'Maidensong harmony power…go live!'
'Magica Riot'
Being a queer-as-hell Magical GirlTM story doesn't negate it from being a fairly standard and simple Magical GirlTM story told in novel form, but its representation is still utterly important, and it is still cute, positive, uplifting, inspiring, and femme-as-hell, with a layer of creatively-written, twisty darkness and complexity underneath everything - just what I love about the genre.
It is a lot like reading an anime. I could tell Kara Buchanan loves 'Sailor Moon' and the like. 'Magica Riot' contains well written action, female friendships and romances, and creative magical girl weaponry and attacks. The way these magical girls are a band and use music, their microphones, and their musical instruments to fight monsters and other baddies, it reminds me of 'Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch'.
The pacing of 'Magica Riot' isn't perfect, and some parts and characters are more underdeveloped and underutilised than others, but it tells its story well; hitting hard and true.
The modern Magical GirlTM book is all about women supporting women (and enbies), and how all queer lives matter - yes yes yes!
'Magica Riot' (aka 'Maidensong Magica', and was 'Magica', like 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', used on purpose, for a purpose?) is set in Portland, Oregon, and it is about Claire Ryland, a closeted trans woman (sidenote: almost every main character is in their early twenties, and magical girls being adults is refreshing for the beloved genre), who one night goes to a concert of the pop rock girl band, Magica Riot. Closeted until, afterwards, she gets attacked by monsters, called Pandoras, and a Magica Riot member steps in to save her, revealing herself to be a magical girl!
Magica Riot are secretly a magical girl group!
And Claire discovers she is a magical girl, too! A maiden. A guardian of song and heart.
Fully embracing who she always knew she was meant to be, Claire, openly a woman, becomes a new member of Magica Riot, the band and the magical girl group (she plays the keyboard), as part of a secret supernatural worldwide organisation, called the Starlight Alliance.
She has awakened, into Maidensong harmony power!
She is Riot Purple!
The other members of Magica Riot are:
Sara Ward, aka Riot Red, the lead singer, a stoic princely type who is actually softhearted and mourning her lost love, another woman. She is like a cool lioness.
Nova (I don't think her last name is ever mentioned), aka Riot Blue, the drummer, the youngest and most cheerful and hyperactive of the group. She hates any swearing, and like Claire, she's trans, too! and sees Magica Riot as her found family.
Cass Coates, aka Riot Yellow, the lead guitarist, a Black magical girl who is relatively quiet, calm, thoughtful, and determined. She is an activist and mutual aid leader, and she is in a polygamous relationship with two women and a man.
Last but not least is Hana Hasegawa, aka Riot Green, the bassist, who is also quiet (an odd trait for a musician, now that I think about it), tranquil and positive, and is a mechanic and chef, atop of her many other talents.
Every one of these women is strong, capable, sensitive, empathetic, kind, and magical in their own way. Every one of them is queer. Nice touch that the magical women's colours each represent the pride flag.
In concurrent with the life-changing coming out, joining her favourite band, and turning into a magical girl who fights mysterious interdimensional, corrupted monsters alongside a supportive magical girl team - symbolic of said coming out - Claire has Hazel Hoffman, her awesome photographer best friend and crush.
Another character highlight is Hikari Tomori, a socially awkward, possibly autistic, nonbinary computer genius, who really needed more attention put on them.
Plus there are villain magical girls called the Menagerie. I won't go into anything else about them, because spoilers.
Magica Riot have a van called Vancent Price.
There are magical girl terms such as thaumatite, the crystals that channel magica, which is a magical girl's power, and the leylines that help the Alliance detect Pandoras. Transforming into magical girls, or maidens, or Starlight Alliance agents, is also called going into Riot mode. Magical girls possess the Maidensong - like a lifeforce and goddess, that's been around since ancient times - deep in their hearts.
It's a lot of fun!
'Magica Riot' is far from perfect. The beginning has a few noticeable typos, and the ending is rather rushed, crammed with barely-foreshadowed ideas at the forefront, and overcompensating for the sake of a sudden end of the world plot (a part of the book's pacing problem - a glitch, a mechanical spanner in the works, a thread knot).
There is the huge plot hole of how no civilian apparently ever sees or hears Magica Riot when they fight their magical girl battles, as they cause property damage and play their loud musical instruments and sing their hearts out as their attacks! How they've kept that kind of attention away from themselves is never clearly explained.
As mentioned before, not every character is well developed and defined, and I can hardly tell the personalities of Cass and Hana apart.
I would like to know more about what Claire's life was like before she moved to Portland. Why did she move to Portland in the first place? Is it something a queer person coming from certain areas in the US doesn't need to tell? Doesn't want to tell? Then that's alright, I respect the ambiguity. Possibly these mysteries and more will be revealed in a sequel.
The book is fairly corny, too, and its self-awareness and genre savvy factor are barely implemented.
But it is a passionately written, easy-to-read-and-get-into indie Magical GirlTM gem, for fans of the increasingly lauded genre, that's not exclusive to Japan, but the whole world, for everyone.
And 'Magica Riot' is for LBGTQ+ readers who wish to see themselves as the heroes that people need. For them to be seen, and loved and respected. No angst and hate, just fun and inspiration and empowerment, and normalised acceptance.
It belongs with other explicitly queer Magical GirlTM media and stories such as 'magnifiqueNOIR' and 'Magical Boy', likewise with a trans gay protagonist!
Now that I have been paying attention over the years, I think, yeah, magical girls are pretty queer and always have been. They are about girl power, and so much else, beyond the gender binary. They are about empowering people, to express themselves and be brave, and to put kindness and empathy above violent conflict. They are about the strong, unstoppable power in the feminine, but at the same time they show how gender concepts and stereotypes are socially constructed bullshit, and the whole idea of the gender binary is to deliberately restrict, limit, and therefore depower and control people. Magical girls teach us to not fall for any of that crap.
Be powerful in yourself, as you. Believe in you.
No wonder the genre has become more popular than ever.
I can tell 'Magica Riot' is a personal Pacific Northwest magical girl story for Kara Buchanan to write about. I'm happy she did, and I'm happy for her.
'Identity, self-image, living as yourself. Anytime the band's songwriting turned to those subjects, I felt tears well up in my eyes. Why shouldn't girls--of all kinds, however they got to be girls--get to be exactly who they wanted to be? Why shouldn't they live free and happy without society cutting them down? I believed that, as strongly as I ever believed anything. I wanted to fight for them.' - page 9
'"Where would queer people be without family trauma?"
"Happy, well adjusted," [...]
"Flourishing, even,"' - page 96
A not-so guilty pleasure, for this magical girl, and Magical GirlTM fan.
Final Score: 3.5/5
'Magica Riot'
Being a queer-as-hell Magical GirlTM story doesn't negate it from being a fairly standard and simple Magical GirlTM story told in novel form, but its representation is still utterly important, and it is still cute, positive, uplifting, inspiring, and femme-as-hell, with a layer of creatively-written, twisty darkness and complexity underneath everything - just what I love about the genre.
It is a lot like reading an anime. I could tell Kara Buchanan loves 'Sailor Moon' and the like. 'Magica Riot' contains well written action, female friendships and romances, and creative magical girl weaponry and attacks. The way these magical girls are a band and use music, their microphones, and their musical instruments to fight monsters and other baddies, it reminds me of 'Mermaid Melody: Pichi Pichi Pitch'.
The pacing of 'Magica Riot' isn't perfect, and some parts and characters are more underdeveloped and underutilised than others, but it tells its story well; hitting hard and true.
The modern Magical GirlTM book is all about women supporting women (and enbies), and how all queer lives matter - yes yes yes!
'Magica Riot' (aka 'Maidensong Magica', and was 'Magica', like 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', used on purpose, for a purpose?) is set in Portland, Oregon, and it is about Claire Ryland, a closeted trans woman (sidenote: almost every main character is in their early twenties, and magical girls being adults is refreshing for the beloved genre), who one night goes to a concert of the pop rock girl band, Magica Riot. Closeted until, afterwards, she gets attacked by monsters, called Pandoras, and a Magica Riot member steps in to save her, revealing herself to be a magical girl!
Magica Riot are secretly a magical girl group!
And Claire discovers she is a magical girl, too! A maiden. A guardian of song and heart.
Fully embracing who she always knew she was meant to be, Claire, openly a woman, becomes a new member of Magica Riot, the band and the magical girl group (she plays the keyboard), as part of a secret supernatural worldwide organisation, called the Starlight Alliance.
She has awakened, into Maidensong harmony power!
She is Riot Purple!
The other members of Magica Riot are:
Sara Ward, aka Riot Red, the lead singer, a stoic princely type who is actually softhearted and mourning her lost love, another woman. She is like a cool lioness.
Nova (I don't think her last name is ever mentioned), aka Riot Blue, the drummer, the youngest and most cheerful and hyperactive of the group. She hates any swearing, and like Claire, she's trans, too! and sees Magica Riot as her found family.
Cass Coates, aka Riot Yellow, the lead guitarist, a Black magical girl who is relatively quiet, calm, thoughtful, and determined. She is an activist and mutual aid leader, and she is in a polygamous relationship with two women and a man.
Last but not least is Hana Hasegawa, aka Riot Green, the bassist, who is also quiet (an odd trait for a musician, now that I think about it), tranquil and positive, and is a mechanic and chef, atop of her many other talents.
Every one of these women is strong, capable, sensitive, empathetic, kind, and magical in their own way. Every one of them is queer. Nice touch that the magical women's colours each represent the pride flag.
In concurrent with the life-changing coming out, joining her favourite band, and turning into a magical girl who fights mysterious interdimensional, corrupted monsters alongside a supportive magical girl team - symbolic of said coming out - Claire has Hazel Hoffman, her awesome photographer best friend and crush.
Another character highlight is Hikari Tomori, a socially awkward, possibly autistic, nonbinary computer genius, who really needed more attention put on them.
Plus there are villain magical girls called the Menagerie. I won't go into anything else about them, because spoilers.
Magica Riot have a van called Vancent Price.
There are magical girl terms such as thaumatite, the crystals that channel magica, which is a magical girl's power, and the leylines that help the Alliance detect Pandoras. Transforming into magical girls, or maidens, or Starlight Alliance agents, is also called going into Riot mode. Magical girls possess the Maidensong - like a lifeforce and goddess, that's been around since ancient times - deep in their hearts.
It's a lot of fun!
'Magica Riot' is far from perfect. The beginning has a few noticeable typos, and the ending is rather rushed, crammed with barely-foreshadowed ideas at the forefront, and overcompensating for the sake of a sudden end of the world plot (a part of the book's pacing problem - a glitch, a mechanical spanner in the works, a thread knot).
There is the huge plot hole of how no civilian apparently ever sees or hears Magica Riot when they fight their magical girl battles, as they cause property damage and play their loud musical instruments and sing their hearts out as their attacks! How they've kept that kind of attention away from themselves is never clearly explained.
As mentioned before, not every character is well developed and defined, and I can hardly tell the personalities of Cass and Hana apart.
I would like to know more about what Claire's life was like before she moved to Portland. Why did she move to Portland in the first place? Is it something a queer person coming from certain areas in the US doesn't need to tell? Doesn't want to tell? Then that's alright, I respect the ambiguity. Possibly these mysteries and more will be revealed in a sequel.
The book is fairly corny, too, and its self-awareness and genre savvy factor are barely implemented.
But it is a passionately written, easy-to-read-and-get-into indie Magical GirlTM gem, for fans of the increasingly lauded genre, that's not exclusive to Japan, but the whole world, for everyone.
And 'Magica Riot' is for LBGTQ+ readers who wish to see themselves as the heroes that people need. For them to be seen, and loved and respected. No angst and hate, just fun and inspiration and empowerment, and normalised acceptance.
It belongs with other explicitly queer Magical GirlTM media and stories such as 'magnifiqueNOIR' and 'Magical Boy', likewise with a trans gay protagonist!
Now that I have been paying attention over the years, I think, yeah, magical girls are pretty queer and always have been. They are about girl power, and so much else, beyond the gender binary. They are about empowering people, to express themselves and be brave, and to put kindness and empathy above violent conflict. They are about the strong, unstoppable power in the feminine, but at the same time they show how gender concepts and stereotypes are socially constructed bullshit, and the whole idea of the gender binary is to deliberately restrict, limit, and therefore depower and control people. Magical girls teach us to not fall for any of that crap.
Be powerful in yourself, as you. Believe in you.
No wonder the genre has become more popular than ever.
I can tell 'Magica Riot' is a personal Pacific Northwest magical girl story for Kara Buchanan to write about. I'm happy she did, and I'm happy for her.
'Identity, self-image, living as yourself. Anytime the band's songwriting turned to those subjects, I felt tears well up in my eyes. Why shouldn't girls--of all kinds, however they got to be girls--get to be exactly who they wanted to be? Why shouldn't they live free and happy without society cutting them down? I believed that, as strongly as I ever believed anything. I wanted to fight for them.' - page 9
'"Where would queer people be without family trauma?"
"Happy, well adjusted," [...]
"Flourishing, even,"' - page 96
A not-so guilty pleasure, for this magical girl, and Magical GirlTM fan.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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