Mashle

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 Divine Visionary (神覚者, Shinkakusha), 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.

Written and illustrated by Hajime Kōmoto, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from January 27, 2020,^[3][4] to July 3, 2023.^[5][6] Shueisha collected its chapters in 18 tankōbon volumes, released from June 4, 2020,^[7] to October 4, 2023.^[8] 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.^[9][10]

The manga was digitally serialized by Viz Media and Manga Plus in English.^[11] In October 2020, Viz Media announced the print and digital publication of the manga;^[12] the volumes were released from July 6, 2021, to December 3, 2024.^[13][14]

An anime television series adaptation was announced in July 2022. The anime series is produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Tomonari Tanaka, with scripts written by Yōsuke Kuroda, character designs by Hisashi Toshima, and music composed by Masaru Yokoyama.^[15] According to the official website of the series, it will be a "complete" anime adaptation.^[16] The first season aired from on Tokyo MX and other networks from April 8 to July 1, 2023.^[17][18][a] The opening theme song for the first season is "Knock Out", performed by Taiiku Okazaki, while the ending theme song is "Shū Cream Funk" (シュークリーム・ファンク; "Cream Puff Funk"), performed by The Dance for Philosophy.^[18]

A second season was announced after the airing of the first season finale. Titled Mashle: Magic and Muscles - The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam (マッシュル-MASHLE- 神覚者候補選抜試験編, Masshuru: Shinkakusha Kōho Senbatsu Shiken-hen), it broadcast from January 6 to March 30, 2024.^{[19][20][21][22]} The opening theme song for the second season is "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born", performed by Creepy Nuts,^[23] while the ending theme song is "Tokyo's Way!" (トーキョーズ・ウェイ！), performed by Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku.^[20]

In May 2024, a sequel to the television series was announced.^[24]

Aniplex of America revealed an English version of the announcement video at its Anime Expo panel on July 3, 2022.^[25] On February 21, 2023, Crunchyroll announced that they would stream the series;^[26] an English dub premiered on May 26 of the same year.^[27] Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.^[28][29] In October 2024 at its New York Comic Con panel, Aniplex of America announced that the English dub would broadcast on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block beginning on November 10 of the same year.^[30]

Kiyoko Hoshi has written three novels based on the series; the first one, titled Mashle: Mash Burnedead to Bōken no Sho 1 (マッシュル-MASHLE- マッシュ・バーンデッドと冒険の書1; lit. 'Mashle: Mash Burnedead and the Book of Adventure 1'), was released on May 2, 2022;^[31] the second one, Mashle: Mash Burnedead to Fukkatsu no Jumon (マッシュル-MASHLE- マッシュ・バーンデッドと復活の呪文; lit. 'Mashle: Mash Burnedead and the Resurrection Spell'), was released on April 4, 2023;^[32][33] and the third one, Mashle: Mash Burnedead to Gangan Ikōze (マッシュル-MASHLE- マッシュ・バーンデッドとガンガンいこうぜ; lit. 'Mashle: Mash Burnedead and Going with a Bang'), was released on October 4 of the same year.^[34][35]

A stage play adaptation of the manga was announced in April 2023. It ran at the Tokyo International Forum 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.^[36]

A second stage play adaptation was announced in December 2023.^[37] 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.^[38][39]

In March 2025, Poppin Games Japan and MuscleMagic Games announced that the series will receive a smartphone puzzle game titled Mashle: Muscle Puzzle (マッシュル-MASHLE- マッスルパズル, Masshuru Massuru Pazuru). 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 and will be available for pre-registration on Google Play later.^[40]

In June 2020, it was reported that the first volume of the series performed well enough to be sold out.^[41] By April 2021, the manga had over 1.4 million copies in circulation;^[42] over 2.1 million copies in circulation by August of the same year;^[43] over 3 million copies in circulation by March 2022;^[44] over 4 million copies in circulation by November of the same year;^[45] over 5 million copies in circulation by April 2023;^[46] over 6 million copies in circulation by November 2023;^[47] and over 10 million copies in circulation by March 2024.^[48]

In 2020, the manga was nominated for the sixth Next Manga Awards and placed eleventh out of the 50 nominees with 12,894 votes.^[49][50] The series ranked third on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2021" by the Honya Club website.^[51][52] Mashle was nominated for the 67th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2021.^[53]

The Nippon Foundation included the manga on their list of "5 Recommended Manga Available in English" and wrote: "[c]omic 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."^[54] Writing for Le Figaro, 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, while infusing a good dose of humor."^[55] Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network 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." 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. 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."^[56]

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."^[57] In a review of the second volume, McNeil gave it a 8, and wrote: "[i]f you want action, humor, and magic, this story hits you over the head with all three."^[58]