Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, Vol. 1

Magia Record #1

by Magica Quartet (Creator), Fujino Fuji (Artist)

A chance encounter between girls weaves a new tale...

Recurring dreams of an unfamiliar girl draw Iroha Tamaki to Kamihama City, the last place she visited before the dreams began. Her only clue is a tiny Kyubey, which she aims to catch in the hope it will provide answers about the dreams and the heartache she feels each time they fade. Still, even as an experienced magical girl, the witches in this city are far more powerful than anything she's encountered back home. Can Iroha survive in Kamihama long enough to uncover the secrets within? A new story unfolds in this manga adaptation of the mobile game!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Aliens, Action

162 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 2019

About the author

A group collaboration consisting of director Akiyuki Shinbou, writer Gen Urobuchi, the original character designer Ume Aoki, and the producer Atsuhiro Iwakami.

Reviews

[ElsaMakotoRenge · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy the original Madoka Magica series or the Magia Record game, I think this volume is a must-have. You don’t need to play the game to enjoy this book, but you do need to have at least either read or watched the original series. Otherwise this won’t make much sense. The sequel movie Rebellion is not necessary, nor the other manga spinoffs.

I really like the art in Magia Record v1; it’s very different from the original series art, but not in a bad or good way...it just is. (If you compare OG Madoka art to Magia Record Madoka art, you can tell her face looks a lot rounder in the original manga series art to the new Magia Record art, for example.)

And, if you play the game, you’ll have fun seeing cameos of some of the new characters from the game, even though they haven’t showed up in the main plot so far. It was fun spotting them!

I can’t wait until volume 2 releases in English!

[Artemis Crescent · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Magia Record' - One of the first 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' spinoff manga I decided to read. Mostly because of the beautiful cover art. I never played the mobile game this was based on.

But yeah, it turns out that another story can be told in this universe, without the original main characters (so far, and you can bet it will get complicated later), barring a littler, cuter, supposedly innocent Kyubey.

Iroha Tamaki is an established magical girl. She has parents, a seemingly normal life, pink hair, and an awesome transformation outfit; and she is trying to uncover the meaning behind her dreams of a little girl she can't remember ever knowing. The answers may lie in Kamihama City, which is very dangerous territory for magical girls as it contains a slew of strong witches and familiars. So naturally there are a lot of other magical girls there. Iroha's goal is to track down a tiny Kyubey who may be the key to everything she wants to know. Like her past; with details such as:

What was her wish?

In Kamihama City Iroha runs into Momoko Togame, Yachiyo, Mitama Yakumo (aka Coordinator), Kaede Akino, and Rena - all of whom resemble the magical girl cast of 'Madoka Magica', without being the same characters exactly. But is Iroha getting in too deep? There is definitely more to this mystery than what is revealed to her - and it doesn't concern just herself. But she wants to be involved, because she wants to find the little girl in her dreams, if she's still alive. She also wants to help her new potential friends, despite them clashing, where she doesn't know the whole story of what's going on between these magical girls.

Iroha's only concerned and wants to understand everything. She cares. But the deeper and quicker down the rabbit hole she digs, the harder she might fall...

What a compelling mystery story! With an abundance of dynamic female characters (Iroha's dad is shown to be the only male character, if Kyubey doesn't count, and Dad appears in two pages), cool outfits, weapons and powers, cool witches and witch wards, and a main character to root for.

Iroha is assertive and brave, but is overall an inexperienced and naive magical girl (no one seems aware of the true nature of magical girls yet). She is below average - which puts her at a dangerous disadvantage in Kamihama City - but she has potential. Her personality is like a combination of Mami Tomoe's and Madoka Kaname's.

I also like how Yachiyo's looks and personality are pretty much Homura Akemi's, with a bit of Kyouko Sakura added in there. Yachiyo is tough, but is fair, just, and a little snarky and teasing, under her cool, emotionless girl warrior exterior.

There is more than meets the eye here; more darkening and crumbling underneath the cute, altruistic hero's story surface. An aesthetic that's like the original series, even though nothing directly dark, brutal, depressing and nihilistic has happened yet. It's a quiet kind of peril so far.

'Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, Vol. 1' - A spinoff manga that comes recommended by me. Something gigantic and tragic is lurking within the sweetness and magical girl drama. Like the worst witch's ward. Some secrets should perhaps stay hidden.

Final Score: 4/5

[Sophie Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was pretty good, art style is SOOOOO nice!! And tiny kyubey is the cutest thing ever!!! As per the usual magia series there seems to be a kinda dark undertone

[Gaia ☀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I disegni sono troppo belli

[ANASTASIA XIONG · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book I read in quarter two was Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story by Magica Quartet. The genre for my book Magical Girl, it's one of my favorite genres. It takes place in a different timeline from the original Madoka Magica series. Falling on to a new cast of characters with their own special story. The protagonist in Magia Record is Iroha Tamaki, and she is shy but determined as well as kind and caring to others, mostly her family and friends. Her personality is similar to Madoka Kaname from the original Madoka Magica series, the one difference being that apparently Iroha is more strong willed. The setting in Magia Record is Kamihama city. The problem Iroha Tamaki has to deal with is the mystery of a missing someone throughout the manga, Iroha embarks on a journey to find them, who has disappeared under the mysterious circumstances. This leads her into the world of magical girls and the dark secrets that lie within. One antagonist in Magia Record is Touka Satomi because she has a cocky personality, being prone to showing off her knowledge and refusing to listen to the POV of others. A second antagonist is Alina Gray because she’s noticeable for her special crimes of condemning all of humanity into a fate that is worse than death.There are 3 reasons why you should read Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story by Magica Quartet. The first reason is Magia record offers an intriguing story line that expands on the Puella Magi Madoka Magica universe, providing deeper insights into a world of magical girls. The second reason you should read this book is the characters are well developed and kinda relatable, making their struggles and growth compelling to follow. The third and final reason you should read this my pick for the best quarter two book is the manga is filed with mystery and suspense, probably keeping readers hooked as they uncover the secrets behind the magical girls and dark forces they face. I you are looking for a book that’s really hard to out down, check out a copy of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story by Magical quartet today!

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magia Record is the manga adaptation of the mobile game, itself spun off from the beloved anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. In this iteration of the Madoka-verse, Magical Girl Iroha Tamaki travels to Kamihama City to learn the truth about her strange, recurring dreams of a missing sister and a miniature Kyubey. She immediately discovers a bigger mystery in the form of "Rumors" - strange, seemingly self-generating Witch-like creatures that lure in and trap victims, which are plaguing Kamihama. She makes the acquaintance of numerous other Puella Magi, including the standoff-ish veteran Yachiyo, the friendly Momoko and the mysterious Coordinator, who serves as a sort of Magical Girl therapist. The story beats in this first volume are stage-setting and thus pretty basic; Iroha is the sort of blandly likable heroine common to manga/anime, Yachiyo seems like Homura without the interesting backstory and the once-menacing Kyubey is reduced to a name-chirping, Pokemon-like mascot (and yes, I'm aware of its importance later in the story). Artist Fujino Fuji's style does a good job capturing the look and feel of the Madoka-verse, especially Inu Curry's bugged-out labyrinths, so at least the manga never lacks for visual interest. That said, it's painfully obvious from the story structure that this is an adaptation of a game, and some of the things which bugged me about the source material (from the surfeit of underdeveloped supporting characters to the more revealing Magical Girl outfits) carry over here. The 2020-2022 anime version of MagiReco was an unmitigated disaster; so far this manga version seems like a decent try, at least.

[Cheshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is well and truly unique amongst it's genre. It's light and fluffy exterior hides a dark and twisted malice. Sometimes it is good to see a villain that treads on either side of the spectrum especially when it is a cute and fluffy fox like creature who has no sense of emotion. In honesty, Iroha is a lot more of a stronger character than Madoka; but of course there will be some sort of connection between them later on, especially if Homura is involved.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

You definitely need to have read/watched the original series to understand this one (although there are no recurring characters so far, barring Kyubey), but if you are, it's pretty intriguing.


Full review eventually appearing on ANN.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like that it's following the game a lot more closely than the anime. I mean I like that the anime is doing different things to keep things interesting, but it's nice to have the books more loyal to the game.

Momoko is awesome

[David Doel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to know what's going on here -- maybe because this is a side story to a series I've not read.

[Max Bruienne]

good

[ReadingFrog · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Emma Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute Madoka Magica spin-off. I get the feeling this series has a lot of potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes. Little Kyubey = the very best part of the entire book.

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot - 4 ⭐
Character - 4 ⭐
Writing Style - 4 ⭐
World Building - 4 ⭐
Art - 5 ⭐
Cover - 5 ⭐

Overall - 4.33 ⭐

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was decent, a bit different from its anime counterpart, but made more sense actually.

[julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

i ❤️ yachiyo

[shanniiine · Rating 4 out of 5]

another great arc! i'm super excited to see where this one goes :o

[percy · Rating 1 out of 5]

THIS SUCKS I HATE IT WHERE ARE THE CUTE GIRLS

[nana ❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

bitch you're confused? i am confused bro