Balala Xiao Mo Xian: Mofa Hai Ying Bao

STORY: 7 The story is a bit inconsistent, and not very well paced, but you don't really expect much of either from Chinese magical girls, which are usually aimed at the 6-to-10 crowd. In saying that, they still put a surprising amount of thought into it, with a few twisted characters and unexpected reveals and, in true Balala fashion, do a great job of meshing the fun, single-episode arcs with the overarching semi-serious main plot. It's nowhere near as dark or serious as Precure gets, but given the well-timed comedy moments and genuinely adorable rescues, it really doesn't need to be. CHARACTER: 8As always, I love that Balala has no qualms about ignoring the usual Moe status quo. The lead character is awkward, quiet, grumpy, and prefers to be alone, yet finds herself the leader of two very energetic and naive humans. Those humans, though somewhat trope-y, do evolve and grow with the season, and in turn, help their leader be a bit less uptight! ART: 8 Yet again, Balala has upped their quality by miles. Their wand designs and costumes are adorable, their sea creatures look fantastical and cute while still being recognizable (which Precure epically failed at,) and the backgrounds are gorgeous. The intermittent 3d moments are well-timed and used solely on things that ought to be that way. The attack sequences and action scenes are still awkward, but they've never been the focus of Balala, so that's unsurprising. SOUND: 7 The music is cute, if generic. I like that they have much lower voices than many Japanese magical girls, but still sound like children. The sound effects are rather limited and do get annoying when repeated too often, but overall suit the show well. OVERALL 7.5 This season shows a lot of growth and promise as part of Balala's franchise, and is definitely worth the watch for any fan of lighthearted magical girl series.