Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! Volume 13 Review

“Reading someone’s mind without their permission is like peeping on them,” Tsuge to Minato. “I really should have told you sooner.”

Adachi might have lost his magical ability (the ‘Cherry Magic’ of the series title) but his friend, best-selling novelist Masato Tsuge, hasn’t and is still able to read other people’s minds. Deeply troubled by not confessing that he has this gift (or curse) to his younger boyfriend, dancer Minato, he suddenly blurted out the truth – and Minato, stunned by the revelation, backed off. He’s currently away on tour with the dance troupe Trap Trick – and he’s not reading his texts, let alone answering them. Not even the news that his best-selling novel Waltz is to be made into a film improves Tsuge’s state of mind. Invited round to Adachi and Kurosawa’s apartment, he asks them how they coped when Adachi revealed to Kurosawa that he was able to read his thoughts whenever they touched.

Meanwhile, Minato on tour, can’t stop thinking about Tsuge’s confession and reflecting on his first unrequited crush at high school: a close friend who, of course, turned out to be straight. He’s also smarting from seeing Tsuge go ‘doe-eyed’ when in the presence of a woman. Catching Tsuge being interviewed on TV about the upcoming film, sets him thinking… Still at Adachi and Kurosawa’s place, Tsuge suddenly gets a text from Minato asking to meet up, and fears that Minato wants to break up. So he rushes away, steeling himself for bad news.

The thirteenth volume of Cherry Magic! places the main couple in a supporting role for once, as Tsuge struggles to save his relationship (it’s much more complicated in real life than in his fiction!). In his novels, Masato is wordy, Minato reflects on the tour bus, but he’s actually pretty bad at talking in general. Then we are also treated to three ‘What If?’ chapters which explore in a light-hearted way what might have happened if Kurosawa had been the one with the mind-reading ability when he fell in love with Adachi, not vice versa. Chapter 65 then shows us all the characters’ morning routines, including Asahina, Fujisaki-san and Rokkaku. This leads nicely into Chapter 66 which focuses on Fujisaki and Rokkaku in the office. Does it raise some hopes that they might be getting together as a couple…? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out!

As in previous volumes, there is a sneak peek at the first chapter of the next volume at the end which is a whole new story arc, beginning with Adachi being given the job of promoting the ‘New Autumn Scandinavian Collection’. This involves him working with Tachibana who’s in charge of the Scandinavian range of home accessories at Lumiukko (sounds Finnish to me?), who turns out to be a good-looking and personable young man… But as Volume 14 isn’t due out for a while, we’ll just have to wait to see how this new business relationship will evolve.

Yuu Toyota continues to deliver her likable slice-of-life story of two salarymen who fall in love and, after many and various misunderstandings, get married. Maybe not every reader will feel as engaged with Tsuge and Minato’s relationship issues as they do with the main couple but poor Tsuge’s confusion when it comes to understanding and confessing his own feelings is sympathetically portrayed. The mangaka’s art-style is as distinctive as ever, although it might not appeal so much to readers who like their protagonists to be drawn as more conventionally good-looking.

The translation for Square Enix Manga is again by Taylor Engel and, aided by Bianca Pistillo’s engaging range of lettering choices, makes for an enjoyable read; the page of translation notes is a welcome addition, as ever. There’s a colour illustration at the front, this time of Tsuge and Minato which, like the cover, showcases the mangaka’s vibrant use of colour.

After the very popular live-action TV series and film (Japan), live-action Thai series and anime TV series (also a stage musical in April in Japan this year!) the mangaka has announced that the manga is entering its final story-arc after Volume 15. I’m always relieved when a mangaka takes the decision to bring their series – no matter how popular it is – to a planned conclusion, rather than dragging it on when there’s really no more story to tell (Junjou Romantica, I’m looking at you).

Volume 13 is something of a transitional volume, as although half of it is devoted to Tsuge and Minato, the other half is fun but peripheral material. But sometimes it’s agreeable in a long-running series to take a step away from the main plot and indulge in some light-hearted fantasies.

Read a free preview at the Square Enix Manga website here.

Our review copy from Square Enix Manga was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).