The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5 Review - Best In Show

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The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5 Review – Quick Summary

In The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5, “I won’t let anyone interfere,” the terrorist group Blanche launched an all-out attack on First High School. They expected to terrify the students into submission. Instead, they provoked a very different reaction. Honoka Mitsui, Shizuku Kitayama, and Eimi Akechi tasted combat for the first time — can you guess which one adapted the fastest? Meanwhile, Tatsuya Shiba and Miyuki Shiba took the fight to the enemy. It was all fun and games until one of them tried to stab Tatsuya in the back. Any bets on how Miyuki reacted?

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

Favorite Quote from The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5

The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5: Miyuki can't tolerate a threat to Tatsuya

It’s one thing to feel out of place because you can’t afford the right shoes. It’s quite another to feel out of place because you could destroy the school and surrounding city… Capture from the Funimation stream.

We Know How Powerful Miyuki Is

Having watched the original series, The Irregular at Magic High School, and after having reviewed The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc, I’m familiar with the idea that in terms of raw power, Miyuki is an absolute monster of a magic user. In episode 4 of Visitor Arc, Angelina Kudou-Shields made the really bad decision to threaten Tatsuya in front of Miyuki. Miyuki took the challenge instead. After Tatsuya released Miyuki’s limiter and the two fought, Tatsuya realized he might have made a mistake: Miyuki wasn’t backing down, and her power threatened to destroy the surrounding landscape — maybe even threaten the city.

That idea is nothing new. I’m used to it. On the other hand, I never really asked myself how Miyuki would feel about having that level of power. I mentioned in previous reviews of this series how I like that it lets these kids be kids. They’re just starting high school, after all. Well, in this episode, just for a couple of moments, Miyuki got to be a kid. And it kind of hurt.

Miyuki Knows She is Different

As she used Nilfheim to flash-freeze the terrorists, one of them called her a monster.

She got this far-away expression. The insult itself didn’t hurt her. I don’t think she cared what that terrorist thought. But the idea that she was so drastically different from others seemed to have been eating at her.

“I suppose you wouldn’t understand how it feels to have been given such devastating power that you’re feared as a monster,” she said (13:39).

I’d not thought about her perspective. If I had thought about it, I would have said that powerful characters enjoy being powerful. The idea that a new high school student, wanting to fit in with her friends and wanting to enjoy high school life, would feel alienated and even reviled for that power is new. I like the idea, even as I feel sympathy for Miyuki.

Best in Show Moment for The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5

The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5: Did Miyuki feel guilty for losing her temper?

Miyuki feels guilty for killing a room full of men! That’s commendable… Oh, wait… Capture from the Funimation stream.

Setup: With Great Power…

You’re probably going to have to check my math on this. This series is one of the leading contenders for the “Show Don’t Tell” awards. I like that approach, but there are times I wouldn’t mind a hint, you know?

In this case, I think my favorite moment builds on the apprehension that Miyuki feels for being so powerful. It starts with the scene that featured my favorite quote of the episode. I couldn’t be sure in the original series, but when I watched her freeze that room full of terrorists, it suddenly struck me. Nilfheim is the magical equivalent of liquid nitrogen. Miyuki had turned those terrorists into perfectly preserved, cryogenically frozen corpses, hadn’t she? Doesn’t that mean she just killed a room full of people, terrorists or not?

The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5: Miyuki felt bad for hurting Tatsuya, even if it was indirectly

Now I’m wondering, what really upset her? Capture from the Funimation stream.

They had threatened Tatsuya. That’s one of the things that immediately sets Miyuki off. But to go from sweet, gentle brocon to massacring a room full of people? I’m convinced she didn’t commit murder. She was in a combat situation; she killed combatants. They had raised weapons against her and Tatsuya, and even after being disarmed, one tried to stab Tatsuya in the back.

Still. Killing that many people with a gesture is a weighty thing. And that’s putting aside the conversation we should have about her responsibility as a strategic weapon engaging infantry. Was she obligated to use less-lethal means because she could have? I’m not sure. But that’s not what I’m interested in at this point.

Delivery: How Much Does Absolute Power Corrupt?

Toward the end of the episode, Miyuki’s lying in bed, and she’s on the verge of tears. Sidenote: I think I have another scene for Irina at I Drink and Watch Anime to use as an example in her post, “Nuancing my Views on Fanservice.” It really is difficult to focus on matters of theme when Miyuki’s wearing a skirt like that. I’m just sayin’.

Miyuki clearly feels distraught. It’s because she realized she lost her temper and butchered a room full of people, right? Well, at first, that’s how it looked. She remembered medics wheeling out the men she’d flash-frozen, so I thought, “Wow. Her conscience is bothering her! That’s an interesting character moment!”

But no. That’s not why she felt upset. She realized that Tatsuya had had to use his Eidos ability to bring them back to life.

The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5: Tatsuya knew how Miyuki would react.

At the site of the battle, Tatsuya told her she had nothing to feel bad about. He knew what she felt. Capture from the Funimation stream.

“I’m so sorry,” she said through her tears (16:49). She’s so sorry for Tatsuya! Screw those dead guys; she felt upset that she’d put her brother through agony.

Her power didn’t just made her feel isolated from her fellow magicians. That power has given her a completely different perspective on morality. I don’t think she felt any remorse for killing the members of Blanche. Yet, in almost the same thought, she felt devastated that she had put her brother in a position where he had to relive their agony.

Do I think less of her? Absolutely not. But I do think it makes her an even more interesting character.

What did you think of the compressed version of the Blanche attack? What were your favorite moments in this episode? Please feel free to let me know in the comments below!

The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5 Review – Best In Show

The Honor at Magic High School Episode 5 Review – Quick Summary