[Spring 2017] Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor Discussion Thread

[Buckeye]

ロクでなし魔術講師と禁忌教典

A show about a lazy and unmotivated man forced to become a substitute teacher at a prestigious magic academy. It seems nuts that a guy with these qualities is hired, but there's something about this bastard that doesn't exactly meet the eye.

Airs: Tuesday, April 4

Studio: Liden Films

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Sistina attends a magical academy to hone her skills in the magical arts, hoping to solve the mystery of the enigmatic Sky Castle. After the retirement of her favorite teacher, the replacement, Glen, turns out to be a tardy, lazy, and seemingly incompetent bastard of an instructor. How is it that Glen was hand-picked by the best magician in the academy?!

Notes
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[Buckeye]

Episode 1

Him? A teacher here?

So it begins with a lazy and unmotivated man somehow becoming a substitute teacher as Glenn just isn't cut out for the job. But apparently there's some quality in him that only Celica knows about that could make him a great teacher someday seeing that she is the one that puts out the recommendation and forces him to take the job. And as such, he is just there not really wanting any part of his job and Sistine is letting him know about it seeing that she easily beats him in that duel.

This show is throwing out every harem cliche in the book, from a perverted MC to the fanservice and other gimmicks. Seeing that the girls are wearing impractically skimpy uniforms that I had come to expect a lot of things to go wrong as is the case with this episode. But it's the kind of trash that I can handle, so I'll at least give it some more episodes before deciding what to do.

[Library-chan]

Re: Episode 1

Did the girls go to the Shimakaze school of fashion?

[Momoka Kibi]

Re: Episode 1

I learned a lot from the teacher in this show. I learned to stop watching this show. See I learned a good lesson. Yeah, this show is awful.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 1

Meh. I'll give it another episode. I don't expect it to impress me, but it's on the line enough that it's worth a second look.

[General Hentai]

Re: Episode 1

This seems to be a great story, as we follow the lives of girls in training at a Magical Sex Slave Academy...

What do you mean, it's not that kind of show?

Look at those uniforms!!



Well, with "uniforms" designed with cosplay in mind, Lord knows I'm not going to be taking this series too seriously.

That said, it was fun enough, created what seems to be an interesting world, with potential from the class of characters. Worth staying with...for now.

[Buckeye]

Episode 2

There's more to magic than just killing.

So after the first episode had Glenn doing what he can to blow off teaching, this time he's actually teaching, though by saying that magic is only used for killing isn't exactly getting it done. But it's a start by telling those kids that words make a difference. And then come some thugs that attack Glenn on the way to school, while one of them is after Rumia as she's actually a princess who was supposed to be dead. Another one of those thugs takes Sistine, but Glenn comes to the rescue to beat the living daylights out of him. While Glenn is still as big a bastard as ever, at least he's showing why Celica chose him to be the substitute teacher, all while the students are starting to warm up to him. He has the power to nullify magic, which is quite useful in a situation like this.

So while this show still has issues galore, at least there are less of them in this episode. Still, the story is seriously lacking with the presence of a bazillion cliches, but at least things are moving forward. With that, I'll keep going for another episode for the time being.

[General Hentai]

Re: Episode 1

I learned a lot from the teacher in this show. I learned to stop watching this show. See I learned a good lesson. Yeah, this show is awful.

The lesson you've learned? You quit one show too soon.

[General Hentai]

Re: Episode 2

/snip/
So while this show still has issues galore, at least there are less of them in this episode. Still, the story is seriously lacking with the presence of a bazillion cliches, but at least things are moving forward. With that, I'll keep going for another episode for the time being.

Yeah, there are issues. But this show continues to be fun, shifting directions on us by showing us the inevitable "Glenn is actually super knowledgeable about magic," and the not inevitable, but not surprising "Oh, and he's a badass, too!" clichés. And far be it from me to suggest that these are the only clichés and tropes at work here. But you know, clichés and tropes exist for a reason.

Definitely better than last week, with the fun aspects of this show upped quite a bit. Probational status is revoked, with permanent watching entered into. It's not going to the best show of the year (or if it is, it'll be a massive shock at this point), but it looks like a nice popcorn-fun-level show, something that was questionable after the first episode.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 2

Meh. Still not too bad, but I think at this point it's not quite enough to stick with. Limited originality amidst some of the most common and least interesting tropes and not great production values push it a little below my threshold.

[Buckeye]

Episode 3

A mage of justice, that's what he wants to be.

Those terrorists took the students hostage and are rerouting the teleportation circles to kidnap Rumia and take her to their headquarters. Those guys sure were tough, but Glenn never backs down when it comes to people in need, especially his students. He sure has won the trust of his students with Sistine helping out after realizing that he pushed her down because he wants her to surprise the enemy rather than to escape, and then from Rumia after seeing that he's using his own blood to undo the seals. While Glenn may be a bastard, he's determined to become a hero of justice. While there were some gaping holes in the story, it was nice to see Glenn transform his characters like that.

So with that, I'm still trying to decide what to do with this show as it's on the bubble. After a terrible first episode, this show has gotten better, but not exactly to the point where it's in prime position for inclusion, so I'll give it one more episode before deciding.

[Library-chan]

Re: Episode 2

I guess the teacher is a badass. Could have done without the attempted rape scene.

[EmperorBrandon]

Re: Episode 3

While it hasn't gotten to be a favorite (at least not yet), I'll admit I am into this one more than I expected to be after the first episode. The thing that interested me most in the beginning with Rumia and Sistine's tight relationship despite the apparent difference in social standing. And there's been a decent amount of focus, and some interesting revelations. Sistine's gotten to grow a bit in realizing how much Rumia means to her, even above her proud view of magic. Glenn-sensei was obviously going to show a more admirable side as the show progressed and particularly as we got a perilous situation like this, but I like it starts even before we get all of that in episode 2 as he realizes he's gone too far in verbally taking down Sistine's views, and going from that bit of self-realization to actually starting to show his strengths as a teacher. Glenn and Sistine are pulling themselves more towards a balanced, understanding middle than the extremes they started out on.

[GingaDaiuchuu]

Re: Episode 3

This show seemed to be engineered very specifically to count on people giving it three episodes before deciding. These three episodes basically formed the prologue to show us what it's capable of and what to expect. And coming to the end of that initial stretch, I can definitely say it succeeded. This was downright exciting, and I now care about the characters and the world.

[davesimmons]

Re: Episode 3

This show seemed to be engineered very specifically to count on people giving it three episodes before deciding. These three episodes basically formed the prologue to show us what it's capable of and what to expect. And coming to the end of that initial stretch, I can definitely say it succeeded. This was downright exciting, and I now care about the characters and the world.

Yep. Episode 1 almost drove me away, thinking it would be a comedy about an incompetent buffoon. I just don't find the (tries to act cool) (falls on his face) gag to be that funny, especially when it's repeated over and over again. Episodes 2 - 3 turned that around completely.

One plot hole I still find difficult to overlook is how much trouble he had with the foot soldier / cannon fodder evil mages, when he apparently waded through piles of them as the mage-killer who (we'll almost certainly find out later) saved Rumia in her flashback. Perhaps they'll explain it with the old "he was gravely wounded and has never fully recovered" cliche.