Over a year after announcing the series was going entering its final story arc Hajime Komoto’s Mashle: Magic and Muscles has come to an end. Today marks the final chapter of Mashle: Magic and Muscles and the Eclipse Arc. As Rokk mentioned in ranking all of the Mashle story arcs, the Eclipse Arc has been the best arc in the series. Now with the final chapter of both the Eclipse Arc and the series how do things end? Let’s find out with Mashle: Magic and Muscles Chapter 162 “Mash Burndead and the Generally Happy Ending.”
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer & Artist: Hajime Komoto
SYNOPSIS
Much to the surprise of everyone at Easton Magic Academy Mash Burndead turns down the offer to be the first non-magic person to receive the Divine Visionary title. In a letter Mash states that getting everyone’s acknowledgement means he reached his goal and now wishes everyone live in peace.
Mash returns home to live with Regro Burnedead. After some time passes, including unknowingly living with Lemon Irvine for a month, Mash tells his friends his goal is to become a professional pastry chef and open his own bakery.
In a flashforward we learn that Mash eventually did become the first magicless Divine Visionary. Eventually as time passes hatred and discrimination towards magicless vanish during all of Mash and his friends advenures, leading them to live happily in peace. End of series.
REVIEW
And just like that Mashle: Magic and Muscles comes to an end with its 162th chapter. The series brought us a lot of highs and it is only appropriate that it ends with Mash Burndead and his friends getting a happy ending. This series was never going to throw a big twist of a dark ending. Even in moments of darkness, Mashle: Magic and Muscles was a fun series throughout its run and Hajime Komoto made sure that is how it ended with its final chapter.
As an epilogue to the end of the big battle for the Eclipse Arc it is only right that Mash stays true to who he is and turned down the initial offer to become a Divine Visionary. Titles never mattered to Mash. From the beginning he just wanted to live a peaceful life and enrolling in Easton Magic Academy was what he was told would help with that. Even when enrolling Mash never got obsessed with what it means to be attending the school.
Mash explaining his thought process through a letter to everyone at the colosseum was the right way to go with this. Komoto showed that while Mash wasn’t the biggest talker he did have deep thoughts in his own way. Communicating his thoughts on life to everyone through a letter stayed true to this fact about Mash. There was a lot of great insight in how ultimately Mash viewed everyone and the world itself in his letter.
This led into one of the strength of the series being the comedic timing of Komoto as a magaka. Specifically, when it comes to Komoto’s artwork. In both the letter to Mash speaking on his goal of becoming a pastry chef we get a lot of great comedic facial reactions. These reactions are timed well with everything that is said. The facial reactions make even Mash, Lemon, and Dot’s reaction to Lance finally introducing everyone to his sister, Anna, work to be over-the-top comedic rather than serious as the dialogue would make you think without the artwork.
Its these payoffs with Mash’s goal, Lance introducing everyone to Anna, and other character moments that make this a strong final chapter. We get all the payoffs for Mashle that we want as fans. Komoto even treats us to flashforward scenes that show how Mash and his friends adventures will continue. Having this type of ending where it is made clear that even as Mashle: Magic and Muscles has come to an end the lives of Mash and his will move forward is how things should go.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mashle: Magic and Muscles Chapter 162 is exactly the strong ending that you would want any long running series to have. We had all the payoff to the epic battles with the end of the previous chapter. This chapter was all about giving us an epilogue that leave Mash and his friends in a spot where they can have their happy ending. If you haven’t read the manga or watch the recent anime adaption of Mashle: Magic and Muscles I highly recommend changing that. You are in for a treat with experiencing this manga for yourself.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
