My Super-Cute Black Mage Volume 1 Review

I’ve always been a fan of shojo series that come from the Hana to Yume magazine, so I was understandably thrilled when Yen Press announced they would be releasing My Super-Cute Black Mage! And now the first volume is here, and it’s time to find out if it has been worth the wait.

Set in a fantasy world, the story follows Aria Poppywell, who is a third-year student at the top of her class at the Hardiquartz Magic Academy. Because she’s perfect, she’s responsible for training a group of first-year students, including the black mage, Jade. And he is the source of main problems for our plucky heroine!

Due to events hundreds of years prior, black mages are discriminated against, and that’s no different for Jade. Because of this, he has a venomous personality and at best gives everyone the cold shoulder and at worst fires insults at them, like telling Aria he’ll kill her. However, one day she grabs his arm and finds herself able to hear his inner thoughts! And those are in complete contrast to his icy exterior. Now aware that Jade is simply misunderstood, Aria devotes herself to getting his fellow first-years to see him for who he really is and ensuring she won’t tarnish her grades if he fails any classes.

The initial setup is a bit underdeveloped if you look at it too hard. Aria’s mind-reading magic runs in the family, but somehow it hasn’t ever happened until this random day, and it doesn’t seem to have purpose to the plot otherwise (we certainly don’t see it work on anyone but Jade). And the reason black mages are so hated is only briefly touched upon, too. And I think that’s because ultimately the focus is on a budding romance between Jade and Aria rather than the setting.

And as a romance, I think this is fairly engaging. Because we hear Jade’s inner thoughts, it helps soften our impression of him despite the nasty retorts he normally spews because we’re getting to see what he actually thinks. Aria is more than capable of holding her own, too, even if she can be a little airheaded at times. But she’s an accomplished mage, and she’s earned respect at the school, so it’s not like she’s some damsel in distress.

Having said that, I wouldn’t blame anyone for being put off by Jade’s attitude as it’s so close to being portrayed as outright abusive, and it’s not a good example for younger readers (if someone is mean to you, do not fall for them!). Just because we know he doesn’t mean it doesn’t really change the fact it is quite extreme. And there’s not enough time or depth here to properly explore the problem with that. Although mangaka Takidon does try to explore why Jade has put up such a prickly front and tried to distance himself and I think that works.

A lot of Hana to Yume series begin life as 3-chapter serialisations and then return later if that initial run proves popular. Given there are only three chapters in this volume (plus a one-shot) and the third does feel like something of a conclusion, I imagine that was also true for this series. And if you look at it through that lens, I think Takidon achieved quite a lot in the time permitted and delivered something entertaining. The romance is front and centre, but there are some fun action scenes when Aria takes her group into the dungeon.

This appears to be Takidon’s first series, but you wouldn’t think that looking at the polished artwork. There’s a lot of detail in every panel, and I really liked how expressive the cast was. That sort of works against Jade, given it means his insults are delivered with plenty of force, but it does mean every page feels lively as we watch over the cast.

The included one-shot The Slovenly Saint and the Health-Conscious Devil has some really excellent outfit designs too, which further showcases Takidon’s abilities. This is almost worth the price of admission by itself as we follow the tale of a saint who lives an unhealthy lifestyle and finds herself being helped by a demon who was going to eat her before discovering she was a slob. It’s funny and plenty charming in its own right.

My Super-Cute Black Mage! Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Yen Press and has been translated by Minna Lin with lettering by Vitor Batista. The release reads well and includes a few bonus pages at the end showing Jade’s and Aria’s daily routines, among other things.

The series is complete in Japan with 5 volumes, so it’s neither too long nor too short in the end. However, here in English, Volume 2 isn’t out until October, and then there’s nothing further scheduled yet, so it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting through this one very quickly. Sadly.

Overall, My Super-Cute Black Mage! is lacking in depth for its setting and premise, and I’m not quite sure I support Jade’s attitude, but when you look at it from the perspective of how it was originally released, it’s hard to deny that Takidon has done a good job. It’s fairly light, and despite my concerns about Jade, the cast are fun to watch over. The one-shot included is another big selling point in its favour. Worth your time if you’re a shojo fan, I’d say.

A free preview can be read on the publisher’s website.
Our review copy was supplied by Yen Press
©Takidon / HAKUSENSHA Inc.