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Pixiegate Madoka
Does a Gamergater have what it takes to be part of Japan's worst magical girl squad? Fuck no. Julian Argento is a socially-awkward, Reddit-obsessed nerd about to start his junior year of high school. He finds his foreign exchange program request to Japan has been approved, and he'll be joined by an "almost perfect" dream girl that looks just like his crush Jennifer Lawrence-That is, until he enters the wrong transfer rocket and is sent to Urobochi High, academy for Magical Girls. He is assigned to the "kitchen appliance" squad, and he must learn to be good-hearted, maintain friendships, and spread love in order to become a true Magical Girl... all while stopping his psychotic sister and her sea punk boyfriend from destroying Japan with their dark powers. Shouldn't be too hard. After all, he's a "nice guy"!
- GenresBizarro Fiction
56 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2015
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 30, 2018
Prepare yourself for a tale of sibling rivalry between a nudes-obsessed weeb and his syringe-hurling sister. And by “sibling rivalry”, I mean a Top 10 Fights in Anime bloodbath.
This book doesn’t shy away from whacking you in the face with colourful creativity. Everything about it is “bright”, from the explosive violence to the creative weaponry. In true anime fashion, I like how this story has a beginning and end theme-song with appropriately corny and romantic lyrics, and the fact that characters’ names appear on screen (so to speak) when they’re first introduced adds to the videogameish charm. As a big anime fan myself, I was hoping for a few more parodies of anime/manga tropes, though. Maybe explore the wide spectrum of subgenres instead of mainly sticking with the “magical girl” format.
I also found the characters’ motives a tad lacking and hard to get behind. The hero hears of a great tragedy within his family, and mourns for a bit, but then spends most of his attention either on trying to win over his crush or checking a Reddit thread for some reason. And I could never grasp the villain’s motivation for her actions, apart from being psychotic.
The prologue chapter hints at a much deeper and more cerebral message being masked by the story’s bizarro exterior, and traces of this rise back to the surface in the climax and cryptic resolution. But I would’ve liked stronger characterisation to help tie this all together and propel the story along. In any case, if you’re a fan of anime’s stranger side, you’ll find something to enjoy here.
December 28, 2015
It's my book, so of course I love it!
February 20, 2016
Pixiegate Madoka – Michael Sean LeSueur
This is a brave novella, as brave as Japanese porn. Wait, let me explain that. Japanese porn doesn't deal in shame. It just doesn't exist. You have fantasies about tentacles – good for you, second shelf. You like cartoon characters – excellent, try the whole third floor. Foot fetish – no problem. Into facials – brilliant, but you'll have to be more specific we cater to a lot of different tastes here. Michael's Pixiegate Madoka is the bizarro equivalent. It's brave and uncompromising with no sense of shame or even a hint that you (the reader) won't be into the same things. Everyone's got a perversion – why be embarrassed?
The basic plot is a coming of age tale about Julian Argento. He's a nerdy, masturbating teen boy – interested in Jennifer Lawrence's boobs and getting his end away, in any way possible.
And so, we move onto a Japanese magic school where our hero is placed an a crack “kitchen appliances” squad. All the while, his psycho sister is plotting a evil scheme to kill Julian.
This is a fun and quick read. The action zips along at a fair lick, but I did find some of the Japanese slang a bit confusing. The character's are a bit light, but to be honest I was having so much fun with them that it hardly mattered.
When a new character is introduced Michael proceeds to marks their arrival like a video game – bold, CAPSLOCK, underscored and their signature move underneath! This is a great feature, and nearly always kept me giggling as I read along.
So if you like anime, manga, Japanese culture, video games, and, you know, just plain old cool stuff – check out Michael Sean LeSueur's Pixiegate Madoka! It's fast! It's colourful! And, it's perverted! What more can you ask for?
This is a brave novella, as brave as Japanese porn. Wait, let me explain that. Japanese porn doesn't deal in shame. It just doesn't exist. You have fantasies about tentacles – good for you, second shelf. You like cartoon characters – excellent, try the whole third floor. Foot fetish – no problem. Into facials – brilliant, but you'll have to be more specific we cater to a lot of different tastes here. Michael's Pixiegate Madoka is the bizarro equivalent. It's brave and uncompromising with no sense of shame or even a hint that you (the reader) won't be into the same things. Everyone's got a perversion – why be embarrassed?
The basic plot is a coming of age tale about Julian Argento. He's a nerdy, masturbating teen boy – interested in Jennifer Lawrence's boobs and getting his end away, in any way possible.
And so, we move onto a Japanese magic school where our hero is placed an a crack “kitchen appliances” squad. All the while, his psycho sister is plotting a evil scheme to kill Julian.
This is a fun and quick read. The action zips along at a fair lick, but I did find some of the Japanese slang a bit confusing. The character's are a bit light, but to be honest I was having so much fun with them that it hardly mattered.
When a new character is introduced Michael proceeds to marks their arrival like a video game – bold, CAPSLOCK, underscored and their signature move underneath! This is a great feature, and nearly always kept me giggling as I read along.
So if you like anime, manga, Japanese culture, video games, and, you know, just plain old cool stuff – check out Michael Sean LeSueur's Pixiegate Madoka! It's fast! It's colourful! And, it's perverted! What more can you ask for?
November 8, 2016
This was one of my favourite concepts from the 2015/2016 batch of New Bizarro Author Series books. I should have bought this book sooner. I read it in a day or two. And I should have done a damn review by now. So here it is. If a heartfelt anime-infused bizarro story about a gamergater who winds up at a school for magical girls doesn't sell you, this book probably isn't for you.
If the idea does grab you though, the narrative and the execution is done really well. I loved the themes and moral dilemmas present in the story, and how they seemed to occur naturally, rather than telling a story which is all about right and wrong and cramming it down your throat.
As a result of reading this book, I checked out the anime referenced in the title: Gen Urobochi's Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The genre isn't something I usually buy into when looking for anime, but I bought it wholeheartedly, and I'll be damned if it isn't incredible.
I'll also add that any book which can create the pace and imagery of anime series like Kill la Kill or Panty and Stocking while also empowering women and subverting stereotypes at the same time, that's some pretty awesome work right there.
LeSueur's efforts bringing anime aesthetics into bizarro fiction (which I think has a LOT of space left to explore) has inspired me to give a crack at the magical girl anime bizarro sub-sub-subgenre, and has got me excited for where their writing will progress from here.
If the idea does grab you though, the narrative and the execution is done really well. I loved the themes and moral dilemmas present in the story, and how they seemed to occur naturally, rather than telling a story which is all about right and wrong and cramming it down your throat.
As a result of reading this book, I checked out the anime referenced in the title: Gen Urobochi's Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The genre isn't something I usually buy into when looking for anime, but I bought it wholeheartedly, and I'll be damned if it isn't incredible.
I'll also add that any book which can create the pace and imagery of anime series like Kill la Kill or Panty and Stocking while also empowering women and subverting stereotypes at the same time, that's some pretty awesome work right there.
LeSueur's efforts bringing anime aesthetics into bizarro fiction (which I think has a LOT of space left to explore) has inspired me to give a crack at the magical girl anime bizarro sub-sub-subgenre, and has got me excited for where their writing will progress from here.
July 6, 2017
It is unfortunate that i did not enjoy Pixiegate Madoka nearly as much as I had hoped. It is even more unfortunate that I am afraid that the book has a painfully narrow audience. Between the excessiveness of the violence and fetishism in the book, and the heavy anime and Japanese cultural influences- right down to language usage- there will be a lot of people that just don't get it.
That being said, I hope that LeSueur continues to write and learn from the experience, as I believe that with experience they will find their place within the Bizarro genre.
That being said, I hope that LeSueur continues to write and learn from the experience, as I believe that with experience they will find their place within the Bizarro genre.
January 29, 2017
This is the worst Bizarro book I have ever laid eyes on. What the hell kind of ending was that, with the guy doing major prison time and getting ass raped by his cellmate for what? Looking up leaked nudes of celebrities? And he resigns himself to the rape, as if it's a proportionate sentence or something. What a milquetoast viewpoint.
September 2, 2018
3.5 Stars
Despite the cardboard characters, Pixiegate Madoka is a fun and colorful ride you won’t regret getting on. Anime and manga fans especially should pick this up.
FULL REVIEW
Despite the cardboard characters, Pixiegate Madoka is a fun and colorful ride you won’t regret getting on. Anime and manga fans especially should pick this up.
FULL REVIEW
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews