Mr. Magical Girl

You can DM me at discord @sarez.a if you're interested This review is highly subjective You can probably guess, but this novel isn't something you can just sit back and laugh through. It's a grim story filled with a dark world and some seriously messed-up characters. I knew going in that it would be a rough read. I expected awful twists and characters that would shock me. I was ready for the frustration... But to my surprise, the story is mostly driven by characters who act out of genuine goodwill and a sense of justice. Most of them are honorable, and the plot moves quickly and smoothly. This is what good writing looks like. You don't need to stretch out inner monologues for pages and pages to get the point across. The character development is sharp and well-done. A great example of this is the way Puella Magi Madoka Magica handled Tomoe Mami. If you've seen Madoka Magica, you'll remember how Mami shows up as this powerful veteran magical girl, but then she dies suddenly and kind of meaninglessly just two episodes in. It almost feels like she was pretending to be strong the whole time. But as the series progresses, even without her being there, you start to realize how tough she really was. Mami worked as a magical girl for over two years, which is way longer than most others, who barely last a few months. Even though she dies quickly, the impression she leaves is strong. Her skills were diverse, unlike the others who relied on just one or two abilities. The more you watch, the more your view of her shifts, even though she's hardly on screen. Mr. Magical Girl does something similar, but it goes even further. As the story progresses, your perception of the characters changes, not just in terms of how strong they are, but how you see their personalities and past actions. It's clear that the author planned out these shifts from the beginning, and it makes for a refreshing read. Not many novels pull this off as well. I've been reading different  genre of stories for a couple years, and over time, you start to notice familiar character types. You've got your naive but good-hearted characters like Luffy from One Piece or Goku from Dragon Ball, or the more righteous types like Edward from Fullmetal Alchemist or Ichigo from Bleach. You get the idea. But with Mr. Magical Girl, even though the characters seem familiar, the story constantly changes your perspective on them. At one point, the protagonist is described as "someone who lights a cigarette and acts like nothing's wrong, even in a place where everyone else has given up." It's such a great line that sums him up perfectly, but it also makes you wonder why he's like that. That question sticks with you the whole time, and it's part of what makes the story so engaging. I'd love to go into more detail about the plot and why this novel is so good, but I don't want to spoil anything. It's one of those stories that's best experienced without knowing too much going in.

Sareza