Null Magical Girl

"This is the record of a crime.
The story of an event hopelessly inexplicable, jumbled together like a tangle of knots.
This is the record of something profound yet shallow, pathetically hilarious, and bizarre yet ordinary.
The perpetrator of this deranged act is already known, and let me give you a spoiler: I am responsible for all of it. I am the source of this madness, as I am a Magical Girl...and at the same time not a Magical Girl." - Vol. 1: Introduction

Null Magical Girl (非 (ナル)ー魔法少女, Naru Mahō Shōjo) is a light novel spin-off in the Puella Magi franchise, written by Gengen Kusano and illustrated by Aya Haruhana. It is the first spin-off to be released after the launch of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story.

Null Magical Girl was published in the Puella Magi Madoka Magica 10th Anniversary Book, with releases of each chapter corresponding to the releases of next volumes of the Anniversary Book. The first chapter was released on June 25, 2021, the second on September 7th 2021, and the third and final on December 25th 2021.

Summary

In March 2021, the world continues to face the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The story centers Kosane Kiriha, a 24-year-old graduate student whose life is on a downward trajectory. Due to COVID, she expects to be hopelessly unemployed when she graduates. In the wake of a head injury, Kosane Kiriha discovers she has no brain. Shortly afterwards, Kyubey appears before her and reveals the spacetime continuum is collapsing around her.

Guided by a mysterious letter found in her head, Kosane and Kyubey travel 800,000 years into the future. There, they encounter Homo magica, a species comprised only of Magical Girls.

Haunted by the voice of her still-born twin sister, Kosane flees back to the present and learns that the year 2021 is a "closed-room" which she can't escape. As she struggles against fate, she discovers the evolutionary history of humankind and magical girls, the nature of magic, the will of the universe, and the origin of the soul.

Chapters

Introduction: Year 2021 C.E. (序：西暦二○二一年)
A story of the me of now, dedicated to those of us that once were.
A Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff serial novel from the "Unconventional (Anomaly)" SF author Gengen Kusano.
Breaking: Homo magica (破：魔法少女人類 (Homo magica))
In the future that would come, there was only a dazzling light.
In narrative, there is magic. In magic, there is narrative.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff serial novel, chapter 2.
Climax: Which is the Path to the Inner Universe? (急：内宇宙への道はどちらか？)
Gathering, separating, spinning on.
Farewell, eternal story.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff serial novel, final chapter.

Characters

See: Null Magical Girl Characters

Publishing Information

Language	Publisher	Country	Release date	Volume 1	Volume 2	Volume 3
Japanese	Houbunsha	Japan	June 25, 2021, September 7th 2021, December 25th 2021

Trivia

The first character of each chapter title refers to a section of the jo-ha-kyuu (序破急).
The series references Alfred Elton van Vogt's various works.
- According to a tweet from the publisher, "非" kanji's atypical reading as "null" (ナル) is a reference to a certain widescreen baroque text. That description matches The World of Null-A, titled "非 (ナル)Aの世界" (null A no sekai) in Japanese. The story features a supposed utopia in which those with superior understanding and mental control are the ruling class over the rest of society.
  - The "Ā" (or "Null-A") of the title refers to "non-Aristotelian" (or non-classical) logic, which "refers to the capacity for, and practice of, using intuitive, inductive reasoning, rather than reflexive, or conditioned, deductive reasoning."
  - The protagonist's name, Kosane, is likely also a reference to The World of Null-A - the novel's main character's surname, Gosseyn, is stated to be pronounced "go sane" by the book's author. This is also confirmed by another tweet by the publisher.
- Coeurl's name and appearance reference Black Destroyer, another text by van Vogt. In it, Coeurls are a race of black cat-like creatures.
  - The novel's Coeurl, similar to the alien race's color, wears a black cloak.
Gengen Kusano first watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica during its original run in 2011^[1], and wrote several analysis posts about Rebellion for his blog in 2013.