'Magic Girls: Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess'
*(happy) sigh*Sometimes, I just want to read a silly kids' comic about magical girls.
'Magic Girls' is a parody of the genre, to be sure, and it is boisterous, over the top, all over the place, crudely-and-not-particularly-well-drawn, sparkly, and in it anything goes - no idea is too stupid and nonsensical to be included. But darn, it has fun with the concept, and the magical girl genre as a whole, and I had fun reading it. My lifelong love of magical girls seems unconditional, with little regard for boundaries, standards and critical thought.
Basic synopsis: It is Neo-Earth, where there exist vampires, werewolves, robots, cyclopes, cat people, people with pointy ears, people with horns, people with shiny crystals for hair, angels, mummies, centaurs, talking fogs, and mermaids. Annual Land and Sea battle competitions - where magical girls from both the land and the sea fight each other - take place seemingly at random for dominance and entertainment. Our protagonist is Kira, a friendless, not-yet teenage human student at Neo-Earth Junior High (apparently the whole planet is... yeah you know what, just go with it), who wants to become a magical girl and be a somebody. The newest resident "secret" magical girl is fellow student Tulip, aka Fairytale Fighter, whom Kira hates for being popular and "perfect", even though Tulip really is nice and shy, and dealing with her own problems in her responsibilities as a magical girl. Anyway, one night Kira wishes on a shooting star - well, a trashcan from outer space - and out pops Catacorn, a half-cat/half-unicorn alien princess (though no one on Neo-Earth believes in space aliens, when everything else there does exist... huh, ha, this is lampshaded, at least). Kira sees Catacorn as her familiar, sent to give her powers and turn her into a magical girl. Now she can become popular and cool!
The two girls - the wannabe magical girl and the space cat princess - each have their own ulterior motive, with varying levels of selfishness. But as the story develops, can the magic girls learn and grow to genuinely like each other, and understand and respect one another, and become friends? Together, can they become a magical team, a magical friendship duo* (plus, hopefully, Tulip)?
Huh. Guess that wasn't so basic, was it? Not as short as I'd thought it would be.
Wow, what a fun time! Very funny and satirical. I can tell that the author of 'Magic Girls', Megan Brennan, loves the genre she is parodying. It is an affectionate parody to a T. It's like 'Adventure Time' meets 'Sailor Moon'.
A noteworthy thing I like is there is no attempt to make Kira a "likeable" female protagonist. She is around twelve years of age, and she is loud, angry, moody, selfish, inconsiderate, and yells out whatever is in her head at any given moment. Her character is written and drawn in a comedic fashion, and it is clear that she has no friends precisely because of her rudeness, bitterness, sulkiness, temper, outbursts, outrageously-expressed insecurities, and lack of filter. With her unself-awareness she doesn't notice these flaws in herself. She is like the most obnoxious of shonen manga and anime heroes.
But Kira does mature somewhat as the comic progresses, and slowly realises how badly she treats people and the consequences of her words and actions. Maybe it's not enough to redeem her completely, but I like the uniqueness of her. Besides, in the world she lives in, she is comparatively ordinary, bland and tame; can you blame her for wanting to stand out and be seen? To be special? Like a heroic magical girl with an anthropomorphic animal familiar?
She also learns that getting what she thought she wanted isn't what it's cracked up to be.
What does Kira really want? True friends, maybe?
Unsurprisingly, Catacorn is the cutest, most lovable cinnamon bun character.
Briefly and sparingly included are a nameless, mysterious cool bad boy love interest, and a giant rabbit helmet. Constantly mentioned are sparkle energy, power-ups, and warps. Interdimensional space warp zones. The mermaid "villain", Mystical Mysticeti, is a fun, ultimately harmless foe, too.
'Magic Girls: Kira and the (Maybe) Space Princess' - it can get crowded and messy (the chaotic, leaves-quite-a-bit-to-be-desired artwork doesn't help), and there are plenty of plot holes and unresolved matters and mysteries. But I don't mind. Leave it to the next volume, possibly. Probably.
I expected an all-ages, cute, cartoony, sparkly and funny magical girl comic with a friendship message, and that's what I got. From the title alone I knew what I was in for. It is not meant to be taken seriously. It is weird and different, playful and enjoyable; the author's love is displayed everywhere.
Another Magical GirlTM product to add to my collection. Another guilty pleasure.
Final Score: 3.5/5
* Other names for them mentioned in the comic are: the Cutie Warp Fighters, and a Double Act.
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