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The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 4 – Quick Summary
In The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 4, “Double Seven Part IV,” Takuma Shippou fumed about the fusion plant demonstration from the previous episode. He assumed that the Saegusa family had staged it to make themselves look good. He even confronted Kasumi Saegusa about it and attempted to force a dual in broad daylight. Bad move. They got caught, but Takuma demanded satisfaction. What’s it going to take to adjust this young man’s attitude? Is it even possible? And what’s that about Takuma calling Tatsuya Shiba a weed?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 4
This is Takuma displaying grace under pressure. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
This episode could have been titled “Takuma Shippou Learns an Important Life Lesson.” Because, good heavens, the guy got educated. Deserved it, too.
It started with him picking a fight with Kasumi. Takuma accused her of using her native hotness to seduce Tatsuya. That’s hilarious – dude’s not susceptible to that sort of thing. Even if he was, we know that Kasumi didn’t seduce Tatsuya because she’s not encased in ice. Miyuki Shiba would have frozen her solid the instant she learned of such goings on.
But that didn’t stop Takuma. So, they dueled, and Tatsuya officiated. Takuma almost held his own until Kasumi and her sister Izumi Saegusa got serious. Pushed into a corner, Takuma had to use a lethal technique. Tatsuya put an end to the match.
Of course, Takuma complained. That’s kinda his thing. He explained exactly what his technique would do. At that point I’m thinking, “Dude, that’s a confession!”
Tatsuya seemed to agree, saying (10:47), “I other words, if I hadn’t intervened, those millions of ignited paper fragments would’ve gored through the twins. Is that your argument?”
I like Tatsuya’s ability to cut through the BS to get to the heart of the matter.
Favorite Moment from The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 4
Takuma got his attitude adjusted. By professionals. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: A Surprising Punch in the Face
There’s another after-credits scene (starting around 22:11). It again featured Maya Yotsuba, who is awesome in many ways. One of those ways is that she’s under no illusions about her ability to go head-to-head with Tatsuya. At the same time, she doesn’t see him as an enemy. She sees him as a family asset. Which is a good thing, as far as the hierarchy of things goes in this universe.
Which resembles our world quite a lot in that regard. Annnnd now I’m depressed.
Pushing on, my favorite moment gives us a moment of perspective. It’s not coincidentally the moment that Takuma learned a valuable life lesson in scale.
It started just after my favorite quote. Takuma reached to Tatsuya’s concise summary by calling Tatsuya a weed, which was a derogatory term I thought we’d seen the last of back in season 1. Now, there’s almost zero chance Tatsuya would react, primarily because he didn’t care what Takuma thought. But someone else was there. Someone who did care, and care very much. Someone I thought would react.
Takuma called Tatsuya a weed in front of Miyuki.
Miyuki’s expression proves that Takuma was lucky that Hagane punched him in the face. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
That’s why, when the fist collided with Takuma’s face, I thought Miyuki threw the punch. But she didn’t! It was another character we had met back in the first episode of this season: Hagane Tomitsuka. I don’t know much about him, except that he’s supposedly very, very powerful at contact magic.
Hagane had gotten sick of Takuma’s mouth and attitude. So, he challenged Takuma to a duel to put him in his place. Which Hagane did handily. But Hagane wasn’t done. This guy seems to think in terms of community – he wants to help everyone around him succeed, and that includes Takuma. By his own strength, Hagane had demonstrated to Takuma that Takuma wasn’t as strong as he thought. But that wasn’t all Takuma needed to learn. He tried to enlist Tatsuya’s help administering the lesson.
Delivery: Lighting on the Mountain Tops
Tatsuya wasn’t sure. “I’m struggling a bit to connect the dots here,” he said (14:44). Tatsuya cared so little about being called a weed that he didn’t get the point. Miyuki, however, understood clearly, and she convinced Tatsuya to duel Hagane.
The fight was everything I wanted from this show’s actions scenes: well choreographed attacks and defenses; use of magic consistent with the story’s world and mechanics; and comments from the crowd that boosted the reputations of both Tatsuya and Hagane. The two went after each other hard. That alone qualified the moment for consideration.
Turns out that Tatsuya is even more impressive against a skilled opponent. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
But the cool part? Takuma’s reaction to the fight (16:01). It wasn’t that he had merely underestimated Tatsuya, and therefore Hagane and anyone else on that level. It’s that he had not imagined power and application on that level. The fight was simply beyond him. The realization crushed his ego.
I like seeing arrogant characters taken down a peg. This moment achieved that. Takuma now realized just where his skill was, compared to Tatsuya and Hagane. In learning that, he could finally begin to develop.
Kasumi going to him at the end and offering him sincere words of advice? Very cool as well! I’m not sure if she did so just because she has a kind heart under that fierce exterior, or if she saw Takuma as more useful to the Saegusa family if she established a positive relationship with him. As a Saegusa, I could see both reasons playing a part.
What did you think of Tatsuya fighting an airship at the beginning of the episode? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 4: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Season 3 • The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 – Episode 4 discussion
- TzUwU: CHARISMATIC KING TATSUYA👀 | The Irregular at Magic High School Episode 4 REACTION (YouTube)
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 1: Double Seven Part I
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 2: Double Seven Part II
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 3: Double Seven Part III
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 4: Double Seven Part IV
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 5: Steeplechase Part I
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 6: Steeplechase Part II
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 7: Steeplechase Part III
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 8: Steeplechase Part IV
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 9: Ancient City of Insurrection Part I
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 10: Ancient City of Insurrection Part II
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 11: Ancient City of Insurrection Part III
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 12: Ancient City of Insurrection Part IV
- The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3 Episode 13: Ancient City of Insurrection Part V
