Forum - View topicREVIEW: Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story GN 3
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Juno016
 Posts: 2381 |
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A friend of mine likes this spin-off manga more than the show itself, and I think I've clarified her thoughts with this:
If the anime used well-written characters as mere devices to drive the plot, then this manga spin-off uses the anime's well-written plot as a mere device to drive the characters. Characterization and character development are where this installment excels for sure. It's been a while since I've cried while reading a manga (anime adaptions of manga usually make me cry more than the original manga simply for the execution and the impact of the voice acting), but I'm most definitely satisfied with this work. Hanokage's storytelling is probably my favorite aspect of his/her work, though when the Rebellion manga comes out in the West, I definitely think Rebecca will find the art a loooooot better. Hanokage's work evolved greatly between the original anime adaption manga and The Different Story, and the same major jump happens from The Different Story to Rebellion, which in itself is an art piece worth looking at. It ends up being almost as good as the film itself, due to great pacing and the inventive artistic execution of the story where things went visually wonky in the film. And this is somewhat unrelated, but I have a question, Rebecca. You used a female pronoun to refer to Hanokage, but I've yet to figure out whether or not he/she is male or female. Did you make an assumption, too, or do you know something I don't? |
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Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1773 Location: South America |
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I felt like as a hardcore fan of the show that I must buy this one.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I'm looking forward to Rebellion, and I have to say that I've enjoyed the manga versions that Hanokage has worked the best, although I did like Oriko quite a bit. As for Hanokage's gender, I read somewhere that she's female, so I went with it. I kind of wish that "ze," the gender-neutral English pronoun, had caught on, because I'm just not comfortable using "they" as a singular pronoun, even though it is technically once again acceptable. Dumb, I know.
And Jose Cruz, I would definitely read this as a hard-core fan, especially if you like Mami. |
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Juno016
Posts: 2381 |
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I see Hanokage's gender pronoun as feminine on the fan-made puella magi wiki, but I don't particularly trust the wiki with every small detail (even if it's still a good site for general collective information). Hanokage's pixiv, twitter, blog, etc. do not specify, though I guess it's safe to infer that Hanokage's a girl, since she called a few male Fire Emblem characters "cute", among the several female characters she draws. I still don't like making assumptions about gender/sex, but in Japan, these sorts of things are still a lot more straightforward than they have become in the West in terms of gender profiling. And we're all set in our ways, though I, too, wish the gender-neutral pronoun caught on. "They" is still confusing to use when I'm translating because on the one hand, it's grammatically incorrect, but on the other hand, it's becoming socially acceptable to use it, and thus, may be becoming grammatically okay. Language is fluid, so I have no problem adapting if that's the case, but since the word is still in transitive limbo, I still feel uncomfortable using it. |
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Polycell
 Posts: 4623 |
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"They" isn't incorrect so much as informal(it's rather hard to call something that fills a unique gramtical niche for centuries). Its stature is definitely rising with the need for a replacement for generic "he"; while it's not yet 100%, it's only a matter of time, really.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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I agree - it will become the new gender neutral. Hopefully by then my old-school elementary school training will let me use it more comfortably! As a point of interest, I have had a few students use "ze" as a gender-neutral singular pronoun, and they've been very enthusiastic about it, so it does have its fans.
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jr240483
 Posts: 4376 Location: New York City,New York,USA |
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the problem is that the title is very misleading. sure nami doesnt end up dying in this spinoff but the ending remains the same. madoka still made the contract, became an uber magical girl,but erasing herself from existence and all other magical girls before they have the chance to become witches. so in a sense , it might not be worth it. at least the others was different and had a solid enough ending.
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Juno016
Posts: 2381 |
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Actually, this, along with this quote from the article:
...confuse me. In The Different Story, Madoka's concluding wish is spoiler[to bring Sayaka back from the dead.] Her decision is completely different from the main timeline of the anime. I think I might be mis-reading you two with my response. Would you care to elaborate? Also, I want to make a clarification that this story takes place spoiler[in one of the previous timelines of the anime.] The story itself doesn't clarify this, but Hanokage revealed this particular detail in one of the Kirara Magica volumes I own (I can cite the specific volume and page later if you like--they're in my attic right now). She specifically wrote the story while keeping this in mind and ended the story spoiler[before revealing the fate of Madoka or that world/timeline because it wasn't important to the specific story she wanted to tell the audience.] Thinking about it, it's kind of depressing that this is the truth of such a well-written spin-off story, but at the same time, it's still a great exploration of the characters. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
Posts: 2606 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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Ah, I see what you're saying. I interpreted it as her wish was to grant Mami peace by saving Sayaka, which related to her wish to essentially fix everything. (To put it in the absolute simplest way.)
I don't recall, has Kirara Magica been licensed? I seem to think it has, but that could be my paper-grading exhaustion dreaming. In any event, that's interesting to know - thanks! |
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RestLessone
 Posts: 1426 Location: New York |
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Kirara Magica is essentially a Madoka magazine that serializes multiple series. Tart Magica (the Jeanne d'Arc one) and the Oriko Magica Extra Volume (contains a couple Kirara one-shots) have been licensed by Yen, but not the rest. Most, however, seem to be humorous AUs. |
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Juno016
Posts: 2381 |
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1) It's been a while, but I believe spoiler[Mami gives up on being a Magical Girl at the end, no longer wishing to fight anymore, and Madoka tells her she doesn't plan to change her back to a human because she already decided to bring Sayaka back, but she accepts Mami's feelings and lets her stay home while they go off to fight Walpurgisnacht. I'm not sure if she knew Mami was going to kill herself, but regardless, she gave Mami the solace she needed because of how she is, not because of her wish. Just like in the original manga adaption, there's a semi-epilogue at the end where Kyouko (who is already dead) is hanging out with Mami (who just died) at her house. Mami then answers the door to the other guests. I'm not sure if it's just some sort of dream or if it's a spoiler that Madoka and Sayaka died fighting Walpurgisnacht and came to this after-life-dream-thing to hang out with Mami and Kyouko, but... it's not important, so... =P] 2) Kirara Magica is a spin-off serialization magazine that holds nothing but Madoka spin-off manga every two months. Just as RestLessone said, Oriko and Tart are currently the only dramatic series in the magazine, and both have had their tankouban releases licensed, but the rest are basically comedy alternate universes that tend to be more slice-of-life and 4koma than anything truly interesting. It also holds interviews with the Madoka staff every issue, including the mangaka currently serialized in the magazine, as well as advertisements for Madoka-related goods. And actually, I don't think Sadness Prayer (the current on-going Oriko story) has been licensed yet. Just the original manga, which has been released, and the collection of bonus stories, which is going to be released sometime soon. I suspect it is only a matter of time, though, before it is licensed. |
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