Not able to raise as high as the anime.
What They Say:
Sugar and spice–but not playing nice!
The hit smartphone game Magical Girl Raising Project is not only free, but one in tens of thousands of players will win real-life powers. In N City, sixteen of these lucky girls help the city’s citizens–until upper management announces that each week, the least productive magical girl will lose her gifts. But this is no ordinary contest, and as the rules become increasingly sadistic, the competition to keep their powers becomes a vicious battle for the girls’ very lives…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It’s always unfortunate (and positively rare) when an adaptation is far and away better than the source material, but that is the sad case for Magical Girl Raising Project Volume 1. Most of this review will not focus on comparing the two, but let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first and foremost. I would always recommend the anime adaptation to someone new to the series over the light novels, as it greatly enhances the foundation that is built here. However, for the fans that do want to read the source material, let’s dig into what the light novel does right and wrong.
For those that don’t know what Magical Girl Raising is all about, it is essentially a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre, much like Madoka Magica mixed with a Battle Royale-esque premise. Without spoiling too much, it is basically a fight to the death between magical girls. It is gritty, painful to read at times, and totally a surprise for those going in expecting a cutesy Magical Girl story based on the chibi-like artwork. The main character of the story is Snow White, a normal girl that has wanted more than anything to become a magical girl, despite her friends making fun of her love for the genre. One day, a game she is playing gives her the chance to actually become a real magical girl and her dream comes true. The only problem is that the other girls in her area aren’t as benevolent as she is, and the game isn’t just for fun.
The characters are the star of the novel. The 16 magical girls are so vastly different, even if most are filling a specific trope. However, the story does a really awesome job of subverting your expectations of the cast. Despite the typical heroic nature of Snow White, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that she is borderline obsessive and unhealthy in her love for magical girls. Another girl that is totally innocent has that innocence turned on its head in an anarchic way. Characters that you are unsure or dismissive of could quickly become your favorite by the end, and vice versa.
Not only does the book surprise you by the development of the characters, but in who dies as well. Majority of the fun in the story is predicting who will die next; something the author makes very hard to do. Twists and turns are constant, causing a sense of dread as the numbers dwindle smaller and smaller. Though you could argue the end result is surprisingly cliche in hindsight, it is executed well enough to make sense. It’s unfortunate that the same care is not applied to the actual death scenes.
For the most part, a character’s death is handled abruptly and nonchalantly. This amounts to just one line saying that they died and that’s it. No detail or anything. Instead of shock and surprise, it elicits confusion and skepticism above all else. While books lend themselves well to imagination, most of the deaths here give you absolutely nothing to work with, and that’s a shame as it makes the book feels very amateur (and I’m not talking about the translation). The only thing that makes the book worth reading over the anime is the opening chapter. It gives some heartbreaking detail and backstory that was strangely missing in the adaptation.
In Summary:
Magical Girl Raising Project Volume 1 lays the foundation that the anime built upon, and so because of that, feels backwards to go to after experiencing the anime. Instead of delivering shocks and surprises, it feels more like a Cliff notes summary of point A and B. Despite this, the novel is a decent introduction to the phenomenal characters and unexpected writing that the series is known for. It’s just a shame that the same care given to the character development isn’t extended to the deaths and everything else.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: June 20th, 2017
MSRP: $14.00