2026 REREAD:
WELCOME TO OCTOBER MAGICA!
'She will not know yet if this encounter is a mere coincidence or a necessity.
Which would be an encounter that will change her destiny.'
We are continuing October Magica, with the second volume of the manga adaptation of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
It is a solid and action-packed adaptation. A little less truncated than the first volume, and the artwork has improved, most notably in the characters' facial expressions. Everybody is deeply, tragically human...
They all play their parts to perfection, especially Kyouko, in her explosive, proper introduction.
It's kind of a shame that Madoka's family gets sidelined and shortchanged in this manga, in favour of all the magical girl stuff (and Kyousuke and Hitomi). Her awesome mother, Junko, isn't given nearly enough attention. And I swear her little brother Tatsuya (who doesn't appear in this volume) has been aged up a few years, when in the anime he is a toddler.
The darkness and ulterior motives - and the writing and art showing their true hand - are rising to the surface now. This cannot be denied once the true nature of magical girls' soul gems is revealed at the end of the sixth chapter. It all reaches its peak by the end of the eighth... and that nightmarish final page.
It's the highest of stakes, that are internal as well as external. Threats are everywhere; sometimes in plain site, sometimes behind a cute, skittish, kitty-ish face (kittish may be a word I'd make up here).
These poor girls. Far too young to be put into situations such as these, with so much burden, responsibility, and pain and numbness (linked).
Yet they are at the exact right age to be naïve about the world, and still potentially useful; therefore they can be taken advantage of, for anyone's means...
Who see them as just as disposable.
There are so many layers of the damn patriarchy that can be read in 'Madoka'.
Stay tuned for the third and final volume of the main series.
Happy October Magica.
"[Sayaka] has a sweet and brave side that's willing to do just about anything when it's for somebody she cares about!"
"That could be fatal for a magical girl. Too much of that sort of kindness leads to mistakes. Those who are reckless let their guard down. And there is no reward given for self-sacrifice."
"Why can't you realize that there would be people who'd cry if you were to vanish!? What do you think would happen to someone who's been trying to protect you!?"
"In the end, what was so important? What was I trying so hard to protect? I don't really know... anything about anything anymore.
You know what you said about hope and despair coming out to a zero-sum game? It's only now that I've figured that out. It's true that I've managed to save a number of people's lives... but the same amount of hatred and spite has filled my heart. I've even hurt the friend I love the most... If you're praying for somebody else's happiness, you have to curse somebody else the same degree. That's the whole setup for us magical girls, huh?
What an... idiot I am!"
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
"With kindness comes naïveté. Courage becomes foolhardiness. And dedication has no reward. If you can't accept any of that, you are not fit to be a Magical Girl."
The second volume of the 'Madoka Magica' manga covers episodes 5 - 8 of the anime. Here we get to know Kyouko Sakura, and explore Sayaka Miki's reflections and devastation. And just who is Homura Akemi? The stakes get higher, and the truth about Magical Girls is revealed.
It misses a star because I felt that it did not manage to cover the little but important details - both in the narrative and the art. But I still enjoyed this, and I can't wait to read the third and final volume.
Also, that last page will give me nightmares.
Final Score: 4/5
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