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A review by princess_starr
Puella Magi Oriko Magica: Extra Story by Magica Quartet
2.0
So, I don’t know if I just didn’t like this because it’s been so long since I’ve initially read Oriko Magica or this is straight-up confusing. Considering the fact that Oriko is already a quasi-spinoff/alternate storyline of the Prime Madoka Timeline (the first two volumes were more focused on Kyoko and Mami than Oriko and Kirika), it is hard to figure out where this story stands. And considering that my main problem with the majority of the manga spin-offs with this series is the supposition that the only people reading these are hardcore fans, so we can just jump in with no preamble as to what the hell is going on, also does not help the pacing of this story.
I think this is supposed to be the less dark version of Oriko and Kirika’s relationship, but there’s barely any discussion or lead-in to their friendship or even meeting each other. All we get is finding out that Kirika’s wish is “I want to talk to that girl!” but both the narration and art make it incredibly confusing as to who she’s specifically referring to. There’s a lot of time early on spent on Kirika’s fractured relationship with her old friend Erika, but it’s only to give Kirika her big Hero Moment and it’s never spoken of again. And then Kirika’s suddenly best friends with Oriko, and then they meet another magical girl who wants to take over their territory (OH AND SHE HAS THE ABILITY TO CONTROL WITCHES. BECAUSE WE CAN’T THINK OF AN ORIGINAL POWER THE ANTAGONIST CAN HAVE ASIDE FROM CONTROLLING WITCHES. Look, the reason I give the first two Oriko volumes some slack is that Oriko and Kirika are the antagonists and they have a specific goal in taking out Madoka.
…actually, you know what would have been a more interesting antagonist? Good!Oriko and Kirika going to track down Madoka and Homura’s REVENGE RAMPAGE on them. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE INTERESTING THAN ANOTHER FUCKING MAGICAL GIRL WHO CAN CONTROL WITCHES.) And then it ends with two omake comics and then Oriko and Kirika go off to fight Walpurgisnacht.
Honestly, aside from the manga adaptations, A Different Story and Tart Magica (so far), just skip the MadoMagi spin-off series. They’re too confusing in the set-up and character introductions, they’re reliant on the same freaking plot point, and they’re not very good at all. For a series with a lot of potential exploration, the manga spin-offs haven’t delivered yet and it feels like Magica Quartet are lazily retelling the same story while slapping on different character designs and not bothering to go into the details of the universe.
I think this is supposed to be the less dark version of Oriko and Kirika’s relationship, but there’s barely any discussion or lead-in to their friendship or even meeting each other. All we get is finding out that Kirika’s wish is “I want to talk to that girl!” but both the narration and art make it incredibly confusing as to who she’s specifically referring to. There’s a lot of time early on spent on Kirika’s fractured relationship with her old friend Erika, but it’s only to give Kirika her big Hero Moment and it’s never spoken of again. And then Kirika’s suddenly best friends with Oriko, and then they meet another magical girl who wants to take over their territory (OH AND SHE HAS THE ABILITY TO CONTROL WITCHES. BECAUSE WE CAN’T THINK OF AN ORIGINAL POWER THE ANTAGONIST CAN HAVE ASIDE FROM CONTROLLING WITCHES. Look, the reason I give the first two Oriko volumes some slack is that Oriko and Kirika are the antagonists and they have a specific goal in taking out Madoka.
…actually, you know what would have been a more interesting antagonist? Good!Oriko and Kirika going to track down Madoka and Homura’s REVENGE RAMPAGE on them. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE INTERESTING THAN ANOTHER FUCKING MAGICAL GIRL WHO CAN CONTROL WITCHES.) And then it ends with two omake comics and then Oriko and Kirika go off to fight Walpurgisnacht.
Honestly, aside from the manga adaptations, A Different Story and Tart Magica (so far), just skip the MadoMagi spin-off series. They’re too confusing in the set-up and character introductions, they’re reliant on the same freaking plot point, and they’re not very good at all. For a series with a lot of potential exploration, the manga spin-offs haven’t delivered yet and it feels like Magica Quartet are lazily retelling the same story while slapping on different character designs and not bothering to go into the details of the universe.