MSF High

MSF High is a webcomic and more. It is hosted here and created by Wraith, and Aakashi. It is a comic that takes place in a rather special High School. People who are in near-death situations, people who have lost everything in life, are taken from all across the galaxy, whisked away in an instant. Here, they are invited to train, and become heroes. Upon graduation, they can go anywhere they wish in the galaxy to fulfill a new life. One of the main rules of MSF High? Every day, all damage and changes to your body is fixed. Even if you die, you wake up good as new!

Of course, since the school is practically run by Anime Cliches, it is likely that problems will arise. Then again, in a school where Martial Arts and Magic are core classes, and the "Language" course also teaches you to cast spells from scrolls, things are likely to get weird. Oh, and don't forget that the Gym teacher considers flaming dodgeballs good motivational tools!

The comic focuses on a small set of characters in the larger school, and develops both the school and the universe it resides in. The main character is Donovan, who arrived at the school as a dark elf, despite being a human beforehand. This is considered normal. His best friend is Rainer, who is a member of a race called "Watchers", three-eyed beings who observe the galaxy. He soon gathers a band of friends such as Nanako the Catgirl, and Urk the Orc-turned-Fairy.

This leads to another prime characteristic of MSF High. Many people at MSF High can transform students into other forms, and even change people's gender. The two main offenders are Nurse Keiri and Ms. Fenris (The magic teacher.) With the amount of danger at this school, however, visits to the nurse are rather common. Rainer, for instance, tends to get quite his share of karma.

The comic generally concentrates on humor based on the characters, and the rather strange situations they find themselves in. It does however have a good dose of action and romance, with drama in the character's backgrounds as well.

MSF High takes place in a well-developed cosmology known as Mahou Galaxy, with twelve main races and a large amount of background details. The timeline found in the RPG Book goes back 24,000 years! A unique detail about this setting is the number of Altearths, planets that resemble Earth but may have a different history and such, allowing many varying backgrounds for characters. The ten main races are part of numerous factions, that have rather varying relationships and opinions of each other. Fortunately, most of their opinions are put aside in MSF High, since it is neutral ground and separate from the galaxy at large. In theory. In practice, a few students take their problems with them.

The webcomic also has a prequel, High School Changed Me, from before many details were finalized. It was put on hiatus, and has a different cast of main characters. It is still hosted at the main site, however.

The comic has spawned an RPG and a card game, both of which are sold on the main website. The RPG book includes a gamemaster's section with numerous secrets about the background. It also has a forum-based RPG, run by a series of trusted gamemasters, that provides further ability to explore the world. It also includes the timeline, and profiles of the races in the galaxy. The forum includes a spin-off section, Mahou Galaxy, devoted to adventures in this outside galaxy.

All tropes to do with the forums go on this page.

Tropes used in MSF High include:
  • Academy of Adventure
  • Acme Products: Fenris runs one of these. Be very, very careful about the fine print.
  • All There in the Manual: Much of the information about MSF High's setting is in the Rulebook for the RPG, on the playing card flavor text, or in the Questions and Answers section of the forums. It actually helps add to the very detailed setting.
  • Amnesiac Dissonance: Students at MSF High can surpress painful memories as part of their 'second chance'. If these memories are discovered, this can occur.
  • Art Evolution: Marginal. Your Mileage May Vary on whether it's good anyway.
  • Author Appeal: Wraith, Aakashi, and a significant portion of the fanbase like Transformations and Transgender. The setting does include justifications for it, and keeps it secondary to the main story.
  • Author Avatar: Subverted. The Author Avatar, while in the backstory, and writing all of the RPG sourcebooks, has disappeared by the time the comic takes place.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Any teacher at MSF High has this. Any Legion Queen has this, with access to all ten Legion 'facets'. Principal Kasumi? Don't even ask.
    • The trope applies to Keiri as well.
  • Badass Teacher: Some teachers are more obviously befitting this trope, but to keep control of the kind of people who hang out at MSF High, being one of these is pretty much required.
  • Break the Cutie: Oh Sasha, from her we learn what happens when people don't donate for the comic...
  • Bee People: The Legion also fit in this, as they are a caste system. In a subversion, their caste is more of a meritocracy. People are granted abilities to do what they are good at, and people can have multiple castes. (Princesses and Queens, in fact, have the abilities of all castes.)
  • Body Horror: The Legion, at least to unwilling targets (read: genocidal Knight Templars).
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: Lana who is a Yandere. And she spends half her time physically attached to Don.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Rainer MAY qualify for this.
  • Elemental Embodiment: In ten different flavors, one for each type of magic.
  • Emergency Transformation: This is the rationale behind most of the transformations that people attending the nurse's office undergo: They get turned into something that is easier for her to heal. She pretty much invariably also turns them into girls, though, and sometimes the justification for the transformation is really flimsy, like turning a giant troll into a pixie so she can put on a bandage that will fit.
  • Fantastic Caste System: The Divine are actually far, far closer to this then the Legion.
  • Faster-Than-Light Travel: Biowarp engines provide this.
  • Filler Arc: A 'lorecrackers' parody arc was done by Wraith and luckybucket.
  • Gender Bender: See especially Rainer.
  • Genre Savvy: People at this school have come to realize it is based on Anime. Leads to lots of InvokedTropes.
  • Green-Skinned Space Babe: The legion are this for the most part, being planty alien chicks.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Most demi humans are these on varying human to animal ratio's with domestic's being on the human end of the scale and martials being on the animal end.
  • Handsome Lech: Or Rainer may qualify for this. Your Mileage May Vary.
  • Hive Mind: The Legion, a race of plant-girls, are one of these. Interestingly enough, individual Legion retain a sense of self.
    • The hive mind nature of the Legion, especially during the Legion War, is highlighted with the Saving Sasha arc, where the being that was once Sasha tries to reclaim her rightful body, only for the Donovan to destroy her.
  • Hive Queen: All Legion have a central 'Queen.'
  • Horny Devils: Subverted, Succubi are often stereotyped as this. In practice, it's possible for Succubi to be perfectly chaste, and they don't even have to have sex for energy. They do have pherenomes, which can be used to manipulate someone. They're really closer to The Vamp.
  • Hulk Speak: Orcs, the main Redeemed race, tend to get this. In a subversion, however, in many cases they are just as intelligent as any other race. (See especially their card in the Card Game.)
  • Improbable Weapon User: Donvovan is forced to be one of these by his sword. Yo-yo, Frying Pan, anything BUT "sword"!
  • Invoked Trope: Examples include Runners, girls who run through the school with eyes closed and bookbags unzipped, looking for a cute guy who they will crash into, and subsquently date.
  • Karmic Transformation: This is Rainer's life.
  • Klingon Promotion: If you can beat up the hall monitor, you can become the new hall monitor.
  • Lethal Chef: There are at least two of these at MSF High, Alouette and Lana. Interestingly, both may have the ability to cook normal, well-done food. (Alouette almost certainly). It's just they sometimes make meals that come alive...and lust for blood.
  • Love Makes You Evil: Lana again, as it's a component of 'Stalker with a Crush. In her case, evil means 'beating up any girl who makes eye contact, or says a single word to him'.
  • First Law of Gender Bending: Rather enforced by Nurse Keiri - she almost never lets a patient leave her office male, and usually tries to talk the patients out of using the one-time Reset Button; what's more, with nearly all the foreground patients so far, she's succeeded. (While played straight with Keiri, it was later reversed with Lana--see Stalker with a Crush, below--who accidentally hit herself with a "Genderiser Ray" and went from female-to-male.)
    • Rainer also averts this. He turns back to normal from every transformation.
  • Second Law of Gender Bending: This is how Keiri keeps people transformed. She makes sure they enjoy it, thus the Reset Button doesn't help.
  • Third Law of Gender Bending: Surprisingly, generally averted. The only part that's played straight is outfits, and at present there have been no mental changes. Subverted, in fact, with Victoria.
  • Mr. Exposition: Rainer. In fact, this and his perversion may be his most significant characteristics.
  • Multicolored Hair: A trademark feature of the Legion.
  • Noblewoman's Laugh: Queen Althea, the first Legion, and some of her Princesses.
  • One-Gender Race: The Legion. Others include gorgons, succubi, valkyries and harpes
  • Organic Technology: Thanks to their past as terraforming nanobots, the Legion embody this. They're very good at it, too.
  • Our Souls Are Different: The soul in MSF High cannot be altered. It is this soul that determines what form a student shall wake up in.
  • Reset Button: Not totally, but at the end of the day, all injuries heal, the dead rise, and transformed students can choose to change back or keep the new form forever.
  • Running Gags: Quite a few.
  • Schedule Slip: Occurs quite often, due to other duties. Donovan's even hung lampshades on it.
  • The Atoner: After causing a giant war and nearly taking over the galaxy, the Legion surrendered, apologized, and became these. Exactly why has not yet been explored.
  • The Humphrey: Fenris. She runs quite a bit of businesses, and hates any class where she can't sell things. As for what she sells, well Donovan discovered some interesting characteristics about his sword.
  • The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: Subverted: While Donovan's sword is said to be an ancient artifact wielded by a destined hero bought at one of these, it was revealed to be made by the Magic Teacher, who runs her own company!
  • The Merch: While not directly merchandise driven, Trading cards check, table top RPG rule books check, commission's and reward points check.
  • The Virus: The Legion convert people into loyal drones, but in the comic's present, they retain most of their personalities, and the only targets are willing converts or aggressors. There was a time when they were more aggressive, but they'd like to forget about that.
  • The Watson: This is Donovan's role. Fortunately, he is also The Hero in training.
  • The Omniscient Council Of Vagueness: The newest arc has introduced a group of cloaked hooded council members talking about Donovans progress after the Lana arc.
  • They Killed Kenny: Rainer's running gag. Considering his attitude, he deserves it.
  • Transformation Comic: It's almost too obvious to note.
  • We Sell Everything: Fenris again.
  • Word of God: There are no incubi in the MSF High universe and there never will be.
    • Technically not true, as Incubi are actually Succubi who use a spell to transform themselves. They are rare though.
  • You Will Be Assimilated: The Legion, once again.
  • Our Demons Are Different: For one thing, they're just another race, Demons and devils are two subspecies, they are part of Order versus Chaos...One of the main stars of HSCM is one...(Half demon, half devil), They're called Devilings officially...
  • Our Angels Are Different: Just another race, with a lot of information still up in the air. They reincarnate instead of dying.
  • Our Monsters Are Different: Like, for instance, their take on many of the 'evil' races. The Redeemed.
  • Play-By-Post Games: The forum RP is in this style. And it is a big part of the community.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Lana, who became Donovan's 'girlfriend' for a short time, is pretty much this, full stop.
  • Talking Is a Free Action: Both averted and subverted. During one fight, http://www.msfhigh.com/?date=2009-01-22 , there is a complete lack of this, with the author explaining it would be too much. A fun subversion occurs earlier. A person sets a fuse on a bomb to "monologue length"...and then stops talking. http://www.msfhigh.com/?date=2005-09-30
  • Word of Dante: Since the Question and Answer threads are sometimes answered by people other than Wraith, they run the risk of being this. Also, a lot of people use elements that haven't fully been fleshed out, which can lead to embarassments in the forum roleplay. Such as thinking Legion have green blood. Or information about Succubi. Or Divine having kids.
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