Ever since that day, my life has been a living hell.
What They Say:
Aya Asagiri lives a life of torture. Bullied by her peers and physically abused by her brother, she contemplates suicide as a means of escapism. One particularly harsh night, her laptop abruptly turns on and beckons her toward it. There, a website known simply as the 'Mahou Shoujo Site' offers her a chance to sculpt her own fate with the help of a stick that will grant her powers. But will something as simple as a magic wand truly be enough to save her from a life not worth living?
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
In my last review, I did a bit of complaining about the sporadic release schedule of this series but, based on the last two weeks, I think it's safe to assume that each episode going forward should be up by Friday. That being said, I'm glad to finally have an at least slightly-predictable calendar date for Mahou Shoujo Site because, despite its flaws, I actually really like it. I'm not sure if I've done the best job at illustrating that given just how 'off the rails' it is, but I really do- and this week's episode doesn't change that at all. It doesn't exactly live up to episode three, but I'd go as far as saying its the second best out of the four so far.
The end of last week's installment made it pretty apparent that Sarina was going to be a much bigger character going forward. This week drives that home in full force as we explore both her background and Yatsumura's. Surprisingly enough, Sarina wasn't always a bad guy. In fact, when Aya transferred into her current school, Sarina was the only one who really acknowledged her existence, to begin with. She went as far as deterring other people from bullying her and left plenty of opportunities for Aya to assimilate. However, Aya's timid persona soon proved to be quite annoying to the redhead- especially considering that Sarina was never even thanked for any of the things she did. Imagine you went out on a limb and stood up in the face of adversity for someone only to have them completely blow you off in return. You'd hate it, right? Okay, maybe you wouldn't hate it enough to shove a box cutter down their throat, but you get the point.
Yatsumura, on the other hand, has a slightly more disturbing childhood than anyone else so far. As hinted at in episode two (If I'm remembering correctly), her parents were brutally murdered in the middle of the night when she was younger. This week, we find out that the killer intentionally left Yatsumura alive so that one day, he could come back and have his way with her. Well, unfortunately for him, she had gained some neat new abilities by the time that happened. With revenge being her only motivation to carry on living, she decides that it is in her best interest to wire him to some weird medieval torture device that keeps him alive (Pretty solid revenge if you ask me). But when she collapses and misses school one day, Aya comes over and discovers this weird fetish of hers. Okay, maybe fetish isn't the right word, but I'm not really sure what else to call a half-naked dude tied to a rack.
In other news, Nijimin has transferred into Aya's school. Hooray! If this were last week, I'd go ahead and say that this means we'll be seeing more of best-girl...but honestly, now that Sarina has grown a snaggletooth and become even crazier than before, I'm not really sure if that would be entirely accurate anymore. That being said, I'm happy to see how lively Aya's class has gotten and, now that Nijimin is in full revenge-mode, I can't imagine the energy level dying down at all. Oh, and also, Aya's brother has gotten increasingly weirder and angrier so I can't imagine his next meeting with anyone being all that pleasant either.
In Summary:
At the end of the day, Mahou Shoujo Site is just as crazy as it's been since the pilot. The reintroduction of Sarina as the new antagonist is fitting and interesting, given that we now know some of her background. And even though a slight cloud of mystery still looms over each girl, their interactions with one another continue to create a remarkably unique and gritty experience filled with plenty of disturbing imagery. Oh, and we also learn that the weird shadow girl is named Nana and this does not detract from her creepiness whatsoever. In fact, Nana is even creepier than normal this episode. Have fun!
Episode Grade: B
Streamed By: Prime Video
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