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Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice #1
Puella Magi Kazumi Magica, Vol. 1: The Innocent Malice
Kidnapped and stuffed into a trunk by an unknown assailant, teenager Kazumi bursts forth from the confines of the case to discover that she has been stripped not only of her clothes, but also of the memories of her life before the kidnapping. When she is recovered by a pair of schoolgirls, she doesn't recognize them as her best friends and roommates, Umika and Kaoru. As Kazumi tries to settle back into her normal life, she quickly realizes that her former "normal" was anything but!
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 12, 2011
12 people are currently reading
403 people want to read
About the author
Magica Quartet
168 books204 followersA group collaboration consisting of director Akiyuki Shinbou, writer Gen Urobuchi, the original character designer Ume Aoki, and the producer Atsuhiro Iwakami.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
August 11, 2016
When I first had the pleasure of watching "Puella Magi Madoka Magica", I was floored by the skill that went into taking an overused anime trope and dissected it into what was surely a work of art. Later I purchased the three volume manga series and enjoyed how well the story had been translated.
Naturally, the idea of a sister series involving a team of magical girls in contract with another incubator (Jubei) was enticing. Unfortunately, if you are new to this series, you will most definitely be lost here. I can safely say this, because even as a fan of the original series, I spent the first few chapters wondering what on earth I was reading!
The story begins with another well known anime trope. Kazumi is an amnesiac. She wakes up naked and locked in a suitcase with no memory of how or why she is in this position or who she is. It seems as if she was accidentally given to a young name who thought he was purchasing an explosive. Finding Kazumi, he is talked down from his original plans and befriends her. The two bond over their love of food.
Eventually, two young women Kazumi's age claim her and take her home. When the female cop who had been tracking Kazumi's rescuer transforms into a dark creature, Kazumi instinctively transforms into a magical girl. With the help of her roommates, Kazumi fends off her attacker and learns about the secret society of magical girls.
Instead of the psychological tension that builds during Madoka's story, "Kazumi" opts for cheap panty shots and fan service. What made "Madoka" so extraordinary was that it didn't need these cheap tricks to be "edgy"! It relied on the story to do that instead. And that is what annoyed me most about, "Kazumi". The story is just confusing! It isn't even that it simply assumes that you know the original material. It is disjointed as hell! I am still confused two volumes in! Hopefully the writers will retain a grip on the world that made the original so great. If not, it appears the soul of "Kazumi" may be far from the empty shell of her story.
Naturally, the idea of a sister series involving a team of magical girls in contract with another incubator (Jubei) was enticing. Unfortunately, if you are new to this series, you will most definitely be lost here. I can safely say this, because even as a fan of the original series, I spent the first few chapters wondering what on earth I was reading!
The story begins with another well known anime trope. Kazumi is an amnesiac. She wakes up naked and locked in a suitcase with no memory of how or why she is in this position or who she is. It seems as if she was accidentally given to a young name who thought he was purchasing an explosive. Finding Kazumi, he is talked down from his original plans and befriends her. The two bond over their love of food.
Eventually, two young women Kazumi's age claim her and take her home. When the female cop who had been tracking Kazumi's rescuer transforms into a dark creature, Kazumi instinctively transforms into a magical girl. With the help of her roommates, Kazumi fends off her attacker and learns about the secret society of magical girls.
Instead of the psychological tension that builds during Madoka's story, "Kazumi" opts for cheap panty shots and fan service. What made "Madoka" so extraordinary was that it didn't need these cheap tricks to be "edgy"! It relied on the story to do that instead. And that is what annoyed me most about, "Kazumi". The story is just confusing! It isn't even that it simply assumes that you know the original material. It is disjointed as hell! I am still confused two volumes in! Hopefully the writers will retain a grip on the world that made the original so great. If not, it appears the soul of "Kazumi" may be far from the empty shell of her story.
March 9, 2022
Of all the Madoka Magica spinoffs, Kazumi Magica is probably the weakest and least connected with the original series - both in story and in spirit. A young girl named Kazumi wakes up in a box after being kidnapped, with no memory of what happened to her. She's rescued by a team of Magical Girls who reveal that Kazumi is one of them - but she needs to relearn her own powers (including an ability to detect Witches) in order to fight a new, dangerous form of Witches that manifest from seemingly ordinary people. With only fleeting cameos by the original Madoka cast, the story relies on its new characters and art living up to the PMMM brand. Unfortunately the principal cast is, at most, blandly likable and their various misadventures aren't compelling or amusing enough to warrant much attention. As for the art? Well, the mangaka was a hentai artist, and it shows in the egregious fanservice: Kazumi is introduced in an extended nude scene and her Magical Girl outfit seems more appropriate for something like Kill la Kill than Madoka. In fairness, I did like the story's twist on Witches which could have supported a better story on its own. As it is, it's merely some fleeting spice in an unmemorable, unappealing Mahou shoujo slog.
January 7, 2018
*Sigh*
What I loved about Madoka Magica was the complex female characters and the subversion of anime tropes.
It's very obvious that they got a new artist and writer for this Kazumi spin-off. And they're both pretty sexist, so it's... very disappointing. Nearly every panel and all costumes are designed in a creepishly sexualized way, and there are constant up-skirt shots. There are too many nude scenes and the clothing clings to the characters in very unrealistic ways (Kazumi's loose-fitting nightgown, for instance, perfectly shapes to her ass). And keep in mind that these characters are in middle school. The artist tries to claim this costume design is *edgy* and *badass* but it's not. It's just gross and pedophilic.
Personality-wise, the characters are all very one dimensional and bland, and I don't care much for any of them.
And what made Madoka so amazing was the artwork that went into the witches. The witches in this spin-off are just... blah.
The story itself is interesting, some of the non-sexual humor is funny, and I like the magical girl who can talk to animals. But that's about it. I almost took three stars off for the shitty and sexist art direction, but the story is at least interesting enough to warrant reading the rest of the series. So 3/5 in the end.
What I loved about Madoka Magica was the complex female characters and the subversion of anime tropes.
It's very obvious that they got a new artist and writer for this Kazumi spin-off. And they're both pretty sexist, so it's... very disappointing. Nearly every panel and all costumes are designed in a creepishly sexualized way, and there are constant up-skirt shots. There are too many nude scenes and the clothing clings to the characters in very unrealistic ways (Kazumi's loose-fitting nightgown, for instance, perfectly shapes to her ass). And keep in mind that these characters are in middle school. The artist tries to claim this costume design is *edgy* and *badass* but it's not. It's just gross and pedophilic.
Personality-wise, the characters are all very one dimensional and bland, and I don't care much for any of them.
And what made Madoka so amazing was the artwork that went into the witches. The witches in this spin-off are just... blah.
The story itself is interesting, some of the non-sexual humor is funny, and I like the magical girl who can talk to animals. But that's about it. I almost took three stars off for the shitty and sexist art direction, but the story is at least interesting enough to warrant reading the rest of the series. So 3/5 in the end.
August 2, 2016
I had consumed available Puella Magi * Magica content with such furor that, at some point along the way, I lost an important part of my interest in it, and continued mostly on inertia, and never quite got around to checking out any of the written form material, but a few chance meetings with reminders of such spin-offs and adaptations existing convinced me to check Kazumi Magica out.
The art style feels muddy and confusing, and this neither contrasts with the current events of the story, nor enhances its elements whatsoever, but does serve in muddling the perception of the ongoing events. The design of the mantis witch is a bit difficult to properly understand, and latter witches are equally as hard to get a proper grasp upon. I am going to assume that this is a conscious choice which serves to underlie the witches not being the main focus of the story, nudging the reader towards the clearer, aesthetically purer magical girls. Overall, the art looks good in most panels, but the proportions are off in a few, and layout doesn't exactly feel like anything special.
Fan service is nonsensically thrown in without any kind of proper justification, and this, especially when compared with other works (Tsugumomo comes to mind) which manage to seamlessly integrate it within the storyline, irks me quite a lot. Overall, I have a few broad ideas as to where the story could be taken, since the manga introduces a lot of elements which don't necessarily get a lot of page time, but are clearly going to be relevant later on in any kind of variably predictable fashion. Basically, the story shows signs of having been carefully planned, but is paced too slowly for me to feel like the plot is advancing anywhere, yet too fast to make me feel like i got to know the characters involved in it.
In the end, I have to say that I'm curious as to where the tired amnesiac protagonist theme is going to be taken during this show. Despite the volume feeling merely "okay" to me, I will definitely continue reading the series, and would likely have done so without having been aware of a generally positive reaction to it beforehand.
The art style feels muddy and confusing, and this neither contrasts with the current events of the story, nor enhances its elements whatsoever, but does serve in muddling the perception of the ongoing events. The design of the mantis witch is a bit difficult to properly understand, and latter witches are equally as hard to get a proper grasp upon. I am going to assume that this is a conscious choice which serves to underlie the witches not being the main focus of the story, nudging the reader towards the clearer, aesthetically purer magical girls. Overall, the art looks good in most panels, but the proportions are off in a few, and layout doesn't exactly feel like anything special.
Fan service is nonsensically thrown in without any kind of proper justification, and this, especially when compared with other works (Tsugumomo comes to mind) which manage to seamlessly integrate it within the storyline, irks me quite a lot. Overall, I have a few broad ideas as to where the story could be taken, since the manga introduces a lot of elements which don't necessarily get a lot of page time, but are clearly going to be relevant later on in any kind of variably predictable fashion. Basically, the story shows signs of having been carefully planned, but is paced too slowly for me to feel like the plot is advancing anywhere, yet too fast to make me feel like i got to know the characters involved in it.
In the end, I have to say that I'm curious as to where the tired amnesiac protagonist theme is going to be taken during this show. Despite the volume feeling merely "okay" to me, I will definitely continue reading the series, and would likely have done so without having been aware of a generally positive reaction to it beforehand.
January 23, 2019
Waaaaaaay too ecchi for me, especially since the main characters are, what? Fourteen? I don't want to see fully naked (but magically without nipples or crotches) schoolgirls, thanks.
Plus the plot felt a little confusing, but, in fairness, that could be because I've never seen the anime. Maybe that would clear things up.
But I'm giving this the lowest star possible because of underage sexualization. This is what makes manga fans look like pervs.
Plus the plot felt a little confusing, but, in fairness, that could be because I've never seen the anime. Maybe that would clear things up.
But I'm giving this the lowest star possible because of underage sexualization. This is what makes manga fans look like pervs.
February 22, 2020
"A person isn't made of memories. Memories are just the traces that a person's actions leave behind."
Pretty sure I'm going to pass out and fucking die if I keep seeing Kazumi push her little titties together as she does all the fucking time. God damn. Madoka Magica wasn't like this at all. Takashi Tensugi knows what's up. All these fucking tiny boobies and wide-ish hips and half of Kazumi's ass is just plainly visible above her skirt. This is what mahou shoujo should be. Toei, what the fuck, step it up with Pretty Cure! These fucking ridiculous thigh-gaps! All three of the core group of magical-girls have almost exactly the same body type, but it's the best possible 2D body type so I'll choose not to give a good god damn about Tensugi's lack of originality. And his afterword is just hilarious. My man seeking to evolve the fanservice of the character designs further along for this spin-off. A hero.
Fuck was I talking about? Oh, manga.
SHAFT struck gold with Madoka Magica in 2011, but fucked up somehow by making the audience care too much about the main five characters that it was hard to continue into further stories. The Rebellion film (which, by the way, is far superior to the main series) even had to undo things slightly, or appear to do so, in order to "work." The world-building for the series allows for many more magical-girls to appear anywhere in the world, but the end-point of the TV anime kind of closed the major risk they would face, and so the idea of spin-offs maybe wasn't as fruitful as it could otherwise have been. But that didn't stop anyone from milking the franchise dry!
Now, while I was somewhat aware of the original anime when it was new, I did not try to get into it until a bit later. I made a strange mistake of buying the manga adaptation first (I couldn't torrent in my dorm in freshman year of college, so I just ordered the manga online to get the story that way). I knew of InuCurry's wacky paper doll Witches, and dreamed up a strange belief that the manga would go above and beyond to make the Witches even wackier. I was wrong, and was instead greeted by what felt like a story being told on fast-forward. But it was okay, I guess, and anyway this is not a review for the Madoka manga. So, some years later, I would get Volume 1 of the Homura Tamura 4-koma parody and Volume 1 of Kazumi Magica.
I didn't really know what to expect of this manga other than that the character designs as seen on the front cover appealed to me in vulgar ways already mentioned above. The plot description seemed quite different from the tragedy of the parent series, and so I was curious to see just how this turned out. Frankly, it's not very much like Madoka at all, and probably should have been called its own thing, if not for the fact that it borrows superficially from Madoka lore. Tonally, this subseries is somewhat unique (well, I haven't read Oriko or anything yet), and thus appears as less of a ripoff than the not-related-to-Madoka-at-all Yuki Yuna series which sought to do to Madoka what RahXephon did to Evangelion over a decade earlier. There is a feeling that the executives behind the Madoka franchise genuinely wanted to create something new, in spite of the tendency to shit out soulless husks of spin-offs to suck money out of the veins of rampant consumerist otaku (I sound over-critical, but I spent thousands of dollars on PVC anime figures so I'm one of the bad ones myself!).
The premise is that Kazumi awakens in a suitcase, amnesiac, and involved in a plot to bomb a shopping center after an enemy magical-girl swapped the Kazumi-suitcase with a bomb-suitcase to seemingly fool a would-be terrorist. This has nothing to do with anything, aside from introducing Kazumi and leading us to our first Witch battle. Strangely, we see a human transform into a Witch, which I don't remember really happening in the main series (a magical-girl turns into a Witch, but otherwise Witches are spawned from negative emotion). This Witch is a not-particularly-creative mantis-woman, but the issue of weak Witch design is rectified in the other two chapters, which try to better emulate InuCurry (even if the second Witch looks like a scrapped full-moon Shadow boss from Persona 3 and the third looks like it could be a basic enemy in the same game). None of the Witches actually seem to have barriers, despite the girls saying so, but maybe this is just a fault of the illustrator. The Witches are stated to be different from common Witches, but it is unclear just how so, as too many aesthetic changes might confuse a reader more familiar with SHAFT's original anime and the recent MagiReco spin-off. We do know these Witches were probably made by an enemy magical-girl (whom we encounter near the end of the volume) but this seems to be just one more thing to be explained later (like the cliffhanger showing the silhouette of a new Incubator).
This manga began in 2011, so it's maybe unfair to compare it to the MagiReco anime, but both series feature a similar flaw of introducing too many characters at once. In the first chapter, we get that Kazumi has amnesia but apparently knows Umika and Kaoru from her past. In the second chapter, we see that all three were/are a magical-girl cell working in tandem to battle Witches. In the third chapter, we get four more magical-girl heroines not previously mentioned, and barely any pages dedicated to making us care about them at all (this is a flaw in the MagiReco anime, with its attempt to adapt a gotta-catch-'em-all mobile gacha game, hence my earlier comparison). There are, however, four more volumes for the Kazumi manga, and I'm just about to order them all online, so hopefully the characters get better fleshed out. My main concern is that the four later girls aren't as cute as the initial three, but I guess the most important thing is that the protagonist, Kazumi herself, is just exquisitely lewd. I flipped through the book again a moment ago to make sure there were no explicit visible cues discerning a Witch barrier before making such a point above, and I saw Kazumi's itty bitty boobers squashed together again, and it was just nice. I think I blacked out for a second, but this could also be because I'm alternately drinking some nigori and some rice-vodka because I'm the type of dork who buys Japanese alcohol to drink before reading dumb cashgrab manga spin-offs of "important" anime.
I almost forgot to mention the scene where Kazumi begins transforming while flipping over a Witch's head and you can see the outline of her lady bits. It's on page 41. Not that that's important, but the page wasn't numbered so I had to count from the nearest numbered page (34) and to excuse my effort I felt like sharing.
Pretty sure I'm going to pass out and fucking die if I keep seeing Kazumi push her little titties together as she does all the fucking time. God damn. Madoka Magica wasn't like this at all. Takashi Tensugi knows what's up. All these fucking tiny boobies and wide-ish hips and half of Kazumi's ass is just plainly visible above her skirt. This is what mahou shoujo should be. Toei, what the fuck, step it up with Pretty Cure! These fucking ridiculous thigh-gaps! All three of the core group of magical-girls have almost exactly the same body type, but it's the best possible 2D body type so I'll choose not to give a good god damn about Tensugi's lack of originality. And his afterword is just hilarious. My man seeking to evolve the fanservice of the character designs further along for this spin-off. A hero.
Fuck was I talking about? Oh, manga.
SHAFT struck gold with Madoka Magica in 2011, but fucked up somehow by making the audience care too much about the main five characters that it was hard to continue into further stories. The Rebellion film (which, by the way, is far superior to the main series) even had to undo things slightly, or appear to do so, in order to "work." The world-building for the series allows for many more magical-girls to appear anywhere in the world, but the end-point of the TV anime kind of closed the major risk they would face, and so the idea of spin-offs maybe wasn't as fruitful as it could otherwise have been. But that didn't stop anyone from milking the franchise dry!
Now, while I was somewhat aware of the original anime when it was new, I did not try to get into it until a bit later. I made a strange mistake of buying the manga adaptation first (I couldn't torrent in my dorm in freshman year of college, so I just ordered the manga online to get the story that way). I knew of InuCurry's wacky paper doll Witches, and dreamed up a strange belief that the manga would go above and beyond to make the Witches even wackier. I was wrong, and was instead greeted by what felt like a story being told on fast-forward. But it was okay, I guess, and anyway this is not a review for the Madoka manga. So, some years later, I would get Volume 1 of the Homura Tamura 4-koma parody and Volume 1 of Kazumi Magica.
I didn't really know what to expect of this manga other than that the character designs as seen on the front cover appealed to me in vulgar ways already mentioned above. The plot description seemed quite different from the tragedy of the parent series, and so I was curious to see just how this turned out. Frankly, it's not very much like Madoka at all, and probably should have been called its own thing, if not for the fact that it borrows superficially from Madoka lore. Tonally, this subseries is somewhat unique (well, I haven't read Oriko or anything yet), and thus appears as less of a ripoff than the not-related-to-Madoka-at-all Yuki Yuna series which sought to do to Madoka what RahXephon did to Evangelion over a decade earlier. There is a feeling that the executives behind the Madoka franchise genuinely wanted to create something new, in spite of the tendency to shit out soulless husks of spin-offs to suck money out of the veins of rampant consumerist otaku (I sound over-critical, but I spent thousands of dollars on PVC anime figures so I'm one of the bad ones myself!).
The premise is that Kazumi awakens in a suitcase, amnesiac, and involved in a plot to bomb a shopping center after an enemy magical-girl swapped the Kazumi-suitcase with a bomb-suitcase to seemingly fool a would-be terrorist. This has nothing to do with anything, aside from introducing Kazumi and leading us to our first Witch battle. Strangely, we see a human transform into a Witch, which I don't remember really happening in the main series (a magical-girl turns into a Witch, but otherwise Witches are spawned from negative emotion). This Witch is a not-particularly-creative mantis-woman, but the issue of weak Witch design is rectified in the other two chapters, which try to better emulate InuCurry (even if the second Witch looks like a scrapped full-moon Shadow boss from Persona 3 and the third looks like it could be a basic enemy in the same game). None of the Witches actually seem to have barriers, despite the girls saying so, but maybe this is just a fault of the illustrator. The Witches are stated to be different from common Witches, but it is unclear just how so, as too many aesthetic changes might confuse a reader more familiar with SHAFT's original anime and the recent MagiReco spin-off. We do know these Witches were probably made by an enemy magical-girl (whom we encounter near the end of the volume) but this seems to be just one more thing to be explained later (like the cliffhanger showing the silhouette of a new Incubator).
This manga began in 2011, so it's maybe unfair to compare it to the MagiReco anime, but both series feature a similar flaw of introducing too many characters at once. In the first chapter, we get that Kazumi has amnesia but apparently knows Umika and Kaoru from her past. In the second chapter, we see that all three were/are a magical-girl cell working in tandem to battle Witches. In the third chapter, we get four more magical-girl heroines not previously mentioned, and barely any pages dedicated to making us care about them at all (this is a flaw in the MagiReco anime, with its attempt to adapt a gotta-catch-'em-all mobile gacha game, hence my earlier comparison). There are, however, four more volumes for the Kazumi manga, and I'm just about to order them all online, so hopefully the characters get better fleshed out. My main concern is that the four later girls aren't as cute as the initial three, but I guess the most important thing is that the protagonist, Kazumi herself, is just exquisitely lewd. I flipped through the book again a moment ago to make sure there were no explicit visible cues discerning a Witch barrier before making such a point above, and I saw Kazumi's itty bitty boobers squashed together again, and it was just nice. I think I blacked out for a second, but this could also be because I'm alternately drinking some nigori and some rice-vodka because I'm the type of dork who buys Japanese alcohol to drink before reading dumb cashgrab manga spin-offs of "important" anime.
I almost forgot to mention the scene where Kazumi begins transforming while flipping over a Witch's head and you can see the outline of her lady bits. It's on page 41. Not that that's important, but the page wasn't numbered so I had to count from the nearest numbered page (34) and to excuse my effort I felt like sharing.
September 28, 2020
DNF:
This is a huge disappointment as a huge fan of the original series/cast. Puella Magi Madoka Magica allows for beautiful dramatic tension and allows for female characters afforded respect and depth. Kazumi Magica is written/illustrated by two creeps who find it perfectly well and good to sexualize young girls every other panel, as well as having none of the tension and worldbuilding of the original series. Kazumi Magica doesn't even feel like it was supposed to be apart of the same franchise.
If I could give something a zero-star rating this would be recieving it.
This is a huge disappointment as a huge fan of the original series/cast. Puella Magi Madoka Magica allows for beautiful dramatic tension and allows for female characters afforded respect and depth. Kazumi Magica is written/illustrated by two creeps who find it perfectly well and good to sexualize young girls every other panel, as well as having none of the tension and worldbuilding of the original series. Kazumi Magica doesn't even feel like it was supposed to be apart of the same franchise.
If I could give something a zero-star rating this would be recieving it.
February 23, 2016
This book was much darker (in a scary sense) than the original series but other than that it was very interesting and intriguing and was one of the very best books I've read
October 13, 2018
okay, the first half of this novel was weird, as if the author was high as they wrote. all the sexual poses made me so uncomfortable because you know, they're in middle school and i considered giving up, but it seems like there isn't any more fanservice in the series.
the first half felt rushed as if the author wanted to get it over it. but after they set it up, the book's plot smoothed out and it became enjoyable.
the art style is flipping incredible.
it's different when compared to the originals, but it has the same ideas with magical girls, witches and the same darkness that make puella my favorite series.
the first half felt rushed as if the author wanted to get it over it. but after they set it up, the book's plot smoothed out and it became enjoyable.
the art style is flipping incredible.
it's different when compared to the originals, but it has the same ideas with magical girls, witches and the same darkness that make puella my favorite series.
August 19, 2024
I can't stand the way some scenes are drawn or some of the outfits - too ecchi. The story is probably going to get better and more clearly related to the main series, but I don't think I'll be able to read the second volume if it's the same style.
incomplete
February 15, 2020I couldn't stomach reading this... These are underage characters and in the middle of transforming they're naked? Surely there must've been another way?
August 27, 2020
I don't like anything about this, but that last panel ...
Ugh, fine, I'll keep reading.
Ugh, fine, I'll keep reading.
August 16, 2021
3.0 stars
June 23, 2022
Ended up dnfing it 50% in. It was just so bad. Madoka Magica is my favorite magical girl series, so I was looking forward to more stories in this universe, but this was unbearable.
December 30, 2022
no plot, just poorly drawn fanservice. you can get better stuff for free on pixiv.
March 8, 2023
Decent art and story but not particularly clear. Fortunately, I have only one volume of this series.
November 24, 2024
I don't like the story.
Characters are very sexualized.
Characters are very sexualized.
October 6, 2025
DNF. The laissez faire attitude of the main character with amnesia paired with the odd sexualization of the outfits was icky and irritating.
April 11, 2014
This spin-off series of Puella Magi Madoka Magica Vol. 1 is good, but it missed some opportunities to be amazing.
But maybe that would've been too much fan pandering.
Another problem I had with the book is...
*sigh*
Fanservice.
This becomes apparent when the book starts off with, well, this-
(fanservice warning)
http://a.mpcdn.net/manga/p/7089/15737...
BAM! is correct, my friend.
I mainly had a problem with this because, well, the Madoka series had little to no fanservice and I absolutely HATE it when female characters are totally naked for no apparent reason. It's like in Soul Eater, Vol. 01 when both Tsubaki and Blair were completely naked. I can tolerate fanservice, but please put clothes on your characters.
(another fanservice warning)
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss...
So yeah.
Also, the plot was very stupid, the characters were cliche and the way they were revealed to be magical girls was, at least in this reviewer's humble opinion, extremely anti-climactic. Anyway, final verdict is...........
3/5.
But maybe that would've been too much fan pandering.
Another problem I had with the book is...
*sigh*
Fanservice.
This becomes apparent when the book starts off with, well, this-
(fanservice warning)
http://a.mpcdn.net/manga/p/7089/15737...
BAM! is correct, my friend.
I mainly had a problem with this because, well, the Madoka series had little to no fanservice and I absolutely HATE it when female characters are totally naked for no apparent reason. It's like in Soul Eater, Vol. 01 when both Tsubaki and Blair were completely naked. I can tolerate fanservice, but please put clothes on your characters.
(another fanservice warning)
http://i572.photobucket.com/albums/ss...
So yeah.
Also, the plot was very stupid, the characters were cliche and the way they were revealed to be magical girls was, at least in this reviewer's humble opinion, extremely anti-climactic. Anyway, final verdict is...........
3/5.
July 20, 2013
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.
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.
December 31, 2024
⎯ ✩ ⎯
DNF • 30%
I have no idea what I was reading those first two chapters. I'm so confused, what the hell?!
DNF • 30%
I have no idea what I was reading those first two chapters. I'm so confused, what the hell?!
October 20, 2018
I liked Puella Magi Oriko Magica, Vol. 1 more, but this was a cute start to a much more lighthearted Magica narrative.
For once people aren't dying! Yay! Or rather, boo. I mean its sad when people die, but this series is kind of filled with panty shots and crazy shenanigans.
I mean granted it is fun and cute and all that, but I hope it gets darker.
It just wouldn't be Magica without a little blow-your-mind-what-is-this-madness going on.
Here's to hoping the panty shots decrease! Or else I'm going to have to seriously reevaluate my reading material....
3.5-4/5
For once people aren't dying! Yay! Or rather, boo. I mean its sad when people die, but this series is kind of filled with panty shots and crazy shenanigans.
I mean granted it is fun and cute and all that, but I hope it gets darker.
It just wouldn't be Magica without a little blow-your-mind-what-is-this-madness going on.
Here's to hoping the panty shots decrease! Or else I'm going to have to seriously reevaluate my reading material....
3.5-4/5
January 29, 2017
I read this purely to screen it for my daughter - she's a younger teen, but loves anime and manga (it's pretty much the only way I can get her to read!)
This was pretty much as nonsensical as the anime (which I've - grudgingly - watched most of) though, thankfully, so far, missing a certain character that makes me want to twitch and scream (though there were hints of said character in a couple of places.)
There's a lot of fan service in this book, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for most younger teens, but there's no outright sexual content, despite the girl being naked (no bits showing) a couple of times.
As for my daughter, she'll still get the book - with the stipulation that it does NOT go to school or get lent to friends without their parents' approval.
This was pretty much as nonsensical as the anime (which I've - grudgingly - watched most of) though, thankfully, so far, missing a certain character that makes me want to twitch and scream (though there were hints of said character in a couple of places.)
There's a lot of fan service in this book, and I definitely wouldn't recommend it for most younger teens, but there's no outright sexual content, despite the girl being naked (no bits showing) a couple of times.
As for my daughter, she'll still get the book - with the stipulation that it does NOT go to school or get lent to friends without their parents' approval.
May 30, 2015
This is my reread & I don't why I liked this at all. Probably I got had by the selling point. None of the characters stand out, not even Kazumi, & they're all drawn so similarly it's idle. Plus comedy & fanservice don't belong in this world, good for any other magical girl genre not here, I mean, that's the point of the original writer's intention to put a more realistic, dark spin on the genre, I admire trying something different but it's shattered here, under another name it may have been somewhat decent but sadly Puella Magi has been used solely to sell this manga.
September 25, 2016
More interesting than Tart Magica by far, but still lacking something from the original series and The Different Story. Pros are Kazumi's really cute personality and cute new magical girls but the book leaves something to be desired in getting us to care about the battles with witches. If you really love the magical girl universe created by the Madoka series, you'll probably enjoy this simply for a little bit more of that world. However, don't expect to be as enthralled with it as the original so you won't be disappointed.
October 17, 2014
I am one of the biggest Madoka fans that you will find. I love the anime, and the manga. When I found out about this spin-off, I ordered it from the library right away. I enjoyed it. It was different from Madoka, yet still good. I really enjoyed how the manga-ka incorporated food into the manga. The only thing I was really disappointed about is that Kyubey wasn't in this. I hope they turn this into an anime at some point.
November 16, 2012
I didn't like this like I liked the original Puella Magi series. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not as dark, deep, and heartbreaking. In fact, it's not sad. Still, it's interesting in its own right. I wish we could have known more about the guy who found her though.
This manga is mainly about Kazumi, her attempt in remembering who she is, and her friendship with two other Puella Magi.
This manga is mainly about Kazumi, her attempt in remembering who she is, and her friendship with two other Puella Magi.
August 24, 2013
I was pretty disappointed in how fan servicey this first volume is. this takes away from the story and tone that made the anime so great. I will try the second volume, but I am doubtful about the quality of the story that is being sacrificed for the fan-service that the artist is doing to fulfill their own wishes:/
March 22, 2015
Kazumi being an amnesniac was an interesting angle for them to take, in order to spoon-feed us a complete explanation of everything magical-girl that involves her and her friends. But, it worked. It worked really well. And, it keeps you engrossed in the story.
I will definitely be continuing this series.
I will definitely be continuing this series.
June 23, 2013
Love it! Kazumi Magica definitely shows the lighter side of being a Magical Girl (well, so far, at least...) I just don't like Kazumi's outfit when she is in Magical Girl form... When she is battling, that tiny skirt and revealing shirt (if it can be called a shirt) is not going to help her!
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