Japanese title: 魔法少女おりこ☆マギカ
Synonyms: Puella Magi Oriko Magica
Author: Magica Quartet
Artist: Mura Kuroe
Chapters: 7
Volumes: 2
Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Magical Girl, Contemporary, Mystery, Seinen
Serialisation: Manga Time Kirara Forward 2011
Plot Summary: Puella Magi Oriko Magica is the second spin-off manga of Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, illustrated by Mura Kuroe with draft by Magica Quartet. Puella Magi Oriko Magica takes place in an alternate timeline to the main series, in which Homura, Mami Tomoe and Kyōko Sakura, along with a young orphaned girl named Yuma Chitose, find themselves up against a Puella Magi pair, Oriko Mikuni and Kirika Kure, who are hunting other Puella Magi. – Puella-Magi.net and Wikipedia
Did you watch Madoka Magica last fall? If not, you probably should. Aniplex USA recently got it licensed, so it should be released on DVD for us in the UK soon. It is currently Japans best-selling anime Blu-ray of all time, and definitely for good reason.
Madoka Magica was not adapted from any manga, in fact, Madoka Magica is the source material, and it wont surprise you of course that it has inspired not just one, but 3 different manga’s drafted by Magica Quartet (The guys responsible for the anime) and is illustrated by 3 new artists who I have never heard of before. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica has artwork by Hanokage, a doujinshi artist. Mahou Shoujo Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice is a side story illustrated by Takashi Tensugi, and Mahou Shoujo Oriko Magica is illustrated by Mura Kuroe who is responsible for a long chain of Touhou doujins.
I am disappointed with some of the reviews I have read for Oriko Magica, as I found it to be extremely enjoyable. Of the 3 different manga to be released, I found the artwork of Oriko Magica to be the most brilliant. It has a very high contrast feel to it, the lines are thick and well defined and it really complimented the unique characters of the Puella Magi universe. It is not required that you read the other 2 Mahou Shoujo manga’s, but you should watch the anime first.
In essence, Mahou Shoujo Oriko Magica is an extension of the anime’s episode 10 and takes place in an alternate timeline as demonstrated in that episode. Surprisingly this particular story was very dark and was complimented well by the art style, there was a lot of blood and the sanity of some of the characters was under question. The characters facial expressions were very invoking and possibly terrifying at times. It had the Higurashi eyes going on which I found very spooky, whilst weird camera angles and creepy fish eye effects did wonders for Kyuubey‘s disposition. He was particularly devious and shockingly, showed his true colours in the end. The villains themselves were very well thought out and the best part is, you could understand the logic behind their thinking; they felt very human. I wonder if I myself would come to their same conclusion.
The character expressions were very invoking.
Each character from the anime was back, and each of them had a prominent role to play (besides Sayaka, but I don’t mind that). Each chapter focused on a different set of characters before finally bringing them all together for the finale. The villains themselves got a chapter too which is nice, and their back story was sufficiently addressed and the new additions felt very real in terms of their actions and motivations. Mami herself was also prominent, her presence in the anime was cut short, and it was nice to get to know her better. I am a particular fan of Homura, certainly, she is one of my most favourite characters ever, and Oriko magica just served to strengthen that. The ending brought a frog to my throat, and that is all I’ll say regarding that.
This manga can easily be read in a single sitting, and the anime itself is not all that long either. I think that with the popularity of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, Oriko Magica is quite under-appreciated and should be far more popular than it is. If I ever saw this published in English, I would want it on my shelf.
If you enjoyed this I think you should go check out Higurashi, or vice versa if not just for the creepiness factor. If you liked Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, I don’t see any reason why you would dislike Oriko Magica either… Of course, what I am really trying to say is this:
Make a contract with me.
EvaPilot1's anime blog. 