Magia Record Story The Cuddly Despairs
The following is a summary posted on Magia Union Translation Discord by Abarero. Please note that this event occurs after the events of the Kazumi Magica manga, and therefore has major spoilers for the manga's story.
Part One
Prologue
-The story starts with Kazumi Subaru (who is labeled ????) eating at Tachibana’s Restaurant.
-On her way home, she hears someone say “Tocco del Mare” and she knows this is the spell for soul gem removal.
-She sees Saki and Nico and asks why before passing out.
-the voiceover shows Michiru’s diary and they say this is stage 1 of the plan: To put the princess to sleep.
Part 1
-The scene pans to a grocery store where Michiru is shopping. She runs into a classmate and explains to her she’s looking for Strawberries to make her Strawberry Risotto.
-the classmate recommends a place in Mitakihara for them so she goes to visit there.
-she runs into a strange cat (Kyubey) and follows it to a witch’s labyrinth.
-there she is rescued by Mami Tomoe. Mami wonders- have we met before?
-Michiru says she doesn’t remember. Mami defeats the witch and then Kyubey appears again. He notes that Michiru has the qualities needed to become a magical girl.
-back in her home city, Kyubey helps her find a witches barrier and Michiru transforms.
-the voice over the diary notes, it seems Michiru has made her contract, despite it being somewhat different than the exact wording in the original diary.
-then the cryptic voiceover notes that it’s Michiru’s fate to become a magical girl, but the key part of her story is “the heart.”
-Michiru has saved two school girls from a Familiar- Umika and Kaoru. Nico and Saki give us brief recaps of Kaoru and Umika’s past.
-back at Umika’s house Michiru is talking with them after making them Strawberry Risotto.
- It’s revealed Umika is a popular author, but she’s in trouble because her books have been accused of plagiarism and her future titles cancelled. Kaoru too is troubled because of a knee injury needing surgery that could impact her ability to play soccer. Both express suicidal thoughts due to their dilemmas.
-Michiru argues that they don’t really want to die because they enjoyed their meal and cleaned their plates. She flashes back to wisdom from her grandmother saying a good appetite is a sign you want to keep living.
-Michiru reveals her wish to Kyubey was to have one last “dream” with her grandmother, and says for fighting witches she was granted this wish.
-Kyubey appears and confirms this and Umika and Kaoru make their wishes.
Part 2
-the trio finishes fighting a witch and Michiru is excitedly recounting their work. She names all their attacks in Italian after Mami’s Tiro Finale and says they need to yell out their attack names when they fight.
-they talk to a man who had been kissed by the witch and tell him fainted on the street. A young girl approaches yelling for her daddy who is the man. They leave after thanking the girls.
-Michiru comments that family is nice and Umika suggests she move into her place since Michiru lives alone.
-cryptic voiceover is back noting, “pleasure, sadness, suffering- you don’t need to face these alone, Michiru.”
-Umika has a writers block and so they all go shopping, Umika telling the others to go spend to their heart's content. Kaoru buys a uniform top and then suggests Michiru buys some clothing as well.
-Michiru buys an outfit apparently just like her previous one but with slightly different fabric and Umika buys a fountain pen.
-after facing another witch, a little boy spots a driver asleep at the wheel. Kaoru borrows his soccer ball and kicks it to hit the car and wake the driver.
-Kaoru apologizes to the boy because now the ball is flat, but the boy says that’s fine he was going to quit soccer. Kaoru gives him a pep talk and convinces him to keep trying. She notes Michiru taught her to hope, and that she wouldn’t be able to feel this way if she’d not become a magical girl.
-voiceover comes back, implying that while things sound sweet on the surface there’s a bitterness underneath.
Part 3
-back home Umika talks with an interviewer about her works. When asked how she combats writer’s block, Kaoru and Michiru chime in that she goes shopping and spends a lot or becomes an Oni in the kitchen cooking.
-they note her special cooking names like Aha! Dogs, Suddenly Salad and Whoaffles.
-the interviewer notes that having a famous soccer player and writer living together is notable and asks Michiru what her special talent is. Umika and Kaoru cut in that she saved them from despair and gave them hope.
-cryptic voiceover is back to remind us- the original diary ended in despair. Can this Michiru’s future write a new ending? Now we move to the next stage!
-Michiru is out at night fighting a witch alone. There’s another magical girl there and they’re disappointed when the witch doesn’t drop a grief seed. Then suddenly the other girl’s soul gem goes black and she turns into a witch. Kyubey appears and explains what has happened to Michiru who is in disbelief.
-Michiru falls into despair, feeling to blame for imposing this terrible fate upon Umika and Kaoru.
-cryptic voiceover notes, the second “first time” of learning the truth of magical girls is cruel.
Part 4
-Michiru realizes after giving her friends hope to live, she cannot bear to tell them the truth. She decides to do a solo witch patrol to gather grief seeds for all three of them, so Umika and Kaoru won’t worry.
-we pan to Saki and Nico as they approach a magical girl who has a darkened soul gem. The girl is scared and asks them- are you the Magical Girl Hunters?
-Nico performs the spell and takes her soul gem, causing the girl’s body to fall limp. Then they hear a noise- Michiru has seen everything.
-Saki explains- they didn’t kill the girl, they did it to save her. She introduces them as the Pleiades, and says they reject the Incubators and the magical girl system. This is their new hope.
-Michiru asks them to explain and they begin by introducing themselves as Saki Asami, the leader of the Pleiades, and Nico Kanna. They invite Michiru back to their base.
-cryptic voiceover notes, they didn’t want Michiru to find out about what they were doing, but they realized it was only a matter of time before she did.
-now at the Freezer, they explain how they pull out a soul gem and store the “shell” of a girl in the tubes. All for the hope they can someday find a way to prevent them from witching out and return them to a normal life. Michiru understands this and decides to join their mission.
Part 5
-Michiru helps Nico and Saki immobilize another girl. Then Saki and Nico have a flashback.
-In the flashback, Michiru is making Strawberry Risotto for her team (Umika, Kaoru, Nico and Saki) when her soul gem goes dark and she witches out.
-back at current, Saki notes everything started that day because everything ended that day.
-Umika and Kaoru are talking and they comment on Michiru’s solo witch patrol. They wonder- has she learned the truth of magical girls?
Part 6
-Michiru is out with Nico and Saki, immobilizing another girl, when Umika and Kaoru oversee. To Michiru’s surprise, Umika and Kaoru seem to know Saki and Nico!
-Saki states that everything they’re doing is for Michiru and to save her from despair. But Umika and Kaoru are mad, stating Michiru didn’t need to become a Magical Girl Hunter.
-but while Michiru (and the rest of us) are confused, the four secretly talk about past events- like a team of seven, repeated failures and a girl named Kazumi.
-Saki goes on a tangent which is pretty much manga spoiler central. She mentions Yuuri, Mirai, Satomi and accuses Umika of trying to keep her from Kazumi.
-Michiru asks the group to tell her what’s going on and Nico quips it’s about a love triangle. Which confuses her and anyone who hasn’t read the Kazumi manga.
-Saki finishes by telling Umika to stop interfering. But then Umika attacks Saki and says she’s the one who should back off. The bitch fight continues, until Michiru steps in and shouts them down, telling them they’re all friends.
-but oh noes- now Umika and Kaoru’s soul gems are dark! Saki and Nico go to immobilize them, but Michiru insists she be the one to do it. She casts Tocco del Mare and takes Umika and Kaoru’s gems.
Part 7
-This is their Despair, cryptic voice tells us. About a girl living with a spare. About a flower that needs to keep blooming. (Blah blah alludes to the wishes of Saki and Nico).
-back in the Freezer and it’s time to stick our corpses in tubes! Michiru feels bad because she never told Umika and Kaoru the truth.
-Nico waxes cryptically about a crazy magical girl who collected soul gems (hi manga references) and rambles about the past some, much to Michiru’s confusion (and our own).
-and now if we’re not confused enough, we pan to a girl in white in a tube (Subaru Kazumi) and Nico and Saki start talking about “real” Kazumi and Michiru and a mysterious plan.
-then a close up of Incubator eyes because it’s not weird enough right now ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼
-we pan to Umika and Kaoru at a train station, commenting that they’re returning home. (Clearly they are not the corpse versions we just saw at the Freezer.) Umika was at a Novel Convention and Kaoru was at special training.
-they feel bad about leaving Kazumi alone, but when they arrive home there’s no sign of anyone there! They call Mr. Tachibana (remember him from the first scene?) and he confirms that he’s not seen Kazumi in awhile.
-Umika decides to call a classmate, but she says they received a message from Umika that Kazumi was in the hospital in a faraway city! We now have confirmed that the other Umika and Kaoru are imposters!
Part 8
-Umika and Kaoru (real ones) continue to look around the city for Kazumi. Then they sense another girl's magic inside a witch’s barrier.
-but when they see her, they realize it’s not their Kazumi. No- with hair like that, it’s Michiru! (Who they believe is long dead)
-Michiru is equally confused because her Umika and Kaoru are currently in the Freezer. Nico and Saki show up and realize- oh shit the gig is up!
-Umika and Kaoru demand answers because 1. Their Kazumi is still missing and 2. Now 3 of their former teammates (who should be dead) are running around instead. Good times.
-Saki and Nico aren’t up to a plan reveal though so they grab Michiru and hightail it outta there!
-Umika and Kaoru talk about what to do. They aren’t sure if who they encountered was a real person or a fake- being as there is a possibility that memories could be manipulated. But before they can further overthink it- a familiar voice calls out.
-／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼ peers out from the dark, but it’s not your average Kyubey. It’s a black Kyubey named Juubey!
-Juubey is all casual like “hey long time no see” to Umika and Kaoru, and is ready to drop the plot.
Part 9
-there’s a quick exposition about how Juubey was created and why he’s different than your average Kyubey.
-then we recap the manga plot! Starting with how the six teammates of the Pleiades met Michiru when she saved them all from a witch. And how they all contracted and became the Pleiades.
-this happy time came to an end when Michiru witches out, leaving the remaining six girls to begin their “mistake”
-we continue the manga recap, going into how they worked to stop girls from witching out by placing them in the Freezer and how they created Juubey so they could purify their gems without grief seeds. Umika’s spell then rewrote their memories and turned the real Kyubey invisible in their city.
-then came their attempts to recreate Michiru. How they used each of their skills to rebuild her, gave her a witch’s heart and implanted Michiru’s memories into this clone.
-but this attempt fails. 12 times, it fails, because when these clones fight a witch they lose themselves to rage.
-On the 13th attempt, they decide not to give the clone Michiru’s memories. This is the girl we know as Kazumi. Umika and Kaoru talk about how precious she is to them and how they faced many hardships together, losing many friends along the way.
-but at the end there is a miracle. (Image of the 4* memoria) Kazumi is able to wish to be a real human. She becomes a transfer student and starts her new life.
-Back from recap land, Umika asks Juubey who created him. He notes that she’s as smart as always, and then tells her- Umika and Kaoru made him.
-Kaoru notes she doesn’t remember doing anything like this. And Juubey says, oh no your fakes did it.
-he says that since fake Umika and Kaoru broke, he’s come to get the real ones to help finish their plan.
-they talk about deep stuff like the blurry lines between the real and fake versions. And how they must help solve this plan for the sake of Michiru and Kazumi.
-Juubey notes it’s nostalgic.
-Saki and Nico talk some about the plan and then note that it’s going to be up to Michiru what happens next.
Part 10
-Umika and Kaoru run into Michiru and before they can do much they have to save some witch-kissed people. Umika notes the Magic is really Michiru’s Magic.
-once the people are safe, Umika and Kaoru realize that Michiru’s soul gem is darkening. They try to clean it with a grief seed, but it doesn’t work. They flash back to the loss of the first Michiru when she witched out and are heartbroken it’s happening again.
Part Two
Part 11
-Michiru appears to witch out but… suddenly she wakes up at Umika’s place. Apparently the whole witching out part was a dream.
-Michiru notes that perhaps everything is still a dream because her Umika and Kaoru are in the Freezer. But Umika and Kaoru assure her they’re really there.
Part 12
-Michiru (not realizing these are a different Umika and Kaoru) confesses she has something important to tell them, but they may hate her for it.
-Umika reassures Michiru there’s nothing she could say that would be unforgivable in their eyes.
-Michiru finally works up the courage and tells them the truth of magical girls. Umika and Kaoru get teary eyed and assure her that it’s a terrible thing but they are glad Michiru confided in them so they can face this fate together.
-hugs and tears all around and Juubey is like “wow so dramatic.”
Part 13
-Umika and Kaoru sneak out to talk alone. They note that although it has something to do with the fake Saki and Nico, it’s nice to have Michiru finally tell them the truth instead of allowing it to burden her alone.
-Their “wish” has come true by Michiru doing this. What the real Michiru from the past couldn’t do, now this Michiru has. Now the diary that once ended in despair, receives a new ending: Hope!
-they say, thanks to this plan, they were saved. Now it is their turn to save the fakes that brought it about.
Part 14
-Michiru wakes up from her nap and asks Umika and Kaoru to share their truth. Why are they different than the ones Michiru took the soul gems from and stored at the Freezer?
-they tell Michiru the truth about how she originally died, how the team of 7 became 6 who desperately worked to create a new Michiru.
-Michiru says she believes the story, because she can understand how hard the loss of a dear friend could be, but now she doesn’t know who she is. If she’s not the real Michiru, then who?
-Umika tells her the answer lies at the Freezer with Nico and Saki.
Part 15
-at the Freezer, Michiru asks Saki for the truth. Saki hesitates, but Umika and Kaoru assure her- this Michiru has the true heart and memories of the real one.
-Saki starts to explain- the real Michiru died a year ago, something all of the six Pleiades couldn’t accept. They started making clones in attempt to revive Michiru.
-the Michiru of this event, is clone #4
-then Nico says, actually Michiru we’re the same as you. Nico and Saki are actually Michiru clone #10 and #2. And the Umika and Kaoru they put in the Freezer are other Michiru clones.
-they talk about how Satomi wanted to kill Kazumi and released all the 12 other clones to do so. Apparently in that ensuing fight, clone 4 survived.
-so Clone 4 found the dying clones, 2, 10, 6 and 7 and saved them.
-the record left by the real Nico said clone 4 was the closest to a successful Michiru. She had the memories and behaviors of the original.
-clone 4 was such a true and kind hearted Michiru that she spared her other 4 clones and protected them. To protect this, the other clones erased her memories of that day.
Part 16
-this reset Michiru was then to follow their plan to restore her personality. By reenactment of her past, they could test to see if she would be a good replacement.
-they theorized if Michiru could share the truth of magical girls with her friends, then she would be happy and function as a true clone of Michiru. Her diary ending of despair could then be truly overwritten with hope.
-how the clones managed this plan was by reaching out to Kyubey and contracting. They wished for #4 to become a real human.
-the other clones wishes were to take on the appearance of Michiru’s friends- Nico, Saki, Umika and Kaoru.
-to avoid running into the real Umika and Kaoru, they waited until they were both out of town. And to have fake Umika and Kaoru “contract” again with Kyubey, they rewrote clone 4 Michiru’s memories.
Part 17
-we recap again how important it was for Michiru to tell Umika and Kaoru the truth was, and how clone Nico and Saki thought they’d failed when clone Umika and Kaoru’s gems went black. Thankfully they were able to enlist the real Umika and Kaoru to help.
-Michiru thanks them for the explanation and says if all they said is true, then she is the new real Michiru.
-but Saki is still worried because they still have a world now where Michiru is a magical girl, and this means she could still someday become a witch.
-but Michiru assures them, she still wants to live! She refuses to fall into despair and will live with hope.
-Saki says this is what she most wanted to hear.
-Michiru then excitedly says they should all go home together and eat strawberry risotto together. But Saki and Nico pause…
-yes, perhaps as a Last Supper, Nico says. And Saki says, no they’re already out of time.
Part 18
-Saki and Nico’s soul gems have gone dark already. They say in order to impersonate them, their dark memories came with it and accelerated the process.
-but the real worry is when their magic ceases. All the girls they took the soul gems from will wake up and witch out.
-Umika and Kaoru say they’ll handle it and Saki tells them their Kazumi is in the back. Then Saki and Nico return to their clone Michiru forms.
-there’s lots of rumbling and suddenly a bunch of magical girls break out of their tubes. Umika and Kaoru transform and tell Michiru to go get their Kazumi and her soul gem- “find the gem shining with hope like yours!”
Part 19
-Michiru finds Kazumi’s soul gem. Then runs around until she finds the tube holding her body.
-“the 13th clone who wished to become human. A girl who was once a clone just like me. Wake up sister!,” Michiru says.
-then dressed in white, Kazumi appears. She immediately questions who Michiru is, but outside telling her she’s the 4th clone, Michiru says the story must wait.
-the two rush to help Kaoru and Umika. Who are facing off with the about to witch out clones.
-originally Michiru hesitates, because they are clones like her, but she finally gathers the courage not to despair after thanking the four clones for all they’ve done to help her.
Part 20
-Umika and Kaoru once more offer to help, but Michiru declines. She says, “we five, to go beyond despair, it is necessary I have hope!”
-but Kazumi interjects that it’s too large a burden for Michiru to bear alone. She says when she fought the clones before, she remembered their tears. And so it is a burden they two, as humanized clones, should bear together.
-Umika and Kaoru also say they too should bear the burden, and Michiru finally agrees to their help. Umika uses her magic to stop their movement, then Michiru and Kazumi land the final blows.
-the clones regain their sanity for one brief moment and thank Kazumi and Michiru for stopping them. “Now we can be at peace.”
-“thank you for everything, I will never forget you. Ciao,” Michiru says.
-Juubey shows up and Kazumi is like wtf this is really getting weird. Michiru says it’s best to explain everything over a meal. Kazumi agrees. And they say they’ll make it together.
Epilogue
-Michiru decides to move to Italy with her grandmother’s sister, saying with her instructions she can learn to cook everything.
-Kazumi is sad to be saying goodbye so soon but promises they will meet again.
-“as long as I want to live, as long as there's hope, we can meet again!”
-Umika takes a photo before Michiru leaves of Michiru and Kazumi with Juubey (the 3* memoria art)
-the airport bus arrives and Kazumi tells Michiru if she’s ever sad or lonely to call her.
-Michiru says her goodbyes and everyone says Ciao to wish one another goodbye.
THE END