Mashle: Magic and Muscles – Season 1 Episode 12 Recap & Review

Mash Burnedead and the Magic Mirror

Episode 12 of Mashle: Magic and Muscles begins with Abyss Razor remembering his first meeting with Lord Abel. Meanwhile, Regro and Brad are chatting at Regro’s place about Mash. The narrator gives fans a breakdown of this story, but that’s cut short due to Mash and his friends’ celebration. Mash leaves to go to the bathroom while Finn tells the others their classmates have reverted to their human states. They question where Lance is before Innocent Zero arrives to force them aside so he can speak with Abel.

Zero belittles Abel for his loss but thanks him for the intel he sent him about Headmaster Wahlberg. Before Zero annihilates Abel with his magic, Mash interrupts their chat while carrying a plate of creampuffs. He sneezes, sending the creampuffs toward Zero, and saves Abel from Zero’s magic. Before Zero confronts Mash about this incident, he gets an unexpected headache and questions if Mash is the boy he was after. Zero ignores Mash and continues with his plot to kill Abel. Before he can strike a fatal blow, Abyss arrives. He takes the attack in Abel’s stead.

Mash rushes over to give Abyss a magic handkerchief. Zero explains Mash threw a rock at him to alter his attack’s trajectory, meaning, Abyss won’t die. Mash attacks Zero with a rock, but Zero catches it. Mash tells Zero that he has to get Abyss to the infirmary and warns him not to harm anyone. If he does, Mash will pulverize him. Zero takes a chance and uses his magic to fight Mash. Abel’s unsure if Mash, himself, or the others can defeat Zero because of their power gap. He questions Abyss’s sacrifice, but Mash tells Abel why Abyss did it and promises to save him.

Abel recalls his mother’s words about learning to put himself in others’ shoes to become more compassionate. We cut to Abyss having a flashback involving his discussion with Abel about his eye. Despite Abyss’s concerns, Abel says he doesn’t care what others think if he sees him around Abyss. He promises to give Abyss’s eyes a better purpose. Abyss tells Abel to run as we observe the fight between Zero and Mash. Zero uses a higher-level spell and plans to kill Mash, but Abel steps in to assist Mash. This allows Mash to get close to Zero and crack his protective shield.

Zero applauds Mash for his effort and asks him about his magical ability. Mash gives Zero a vague answer, so Zero takes out the Spellification Mirror. Dot says it’s the most feared item because of its reflective capabilities. Dot warns Mash not to attack Zero with his magic, so Mash does what he usually does and kicks Zero in the face, breaking the mirror. Everyone’s bewildered because they didn’t know Mash used his human strength to fight throughout the series.

A strange mark forms on Zero’s hand as he realizes Mash is the boy he was after. Zero reveals his real name, “Cell War,” and leaves to attend to an urgent matter. He promises Mash they’ll meet in the future. After he leaves, Abel tells Mash he doesn’t need to worry about Abyss since the magic handkerchief he gave him will be enough to heal him. Abyss tells Mash to treat him to cream puffs next time. Abel promises to return the favor and leaves with Abyss. Dot and the others plan to prevent people from uncovering Mash’s secret regarding his powerless state.

Unfortunately, someone overhears their discussion, and they plan to report Mash to the higher-ups. Mash doesn’t know how to solve the issue, so he eats a creampuff and hopes for the best. Cell meets his father at a mysterious kingdom and tells him he found what he was looking for. The episode closes with a close-up of his father and a title card advertising the next season of Mashle: Magic and Muscles.

The Episode Review

This episode finally gives fans an opponent that Mash couldn’t defeat alone. While it’s unfortunate that fans had to wait this long to find someone worthy of Mash’s caliber, the battle shows how Mash isn’t as impenetrable as the series made him out to be. The series also hints toward another higher-level enemy concerning Cell’s father. He looks menacing based on his brief appearance near the episode’s finale, and I’m looking forward to learning more about him.

This chapter gives more depth to Abyss and Abel’s characters, which many will appreciate. It appears Abel will be a strong supporter of Mash. Based on the incident involving the blabbermouth student, he may need to rely on Abel’s favor sooner than anticipated. There were some unnecessary moments, like Regro’s discussion with Brad and the characters goofing around, that could’ve been cut. Nevertheless, there were some funny fourth-wall jokes and deadpan moments here to satisfy audiences.

Overall, this was an interesting finale for the show’s first season. It leaves viewers satisfied with the notion that Mash isn’t entirely overpowered and gives fans some pleasing and amusing revelations. While some jokes didn’t land as hard as others, the episode doesn’t conclude with a cliffhanger that’ll make audiences furious or starved for more content. Although we’ll have to wait until 2024 to continue Mash’s journey, this episode provides just enough intrigue and pleasing scenarios to hold fans over.