Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei

I consider, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, the best anime of the year, 2023. If you are looking to watch a progressive realistic anime, this one hits the mark. The first season was cohesive, from episode one thru twelfth. I believe this anime will open many doors, facilitating or encouraging the anime world to invest in other genres/storylines. I cannot wait to see how the world of anime will expand in the next coming years. Thanks to, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady. PS: I melted after watching episode 12 of the first season.

'The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady' ticks all the boxes of a generic fantasy setting: we get a vaguely European-looking kingdom, an aristrocracy that can use magic, and a bunch of monsters that are kinda-sorta kept at bay by knights. Our protagonist is the "Marauder Princess" Anis, who despite being the King's oldest child cannot use magic herself. Since she remembers her previous life on modern-day Earth, she instead invents the field of "magicology" to build magical devices like a witch's broom, a magical sword, a magical tea kettle, and a bookshelf filled with other stuff that is only shown in the background and never mentioned. In comes Lady Euphyllia, who after having her betrothal to the Crown Prince dissolved is stolen away by Anis. The story itself is entertaining enough, although it doesn't really do anything groundbreaking. Similarly, the characters are likeable but generic: the protagonist is reckless and childish yet competent and good-hearted (who both in temperament as well as design is surprisingly similar to Lycoris Recoil's Chisato); the sidekick-slash-love-interest is quiet, proper, and dutilful (and, yes, at least somewhat reminiscent of Lycoris Recoil's Takina). The side characters are similarly likeable and similarly uninspired. My biggest gripe about the characters is that the show breaks the "Show, don't tell" rule, telling us repeatedly that Euphyllia is a genius of unparalleled renown (it's even in the show's title!), yet the most intelligent thing she ever does is hold a mildly clever speech. Similarly, her character development seems to happen mostly off-screen: at the start, she's the demure Crown Prince's betrothed, and at the end she's a capable fighter, but I was not quite convinced by this development. One of the show's high points is that the action climax occurs already in episode nine of twelve, leaving room for the dramatic climax. This is well-executed and touching, hitting topics such as duty and self-sacrifice. I was honestly captivated by this part and pretty much binge-watched the second half of the series. The second high point is the relationship between the characters, which is surprisingly sweet and loving. I expected the usual fare, where the show at best hints at the possibility of two people of the same gender being in love (or the direct opposite, where the entire story is structured around the torrid lesbian love affair, because that's how you entice a certain audience). 'Magical Revolution' is pretty casual about this, reminding me a fair bit of the She-Ra reboot. As for the production, the art style and animations are perfectly fine but not outstanding in any way. The character design is fairly generic but nicely varied. The Japanese voice acting is solid, the soundtrack gets the job done, and the pacing is reasonable. There is little to no fan service but a bit of violence (i.e. Blood but no real gore). Ultimately, 'Magical Revolution' is a reasonably good show that probably noone will remember in a few years, except perhaps for having an openly gay protagonist couple. Personally, I liked the show and wouldn't mind watching more like it, but neither did it knock off my socks.