I need to learn more about fiends though. It seems to happen soooo fast. The art is fun. I love Shade he is for sure my favorite character. I like Tanpopo has different goals than the other magical girls but I am so interested in her. And the actor! I liked the first one but I like this one more. I also enjoyed the fight scenes.
This volume was just as good as the first one, with the added bonus of interesting bits of plot. I'm curious about Shade and Ice, mostly because we haven't been told the details about the "betrayal" yet. The best part tho are the dynamics between characters and surprisingly (or maybe predictably) my favourite is the "enemies forced to work together" trope between Peony and Shade. Peony is becoming my fave and her banter and murderous attitude towards Shade is just soooo fun! And the addition to her idol childhood friend is amazing, not to mention the fact that he joins the rooster of magical girls! (Or magical boys, I guess). I didn't expect it but I loved it.
Maybe the most surprising part for me is that the relationship I feel less invested in is the most relevant one: Shade and Tanpopo. I like both characters a lot (love Shade's sarcastic nature and Tanpopo's steadfast and stubborn belief in saving everyone) and I usually enjoy the "evil dark one will protect the sunshine with their life", but there's just something that didn't click. Maybe it's because we don't know exactly why Shade is so protective of maybe because the stakes never feel too high, since everything tends to resolve almost too well. I would say that's a weakness of this work: I don't mind if during the battle every hero appears exactly at the right time (on the contrary, I get excited every time), but every fight resolves in a perfect happy ending with no injuries and that's a little too "clean" for me. We'll see how the story progresses.
After the plot and the characters, I HAVE TO talk about the artwork because some panels are stunning. The fight scenes are incredible and i love the character design of everyone: Ice is both beautiful and haunting, the contrast between Peony's and Dandelion's style is great storytelling, Blue Eyes gets an amazing costume and transformation scene. I also love how the author doesn't shy away from the very shonen-like habit of beating her protagonist bloody and once again Dandelion's eyes carry a lot of the emotional tension felt every chapter. The art alone could've made this a 5 star read.
This is a rather new manga! I'm the kind of person who prefers to read completed mangas, but the adorable character designs entranced me. I'm a big fan of Tanpopo's outfits, both magical and civilian! I think I need to read and watch more magical girl content, because this scratches an itch in my brain I didn't even know I had.
My biggest worry is that they'll take a romantic turn with Tanpopo and Shade's relationship. I'm not a fan of romance, especially since he's been practically raising her since she was a child. I really hope they keep it platonic. I'll be keeping an eye on this charming series!
Second volume is meatier than the first. Tanpopo has got the hang of her new talents, but they exhaust her. She’s also eager to use her special talent she learned saving her grandfather of purifying the new fiends to save them, which puts her at odds with Magical Girl Peony. Shade has accepted she’s now a magical girl and shows up regularly to help her. Peony’s hatred of Shade is becoming personal, but she’s ready accept he’s different. We also learn something interesting about her. The ending is a cliffhanger about Shade and another fiend. All in all, a good volume. I’d read more.
I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I’ll always be a sucker for a magical girl book. This one is extra special, because Dandelion has a “Shade” for a best friend. Well that is yet to be seen, because I’m pretty sure he’s a romantic partner in the making. The only thing that would make that weird is that she’s know him since she was really really young. He’s been watching over her and saving her from herself (she’s a klutz).
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for my gifted eARC.