Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: Tsuioku-hen

Although it doesn't delve into each element with as much depth as the light novel, Tsuioku-hen takes the limited space it has as a manga, and does its best to tell this story as best as it can. It is a depressing tale with no happy ending, however, considering where Mahouka vol. 1 picks up, it is an appropriate place to be. Story: 10/10. Not everyone is a fan of this story. I get that. It's not designed to appeal to everyone, the way Mahouka was designed to. As a side story, it's partly an homage to die-hard fans who want to learn the way thesemi-twisted relationships within Mahouka began. The story doesn't pull its punches, it comes out swinging. It reveals the plainly wrong relationship between Tatsuya and his mother, Miyuki and Tatsuya, and even (the most wholesome one of the bunch) Tanaka and Tatsuya. The pacing feels solid and complete. It never feels like an overwhelming amount of events are happening, however, it is always entertaining, and there are no plains. This is to be expected of the short 17-chapter run, however, it's a strong point nonetheless. Art: 8/10. It's fair. It's not great, but it's not at all poor. The art gets the job done, and pulls its weight during the emotional climaxes. Personally, I'm a big fan of the art style, but bias shouldn't play a role in judging it, and I recognize that this is pretty much standard fare for good quality manga. Characters: 9/10. The old duo of Tatsuya emotionless and Miyuki mixed-feelings are back, featuring more bro-con than ever before! Add in abusive parents and discrimination and you've got yourself the characters of this manga! Tatsuya is the same, after all, he isn't capable of feeling anything different. There's a lot of appropriate character growth for Miyuki though. Before this manga, if you were manga/anime only, the dedication shown towards Tatsuya by Miyuki was never explained, and obviously given how I rated the story, I approve of that character development. Add in the intrigue of war and the discrimination against those without magical capabilities, and you've got yourself interesting and dynamic character relationships. Enjoyment: 9/10. It's a sad story. It's by no means a happy ending. However, it is clear that it is a great part of Mahouka: a part of it that must be delved into, and for that reason, I really enjoyed just going back in and getting back into the action of Mahouka another time. In conclusion, my opinion of Tsuioku-hen is positive. Its got itself great plot, dynamic characters, and engaging intrigue, and that's all there is to it. Great read, would definitely recommend.