Episode 5 of Mahouka’s visitor arc contains some exciting plot developments. It is well-paced, and only two very minor scenes were cut.
The first three minutes are more funnier here in the anime with Mayumi plotting to give Tatsuya the bitterest chocolate she could find on Valentine’s day. And her sweet but mischievous smile is as cute as it looks.
Then we have another cute scene with a completely drunk Shizuku, which is almost a perfect adaptation of the same scene in the novel, including the technical and scientific jargon, which I honestly thought would be glossed over. There is some interesting tidbits here regarding the Mahouka universe, particularly about how magic works.
The Erika scenes are also on point, and we have an insight on how she truly feels about Tatsuya(though I’m more of an Erika x Leo shipper). For me, hers is not exactly a hard crush, but more of an admiration born out of her background as a fighter. And again, she has more chemistry toward Leo.
Most of the scenes after this are nearly a page-by-page adaptation of the novel. Mizuki’s unique sight comes handy once again as she reacts strongly to the Parasite’s arrival in the school, and we have a very brief Mikihiko x Mizuki moment before they rush into battle.
Miyuki also detected the intrusion, while Tatsuya would have remained blind if not for her. One thing to note in this particular scene were Miyuki and Honoka, who both cling a little too close to Tatsuya. The anime cut the initial part of this scene where the three were having lunch together, but since it is a cold day, Honoka grabs Tatsuya for warmth, an action that causes Miyuki to get jealous and mirrors her movement, leading to the scene in this episode.
Another minor scene they removed was the actual moment where they got their CADs out of storage, and it is here that Jumonji exerts his influence since the school do not release CADs easily.
The revelation that Mia is the White Mask is every bit as shocking and sudden as it is. Much like the novel, there is no foreshadowing of her involvement in all of this, not even the slightest clue. And for me, I wished the anime changed this element a little instead of keeping it as it is.
The fight scene with the vampire is done well, though not as epic as the Shiba siblings vs Lina duels from episode 4. Erika proves her prowess in CQC once more, and Mikihiko gets to shine again as an Ancient Magic user. The banter between Tatsuya and Lina is cute, especially when he calls her useless, much to her chagrin.
One thing that may baffle audiences here is why Tatsuya seems incompetent compared to all his previous battles. But the answer is quite simple. As a soldier, Tatsuya works on “information first, neutralize next” modus operandi. He can’t fight something he doesn’t know about, even with his Mist Dispersion, especially an entity that he couldn’t perceive. After all, Tatsuya can only detect psion waves coming from magicians, and not the raw energy that is pushion. Thus, his incompetence here is justified, and we see how it greatly affected him after the battle. The fact that it was Mizuki, the weakest of the group, who helped them drive away the Parasite just proves that Tatsuya’s powers are too specialized for certain threats, confirming that he is not as overpowered as we once thought he is.
The end credits scene provides a slight cliffhanger, and an implication that this Parasite is not an easy foe.
Overall, episode 5 is good for an adaptation and deserves a 9/10.