka, Shizuku, and Eimi trailed Kinoe Tsukasa, knowing he had tried to attack Tatsuya earlier. Their good intentions could not protect them from what happened next.
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Honor at Magic High School Episode 4
Eimi, Honoka, and Shizuku sure enjoyed the chase. Capture from the Funimation stream.
I like how this series shows the kids being kids. Putting aside Mayumi, who’s a member of the Ten Master Clans, and Tatsuya and Miyuki, who are basically strategic weapons, most of the students are just kids getting into high school. That means they’re not only coming to terms with their powers, but they’re forming friendships that could help or hider them for the rest of their lives.
And the blissfully have no idea what they’re getting into. Their breathless optimism is proof of that.
My favorite quote happened as Honoka, Shizuku, and Eimi thought they were secretly tailing Kinoe. Of course, the latter knew what they were doing. In fact, he orchestrated it. But the three young women detectives didn’t know that.
Eimi almost seemed high on their friendship and the excitement of the chase when she said (11:47), “The three of us may have been born on different days…”
Honoka, herself over-excited, added, “But we’ll be together in death!”
I loved Shizuku’s response: “No, that’s not right.”
It’s too bad that reality planned to crash their euphoria.
Best in Show Moment for The Honor at Magic High School Episode 4
Shizuku not only saw what Miyuki had done. She understood what it meant. Capture from the Funimation stream.
Setup: Youthful Spirit Encounters Harsh Reality
I’m having a lot of fun seeing the main events of the original series through the eyes of Miyuki and Honoka. In many cases, it humanizes what happened. With Tatsuya as the point of view character in the original series, some of the scene felt emotionally distant (though still cool), since he is pretty much emotionless except when it came to Miyuki. That’s not a bad thing at all. In fact, it’s part of why I liked the original series. But this show expands what we know of those events.
I will say this: I don’t think I’d have a positive opinion of this show if this were my first exposure to it. It breezes past major developments to give us a look at what happened behind the scenes.
That said, this episode setup a confrontation that made me feel more fear for the safety of the characters than I ever felt in the original series. Honoka, Shizuku, and Eimi followed Kinoe, which, it turns out, is exactly what he wanted them to do. He led them right into a Blanche ambush. As the motorcycles and their black-leather-clad, black-visored riders circled the three young women, I had a real sense of concern. Rationally, that doesn’t make sense. I know they survived into the second arc of the original series and beyond! Still, the scene effectively sold that they were in danger.
This could be a serious problem… Capture from the Funimation stream.
Shizuku created a diversion and they tried to make a run for it. Eimi even used what looked like a small tornado as a hammer, which incapacitated two of the attackers. But that just angered the others, one of which used an Antinite ring to broadcast Cast Jamming at them. It prevented all three from casting any magic.
Delivery: Shizuku’s Reaction Sells It
The original series occasionally let us see Miyuki cut loose. For example, there was one time she taught the members of Blanche what happened to anyone who raised a hand against her brother within her sight. That was in episode 7. One of the doomed bad guys seemed shocked she could use Nilfheim. We didn’t get a sense for how powerful it was supposed to be, compared to other magicians. We just got an idea it was surprising. This episode showed us how surprising it really was.
As Honoka, Shizuku, and Eimi lay helpless, the Blanche members, spouting their fanatical slogans, advanced. The knives they held signaled their intent. But then Miyuki walked onto the scene. Just walked. She didn’t run, she didn’t try to hide, she just walked up and froze their blades.
She was a level of pissed off I’ve seen her reserve only for her brother. By that, I mean she was seriously pissed off. Blanche, furious that she would interfere, disbelieving that she could operate despite their Cast Jamming, hit her with the spell at full power. It did absolutely nothing. She showed her disdain for them by knocking them all unconscious.
One moment, she’s knocking out a whole gang of bad guys with steely efficiency. The next, she’d helping her friends up with a smile. Capture from the Funimation stream.
Honoka and Eimi were overjoyed to be rescued. There was a nicely emotional moment where they confessed they kept Miyuki out of the loop to protect her from worry. Of course, Miyuki was ecstatic that she had such close friends. As they walked back, Honoka and Eimi gushed about how powerful Miyuki had been and how Cast Jamming didn’t touch her.
Shizuku, though, was more thoughtful. “She really was unbelievable,” Shizuku said (16:44). In a quiet voice, she added, “Like a member of the Ten Master Clans.”
That’s the kind of detail I missed in the original series. How powerful is Miyuki, compared to others? She’s that powerful. And Shizuku knows it.
What did you think of Tatsuya casually telling Mayumi he knew about Blanche? What were your favorites parts of this episode? Let me know in the comments!
The Honor at Magic High School Episode 4: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei – Episode 4 discussion
- 100 Word Anime: Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei Episode 4 Impressions – A Sudden Terrorist Plot
- The Anime Rambler – By Benigmatica: Mahouka Koukou no Yuutousei Episode #04
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 1: I’ll Cherish This for the Rest of My Life
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 2: May I join you?
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 3: The Girls’ Detective Club is here!
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 4: Friends
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5: I won’t let anyone interfere
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 6: The Nine Schools Competition Begins
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 7: Arithmetic Chain
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 8: Hell of Ice and Flames
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 9: Because You Were by My Side
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 10: I Don’t Want to Lose
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 11: Brother, good luck
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 12: I will fly!
- The Honor at Magic High School Episode 13: I can’t lose
