The review doesn't include any major spoilers and is safe to read before starting the manga.
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Kabushiki Gaisha Magi Lumiere is a 160 chapters long manga written by Iwata Sekka and drawn by Aoki Yuu. Like many, I have learned about it because of its anime adaptation, which aired in the Fall 2024 season. It was a pretty great first impression - the series was good looking and fun. The setup was unique, it brought something new to the genre - yet it still had some of the charm of the classic magical girl series. It didn't blow me away, but, made me curious enough to check out the manga.
Firstly: the series is set in a world with highly advanced technology. You know the saying that “magic is just science we don't understand yet”? Well, here's magic is basically a lot of complicated coding. High-tech lets people fly on brooms and shoot magical projectiles, which practically makes them very modern witches. Or magical girls, since the series keeps up the mahou shoujo vibe with the profession name, some beautiful transformations and cute outfits. They use the power to fight against the Kaii - monsters that show up randomly all around and mess things up.
The protagonist, Sakuragi Kana, is a young woman looking for her first job. Unfortunately, all her interviews are going poorly. She's definitely not thinking about a career as a magical girl - but this is the job she eventually gets, due to getting involved in a Kaii accident. At the start of the series she becomes a part of a small startup. The story shows their everyday work, some clashes with other companies, and uncovering the ugly secrets lying under the mahou shoujo industry.
The story is solid. It takes a bit to get going, but then it keeps up good pacing, giving us lots of action with some slower, more “workplace espionage”-ish parts. The mysteries behind the industry resolve nicely, even though they're not really that mysterious or surprising. 160 chapters is enough to flash out most of the characters, show some amazing fights, and tell a story of the capitalist take on magic. I think it was the perfect length for this. It’s definitely not a story that changes lives or makes you think deeply, but it’s a fun adventure.
Magi Lumiere’s world is an interesting one. Using technology to create magic is an unique approach and is utilised wonderfully. It's not just clicking one button and making fireballs happen - a huge portion of manga is characters figuring out how to do it and what code to use to get the results they want. I'd say it's a pretty realistic take, if there even can be a realistic take on flying and shooting magic at monsters. The world is consistent and believable, it makes sense for things to happen the way they do. I may not know anything about IT, but I'm guessing it looks kinda like that - only without the magical missiles. The ways the series explores the world really make it shine. The beginning, as seen in the anime, is alright, but just that. It gets better with each chapter.
I'd say that the weakest point is, at the start of the series, the monsters. Kaii look pretty generic and really have nothing interesting in them. They'd make pretty lame antagonists by themselves. Fortunately, with time, this role is filled by human characters, and Kaii are used more like a tool.
What makes the series so enjoyable is mostly the characters. They’re likable, and diverse. One thing I’d complain about is that there’s too few magical girls in this magical girl series - most of the cast is various men working behind the scenes and making the magic happen. I liked them, and it’s not exactly a flaw, but just something that stood out to me. We get two magical girls at the start of the series - Kana and Hitomi - and a couple more later, with one - Mei - working as a sort of rival to the protagonist at first. Unfortunately, only those three I mentioned by name I’d consider well developed. The rest are cute and likable, but they don't have much relevance. Kana and Hitomi are fantastic leads though, they have a great dynamic - they're my faves in the whole series. Out of the other characters, I'd say Shigemoto - their boss - is one of the best written, even though I was disappointed with the direction his story went.
All in all, the cast is one to remember, and certainly drives the story forward. Even the weakest arcs are fun to read thanks to them.
Visually, Magi Lumiere is really something. The characters look distinctive, the magical girls have cool, modern outfits, and their transformations are pretty. The only thing I think is lacking in the design section are Kaii, but that's not a major flaw. The series looks wonderful, that's all. I think the manga is even prettier than the - mostly really good looking - anime adaptation, because Aoki Yuu’s style is just so charming. It's really shining in all the dynamic action scenes, too. And damn, let me tell you, Kana's outfit in the latest arcs is just stunning.
In this manga’s world, magical girl is a career path one can choose - it's a modern and unique take on mahou shoujo stories. Currently the genre loves showing the magical girl archetype in many different ways. Magi Lumiere is also taking a new approach, but it's not getting rid of the genre core completely. The charm is still here, the protagonist is a ball of sunshine (but not only that, fortunately), and friendship between girls is still a powerful tool in the fight against evil. It's great to see a series adding something completely new to it. We’ve seen magical girls fighting against the evil corporations, but this time we get an inside view.
It's a fantastic read for all mahou shoujo fans. But I recommend reading it - or at least checking out the anime - to any one looking for a fun action manga with a colourful cast. It's a solid series with interesting world building and cool characters - I got so attached to them, I even shed a tear at the end. And if that's not a good recommendation, I got a better one: magical girls using the power of IT to shoot lasers at monsters. And sometimes that's all you need, really.