RJ Writing Ink

Shows like Star vs. The Forces of Evil tend to take a lot of influence from anime coming out of Japan. The whole premise was inspired by Daron’s Nefcy love for Sailor Moon, after all. However, I’ve also noticed that the show wound up taking influence from other genres of anime without meaning to; specifically, the harem anime genre. Case in point, we have our main male character, Marco Diaz.

A running gag throughout the Star fandom is the fact that Marco winds up having a bunch of different girls attracted to him. Thus, he’s the subject to heavy shipping in the fandom. Starco, Jarco, Janco, Markapoo, Kellco, Higgsco! The guy’s like a harem anime protagonist. So, in this next fan-fic, we run with that idea and see how far it can go.

Marco’s Highschool Harem Life

Author: NoHonor

Type of Fan Work: AU/Harem

First Published: July 15, 2019

Status: Ongoing

Synopsis

Marco Diaz is your normal 16-year-old high schooler. When he’s not getting good grades in school, he’s hanging out with his friends, his twin sister Mariposa, or practicing his karate like his idol Mackie Hand. Then one day, his life changes when the Principal tells him he’s been accepted into an exchange program with a school call Mewni High. The catch is that this isn’t a normal school: it’s in another dimension. And most of the school’s population consists of humanoid monsters.

In this new world of strange and incredible beings, Marco quickly feels out of his depth. Fortunately for him, he’s met with a cast of familiar faces who help him adjust. Together with his new friends, Marco begins his new life as the first human to attend Mewni High, with all the adventures you’d expect from a harem story!

Backstory Time!

Firstly, I think I should provide the premise behind this story. In this story’s timeline, Queen Skywynne Butterfly (aka Eclipsa’s grandmother) chose to abolish the monarchy and founded Mewni High. Which may or may not be Butterfly Castle converted into a boarding school. Eclipsa eventually became Dean, and somewhere along the lines, she accidentally made herself immortal. Thus, she’s been Dean for three hundred years.

Secondly, Mewni High’s home to students and faculty from all across the multiverse, including the Monsters of Mewni. Thanks to the school’s efforts, Monster’s are treated as equals from the get go, so things are much more peaceful. In addition, some of the adults from the show work as teachers at the school, including members of the Magic High Commission. This is the world that Marco Diaz finds himself in, and it’s pretty fun.

Reimagined Cast

Beyond Marco and characters explicitly from Earth, the rest of the cast are either Mewmans, monsters, or characters re imagined as monsters This includes Marco’s group of friends in Mewni High, who all happen to be the girls he’s close to on the show.

Firstly, we have Star Butterfly herself, who’s stuck in her Mewberty Form full-time. Unlike the show, though, it’s not boy-crazy and has to do with helping her body soak up magic. Jackie Lynn Thomas is a mer-girl, which is a nice nod to the fan theory that she was a mermaid. Hekapoo’s the same as she’s always been. Janna’s a witch, which is no surprise, and Kelly now has pointy ears and a tail under her hair. What is a surprise, though, is the last three members of the main cast. The first is Tammy, a gender-bent version of Tom, and Meteora, who’s been aged up to Marco’s age. Rounding out the group is Higgs, who starts out as mean-spirited as she was in the show, but eventually becomes the tsundere of the group; and she’s also a Valkyrie.

Really crazy cast huh?

Three Great Advantages

I’ve developed a soft spot for harem stories over the years, though I do have some standards regarding the genre. That said, I think NoHonor does a good job of adapting the show to fit this, and he has three things working in his favor.

Firstly, the idea of a harem for Marco’s not new: a lot of jokes have been made about how many girls are attracted to Marco in the show. As a result, they all transition well to this type of story.

Secondly, thanks to the show’s premise of inter-dimensional adventures and magic, the idea of a high school with students from across the multiverse doesn’t sound too far-fetched. Third and finally, this story takes a lot of inspiration from a harem anime called Rosario+Vampire. The premise is the same: human boy goes to school for monsters in another dimension and befriends a bunch of cute girls who all end up attracted to him. The difference is Marco doesn’t have to keep his human identity a secret.

Believe it or not, Rosario+Vampire was my first harem anime.

A Light-Hearted, Loyally Good Time

It may be because of my enjoyment of good harem anime, but I like Marco’s Highschool Harem Life. NoHonor clearly knows what he’s doing in regards to the show’s cast. Each of the characters retains enough of their personality to be recognizable, but unique enough to do their own thing. In addition, NoHonor stay’s pretty faithful to the show’s lore, throwing in a lot of easter eggs and references for eagle-eyed fans to look for.

In addition to all this, NoHonor also throws in references to other popular works, fan-made or otherwise. One chapter takes its name from a quote from Dragon Ball Z Abridged by Team Four Star, which I’m a big fan of. That same quote even recreates the most iconic scene from the 2000 animated The Emperor’s New Groove, which I found hilarious. Another chapter was basically a JoJo reference that will make fans of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure drool.

In short, I’d recommend you’d go read this if you like Star vs. The Forces of Evil or harem stories.

Click here to see my other reviews of fan fiction

Star vs. The Forces of Evil, “Cleaved” Series Finale Review

After four years of fun and weirdness, it’s over. Star vs. The Forces of Evil, one of the best cartoons of the decade, has ended its run on TV. Unless Daron Nefcy decides to make a movie, but more on that later.

I mentioned this in my review of the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones that I was now looking forward to the finale to Star more than Game of Thrones. After watching the finale on DisneyNow an hour before it ever came on TV, I think I was right to do so. I cannot remember the last time the finale to a cartoon has made me cry so much!

A Fateful Decision

After being backed into a corner by Mina’s army of Solarian warriors, Star realizes that there’s only one choice she can make to save Mewni from being destroyed: she has to destroy magic itself.

While I fear that her decision could have far-reaching consequences, it shows how much she’s grown. Whereas the hyperactive cuckoolander we first met would have balked at this plan, Star’s grown wise enough to realize that the level of power magic gives is too dangerous. Even Hekapoo supports her decision, even knowing that she, Glossaryck and the rest of the Commission will die.

And she won’t do it alone. Marco joins her for the most important mission of their lives as they head towards their destiny.

In a rather clever turn of events, the finale also shows us the real reason why Glossaryck eats pudding so much: it helps people keep their minds in the Realm of Magic. That is genius! But Star’s plan isn’t as simple as she hoped. Try though she might to use the Whispering Spell to destroy the magic, there’s just too much of it.

Meanwhile, Marco tries to fight off the corrupted Unicorns and a corrupted Tom using his karate and the wand. Yes, he’s using the Royal Wand again, which is a cool concept. Sadly, it doesn’t really do anything, as Marco’s not as good at magic as Star is. Luckily, he snaps Tom back to normal despite getting hurt pretty bad.

Our Powers Combined

At that moment, Eclipsa, Moon, and Meteora all show up after deciding that Star was right. And then the past wielders of the Wand show up and help. It may be a little fanservice-y, but it was a nice touch to see the past Butterflys show their support. Even Solaria, the one who created Mina, helps her daugther, and looks at her granddaughter with pride. When Mina tries to interfere, Solaria looks at her in disgust and shame.

“With or Without Magic…We Belong Together”

Together, they manage to destroy the magic, and the realm begins to crumble. Tragically, when Marco asks how he and Star plan to see each other, he realizes that they can’t. Star tries going back to Mewni, but the idea of a life without Marco is something she can’t deal with. She chooses to leave her home behind to be with her best friend and true love.

Turns out, Marco had the same idea, and both of them remain stranded as the Realm of Magic crumbles around them. They don’t care, though. Magic may have brought them together, but with or without it, they know their place in the universe is with each other.

A World Without Magic

And in one final flash of light, it’s over. Magic is gone from the universe, with the Magic High Commission and Glossaryck along with it. Marco, Jelly, and that eagle guy are sent back to their worlds. But without magic, the Solarian warriors return to normal, and Mina’s victims will live.

Even Mina survives, and despite Moon trying one last time to help her, she refuses her help and runs into the woods. I don’t feel bad for her: even after seeing Solaria disapprove of her actions, she won’t let her racist views go.

One Last Spell

The age of magic is over, but just as it looks like Star and Marco will be separated forever, one last act of magic plays out. I don’t know if it was because the Realm of Magic was responding to their statement that, magic or no, they belong together. Or maybe it was that old trope of “magic being born from love” being in play; or both. Whatever the reason, a portal appears on Earth and Mewni, and Star and Marco rush to it as fast they can, only for it to explode.

Two Friends, One World

When the dust settles, something truly amazing has happened. The last bit of magic cleaved Earth, Mewni, and possibly every other dimension into one. Where there was once many worlds, there’s now one incredible one.

None of that matters to Star and Marco, though. The only thing that does matter is the sight of each other right in front of them. Against all odds, they found a way to always be together. The two lovers walk up to each other, too overjoyed to say more than a “hey” and “hi”.

And as the credits roll and pan out to the otherworldly sky that makes up their one world, they probably leapt in each other’s arms, laughed and cried, and then kissed like it was no tomorrow.

Can’t Stop Crying

Everytime I try and watch those last few seconds, my eyes won’t stop tearing up. It’s just so beautfiul. The incredible background, and the joyful music make me start tearing up from happiness . If you read my post on Star and Marco’s relationship, then you’ll know that I think that Star and Marco’s friendship has been a central part of it. They have one of the strongest relationships that I have seen in fiction; their love was strong enough to cleave their two world’s together into one.

When I saw that “Cleaved” was only going to be half an hour, I was worried that it would end being a rushed ending like the final season of Samurai Jack. But I was wrong. While it was the final episode, it was part of nine-episode arc that, in a way, could be considered a movie finale. Some fans consider it to be rushed, and while I wish the fight in the Realm of Magic went on longer, I disagree as a whole. “Cleaved” left me feeling emotionally satisfied with the ending, and it managed to come back to the core aspect of the show: Star and Marco.

This Isn’t the End

But for those not satisified with the finale, something tells me this isn’t the last we’ll see of Star vs. The Forces of Evil. Magic may be gone, but now Star and Marco have a whole new world to live in, and new problems to face as Earth and Mewni learn to live together. There’s plenty of potential for a sequel in the form of comics, a movie, or another TV show! Daron Nefcy has even said that she’d be happy to come back to Star and Marco in the future, so there’s still hope.

In short, I loved the finale. It managed to wrap up the final arc of the show, ensured that our heroes got their happy ending, and was open-ended enough to allow for more adventures to be told. This may be goodbye for now, but I doubt we’ve seen the last of Star and Marco.

I give “Cleaved” A 5/5. Incredible ending to one of the best cartoons of the decade.

Click here to read my review of the final episode of Game of Thrones