What do you think?
Rate this book
Magical Girl Raising Project Light Novel #3
魔法少女育成計画 restart
ひたすらに激化していく、囚われの魔法少女たちによる生き残りゲーム。残酷かつ一方的なルールの下で、少女たちは迷い、戦い、一人また一人と命を落としていく。警戒すべきは姿の見えぬ「マスター」か、それとも背後の仲間たちか。強力無比な魔法が互いに向けられる時、また一人新たな犠牲者が生まれる――。話題のマジカルサスペンスバトル、第二幕の完結編! 最後まで生き残る魔法少女は、いったい誰なのか!?
268 pages, Paperback
First published December 10, 2012
3 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 29, 2022
Rating: 4.5
Absolutely nothing about this story arc was predictable, and I love it. Plot armour? Nope, none of that here. Based on what happened in the first arc I predicted two survivors and they both ended up dead, and the actual survivors were all characters I’d written off as likely goners quite early on, so kudos to the author for not going with the obvious choices.
I already found the Pfle and Shadowgale relationship interesting in the previous volume, and I’m happy with the direction that it went in. It’s refreshing having one of these bodyguard relationships but without the usual cliches, especially since it had already been done in the previous arc.
I was also very happy with the connection that this arc ended up having to the first arc, the source of the connection was hinted at heavily during the previous volume but it really wasn’t obvious exactly what was going on until a fair way into this volume, and made for a satisfying mastermind motivation.
I was legitimately surprised by so many of the reveals here, which was freaking awesome since as someone who consumes a huge amount of mystery fiction, I tend to be pretty good at guessing twists ahead of time. There were so many assumptions I made that ended up being wrong!
This is a seriously underrated series in my opinion, at least in the western world, it seems like so few people have continued with this series beyond the anime adaption, which is such a shame. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next arc!
Absolutely nothing about this story arc was predictable, and I love it. Plot armour? Nope, none of that here. Based on what happened in the first arc I predicted two survivors and they both ended up dead, and the actual survivors were all characters I’d written off as likely goners quite early on, so kudos to the author for not going with the obvious choices.
I already found the Pfle and Shadowgale relationship interesting in the previous volume, and I’m happy with the direction that it went in. It’s refreshing having one of these bodyguard relationships but without the usual cliches, especially since it had already been done in the previous arc.
I was also very happy with the connection that this arc ended up having to the first arc, the source of the connection was hinted at heavily during the previous volume but it really wasn’t obvious exactly what was going on until a fair way into this volume, and made for a satisfying mastermind motivation.
I was legitimately surprised by so many of the reveals here, which was freaking awesome since as someone who consumes a huge amount of mystery fiction, I tend to be pretty good at guessing twists ahead of time. There were so many assumptions I made that ended up being wrong!
This is a seriously underrated series in my opinion, at least in the western world, it seems like so few people have continued with this series beyond the anime adaption, which is such a shame. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next arc!
December 13, 2020
Increíble!!
Muchas de mis dudas sobre el Arc 1 ahora fueron aclaradas. Ame ver el cambio de Snow White y la mención de otras chicas mágicas del Arc pasado,
Muchas de mis dudas sobre el Arc 1 ahora fueron aclaradas. Ame ver el cambio de Snow White y la mención de otras chicas mágicas del Arc pasado,
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2018
It's been a few months since I read this, but now that the fourth volume is out (which I have bought and plan to read soon), I thought it was about time I finally wrote this review. Keep in mind that I may not remember some things perfectly due to the time that has passed.
The first half of this volume is essentially the same type of content as Restart I, with the girls attempting to progress in the game and not die while doing so. Honestly, this gets a bit dull, but the second half picks up quickly when the girls realize the in-game villain is actually one of them. This isn't a spoiler; the reader is told on the very first page, although we don't know who is playing the part of the Evil King any more than the characters do. This means that literally everyone is a suspect, and of course, Detec Bell is on the case.
This volume is heavy on characterization, fleshing out many of the characters who hadn't received the spotlight before. This is especially evident in the scene where Bell visits Lapis Lazuline in the real world. We learn quite a lot about Lazuline: her home life, her age, how she spends her time, and her past, including the beginning of her magical girl career. Interestingly, the one thing we never learn is her real name, not even in supplementary materials, despite how well-rounded she is. Pechka's past and personality are also explored, elevating her above the standard "mild-mannered pink one" that seems to be a requirement in dark magical girl series. Even the big-picture villain, the game master, is written so that you can understand her motivation even if you don't agree with her methods; unfortunately, we didn't get to know her nearly as well as some of the others. As a bonus, this volume has more art than the last, meaning we get to see illustrations of characters who did not get any before.
On the negative side, the translation can still be awkward, and I'm not crazy about how the reveal of the villain was handled. The problem is that .
This series is not a perfect one, but one thing it consistently is is enjoyable. The next volume is a collection of short stories focusing on characters from the first three books, and I'm excited to learn more about the world of Raising Project.
The first half of this volume is essentially the same type of content as Restart I, with the girls attempting to progress in the game and not die while doing so. Honestly, this gets a bit dull, but the second half picks up quickly when the girls realize the in-game villain is actually one of them. This isn't a spoiler; the reader is told on the very first page, although we don't know who is playing the part of the Evil King any more than the characters do. This means that literally everyone is a suspect, and of course, Detec Bell is on the case.
This volume is heavy on characterization, fleshing out many of the characters who hadn't received the spotlight before. This is especially evident in the scene where Bell visits Lapis Lazuline in the real world. We learn quite a lot about Lazuline: her home life, her age, how she spends her time, and her past, including the beginning of her magical girl career. Interestingly, the one thing we never learn is her real name, not even in supplementary materials, despite how well-rounded she is. Pechka's past and personality are also explored, elevating her above the standard "mild-mannered pink one" that seems to be a requirement in dark magical girl series. Even the big-picture villain, the game master, is written so that you can understand her motivation even if you don't agree with her methods; unfortunately, we didn't get to know her nearly as well as some of the others. As a bonus, this volume has more art than the last, meaning we get to see illustrations of characters who did not get any before.
On the negative side, the translation can still be awkward, and I'm not crazy about how the reveal of the villain was handled. The problem is that .
This series is not a perfect one, but one thing it consistently is is enjoyable. The next volume is a collection of short stories focusing on characters from the first three books, and I'm excited to learn more about the world of Raising Project.
April 22, 2019
The Restart story arc is MUCH better than the arc of volume 1, and it’s mostly because it’s not all condensed into one book. The Restart arc is both volumes 2 and 3, so we get more time with the new magical girls and they’re therefore fleshed out better. Also the plot itself is more complicated-we get a murder mystery and more details about the Magical Kingdom itself rather than a simple magical girl battle royale death game.
So why not 5 stars and still the 4? NO RIPPLE. I knew she wouldn’t be a MC again and that we get a new cast of 16 girls but I was hoping so much she would get a bit of time. That and I didn’t really like any of the new girls all that much for some reason aside from Detec Bell. They aren’t bad and we got a lot more time with them, but there weren’t any that I really cared about, haha. (Like Nemurin, Hardgore Alice, and Ripple from the first arc. Those three I really liked, and for their personalities, not just their cool powers!) I did like Shadow Gale though...just not as much as the three girls from the first arc I just mentioned. For me I mostly just enjoyed seeing the new girls’ powers. The author comes up with some actually unique abilities for the magical girls, and it works logically, and this is something I REALLY appreciate. I like magic to make sense.
I also liked that the murder mystery/Evil King twist plot wasn’t immediately evident. I suspected the wrong character for awhile (though I eventually guessed who it was) and I like when that happens.
I’m looking forward to volume 4, which I know is the short story collection. Hopefully my favorites from the first arc will appear in it.:)
So why not 5 stars and still the 4? NO RIPPLE. I knew she wouldn’t be a MC again and that we get a new cast of 16 girls but I was hoping so much she would get a bit of time. That and I didn’t really like any of the new girls all that much for some reason aside from Detec Bell. They aren’t bad and we got a lot more time with them, but there weren’t any that I really cared about, haha. (Like Nemurin, Hardgore Alice, and Ripple from the first arc. Those three I really liked, and for their personalities, not just their cool powers!) I did like Shadow Gale though...just not as much as the three girls from the first arc I just mentioned. For me I mostly just enjoyed seeing the new girls’ powers. The author comes up with some actually unique abilities for the magical girls, and it works logically, and this is something I REALLY appreciate. I like magic to make sense.
I also liked that the murder mystery/Evil King twist plot wasn’t immediately evident. I suspected the wrong character for awhile (though I eventually guessed who it was) and I like when that happens.
I’m looking forward to volume 4, which I know is the short story collection. Hopefully my favorites from the first arc will appear in it.:)
April 8, 2018
3.5
One death made me cry, one left a bad taste in my mouth , felt pretty satisfied I was right about who was the evil king, and two of the girls I wanted to survive did. I liked how this tied in with the first bk, really made me view the story in a different light. Snow White’s fangirl was funny and her magic power was awesome. Seems like the authors grown, so why am I still indecisive about buying the next vol or not? Anywho, i sure hope my girls gonna be okay.
One death made me cry, one left a bad taste in my mouth , felt pretty satisfied I was right about who was the evil king, and two of the girls I wanted to survive did. I liked how this tied in with the first bk, really made me view the story in a different light. Snow White’s fangirl was funny and her magic power was awesome. Seems like the authors grown, so why am I still indecisive about buying the next vol or not? Anywho, i sure hope my girls gonna be okay.
December 5, 2024
A lot of my criticisms from the last volume still stand--namely, the fact that the Magical Kingdom seems if not inept, then at least pretty oblivious, not to mention the question of what they're trying to accomplish by creating magical girls in the first place. However, the wrap-up of this second game is interesting enough to counterbalance that to a large extent. There are fake outs and backstabs galore, more creative examples of ways to use the various powers the girls have at their disposal, and an admirable job done of keeping us guessing as to the identity of the traitor, right up to the end.
The writing on a technical level continues to be a bit over-explained and at times repetitive, but I think that might be something in the translation. The events that play out, however, are engaging despite that. I will say I find the way the mastermind in the real world was defeated felt a little...off, but I have a feeling it'll be elaborated on in a later volume.
Bottom line, if you like games of death, and inventive uses of superpowers, there's a lot to enjoy in Magical Girl Raising Project. I'm not entirely sure where the series is going to go from here, but I'm excited to find out.
The writing on a technical level continues to be a bit over-explained and at times repetitive, but I think that might be something in the translation. The events that play out, however, are engaging despite that. I will say I find the way the mastermind in the real world was defeated felt a little...off, but I have a feeling it'll be elaborated on in a later volume.
Bottom line, if you like games of death, and inventive uses of superpowers, there's a lot to enjoy in Magical Girl Raising Project. I'm not entirely sure where the series is going to go from here, but I'm excited to find out.
December 24, 2020
Everything is in my other review; APPARENTLY the thing I was reading grouped the two parts into one, very convenient but not very helpful for numbering :3
In retrospect, this light novel probably felt like such a massive step up on the prior one BECAUSE it literally built off of a similar foundation but gave itself twice the room to create the foundation. That definitely wasn't the only thing, but it explains a lot. Anyways, shoo go back to the other one that's where all the excitement is
In retrospect, this light novel probably felt like such a massive step up on the prior one BECAUSE it literally built off of a similar foundation but gave itself twice the room to create the foundation. That definitely wasn't the only thing, but it explains a lot. Anyways, shoo go back to the other one that's where all the excitement is
May 31, 2024
If Endou was a better writer, I think this could have been done in one book. As it is, this story is so frustrating because it has such great moments and ideas, but they're buried underneath awkward dialogue and the "telling, not showing" guillotine. Nevertheless, I think I'll keep going. There's just something about this world that keeps pulling me back in.
January 29, 2022
Endou-san has a real talent for writing some extremely damaged and fucked-up young ladies. The contrast between that and their respective idealized ideas of what magical girls should be makes for some really compelling drama.
March 30, 2018
4.5 stars. Full review forthcoming, but Volume 3 (Restart 2) is probably the best installment in the Magical Girl Raising Project series so far.
February 10, 2019
ohhhhhhhhh my god this book shadow gale/pfle otp 5ever anime when?
July 10, 2019
This book is my favourite in the series so far. I was rooting for all my favourite characters, I was eager to find out what has been going on and knowing all the secrets and I was not disappointed.
August 14, 2019
I finished it in one day. I'm physically and mentally tired.
October 16, 2019
I want to read more!!
Enjoy :)
Enjoy :)
October 3, 2020
The second of a 2 book arc this one made the mystery even deeper than before where you weren't trusting anybody. I loved how it keep going to the end and even the Master sections. Great read.
February 8, 2021
Fantastic.
June 6, 2023
4.5
The fact that they didn't adapt those volumes into an anime is a crime
The fact that they didn't adapt those volumes into an anime is a crime
September 23, 2023
Leer como Nokko-chan (una niña de 10 AÑOS) tiene que auto matarse para no seguir lastimando a las demás me hizo mal, mi psicólogo sabré de esto
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2025
4.5 stars
Tense and a great ending. I was right with the culprit but didn’t guess the full picture. Really fun, brutal story.
Tense and a great ending. I was right with the culprit but didn’t guess the full picture. Really fun, brutal story.
March 30, 2017
This... The characters are sooo adorable, the plot is so great, but Endou does it again... People out there, beware! You never know if your favourite character is a survivor or not... Although different from Unmarked on several levels, Restart gives you the opportunity to get attached to the characters more than Unmarked
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews