Magical Girl Incident Volume 3 Review
It hasn’t felt that long since Yen Press began publishing Magical Girl Incident in English, but we’ve already reached the final volume of this seinen series. But will it manage to deliver a satisfying conclusion? Let’s find out!
When we were last with protagonist Hiromi, he’d infiltrated a school in search of Misaki Suga, an enemy whose origins are shrouded in mystery. And after a life-threatening confrontation with Misaki, Hiromi’s best friend Yuzuru transformed into a magical girl too!
As we reunite with the cast, we find Hiromi confused by Yuzuru’s transformation, not least since Yuzuru instantly professed his love and desire to marry him! When Hakuba arrives on the scene he quickly clarifies that Yuzuru’s Water Magic has an identity of its own and now transformed, it’s that personality that has come to the forefront, with Yuzuru’s locked away until he turns back.
Regardless of Yuzuru’s current situation, Hiromi is just happy to have another magical girl on their side. Now in the form of a young girl, Yuzuru can transfer into the school and try to get closer to Misaki in a way that Hiromi as an adult can’t. As they continue to investigate Misaki’s origins, the team learn unexpected facts not only about Misaki but about Yuzuru’s past. They also discover that Yuzuru’s father is doing research to create immortal soldiers in the form of magical girls and that Misaki is somehow related…?
With only three volumes, I feared that Magical Girl Incident would rush its conclusion or leave readers with a lot of questions. Thankfully, that hasn’t proved to be an issue largely thanks to mangaka Zero Akabane choosing to tie Misaki into Yuzuru’s past so tightly, which in turn allows us to explore Yuzuru’s relationship with Hiromi further.
There’s a surprising amount of depth in this chunky volume, which I hadn’t expected going in. With my concerns about a rushed conclusion quickly put to rest, I could instead enjoy watching the story play out. It runs at a hectic pace, as the rest of the series has done, but it’s great fun to read.
Compared to Volume 2, I feel there’s a better balance as Akabane includes more comedic moments to help balance out the tension of the storyline. Being the final volume, there are plenty of bombastic action scenes too, which are always easy to follow.
Of course, it’s also satisfying to spend more time with Yuzuru, who wasn’t present for much of the previous volume. His relationship with Hiromi was one of the aspects I enjoyed the most in the first book, and it would have been a shame had the series ended before it could fully develop him. Here we finally come to understand why
Magical Girl Incident hasn’t been a flawless series, but what we’re left with here at the end is a title that’s well worth picking up for fans of the genre. It’s filled with action, heart-warming relationships and there’s an interesting central mystery. It does feel like it could have run for longer, but ultimately the conclusion we’ve reached is satisfying. Akabane’s artwork is also fantastic through to the end and I look forward to their next work to see how it further develops their skills.
As previously mentioned, Magical Girl Incident Volume 3 has been brought to the West by Yen Press. Translation for this final volume is once again handled by Caleb Cook with lettering by Phil Christie. As with the previous entries in the series, Volume 3 reads well with no issues. The release also includes a colour page at the beginning depicting Yuzuru and Hiromi in their magical girl forms.
Overall, Magical Girl Incident ends without issue. While I’m sad to say goodbye to this story already, I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with it and still highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new magical girl manga. In some ways, the short run will make it more appealing for those looking for something that requires less commitment, compared to the longer-running titles out there.
