Maburaho Vol. 3: The Witching Hour 2003 - 2004   ADV Films Official Japanese Site Buy It Now

Things to just get worse and worse for Kazuki with each passing episodes. It's not bad enough that he has three women after his precious genes, and Kuriko is the one that is really making things difficult for him, but with only three more chances to use his magic, it's getting harder and harder . . . . . . . to keep from using his spells and risk turning to ash. "The Witching Hour" is quickly approaching with the third volume of Maburaho, and the girls are all working to try and find some way to cure Kazuki.

Quite a change occurs in this volume. The first two have been dealing with the girls trying to win Kazuki over and get his genes. Yuna of course has been the sweet one, doing everything that she can for him, and she honestly means it from the bottom of her heart. Kuriko on the other hand is quite immoral and will do anything, and I mean anything, to get her hands (and other body parts) on what she wants most. Rin though I feel has been a little non-competitive in this game, but at least she's been keeping Kuriko in line. The real problem has been Kazuki himself, and it's not that he's not giving in, but he's, in my opinion, a little too much of a pushover and when the going gets tough, he uses his magic, and as this volume begind, he's down to only three remaining spell.

Instead of trying to win his affections though, now the three girls are working to find a way to increase his magical power. That's not as shocking as much as the fact that they even work together on occasions, and what seems like typical, self-contained stories ends up becoming something much more. The gang has learned of a magatama (it's that odd looking nine shaped pearl you've seen in other anime like Blue Seed and Ikki Tousen) that will supposedly increase ones magic. The problem is that the owner, a former student, has passed away and no one knows that became of the item. There's mention of the disease that killed her as well, a mysterious magical illness that rapidly decreases their spell casing ability until they turn to ash, but that isn't going to have any real bearing on the story, right?

Of course it will, and the series takes a drastic turn. After receiving a bottle from her father that she believes to be a way to cure Kazuki, Yuna opens it, unaware of what she's unleashed. Before you now it Aoi Campus is plagued by an evil Yuna who wants to destroy Kazuki and the plot thickens; it's actually the physical manifestation of the virus. Yuna becomes infected herself, but isn't willing to let her friends discover the truth. They do find out of course, and it seems that the only way to cure her . . . . . and that would be using Kazuki's magic. As this situation begins, Kazuki only has two spells remaining and the next thing you know, he's down to just one, but Yuna still isn't cured. What happens next? Well, you're just going to have to buy the volume and find out for yourself. Come on, you know that we're not about spoiling the entire series, that would defeat the purpose of you buying it.

The bonus material on this volume is again the same as what has been seen with the others. The dub voice actress for Kuriko, Tiffany Grant, provides an interview here and there is a collection of art from the series. The normal clean opening and closing animations are included here as well. Inside the DVD though, there is also another Magic Times insert, the humorous mock newspaper from Aoi Campus that's always sure to bring a smile to your face.

So, is this the end of Maburaho you might be asking yourself. Well, I think that when you see that little preview for volume four section displayed on the main menu of the disc, it should be quite obvious that this isn't even close to being the conclusion, at least not yet. But, I made it sound like Kazuki used all his magic, and that means he should turn to dust, that's probably the next thought that's racing through your mind. Again, you're just going to have to buy the disc to find out, or I guess you could cheat and read the review for the next volume, but that would really take some of the mystery out of things. It's going to be very interesting to see what happens next in Maburaho with the new direction that the series is taking, but this volume certainly weaves a powerful spell that will have you captivated and desperately waiting for the next volume.

Episode 9 - He Used It

Kuriko has discover a hot springs that is rumored to raise a persons spell count and she wants to take Kazuki there . . . . along. Yuna goes along with it, but it beings to bother her and before long she's on her way there with Rin and Elizabeth. The hot springs will only work though if someone stays under water for two years. There is a possible solution, but failure means that everyone goes to Hell . . . . quite literally.

Episode 10 - It Was Spent

The girls are determined to find a way to increase Kazuki's spell count and in the process, resort to some rather extravagant means. While researching in the library though, they find information about a magatama that once belonged to a student at Aoi Campus, but she's long since died. It could very well be the cure-all they've been looking for but only Dr. Akai seems to know the truth about what happened.

Episode 11 - I Opened It

Yuna's father has sent a medicine that, with any luck, will be able to help Kazuki, but when she goes to retrieve it from the nurse's office, there are some major problems. Before long, Yuna comes back . . . . but something's not quite right. The shy and innocent girl has now become even sexier and on top of that, incredibly mean. Now she wants to kill Kazuki and if she has to take out Rin and Kuriko in the process, that's just fine.

Episode 12 - He Disappeared

Yuna has become very sick and her time is quickly ticking away. The virus that she's contracted is causing her magical power to decline and should it reach zero, she'll turn to dust. After Kazuki, Rin, and Kuriko discover the truth, they want to help her any way that they can, and Kazuki thinks that he has the solution. However . . . . . . it may very well cost him his life.

-mike-