Manga Review: Puella Magi Kazumi Magica Volume 1 by Masaki Hiramatsu & Takashi Tensugi
A couple of years back, there was a surprise hit anime titled Puella Magi Madoka Magica. While many magical girl stories have dark undertones beneath their fluffy, candy-colored exteriors, Madoka went full on into very dark places by twisting some of the standard genre cliches. I won’t spoil those plot points here, just in case.
Kazumi takes place more or less in the same world as the Madoka series. Young Kazumi wakes up to find herself stuffed in a trunk, naked, and with no personal memories beyond her name. After some confusing adventures, Kazumi discovers that she can use magic, and is told that she is a mahou shoujo, a “magical girl.” Kazumi is told that magical girls make a bargain with certain beings. In exchange for having a wish granted, they must use their magical powers to fight monsters known as “witches.” Being amnesiac, Kazumi does not remember what her wish was.
Kazumi meets other magical girls, and fights some monsters. But given the world she’s in, there must be something else going on….
It’s difficult to go into too much detail about the plotline without discussing spoilers. Suffice it to say that this volume is deceptively light-hearted, and the subtitle “The Innocent Malice” will apply by the end of the series. I should mention that despite the main characters being junior-high age girls, the target audience for the series is seinin, young men. In this volume, that’s most notable with some blatant fanservice scenes that the artist’s notes make clear are to appeal to him.
I’m a bit dubious about recommending this volume, as for the people who are into the deeper themes and plot twists, the series will read better as a whole.
