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A review by goldenelegy
A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
To my surprise, this is not like any other fantasy book I've ever read. Well, maybe when we hear "magical girl" we expect it to be a superhero story but this is not exactly like that. In fact, magical girls are originally powerless, then to balance the power and justice in the world, they gain different superpowers. They activate that power after going through a traumatic event.
The main character is a 29 year old woman who's in a credit card debt and that leads her to depression. Before committing suicide, she is approached by a woman in a white dress, who is a clairvoyant magical girl named Ah Roa. She tells her she is meant to be a magical girl and should join her on a mission. All the magical girls gather to defeat a climate change.
I thought this is going to be a dark and heavy fantasy but actually it's a bit silly and not that complicated?? This novella touches on the subject of feminism and climate change issue, which is interesting while still contains some humor. There's also a hint of sapphic romance!! The thing is, because it's short, the MC and Roa's chemistry wasn't explored that much and the conflict wasn't that tense. But then I find the twist and the execution brilliant.The MC's power is she can wish for anything she wants but there's a price she must pay. It goes back to the power-and-justice-balance concept in this story. In order to gain something, one must lose something. It is said in the translator's note, "Magical girls exist because justice does not exist." In real life, people who do injustice acts don't get consequences, but in this story, the amount of power and justice are balanced so that those are distributed equally. I'm just ... how did the author come up with this story?? Another interesting thing is that the MC's name wasn't mentioned throughout the book (or maybe I missed it??) and her magical girl name wasn't mentioned either. I wonder if there's a particular reason for that.
If anyone's looking for a non-complicated, easy-to-understand fantasy; a book where there's no male characters taking part in the story; a unique book bringing up important issue in a unique way, then this is for you!! ;)
The main character is a 29 year old woman who's in a credit card debt and that leads her to depression. Before committing suicide, she is approached by a woman in a white dress, who is a clairvoyant magical girl named Ah Roa. She tells her she is meant to be a magical girl and should join her on a mission. All the magical girls gather to defeat a climate change.
I thought this is going to be a dark and heavy fantasy but actually it's a bit silly and not that complicated?? This novella touches on the subject of feminism and climate change issue, which is interesting while still contains some humor. There's also a hint of sapphic romance!! The thing is, because it's short, the MC and Roa's chemistry wasn't explored that much and the conflict wasn't that tense. But then I find the twist and the execution brilliant.
If anyone's looking for a non-complicated, easy-to-understand fantasy; a book where there's no male characters taking part in the story; a unique book bringing up important issue in a unique way, then this is for you!! ;)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Minor: Violence and Death of parent