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魔法少女事変 [Mahou Shoujo Jihen] #1
Operation Magical Girl 01
„Was willst du werden, wenn du mal groß bist?“
Für Hiromi war die Antwort auf diese Frage immer, ein Held zu werden wie seine liebsten Kämpfer für Gerechtigkeit in Primärfarben! Doch leider geht nicht jeder Traum in Erfüllung und nun ist er lediglich ein dauergestresster Büroangestellter – bis er eines Abends einschreitet, um ein kleines Mädchen zu beschützen. Mit seinem neu gefunden Mut stellt er sich dem Bösen entgegen und verwandelt sich … in ein Magical Girl?!
Für Hiromi war die Antwort auf diese Frage immer, ein Held zu werden wie seine liebsten Kämpfer für Gerechtigkeit in Primärfarben! Doch leider geht nicht jeder Traum in Erfüllung und nun ist er lediglich ein dauergestresster Büroangestellter – bis er eines Abends einschreitet, um ein kleines Mädchen zu beschützen. Mit seinem neu gefunden Mut stellt er sich dem Bösen entgegen und verwandelt sich … in ein Magical Girl?!
178 pages, Paperback
Published January 17, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
September 5, 2025
Review for the entire series (completed)
Not gonna lie, this could've been a solid 4 stars had it not been for the ending. Don't get me wrong, it was comforting, but Yuzuru's dad got off far too easily.
I get that you aren't really supposed to take it seriously, but I really dislike the trope of The fact that this thing STILL got a 3 stars despite that proves how good it is regardless. Misaki deserved so, so much better.
Hiromi is an excellence main character! With each chapter I found myself liking him more and more. I didn't really have any expectations for him given his generic description and design, but he is captivating both in his normal and magical girl persona. And it was refreshing to see him accept being a pink haired magical girl so quickly lol.
And Yuzuru! He was a bit suspicious at times, but I never truly doubted him. Him having feelings for Hiromi since childhood was unexpected. As in, I didn't expect the author to make it clear instead of keeping it in the subtext. It was much later after finishing the manga that I realised he joined the office because of Hiromi lol.
How are they not canon yet? They literally have four different versions each with their own moments AND they fake dated towards the end. Seriously.
While I didn't think this was rushed, another volume or two with Satome finding out about how his son died because of him, his wife finding out what he did,and found family would've been nice...
Not gonna lie, this could've been a solid 4 stars had it not been for the ending. Don't get me wrong, it was comforting, but Yuzuru's dad got off far too easily.
I get that you aren't really supposed to take it seriously, but I really dislike the trope of The fact that this thing STILL got a 3 stars despite that proves how good it is regardless. Misaki deserved so, so much better.
Hiromi is an excellence main character! With each chapter I found myself liking him more and more. I didn't really have any expectations for him given his generic description and design, but he is captivating both in his normal and magical girl persona. And it was refreshing to see him accept being a pink haired magical girl so quickly lol.
And Yuzuru! He was a bit suspicious at times, but I never truly doubted him. Him having feelings for Hiromi since childhood was unexpected. As in, I didn't expect the author to make it clear instead of keeping it in the subtext. It was much later after finishing the manga that I realised he joined the office because of Hiromi lol.
How are they not canon yet? They literally have four different versions each with their own moments AND they fake dated towards the end. Seriously.
While I didn't think this was rushed, another volume or two with Satome finding out about how his son died because of him, his wife finding out what he did,and found family would've been nice...
November 25, 2024
At first I was excited to see that a German publisher had picked this one up, but they honest to god plan to change the cover and not to be dramatic, but that is a crime in my opinion. I mean look at the original: hot pink, eye catching, stunning. What are they thinking!? Anyway, I liked this first volume well enough and the premise of a 30-year-old man turning into a magical girl is still promising to me. It spent a little too much time showing the awful office job and I hope there will be less of that in the next volumes.
July 8, 2025
Volumes 1-3
(no spoilers)
aaah~ it's so cute 😭 I'm obsessed with the designs for the magical girls. The art is beautiful.
The premise is quite fun and develops very nicely. Goes into some heavier topics but has many positive affirmations, and features a friendship so wholesome I wanted to cry.
The way it wraps up is maybe a bit on the lazy side, and there's one glaring question left which... well, it'll take a long time for it to become a problem, sure, we'll just put that aside and not talk about it.
(no spoilers)
aaah~ it's so cute 😭 I'm obsessed with the designs for the magical girls. The art is beautiful.
The premise is quite fun and develops very nicely. Goes into some heavier topics but has many positive affirmations, and features a friendship so wholesome I wanted to cry.
The way it wraps up is maybe a bit on the lazy side, and there's one glaring question left which... well, it'll take a long time for it to become a problem, sure, we'll just put that aside and not talk about it.
April 7, 2023
Don't you just hate it when you're an overworked salaryman who used to dream of being a super sentai hero only to become a magical girl instead? This has potential, and definitely deserves a second volume to see where it goes.
May 29, 2023
Sakura is a beaten down office drone in a dead-end job. But he still has a strong sense of justice, so when a young girl is in trouble, he finds himself transformed into a powerful magical girl!? Now his life finally has purpose, which would be great if he could figure out how to transform…
Well, this is kind of really try-hard, but not in a way that I hate. I think it certainly aims higher than it achieves, but this is one case where I won’t fault the ambition just because it’s being harmlessly silly and still has a good message at its heart. Kind of like an average magical girl show, honestly.
At first this plays very much like a cringe office story, as Sakura’s infuriatingly useless boss attempts to work him to death. The way his perspective changes as he gets used to his alter ego is nice, but the key point is that his circumstances might suck, but Sakura’s a decent guy.
When he isn’t being a girl, of course. It’s a relief to say that there are no easy, phobic jokes fired off once Sakura swaps genders. It’s just… a thing that happens. More to the point, it leads to a weirdly funny porno joke involving his best friend, who’s got not a whiff of gay panic about him, to say the least.
One thing this story does especially well is seed things into it that I genuinely want to know more about, making for some interesting mysteries. A casual mention that Sakura can’t even use magic… yet… just passes right on by, but I sure noticed it. Not that she needs it right at the moment.
And that big old reveal of a classic magical girl trope at the end of the volume made me super happy. It’s so obvious and I should have seen it coming, but it’s still great. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion, based on our small cast thus far, about who’s behind it, which is no bad thing since it’s a great idea. It doesn’t have to be a surprise - it can make narrative sense and still be immensely satisfying.
Regrettably, the art doesn’t do the story many favours. I like Sakura’s magical girl form and the transformation sequence is hilariously appropriate, but this story loves to punctuate its jokes with wild takes and it does not have a strong face game, sad to say, which could have sold the comedy better than it does.
And I like the evil behind it all, mostly, even if it takes the most obvious form. It gets the job done, same as the monster designs, which are somewhat stylish, but could be better. With Sakura’s traditional design, it would have been great to see some truly wild enemies for her to fight, although I think it might have strained the art to the breaking point.
It’s all entirely passable, but the jokes are middling and the art’s okay, and you can see chunks of the plot a mile off. But it’s having fun and it feels fun. It’s kind of like when you try and use all the stuff in your fridge up at once - some things will not incorporate well, but that doesn’t mean the dish can’t be tasty at times.
And it does certainly get better as it goes - the whole second half evil monster is a build-up that, again, is obvious but presented well. This gets a lot of magical girl tropes dead on, I just wish it had been a little more strong about it all.
3 stars - at the end of the day, I know I had fun and I know I’ll have more. There are clear flaws that keep this from being perfect, but as a different take on the magical girl genre it does well as a celebration and parody all at once. Well worth the second volume chance.
Well, this is kind of really try-hard, but not in a way that I hate. I think it certainly aims higher than it achieves, but this is one case where I won’t fault the ambition just because it’s being harmlessly silly and still has a good message at its heart. Kind of like an average magical girl show, honestly.
At first this plays very much like a cringe office story, as Sakura’s infuriatingly useless boss attempts to work him to death. The way his perspective changes as he gets used to his alter ego is nice, but the key point is that his circumstances might suck, but Sakura’s a decent guy.
When he isn’t being a girl, of course. It’s a relief to say that there are no easy, phobic jokes fired off once Sakura swaps genders. It’s just… a thing that happens. More to the point, it leads to a weirdly funny porno joke involving his best friend, who’s got not a whiff of gay panic about him, to say the least.
One thing this story does especially well is seed things into it that I genuinely want to know more about, making for some interesting mysteries. A casual mention that Sakura can’t even use magic… yet… just passes right on by, but I sure noticed it. Not that she needs it right at the moment.
And that big old reveal of a classic magical girl trope at the end of the volume made me super happy. It’s so obvious and I should have seen it coming, but it’s still great. I’ve got a sneaking suspicion, based on our small cast thus far, about who’s behind it, which is no bad thing since it’s a great idea. It doesn’t have to be a surprise - it can make narrative sense and still be immensely satisfying.
Regrettably, the art doesn’t do the story many favours. I like Sakura’s magical girl form and the transformation sequence is hilariously appropriate, but this story loves to punctuate its jokes with wild takes and it does not have a strong face game, sad to say, which could have sold the comedy better than it does.
And I like the evil behind it all, mostly, even if it takes the most obvious form. It gets the job done, same as the monster designs, which are somewhat stylish, but could be better. With Sakura’s traditional design, it would have been great to see some truly wild enemies for her to fight, although I think it might have strained the art to the breaking point.
It’s all entirely passable, but the jokes are middling and the art’s okay, and you can see chunks of the plot a mile off. But it’s having fun and it feels fun. It’s kind of like when you try and use all the stuff in your fridge up at once - some things will not incorporate well, but that doesn’t mean the dish can’t be tasty at times.
And it does certainly get better as it goes - the whole second half evil monster is a build-up that, again, is obvious but presented well. This gets a lot of magical girl tropes dead on, I just wish it had been a little more strong about it all.
3 stars - at the end of the day, I know I had fun and I know I’ll have more. There are clear flaws that keep this from being perfect, but as a different take on the magical girl genre it does well as a celebration and parody all at once. Well worth the second volume chance.
June 14, 2023
Very fun take on the magical girl genre.
Humour is all over the place and there is a lot of stereotypes but it works surprisingly well.
Humour is all over the place and there is a lot of stereotypes but it works surprisingly well.
February 1, 2025
This was quite entertaining and fun, with a mysterious twist in the end! I kept confusing the characters though :')
June 12, 2025
Ooops, I am a Magical Girl and other discoveries
This series has some potential with interesting characters that sometimes boarder on the absurd (such as MC's best friend and office co-worker) and a strange but as far as I realize new entry in the magical girl genre (though changing a character's biological sex is old hat in general.)
Reminding me a little of "One Punch Man" with a titular character believing in justice coming from a normal office life and gaining power after saving a child this one also goes into far more details about the abusive office life of a corporate drone and shows the MC has more emotional depth than Saitama tends to show. Of course what would a magical girl story be without a monster of the week and although this series tends toward the humorous much of the time it is a little scary to imagine how the monsters come to be here though you should read this volume at least to understand what I mean. :)
This series has some potential with interesting characters that sometimes boarder on the absurd (such as MC's best friend and office co-worker) and a strange but as far as I realize new entry in the magical girl genre (though changing a character's biological sex is old hat in general.)
Reminding me a little of "One Punch Man" with a titular character believing in justice coming from a normal office life and gaining power after saving a child this one also goes into far more details about the abusive office life of a corporate drone and shows the MC has more emotional depth than Saitama tends to show. Of course what would a magical girl story be without a monster of the week and although this series tends toward the humorous much of the time it is a little scary to imagine how the monsters come to be here though you should read this volume at least to understand what I mean. :)
December 24, 2025
miku is that you
March 10, 2024
This, in my opinion, is the perfect mix between goofy and serious.
I cackled while reading this, but it’s always nice to see a different take on a common troupe.
Read this if you wanna have a laugh. :)
I cackled while reading this, but it’s always nice to see a different take on a common troupe.
Read this if you wanna have a laugh. :)
September 2, 2024
This was such an unexpected delight! Office drone transforms into a classic magical girl, and it's just as hilarious and charming as it sounds. There's heart here too, and a great best friend with quite possibly his own secrets. I'll definitely be back for more.
February 27, 2025
was ok, coming from recently finishing dai dark and vol 4 of dorohedoro, it seems silly stupid enough for me to have a blast with it, hopefully it picks up and the mental deficit valve of the art style goes further and beyond in the next one
June 2, 2023
This was a hilarious read. I can never get enough of Magical Girl comedy/parodies. And that cliffhanger at the end just makes me wanting more!
August 25, 2023
This one just seems a bit all over the place… I can’t really guess if it will get better or not. Cute concept buried by so many random plot twists.
January 17, 2025
This was very fun
January 19, 2025
A cute start to the series. A nice balance of the slower, more episodic slice of life vibe that I like from both magical girl and office worker comedies
July 10, 2025
The story is rather simple so far, but the art is great and it's quite funny. On the covers for all three volumes, the use of color is excellent, which is why I started the series in the first place. I will read the other two volumes soon.
May 20, 2025
Read all three volumes!
I wish the series had more time to expand on some of its themes, as I did enjoy the story, characters and the plot, but it felt like it needed maybe one more volume. I'm glad there weren't any fanservice shenanigans regarding the gender swap but I wouldn't have minded a bit of introspection about the impact of presenting as a different gender in a strict society.
I wish the series had more time to expand on some of its themes, as I did enjoy the story, characters and the plot, but it felt like it needed maybe one more volume. I'm glad there weren't any fanservice shenanigans regarding the gender swap but I wouldn't have minded a bit of introspection about the impact of presenting as a different gender in a strict society.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2024
A 4.5/5! It's so much fun and a unique concept! I was hoping for a bit more depth, so it's not a 5/5. Still, it is delightful and funny!
November 26, 2024
this actually gagged me bad i was like oh no so scary what if this is a tasteless story with no nuance about a man turning into a magical girl... and then i was so surprised when it was actually really well done and heartfelt... snaps for zero akabane good job bro
September 11, 2023
Hmm I don't know. Cute concept.
October 19, 2023
3.5 stars. This was entertaining and unqiue. I liked it, but I am not entirely sold, yet.
April 4, 2023
A fun twist on a superhero trope. Sakura Hiromi is an overworked office clerk who steps in to save a kid and suddenly transforms into a superhero—a girl hero, to his chagrin. When his coworker finds out, he sets out to help Hiromi to figure out how the transformation works with his unique—and very random—resources.
A mysterious woman is causing people to turn into monsters that Hiromi must defeat. But when she gets her hands into his new intern, things get personal. The first volume ends at an out-of-the blue cliff-hanger, and I really need to read more.
The narrative was rather disjointed, with a bit in the middle from the point of view of Hiromi’s intern. The story isn’t cutesy fun like I would’ve expected and there are some dark things happening, but it was interesting. And what I found refreshing was that Sakura wasn’t sexualized when he was in his female form.
Illustrations were black and white and rather heavy-lined. Hiromi as the magical girl looked much like Sailor Moon, only sturdier with manly knees, which was a fun detail. What annoyed me was that Hiromi, his best friend, and his new intern all looked alike. Half the time I had no idea who was who. The only thing giving Hiromi away was the mask he wore around his neck for some reason (no one else wore them), and even that wasn’t there all the time.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
A mysterious woman is causing people to turn into monsters that Hiromi must defeat. But when she gets her hands into his new intern, things get personal. The first volume ends at an out-of-the blue cliff-hanger, and I really need to read more.
The narrative was rather disjointed, with a bit in the middle from the point of view of Hiromi’s intern. The story isn’t cutesy fun like I would’ve expected and there are some dark things happening, but it was interesting. And what I found refreshing was that Sakura wasn’t sexualized when he was in his female form.
Illustrations were black and white and rather heavy-lined. Hiromi as the magical girl looked much like Sailor Moon, only sturdier with manly knees, which was a fun detail. What annoyed me was that Hiromi, his best friend, and his new intern all looked alike. Half the time I had no idea who was who. The only thing giving Hiromi away was the mask he wore around his neck for some reason (no one else wore them), and even that wasn’t there all the time.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
June 10, 2023
A strong case of don't judge a book by it's cover. Did I pick this up thinking it was going to be about a magical girl who had to be protected by a standard salary man?
Yes.
Art:
The art is nothing short of cute and enjoyable. Perfectly encapsulating the cutesy magical girl energy.
Plotline:
Outside of being nothing like I thought it was going to be (READ THE BACK OF THE BOOK JESSIE), I actually enjoyed this manga. It follows an average salary man who happens to become a magical girl when danger arises. It's humorous and funny and I actually look forward to seeing where this plot ends. Currently we are at the Spiderman meme "Wait there's two?!".
Overall:
Did I rate this three stars? Yes, but it's really not the fault of the manga as much as it is the fault of myself. I mean.... how did you expect me not to think this was a romance?! Nonetheless, the plot was good, and the character was pretty enjoyable overall. There were a few dry spell moments, but I think this definitely has some good potential, and I look forward to seeing where it goes.
Yes.
Art:
The art is nothing short of cute and enjoyable. Perfectly encapsulating the cutesy magical girl energy.
Plotline:
Outside of being nothing like I thought it was going to be (READ THE BACK OF THE BOOK JESSIE), I actually enjoyed this manga. It follows an average salary man who happens to become a magical girl when danger arises. It's humorous and funny and I actually look forward to seeing where this plot ends. Currently we are at the Spiderman meme "Wait there's two?!".
Overall:
Did I rate this three stars? Yes, but it's really not the fault of the manga as much as it is the fault of myself. I mean.... how did you expect me not to think this was a romance?! Nonetheless, the plot was good, and the character was pretty enjoyable overall. There were a few dry spell moments, but I think this definitely has some good potential, and I look forward to seeing where it goes.
May 29, 2023
3.5★ rounding up because it's fun and I absolutely love the cover! the premise is a unique twist on the magical girl genre, with well-illustrated action scenes and a likeable, earnest protagonist. I'm enjoying the coworker relationship - hiro and yuzuru have some really funny interactions, though some fall flat (like the porn magazine joke). I think overall this volume started off a lot stronger in the beginning and got a little muddled as it progressed...the whole helicopter scene was very chaotic and I didn't really understand where the final confrontation was taking place. but, the character introduction and cliffhanger at the end was promising, and I'd definitely pick up the next volume!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2025
This was absolutely delightful!! I just read all three volumes and I'm so full of love and whimsy guys ✨ I love friendship
And the magic system here is so fun, and I am a SUCKER for a fun magic system. Like yes, it starts as a classic "guy becomes a magical girl" manga. But by the end there was so much more complexity to the whole thing that were distinctly unique.
And while I think three volumes ended up being a good length for the story it told, this could have easily become a longer series. There was such complex worldbuilding for such a short amount of time, and much of it only got mentioned in passing. There is so much unexplored material to work off of here, just saying 😉 wink wink
And the magic system here is so fun, and I am a SUCKER for a fun magic system. Like yes, it starts as a classic "guy becomes a magical girl" manga. But by the end there was so much more complexity to the whole thing that were distinctly unique.
And while I think three volumes ended up being a good length for the story it told, this could have easily become a longer series. There was such complex worldbuilding for such a short amount of time, and much of it only got mentioned in passing. There is so much unexplored material to work off of here, just saying 😉 wink wink
June 28, 2023
A twist on the magical girl formula where the altar ego of the magical girl is a burned out office worker in his regular life. And it plays it relatively straight. It's definitely a comedy, but the comedy is way less about Hiromi's magical gender swaps than it is about anything else in the situation. The sense of humor isn't exactly to my taste, and the art is largely just fine, but I do appreciate that Hiromi's magical girl self isn't sexualized.
July 6, 2024
Working a basic salaried job gives Sakura no confidence other than doing his work each and every day. But he dreams of being a hero in some way. He's made fun of by a kid when he tries to help but "magically" the next time an event happens- Sakura turns into... a magical girl with the power to save!
Now he has to figure out how he's able to change into this magical girl and lean into this new heroism.
It's creative with a side of humor and drudgery that I enjoyed.
Now he has to figure out how he's able to change into this magical girl and lean into this new heroism.
It's creative with a side of humor and drudgery that I enjoyed.
September 6, 2023
Weird series. Reminds me of "Is This A Zombie?".
some translation issues maybe? A part in the middle had me confused, where a police officer tells him to grow up. The scene before it he's buying a kid a ball, because their ball got run over by a car and popped. Not sure why that warranted a "Grow up" from the cop he encountered?
Other than that. Not horrible, not amazing. solid 3 from me.
some translation issues maybe? A part in the middle had me confused, where a police officer tells him to grow up. The scene before it he's buying a kid a ball, because their ball got run over by a car and popped. Not sure why that warranted a "Grow up" from the cop he encountered?
Other than that. Not horrible, not amazing. solid 3 from me.
September 13, 2023
This book is a cool idea and nice art with a confusing start. The character designs were hard to distinguish between the different salarymen, and the time action was confusing initially. I think the later parts of the book were paced better, and I could see the series' potential. I am probably not going to continue.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews