With a new anime series out, the manga is well-timed.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Magica Quartet / Fujino Fuji
What They Say
A chance encounter between girls weaves a new tale…
Recurring dreams of an unfamiliar girl draw Iroha Tamaki to Kamihama City, the last place she visited before the dreams began. Her only clue is a tiny Kyubey, which she aims to catch in the hope it will provide answers about the dreams and the heartache she feels each time they fade. Still, even as an experienced magical girl, the witches in this city are far more powerful than anything she’s encountered back home. Can Iroha survive in Kamihama long enough to uncover the secrets within? A new story unfolds in this manga adaptation of the mobile game!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Drawn to Kamihama City by recurring dreams of a familiar girl, Iroha Tamaki searches for a tiny Kyubey hoping for answers about the girl in her dreams. Unfortunately, Kamihama is filled with ultra-powerful witches and is guarded by one magical girl determined to stop Iroha from entering the city. Written by Magica Quartet and adapted from the mobile game by the same name, Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story weaves a new city and new magical girls into the universe encompassed by the original series.
Magia Record is a unique facet of the Madoka Magica franchise in that there are numerous Puella Magis across a single city with immensely powerful witches, and brings a new type of enemy to the scene: Uwasa, (literally translated as rumors) various rumors that have come to fruition. The art of the manga is done by Fujino Fuji and does not resemble the original series’ art by Ume Aoki, but I enjoyed the different style – especially because Yachiyo Nanami, one of the main characters, is shown wearing an outfit not featured among the few in the mobile game.
I enjoyed that the plot was very close to the original material as opposed to the anime, which branches off (though I still enjoyed it). All in all, an easy but intriguing read! I’m excited for the next volume to arrive and see how the writer and artist handle the Uwasa, which will come to be crucial to the story. Fans of the original series will certainly find this to be very different, but Magia Record holds just as much promise and potential while introducing new concepts.
This first volume brings us through the first chapter and a half of the mobile game, and unlike the recently premiered anime, it is faithful to the mobile game’s story. Iroha Tamaki is a middle school third year searching for a mysterious girl that appears in her dreams, and her only clue is a tiny Kyubey that appears with her. In Kamihama City, Iroha finds witches more powerful than those in her own territory and meets several Kamihama Magical Girls – among them Yachiyo Nanami, who is determined to prevent Iroha from coming to Kamihama. To test her, Yachiyo competes with Iroha and another Kamihama girl, Momoko, to kill a witch. Ultimately, Yachiyo allows Iroha to visit Kamihama, and the beginnings of the Uwasa of the Friendship Ending Staircase are hinted at. I anticipate the next volume and look forward to seeing more of Magia Record adapted.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: December 31st, 2019
MSRP: $12.99
