What’s worse than being home alone only to have relatives pay a visit? Being alone, only to be coerced by a magical creature into visiting another realm. In Episode 3 of Gushing Over Magical Girls, Utena finally visits the organization to which she’s essentially enslaved. As Venalita leads Utena to Enormita’s headquarters, the ‘Nacht Base,’ Utena is temporarily taken aback by the “cool” aesthetic of the building but quickly asks to return home.
As she tries to leave Kiwi Aragawa, the girl seen perched on a building at the end of the previous episode makes herself known. She calls Utena by name, and Utena asks how she’s privy to that information. Kiwi mentioned that she had previously talked about her with Venalita. As Kiwi formally introduces herself and shakes Utena’s hand, she leaves an armed grenade in Utena’s palm. To avoid the impending implosion, Utena transforms and manages to avoid any actual harm. While agitated, it’s pleasant to see that Utena’s reserved nature is still displayed. When she questions Kiwi about her actions, she never even raises her voice.
Kiwi states that she saw Magia Baiser’s previous fight and wanted to test if what Magia Sulfur said about Utena being a master of escape is true. She further mentions that it was pitiful to see Magia Baiser get beaten, turn tail, and then smirk like a degenerate instead of returning for a rematch. Perturbed by Utena’s cowardly actions, Kiwi transforms into her magical form of Leoparde and unleashes an artillery barrage against Magia Baiser. Initially, she manages to subdue Magia Baiser and proceeds to mount and dry hump her (because we always need MORE fan service). Here, Kiwi reveals that she is fighting Tres Magia because of an overinflated sense of grandeur and narcissism. She believes she’s the cutest girl around. So, when she sees people gushing over magical girls, she perceives it as an insult to her own cuteness.
Have you ever wondered why law enforcement officials will still place wounded perpetrators in handcuffs? It’s because even a downed person can get back up once adrenaline hits them. Well, in Gushing Over Magical Girls episode 3, Leoparde learns this the hard way. Even though she’s straddling Magia Baiser, she fails to see that her crop is against a light bulb. Seeing her distraction, Magia Baiser flicks the bulb and turns the tide of the fight. The transformed light-bulb ends up trapping Leoparde just as Utena’s deviance starts to leak out. Magia Baiser admits that she doesn’t want to fight. But once she finds herself in a skirmish and sees everyone being so cute and strong, it makes her want to bully them. She also reveals that she was smiling after her last fight because “her heart was so full of joy.” She can’t help but want to make Tres Magia squirm and squeal. As she continues to rejoice over how her sexually charged escapades make her euphoric, you see the filaments of the light bulb monster start to spark in the background and the one-sided electro-play beings.
For those that are unaware, electro-play is common in BDSM culture. Here, devices such as TENS units, neon wands, and violet wands are used to either use static electricity, direct electrical charges, or bodily electrical stimulation to create arousal. The shock delivered from these ranges from what you’d expect from a static shock in freshly done laundry to outright pain. As Magia Baiser torments the trapped Leoparde, she yells with fevered excitement about how the electrical shocks must be ecstatic for Leoparde because tormenting her also excites her. Battered and overwhelmed by the electrical shocks she just went through, Leoparde falls to the ground. Magia Baiser then picks up the battered Leoparde and gently embraces her, letting her know that, at that moment, she’s the cutest girl in the world. This causes her to quickly become infatuated with Utena (validation and hearing what you want to hear makes you overlook some pretty repulsive stuff).
The next day, as Utena walks to school, she tells herself that her actions the day prior were her most extreme yet, but she has never felt better (ah, the rabbit hole). Haruka (Magic Magneta) runs into Utena and mentions that Utena is practically glowing that morning, and there’s a reason for this. Sexual gratification does, in fact, make a woman’s skin look better. Sexual stimulation makes blood vessels dilate, and this dilation allows the skin to receive more oxygen, which then hypercharges the release and creation of collagen, leading to better-looking skin.
As Gushing Over Magical Girls episode 3 progresses, Utena and Haruka walk towards school and the now-infatuated Kiwi-chan tackles Utena and reveals that she transferred schools to be close to her. We then cut to Utena, waiting for Kiwi before they spend a day out together. Kiwi mentions that Utena is her first friend, and it’s the perfect time to get to know each other better. We’re treated to a few minutes of cute girls doing cute things, and we get a glimpse into the daily lives of the two antagonists. It’s important to point out that if what Kiwi said about her lack of friends, her constant need for attention and to be the cutest could just be fueled by loneliness or a need for validation. After all, she would even upload provocative images to social media to get attention. The feelings of anger from seeing Tres Magia get more attention than her is what lead Venalita to discover her and fuels her willingness to be in Enormita.
Kiwi then forces Utena and her to transform into their magical forms so they can take a celebratory selfie, causing Tres Magia to show up. Leoparde tells Tres Magia they have no reason to be there since they are not causing any issues. Magia Sulfur rephrases Leoparde’s words as a sign of cowardliness. This provokes an altercation, causing Leoparde to engage two of the three members of Tres Magia. That leaves Magia Azure to fight against Magia Baiser. Instead of attacking, Magia Azure finds herself lost in thought, considering the deviant acts that may be used against her this time. Seeing this distraction, Magia Baiser restrains her with a flower monster and initially tries to walk away. But, upon seeing the well-endowed, big bouncing boobs of Magia Azure, she decides to stay and cop a feel, then proceeds to just slap them. But her enjoyment is short-lived, as she notices Leoparde is fairing rather unwell in her fight.
In a moment of genius, Magia Braiser transforms a Magia Azure figure she had bought earlier in the day into a double. Then, in the confusion, she escapes with Leoparde. Once their escape is assured, Leoparde laments her inability to fight and thanks Utena for saving her while apologizing for her lost figure. Utena mentions that’s irrelevant; the only important thing is that Kiwi is safe. Kiwi gushes over Utena, proving that she too can gush over magical girls when needed, and asks Utena if she would kiss her and if she’d like to head to a Love Hotel. Utena, of course, says no. But as they walk away from the battle together, Kiwi once more mentions that she’s tired and they should rest, she points out another Love Hotel while trying to drag Utena into it.
It’s refreshing to see a show that’s sticking to a single theme give a wide berth to their content. While Magia Baiser still favors flower monsters that restrain her opponents, we see how, either willfully or ignorantly, she progresses to other forms of attacks that are without doubt in the realm of BDSM. Aoi Koga (the VA for Kaguya Shinomiya) voices Kiwi. While her recent role of Konoha in 16 Bit Sensation screams Kaguya, you don’t get even a sense of that here. Initially, Kiwi’s voice is a bit grating; the somewhat chipper voice she’s given oddly contrasts her character’s look and takes some adjustment. A nod of approval has to be given to the OST used in this electric shock scene. That grandiose insert music makes what would otherwise be an overwhelming scene feel like a daily whimsical thing. As the show progresses it seems to be getting more intense with that it shows and how revealing it can become and this might even cause people who aren’t into excessive people to be put off by it. But if you’re looking for hypersexual content, this is right up your alley.
Screenshots via HiDive
© Akihiro Ononaka/ Takeshobo/ Gushing Over Magical Girls Production Committee