Magical Boy Volume 2: A Graphic Novel

Magical Boy #2

by The Kao

A breathtakingly imaginative fantasy series starring Max—a high schooler chosen to become the next "Magical Girl." There's just one catch . . . he's a trans boy!

Although he was assigned female at birth, Max is your average trans man trying to get through high school as himself. But on top of classes, crushes, and coming out, Max's life is turned upside down when his mom reveals an eons old family secret: he's descended from a long line of Magical Girls tasked with defending humanity from a dark, ancient evil!



For decades, Devoid and his minions have been sealed away, with each generation's magical girl protecting the seal and our world. But as the millennia have passed, more and more cracks have appeared in the weakening seal. Now, the seal is open, evil is pouring into our world, and only Max can defeat it.



A hilarious and heartfelt riff on the magical girl genre made popular by teen manga series, Magical Boy is a one-of-a-kind fantasy series that comic readers of all ages will love.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Comics, Transgender

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Wonderpus Photogenicus · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5- May the power of gay compel you!

[Starr ❇✌❇ · Rating 5 out of 5]

TW: transphobic & homophobic parents, deadnaming & misgendering, internalized transphobia
4.5

This was a great conclusion! It was painful to read Max's internalized transphobia, but it also made the success of embracing himself and rising above that much sweeter. I loved the character designs for Devoid and Aurora, and the life behind the whole storyline. I do wish we'd seen a big more of Sean's struggle instead of two small moments implying the issue and then a clean fix, but I get that it wasn't really the focus. All in all a very trans story of magic, acceptance, and queer friendship!

[Johnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect conclusion to this epic queer sailor moon-esque but lgbtq story!

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shut up, I loved this way too much. It gave me the feel good goosebumps at the end. Highly recommended!!!!

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Max finds out he’s as descendent to Aurora and has magical powers…the only catch is he’s a trans boy!
🏳️‍⚧️
Assigned female at birth, Max has never felt like he was a girl. His mom has been forcing him into dresses and trying to make him more feminine, but Max feels most comfortable dressed as a boy wearing a chest binder. But when Max realizes he’s supposed to be a monster-fighting Magical Girl, he has to come to terms with what that means for him and his own journey to becoming who he truly is.
⚧️
This is a one-of-kind YA graphic novel duology that will be a hit in my middle school library as well as any secondary library for years to come. The Kao has created something so special with these two books. I immediately thought of several students to hand this to. Books can change and save lives: this one definitely will.

CW: transphobia, dead naming, misgendering, violence, physical assault, child abuse, unaccepting parent

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is going down as one of the most triggering books I’ve ever read lmaooo definitely top 3 💀 I was STRUGGLING.

Anyways, I liked this a lot & I wish super happy & perfect endings existed like this irl. I guess sometimes they do. Love that.

I would happily read a slice of life graphic novel about Max’s gang <3 pls consider it @author.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great way to finish the magic boy series. I absolutely loved the art and story a lot.

[HelloLasse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det er vel fair nok at sige "I need a little bit more" :'D

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy to finally see this in novel form!

Max's story is unimaginably important and I have too many feelings about it to really share. Aside from that though, it's funny and beautiful -- so wins all around!

[Rissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still some of the same issues as the first book but I’m willing to overlook that for the end :,)

[Paige (pagebypaigebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume! It had a great ending and it was a lot of fun learning more about the magic system and the side characters' stories.

[Jasmine Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy pride month!! May the power of gay compel you!!

[Gabrielle Blaque/~Bhlack Benehvolence~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these graphic novels! The first one was great but I really loved the second novel! The series itself was genuinely a unique twist to the magical person trope! Max's struggles for recognition of his true self seem very real and highlight what others like him go through.

Everything about this series captured my attention. The art, the story, and genuine emotion captured on every page, The Kao is very talented both in story telling and artistically. I really hope to see more work like this from this person soon!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. This was an epic second volume and a terrific conclusion! Love how everything is tied up and all the pieces are in the right places. Yay for Max, yay for Pyper, yay for everyone! I loved that we got backstory on Aurora and Devoid. Loved seeing more acceptance, just a shame people had to almost die for it, but hey, I guess it still counts. Love the art! EEP! Highly recommended!

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was so much more emotion in this volume than I was expecting. It had me crying Happy tears. So many important themes are brought up in this series and are handled perfectly. I loved every second of it

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint about this book was the layout of the speech balloons. I struggled to follow the conversation (embarrassingly) often and had to look around the page to see which part I was supposed to read first. Other than that, I loved this. Made me laugh and cry. Very sweet and wholesome.

[Adam Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this ending the artwork is amazing

[Sarah Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wrapped up nicely. A few spots felt a bit rushed, I would have liked it to be a little longer. But all in all, a solid addition to the magical teenager genre

[Sam Mellott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.5/5
Before reading:
Here we go I didn’t really like the first vol bc of the constant pushing of misgendering and shit but I saw the second vol at the library and I wanted to give it another shot so let’s see 👀

After:
Okay this book definitely was a redemption arc for this series I’m really glad it got so much better 😇 it was super cute and I love the happy turn of events

[Toni Salvatore · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, so I docked a star from volume 1. I had a VERY hard time reading the panels in the order intended because of the inconsistent placement. However, everything else about this made it worth it to power through. Now I have like a dozen people I need to recommend this to... before it's illegal in FL to do that.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Eliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical Boy Vol 2
Overall Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ (4/5) or 8.57/10 overall

Characters - 9

Atmosphere - 9

Writing - 8

Plot - 9

Intrigue - 8

Logic - 8

Enjoyment - 9

[(╯`▭´）╯︵ ǝɔnɒꓷ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would still die for Kai and Sean.

[Tommy Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trans boy starts T lol

[Ezran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit darker sequel to the first volume of Magic Boy.
I loved it, so great to read a story about a trans dude my age :D
Art, as before, was good looking, and everything ended up very well for Max

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a complete gem. I loved it

[Haku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, the ending!!! I was screaming and crying. It was such a good end to this chapter of Max’s life. Absolutely loved the whole thing.

[Bethany *WickedB* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this take on light vs dark. These two books reminded me that it is important to accept ourselves for who we really are.

[Anne keijser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit was zoo cuteee aaaaa

[O.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how they took the story