is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Hajime Kōmoto. It was serialized in

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

's manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...

'' from January 2020 to July 2023, with its chapters collected in 18 volumes. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation produced by

A-1 Pictures is a Japanese animation studio and production company founded by ex- Sunrise producer Mikihiro Iwata. It is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan's anime production firm Aniplex. History The company was established by SMEJ's animat ...

aired from April to July 2023. A second season aired from January to March 2024. A sequel to the anime series has been announced.

Plot

Set in a magical world in which an individual's position within society is defined by their power and skill with magic, Mash Burnedead is a young man without so much as an ounce of magic in his blood. In order to live a peaceful life with his adoptive father, Regro, Mash will need to become a , a title which is only given to exceptional students from the Easton Magic Academy. Despite having no magic whatsoever, Mash goes to the magic school, determined to survive and show the world that muscles can beat magic.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Hajime Kōmoto, ''Mashle: Magic and Muscles'', was serialized in

's manga magazine ''

'' from January 27, 2020, to July 3, 2023. Shueisha collected its chapters in 18 volumes, released from June 4, 2020, to October 4, 2023. A special one-shot chapter was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' on January 6, 2024, on the occasion of the anime series' second season premiere. The manga was digitally serialized by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

and ''

Manga Plus ''Manga Plus'' (stylized as ''MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA'') is an online manga platform and smartphone app owned by Shueisha that was launched on January 28, 2019. It is available worldwide except in Japan, China, and South Korea which already hav ...

'' in English. In October 2020, Viz Media announced the print and digital publication of the manga; the volumes were released from July 6, 2021, to December 3, 2024.

Anime

television series adaptation was announced in July 2022. The anime series is produced by

and directed by Tomonari Tanaka, with scripts written by

Yōsuke Kuroda is a Japanese anime screenwriter from Mie Prefecture, Japan. He has his own studio, Studio Orphee. Kuroda is noted for his work on authoring the scenario, screenplay, and story composition of the anime series ''Excel Saga'', '' Please Teacher!'' ...

, character designs by Hisashi Toshima, and music composed by

Masaru Yokoyama is a Japanese composer and arranger, known for his work on television dramas and anime series. Biography Yokoyama was born in Nagano Prefecture. He started to take piano lessons at the age of three, taught by his aunt who is an alumna of Kunita ...

. According to the official website of the series, it will be a "complete" anime adaptation. The first season aired from on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV (channel 9), branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent station, independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city and parts ...

and other networks from April 8 to July 1, 2023. The opening theme song for the first season is "Knock Out", performed by Taiiku Okazaki, while the ending theme song is , performed by The Dance for Philosophy. A second season was announced after the airing of the first season finale. Titled , it broadcast from January 6 to March 30, 2024. The opening theme song for the second season is " Bling-Bang-Bang-Born", performed by Creepy Nuts, while the ending theme song is , performed by

Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku is a Japanese female Japanese idol, idol group. The group's name is officially shortened to . The group was created by 3B Junior, the third section of the talent agency Stardust Promotion. Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku is considered a "little sister" g ...

. In May 2024, a sequel to the television series was announced.

Aniplex of America Aniplex of America, or Aniplex USA, is an anime distributor based in Santa Monica, California that serves as the American distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an entertainment company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, where its goal is to ...

revealed an English version of the announcement video at its

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first we ...

panel on July 3, 2022. On February 21, 2023,

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

announced that they would stream the series; an English dub premiered on May 26 of the same year.

Medialink Medialink Group Limited is a content distributor and licensor based in Kowloon, Hong Kong specializing in the distribution of Japanese anime and brand licensing. Its offices are located at Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Registered from Hong Ko ...

licensed the series in Asia-Pacific. In October 2024 at its

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...

panel, Aniplex of America announced that the English dub would broadcast on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...

programming block beginning on November 10 of the same year.

Novels

Kiyoko Hoshi has written three novels based on the series; the first one, titled , was released on May 2, 2022; the second one, , was released on April 4, 2023; and the third one, , was released on October 4 of the same year.

Stage plays

A stage play adaptation of the manga was announced in April 2023. It ran at the

Tokyo International Forum The is a multi-purpose exhibition center in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. The complex is generally considered to be in the Yūrakuchō business district, being adjacent to Yūrakuchō Station, but it is administratively in the Marunouchi district. Toky ...

Hall C in Tokyo from July 4–11, and at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Kobe in Hyogo from July 15–17. The play is directed by Imagine Ito, written by Shinjirō Kameda, music composed by Shingo I with lyrics by Yūji Mitsuya, and choreographed by Umebou. The cast includes Ryotaro Akazawa as Mash Burnedead, Hiroi Yuto as Finn Ames, Ryoga Ishikawa as Lance Crown, Takeshi James Yamada as Dot Barrett, and Misato Kawauchi as Lemon Irvine. A second stage play adaptation was announced in December 2023. It ran at the Tennozu Galaxy Theater in Tokyo from August 2–12, 2024, and at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Kobe in Hyogo from August 17–19.

Video game

In March 2025, Poppin Games Japan and MuscleMagic Games announced that the series will receive a smartphone

puzzle game A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different ...

titled . The 3-match puzzle game incorporates the series' worldview, allowing players to form teams with their favorite characters, and features new illustrations. It will be free to play but will have optional in-game purchases. The game is available for pre-registration on the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

and will be available for pre-registration on

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

later.

Reception

Manga

In June 2020, it was reported that the first volume of the series performed well enough to be sold out. By April 2021, the manga had over 1.4 million copies in circulation; over 2.1 million copies in circulation by August of the same year; over 3 million copies in circulation by March 2022; over 4 million copies in circulation by November of the same year; over 5 million copies in circulation by April 2023; over 6 million copies in circulation by November 2023; and over 10 million copies in circulation by March 2024. In 2020, the manga was nominated for the sixth

Next Manga Award The is an annual award for manga series presented by Kadokawa Corporation's '' Da Vinci'' magazine and Niconico streaming website. It is divided into two categories: one for print manga, and one for web manga. Overview The award was originally ...

s and placed eleventh out of the 50 nominees with 12,894 votes. The series ranked third on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2021" by the Honya Club website. ''Mashle'' was nominated for the 67th

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

in the category in 2021. The

Nippon Foundation of Tokyo, Japan, is a private, non-profit grant-making organization. It was established in 1962 by Ryōichi Sasakawa. The foundation's mission is to direct Japanese motorboat racing revenue into philanthropic activities, it uses this money t ...

included the manga on their list of "5 Recommended Manga Available in English" and wrote: " mic scenes of characters tormenting each other are fun to read, with no sense of distaste. In an amusing way, the story shows how cultivating special skills can overcome adversity." Writing for ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', Clémence Ballandras made a positive review about the series and wrote that it "combines the very specific universe of manga, with that of ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'', while infusing a good dose of humor." Rebecca Silverman of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'' gave the first volume a B+. Silverman praised the series for its humor, calling it a "''Harry Potter'' parody with overtones of ''

One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero manga series created by One. It tells the story of Saitama, an independent superhero who, having trained to the point that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows bored from a lack of challenge. He ...

''." Silverman, however, wrote that apart from Mash, the rest of the characters are "forgettable" and said that the art is "fairly unattractive", comparing it to ''

Mob Psycho 100 is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by One. It was serialized on Shogakukan's ''Ura Sunday'' website from April 2012 to December 2017. It has been also available online on Shogakukan's mobile app ''MangaONE'' since Dece ...

''. Nevertheless, she concluded: "It doesn't look pretty, but it also doesn't need to, making this a good addition to the library of humor manga." Sheena McNeil of ''Sequential Tart'' gave the first volume a 7 out of 10. McNeil also noted the similarities with ''One-Punch Man'' and ''Harry Potter'', praising as well its story and art, concluding: "I enjoyed this read a fair amount. It's low key hilarious. It has flaws, but it also has potential, and I look forward to where it goes from here." In a review of the second volume, McNeil gave it a 8, and wrote: " you want action, humor, and magic, this story hits you over the head with all three."

Anime

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{A-1 Pictures television series A-1 Pictures Adventure anime and manga Anime series based on manga Aniplex Comedy anime and manga Crunchyroll Anime Award winners Fantasy anime and manga Medialink Shōnen manga Shueisha manga Television shows written by Yōsuke Kuroda Tokyo MX original programming Viz Media manga