Mahouka Koukou no Reittousei 07 – The Consequences of Inequality

Previous episodes have provided numerous interesting examples of the inequality and frustration felt by those without significant magical powers in Mahouka. This weeks episode on the other hand presented us with an interesting, if brief, glimpse at the global politics of the series and how other groups and countries may try to manipulate the frustrations of those who feel left out in order to achieve their own goals. We now find out that Blanche are merely a front for other countries and alliances to gain information about magicians that the Japanese government has presumably kept relatively secret. That First Magic High School has access to this information, not only demonstrates its importance, but also helps to denote the schools status as an essential space for the education of the countries most valuable commodity, magicians.

With this in mind, the original attack on the school, coupled with the individuals interest in the schools computer systems and databases not only makes more sense, but also helps to establish magicians, not as independent human beings, but as an important product that can help to create, and maintain a countries global status. Blanche is ultimately a puppet organisation, setup to acquire the necessary information from other countries through illegal means. Tsukasa Hajime is a back alley crook, the sort who dreams of ruling the world while he skulks in alleyways and lives in the shadows. He is ultimately a mere pawn in what we can assume is an ongoing game between the worlds great powers in their attempts to have greater control over magicians and their powers. Knowledge is power after all, and those who know the most about abilities capable of winning fights, battles, and even starting or stopping wars will have the power to rule the world. At least, that is the logical conclusion to the current situation and the existence of groups like Blanche, although it is likely that there are numerous other reasons behind the prominence given to knowledge and research revolving around magical powers.

This episode also helps to demonstrate how powerful magic can be, and how easily a handful of high school students can overpower a group equipped with automatic weapons and various other equipment. Naturally this particular incident cannot be taken as truly representative given the people involved and their apparent superiority, even when put next to other magicians. But, even then it is clear that magicians and the powers they wield are highly sort after as a strategic weapon, a deterrent to stop others from attempting to invade or otherwise disrupt any given countries society. Given their overwhelming power it is little wonder those without this power are viewed as inferior, thus leading to problems of inequality. Ultimately this first story arc has introduced a society that is deeply flawed and rife with inequality. A world where the strength of ones magic can determine social standing, thus limiting the possibility of social mobility is one that will create frustration and unrest. While Blanche are clearly little more than a puppet organisation, used by other countries to gain as much knowledge on magicians as possible, they also demonstrate how easily the current system can drive people to extreme acts out of anger and frustration. The end of this episode is far from conclusive, and despite Tatusya’s victory over Tsukasa Hajime and Blanche’s Japanese branch, the inequality that drove Mibu to act the way she did still exists and will likely be the cause of many more problems in the story.