Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.

I do wish I could be living with these characters for a little while longer than the narrative ultimately showed. From the beginning, I found this to be rated lower/not as popular when compared to other manga in the app (jumpplus) and I felt that was an injustice because it did the magical girl thing with the twist of being a start-up underdog versus big corporations. It had heart, it had fun protagonists, it had a kind of slice of life thing going on for a bit at the beginning before you get to see larger sweeping antagonists that ultimately evolve into something more. Earlyon, the kaii (their version of demons/monsters/villains) were the main danger, so the protag goes and fights them and we learn the ropes of the world and the technology/magic hybrid that this world enjoys. Then, you see the governmental curtailing of creativity and industry as a villain and then a final villain rises in the ranks, secretly behind the scenes, reminding us that technological advancements are at times equally as harmful to humans as the kaii that were once huge threats. If I had any complaints about how this wraps up is that it may be predictable in its storytelling beats and one element of a marriage was rather polarizing as a beloved character's finale is to marry a random person who we hear little about until the moment it happens. The final battle might be predictable if you've read many manga where they have to fight an energy absorbing creature. But I would think that the way we got to the final battle and the antagonist's backstory is more interesting as the escalation of magic use involves more complex tech and even the introduction of cute fiery beats that look like fur-balls. The ending also does a 6 year timeskip and explains things briskly in one chapter while calling back to the very beginning of the story, it's cute but it might not be for everyone (you know how medium length manga might just explain the characters' fates in one panel vibes). But prior to that we get a 4 chapter epilogue post-main conflict. One of the most exciting times in this manga is the middle to 2/3rds of the narrative where there is a small timeskip (if i recall, the author had to do a three week break for research or something like that) and the regulations of the government have increased so the protags have to find creative ways to go against regulation, a shady eyepatch'd man comes along and we get to see murky dealings in a secret location and the murmurs of an underground secretive plot to create a weapon. The art is fun, the battles are creative, the magic system is a fine balance of writing code and blurting out magic names, we really get to grow along with the characters with their start-up and I love it for that. Plus there's a crossdressing baddie so that's just positive points in my book. The reason for crossdressing? Traumatic event which you will know near the end, good luck and have fun. Definitely recommend.

A corporate take on the magical girl genre, and it does so pretty incredibly. This series features a loveable cast of characters, surprising amount of intrigue, and it doesn't overstay its welcome. If there was one way that I would describe this series it would be unexpectedly amazing at points. Magilumiere has very effective art and paneling, and while neither are outstanding they are both effective enough for the reader to get engaged with the story. However, when the series touches on darker topics, it doesn't hesitate to shock the reader with a dramatic change in art style. The combat that features within this series isnothing spectacular however with it being so simple, it is very easy for readers to follow along. Now while the cast of characters is loveable, they are also slightly forgettable because of the simplicity that the manga tends to take. This simplicity is by far both the series biggest strength and weakest, preventing it from becoming something truly compelling, however allowing almost anyone to be able to engage with this series. The plot also has a surprising amount of intrigue and mystery to it, and while it is certainly nothing life changing, it is most definitely engaging enough to keep readers hooked. And the most important aspect to this series is how it never wavers from what kind of a story it tries to tell the reader even by the end. The intention of the series is known from the start and readers will learn to love the different aspects that will come there way. The story doesn't try to make it something that it isn't like, stretching out the ending for no reason, or adding unreasonable plot lines. Magilumiere does neither of these things and stays a relatively short and concise series from beginning to end. Overall, Magilumiere is manga that more people should read, despite the story telling never being able to take that next leap into something truly incredible, the aspects that make this series fascinating definitely out weigh its slightly bland parts. This series will shock the reader at points, however it's slightly doubtful that it will make a lasting impression. With all that said, it is a good coming of age story that has simplistic story telling, however while not for long there will be some shining moments within it that will sit longer in the readers mind.