So I'm not just franxxing with myself...
Renkin 3-kyū Magical? Pokān Episodes 1-6 (rewatch)
MagiPoka occupies a similar space to other more ridiculous SoL comedies of the '00s like Azumanga Daioh and Strawberry Marshmallow, but does so in a very unique way because not only are our girls all supernatural in nature (a witch, a vampire, a werewolf and an android) but there is also a complete lack of any kind of straight-man or mentor characters usually present in such shows. As a result, our four fish out of water heroines(?) are just dumped unceremoniously into modern day Japan with only the vaguest (and often completely misjudged) concept of how anything works.
From the postal service to the shopping channel to blood donation and bathhouses, the MagiPoka girls misunderstand it all, usually egging each other on to even greater heights of stupidity. Hilarity ensures as they go on to do often deeply inappropriate (and on occasion lewd) things, but nine times out of ten such moments are played for laughs rather than titillation. Not only is it one of the funniest anime I have ever seen, it may even be one of the funniest things I've ever seen full stop. How it has such a low rating on MAL and has still, even
fifteen years on,
never been picked up for English language distribution I will never know (it seems like a no-brainer at least for some streaming service or other) but then perhaps my idea of comedy isn't everyone's.
As for the girls themselves, they're all adorable and pathetic in their own ways and I can't really help but love them all. Uma's unrelenting optimism in the face of her constant failure. Pachira's paper-thin veneer of narcissism over her crippling insecurity. Liru's laid-back coolness when her werewolf form... is anything but threatening. Aiko, whose sweetness would probably lead me to find her the most boring in any other show, manages to still be hilarious due to the fact she is
actively excited by incredibly dull things (which is more than a little Kryten-like, probably no accident then that a minor character wearing a Red Dwarf t-shirt appears in the show's very first scene).
I'd feel bad recommending that people pirate any show, but even the Japanese DVD release of MagiPoka appears to be OOP. So not only is there no English release but there is now literally no way to monetarily support the creators short of mailing them a cheque. But any time in the past ten years since I first watched it, or in the next ten years, I would still gladly (have) pay(ed) for an official release, and I feel like by denying myself MagiPoka I would have missed out on something special.
