A manga I really enjoyed, it might seem "edgy for the sake of being edgy" at first but if you get over that you're in for a ride I like to re-start anytime. It's by no means flawless but definitely worth a try and one of my favorite pieces of fiction ever.

Spoiler, click to view

Kiyo deserved a real backstory, I will never forgive the author for giving a top 3 character 1 page for the backstory

There are fews characters at first that you will actually like but that will change later on, the story really good as soon as the whole gang is together but even before that it's good enough to at least continue to read.

Spoiler, click to view

The building from the meeting between Aya and Tsuyuno until Aya fights Sarina and talks about finally having someone it's worth to live and die for was peak character development

After the first part of the story it gets rather quick but everything is more or less set up soon enough to not seem rushed so I don't think that the pacing will be a problem, the first real boss fight was great as the important characters had they're role shown perfectly.
As the story progresses a fight for survival turns into an attempt to save a world that doesn't seem worth saving at first (that Aya's life was so horrible to begin with and has to get better for her to actually have a reason to fight is a major criticism towards the show, which I can understand but the true nature of her character wouldn't be what it is if the world was good at first).

Spoiler, click to view

Aya portrays the hero that won't simply stop the evil to save everyone but was willing to let the people around her be evil if it means to make everything else easier for them: her brother had problems with her father and let it out on her in order to not break apart and she knew it and was willing to take it no matter how painful it was. At the same time Aya hates herself and was mostly okay with what Sarina did as she understood her motives and didn't think she deserved Sarina's kindness in the past but after meeting Tsuyuno she accepts herself and wants to be better than what she was in the past so she can be a person worth Tsuyuno's friendship

Something that should should stay in mind while reading is that the "Tempest" isn't that far away so all parties want to beat and use each other as quick as possible in order to survive, which is why the story progresses as it does.

The ending may seem a bit confusing if you didn't read magical girl of the end (gotta admit I haven't finished it and don't plan to finish it) but that manga is only important in terms of how everything before the very beginning started, the characters who appear don't play any real role and are there for like 4 panels (I think one of them was there the whole time but only in the baclground so f|_|ck him)

Thanks for reading and I hope that I could make you consider reading this manga. Bye and have fun.