After such a disappointing third episode, we don’t have much expectation about the fourth one. The desire to follow the third season of The Irregular at Magic High School is still there, but the hype has slowly dissipated. But then the fourth episode came in and it instantly reignited the thrill and excitement that we had at the beginning of this new season.
There are a lot of positives to talk about in this episode, but this article will focus on Tatsuya’s character development as a whole and how the story slowly guides him to a certain path. But before delving into that serious part, let’s first talk about the exhilarating magical duels first.
Actual Duels, Finally
In actual real-life combat, the objective is always to subdue the enemy as quickly as possible. With Tatsuya’s Mist Dispersion, every fight ends in a matter of seconds with the opponent turning into dust. While it’s cool to see, it’s not that exciting to watch.
The School Duel, however, is vastly different. This is a combat simulation where the participants get to exert their full magical prowess and creativity as much as possible, which means longer and more exciting matches. And now, we finally get to see it not once, not twice, but three times in a row in this episode.
A Duel to Settle a Disagreement
The first duel happens to settle a disagreement between two rivaling families, a boy from the Shippou family and the twin girls of the Saegusa family. The animosity between the two parties has been apparent since the first episode and has been getting worse since. So rather than letting them fight it out in the open and endanger themselves and everybody around them, Tatsuya decided to let them engage in an official duel that follows the school’s rules and limitations.
The battle is quite fierce and both parties end up using complex spells that they can barely control, which leads to them both being disqualified by Tatsuya. Unfortunately, Shippou does not agree with Tatsuya’s judgment and in the heat of the moment, he insults Tatsuya. This led to the second duel.
A Duel to Prove a Point
Shippou believes that his spells are more powerful than the Sagusa twins’ spells. He even feels confident that he can beat Tatsuya with it. This statement angers Tatsuya’s classmate, Tomitsuka. He challenges Shippou to a battle to prove how weak he actually is. As expected, Tomitsuka shows complete dominance over Shippou. In a matter of minutes, Tomitsuka utterly defeats Shippou.
Interestingly enough, beating Shippou is not enough to prove Tomitsuka’s point. He has to show him how powerful Tatsuya actually is. So Tomitsuka challenges Tatsuya to a battle, and although he is a bit baffled by the sudden development, Tatsuya reluctantly agrees. What Shippou witnessed that day was nothing short of a masterclass from a combat expert. Forget beating Tatsuya, Shippou can’t even understand half the things that Tatsuya does during that one-sided fight against Tomitsuka. Once again, Tomitsuka has successfully proven his point to his underclassman.
An Impartial Judge
Tatsuya spent most of his life as an obedient soldier. He is the knight who defeats the bad guys, and he is the assassin who murders those who the state deems to be a danger to society. But since he entered First High, Tatsuya began to assume other roles. A judge and a leader. Let’s start with the judge first.
No Biases, No Favors
|
Character Name |
Tomitsuka Hagane |
|---|---|
|
First Appearance |
Episode 23 |
|
Release Date |
September 6th, 2014 |
For reasons that are too long to explain in this article, Tatsuya is no longer capable of feeling emotions. The only remaining emotion that he has left in his frozen heart is his love and care for his sister, Miyuki. While this shortcoming severely impacts his social life and relationship with his peers, it makes him a perfect soldier who can calmly assess every situation and come up with the best logical solution.
However, this episode proves that there is another benefit of Tatsuya’s lack of emotions. He proves to be an impartial judge. When put in a position to judge another person’s performance, he will display no biases, he will show no favors to anyone, and he won’t hesitate to make the most appropriate decisions based on the agreed-upon rules.
The Ability to Deliver the Appropriate Judgment
|
Character Name |
Shippou Takuma |
|---|---|
|
First Appearance |
Episode 1 |
|
Release Date |
April 5, 2024 |
So what’s so great about Tatsuya’s newly-found skill? Why does his ability to give a proper judgment deserve to be talked about? Well, the answer is it represents his growth as a character. This proves that Tatsuya can move beyond his regular mindless, emotionless fighter role and get into a higher position to tackle bigger tasks and responsibilities. These statements hold true for his career in both the military and academics.
The Making of a Leader
Tatsuya already proved his combat and technical skills in the first season of The Irregular at Magic High School. Those who know what he can do will inevitably respect, admire, and fear him. But how he handled the sudden congress visit back in the third episode and the disagreements in this episode suggest that Tatsuya has the ability to be more than just a soldier. He has the making of a leader.
More Than a Soldier
As mentioned above, Tatsuya is a great soldier. He has all the skills and knowledge necessary to complete any kind of mission, and his lack of emotions means he will pretty much do anything his superior asks him to do. Slowly but surely, however, Tatsuya begins to evolve beyond his initial role.
His technical skills allow him to perfectly identify the best role for everybody in his team. While he may be unable to sympathize with other people, they can rely on him to always tell the truth to their face without any malicious intent behind it, which is why most people end up naturally following his lead. Without realizing it, Tatsuya got used to being the leader of his group.
“You couldn’t adhere to the conditions you were given because of your insufficient skills, that’s all”
– Tatsuya, Season 3; Episode 4
More Responsibilities in the Future
So what does the transition from a soldier to a leader mean to Tatsuya as a character? Currently, there are three great forces at work within the world of The Irregular at the Magic High School that Tatsuya is involved in. The Military, the Ten Master Clans, and the Magical Research and Development. He has been a big part of these three great institutions for years and has made so many great contributions to them.
By slowly putting him into a leadership position, the story basically implies that Tatsuya will have much larger roles and responsibilities in the future. Maybe he will have his own special black ops squad in the military. Maybe he will lead his own team of magic engineers to create a breakthrough that will revolutionize the use of magic in society. Or maybe he will hold a key position within the Yotsuba Clan? One thing’s for sure, we’re all excited to see what Tatsuya will do in the future.
The Irregular at Magic High School is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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