In the mid '90s, The Force Which is Called Bandai^TM tapped two prominent directors to give them a pair of six-episode OVAs to lead the charge of their 15th Anniversary offerings. One of them was Hongou Mitsuru, part of the staff of Crayon Shin-chan and soon-to-be director of Outlaw Star. His creation was the lush, darkly emotional tale of romance and sorcery known as Shamanic Princess. The other was Satou Jun'ichi, perhaps best known as the original director of Sailor Moon. His series, not nearly as divorced in intent from Shamanic Princess as one might expect, was Mahou Tsukai-tai!, the tale of a klutzy-but-earnest girl trying to manage her life and her love for her senpai in her school's magic-users' club. One of Satou's stated goals was to try to capture some of the things that make growing up nostalgic for all of us -- and at the very least, he made a pretty valiant attempt in the six episodes he had at his disposal. Or so Bandai seems to think, since they gave him a full twenty-six episodes of TV series to tell the rest of his story.

The episode you will see follows immediately after the OVAs' conclusion. As a review, in the OVA series, a strange group of aliens had invaded earth in a gigantic vehicle dubbed the "Tsurigane" (a type of temple bell). The Earth militaries had been forced to accept occupation by the aliens' strange robotic agents -- until a club of fledgling mages had managed to overpower the aliens and force their retreat. The biggest result of the nearly-accidental victory is a gigantic sakura tree in the midst of the city, burdening the residents with a constant rain of sakura petals. So of course, Sae, Nanaka, Takeo, Aburatsubou, and Akane set out with their magic to finish the job they started and get rid of it. What are the odds of this going off without a hitch? You do the math.

Mahou Tsukai-Tai! is actually something of a rarity in modern anime: a deliberate return to nostalgia. Rather than rely on hyper action or rampaging cyborgs or mind-boggling iconography or extensive techno-babble, MTT! concentrates on the sweet moments of life. Not since Kimagure Orange Road have I seen a series which actually bothers to pay homage to this kind of aesthetic.

Of course, nostalgia is a very personal thing and not everyone will feel a chord being struck within, but the attempt is still worth appreciating. Here's hoping that it succeeds for you.