Suzune Magica
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Please refrain from reading if you are not yet familiar with all the latest media released.
Puella Magi Suzune Magica (魔法少女すずね☆マギカ Mahō Shōjo Suzune Magika) is the fourth spin-off manga in the Puella Magi franchise, written and illustrated by GAN. It is one of three spin-offs that have been released after Rebellion, with the other two being Puella Magi Oriko Magica: Sadness Prayer and Puella Magi Tart Magica: The Legend of "Jeanne d'Arc".
Unusually for a manga series, Suzune Magica was initially released as a single volume, with all other chapters being serialized in Kirara Forward. The first volume containing chapters 1 - 4 was released on November 12, 2013, and it began serialization with chapter 5 in Manga Time Kirara Forward on November 22, 2013, with serialization finishing a year later on November 22, 2014. The second volume containing chapters 5 - 10 was released on June 25, 2014. The third volume containing chapters 11 - 16 was released on December 12, 2014.
Synopsis
Note: These are all fan translations.
- Volume 1
- The admirable junior high school student who works as a live-in employee, Suzune. The girl who lives her everyday life always smiling has a hidden side. That is, she's a magical girl assassin. What's the fate of the four girls she ambushes? And the existence of magical girls, is it good or bad? This is the spin-off's first volume!
- Volume 2
- The admirable junior high school student who works as a live-in employee, Suzune. The girl who lives her everyday life always smiling has a hidden side. That is, she's a magical girl assassin. As the magical girls of the city are wiped out one by one, what's the way that's left to go amidst the despair and frustration...?
- Volume 3
- The admirable junior high school student who works as a live-in employee, Suzune. The girl who lives her everyday life always smiling has a hidden side. That is, she's a magical girl assassin. Confronted with the appearance of a new magical girl, Suzune is exposed to the anguish she kept hidden until now. Now she will invite in the final outcome...
Plot
Note: As all chapters post-volume 1 are currently only available in Japanese, most of the post-volume 1 info below comes from rough translation and interpretation of events. Thus, some of the information may be incorrect, so please do not treat anything as 100% accurate.
Volume 1
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Chapter 1: Two sides The story begins with Suzune fighting through a witch's barrier in an abandoned factory. At the same time, a lone magical girl named Kanami struggles against the witch, as she isn't able to cut it down completely before it can regenerate itself. However, Suzune appears, easily defeating the witch, bringing down the barrier. Kanami approaches Suzune and thanks Suzune for saving her, saying Suzune's fire magic was "cool". The two introduce themselves, and Kanami puts out her hand to exchange a handshake, only to be killed when Suzune slashes through the soul gem on her neck. Suzune bids Kanami farewell, and leaves. Some time later, we see three girls — Arisa, Chisato, and Matsuri — attending school, with Arisa complaining, Chisato lecturing her on the importance of school and how Arisa should be grateful that she's lucky enough to have this opportunity, and Matsuri excited to see her friends again. They exchange brief greetings with Haruka, a senior on the school council performing a "morning greeting exercise". Haruka explains that it's a way of making sure of everyone's attendance, and tells Arisa to be sure not to come late. The four then depart for classes, with Arisa and Chisato continuing onto maths class, and Matsuri to PE. On the way, however, the rabbit charm on her bag breaks off and falls to the floor next to a girl's feet. The girl picks up the charm and gives it to Matsuri, who thanks her in return — revealing the girl to be Suzune. Chapter 2: Encounter One morning, Suzune is seen delivering newspapers in the neighbourhood. She arrives home to her home at Yunagi Newspaper, the local newspaper business. Suzune turns down one of her senior's offer of breakfast, saying she already bought some, and departs to get changed for school. When she leaves, her two seniors discuss how Suzune is hard-working and mature, leaving her parents place at such a young age to live alone. While changing, Suzune reads the newspaper, which mentions a murder case of "a third victim" inside an abandoned factory, referring to Kanami. At school, Suzune passes by two girls discussing a local rumor of a "Ripper girl". The rumor says that if you walk alone late at night, you hear the sound of a bell, and a girl in a long coat appears and asks for your name. When you answer her, she then cuts you to shreds with a knife. During maths class, Suzune is seen writing "Kanami" on a small piece of paper and putting it in her shirt pocket. After class, Suzune is approached by Matsuri, who asks if they can walk home together. The two make conversation, with Matsuri learning that Suzune lives at Yunagi Newspaper. Suzune questions why Matsuri cares about her, to which Matsuri replies that she just wants to get along and become friends. However, the conversation is interrupted when Haruka calls Matsuri by telepathy, requesting that she come to the roof of the school for a group meeting. Suzune questions Matsuri's silence, with Matsuri replying that she just remembered that she had something to do, and leaving. On the roof, the Yunagi quartet discusses the rumor of the Ripper. Haruka mentions a story linked to the rumor, of serial murders that started occurring in a neighbouring city a month ago. She also mentions that she heard from a journalist who was an acquaintance of her father, that while the news reports talked about the causes of death being gashes made by a huge knife, in reality the wounds seemed to be made from a far bigger weapon that an ordinary knife; as Haruka says this, Matsuri immediately clings to Chisato out of fear. Haruka also mentions a detail that the news reports covered, that the victims were all teenage girls. Chisato immediately points out how inexplicable that is. Arisa, however, proposes that the Ripper is in reality some gloomy old girl with a chainsaw who snapped because he couldn't deal with girls, to which Matsuri comments on how carefree Arisa is being. Chisato says that the culprit must be a witch, to which Haruka says that they're still lacking conclusive evidence, and it'll be better if they were careful, but that they shouldn't worry, since "we're talking about us, after all!" That night, the girls meet up again to go on patrol of the city. Haruka tells them that the girls must contact the others immediately if they find a witch barrier, like usual, and that they should be careful about the matter they discussed, referring to the Ripper. The girls then all transform into magical girls, ready to head out. Some time later, Chisato is seen patrolling an area alone, commenting that it seems clear. Arisa communicates with her, asking how she is going: Chisato replies that nothing is strange, and asks the same of Arisa. Arisa comments that nothing's strange on her end, and that she wants to finish up quickly so she can go home and take a shower. Chisato replies that she's feeling the same way, and is feeling spooked about the Ripper rumor, enough that she wants to quit. Arisa jumps on this, teasing that Chisato's pretending to be all cool, but is actually scared. Chisato tells her to shut up and be quiet, but is interrupted when she hears a ringing of a bell. Chisato immediately asks who's there, pointing one of her pistols in the direction of the sound. Nothing happens, leaving Chisato worried, yet sure that she heard something... until Suzune suddenly appears behind her, asking for her name. Meanwhile, Arisa tries to contact Chisato, but is getting no response. She immediately calls Haruka and Matsuri about the problem; Haruka tells Arisa to search for Chisato around the area she was patrolling, and that she and Matsuri will join Arisa once they've met up. Suzune asks Chisato again for her name. Chisato replies that "she doesn't have an obligation to answer [Suzune]", to which Suzune replies, "Is that so...? Too bad." Arisa is searching Chisato's area when she comes across Chisato and Suzune. At first she doesn't see what's going on, and asks Suzune who is she and what she's doing there with Chisato. Suzune turns towards Arisa, revealing that she's stabbed Chisato right through with her sword. Suzune removes her sword and Chisato falls to the ground, her magical girl outfit dissolving, bleeding out on the ground. Arisa, shocked, asks what's going on, to which Suzune replies that Chisato is dead. Arisa, in denial, asks if Suzune is playing some sort of sadist trick on her and if she's Chisato's friend. Suzune coolly replies that she isn't lying, and that Chisato was killed painlessly. Arisa snaps out of her reverie and turns angry, charging at Suzune with her scythe at the ready while screaming, "Don't mess with me!" Arisa goes on the offense, trying to cut Suzune with her scythe, with Suzune dodging her every move, making Arisa more and more frustrated. She manages to cut Suzune in half vertically, but the Suzune is a fake, with the real Suzune about to strike from behind. Arisa manages to turn around and block the attack in time. Meanwhile, Matsuri tells Haruka that she heard Arisa's voice, and points Haruka in the direction she heard Arisa from. The two move quickly, with Haruka apprehensive that neither Chisato and Arisa are responding. Suzune manages to knock a beaten-up Arisa to the ground, and asks for her name. Matsuri and Haruka arrive at the scene, where they see Chisato lying dead on the ground. Matsuri sees Arisa's attacker, and realizes that it's Suzune. Haruka comments on how the rumor was in fact about a magical girl, and immediately interrogates Suzune on her identity and reasons for killing. Suzune refuses to answer her questions, saying that Haruka's "better off not knowing" about the reason why. Haruka immediately tells Matsuri that she'll distract Suzune with her magic, and that Matsuri should secure Arisa while Suzune is distracted, saying that she has a feeling that "fighting [Suzune] right now is too dangerous." Haruka calls Suzune's attention with a charm, making Suzune attack her. Haruka defends quickly, with Suzune telling her that "it's pointless" and that "[Haruka] will reach her limit eventually". Haruka releases her spell on Suzune, making Suzune freeze. Matsuri immediately calls that she has Arisa, and that they should escape. Suzune tries to stop her, but Matsuri shines a bright light from her gauntlets at Suzune, while yelling "Go away!" at her. Under the cover of the light, Haruka and Matsuri escape with Arisa far away, to a park. Matsuri lies a normal form Arisa on a bench, commenting that she's still breathing, and that she's fainted. Haruka brings up the situation with Chisato and Suzune, and Matsuri tells her that Suzune is one of her classmates. As Haruka is shocked that the murderer is someone from their school, Matsuri tells her that Suzune only transferred in recently. Kyubey then appears to the girls. Haruka asks where he's been, to which he says that "he had something to do". Kyubey continues, saying that Suzune can hide her presence, and he wishes he could have informed the Yunagi girls before. Matsuri questions why Suzune is doing such a thing, to which Kyubey replies that he doesn't understand why either. He says that, while Suzune had a lot of talent, from one moment on she aimed for magical girls. Kyubey then says that there's one thing he's sure of, that right now, Suzune is their natural enemy: an assassin. Chapter 3: Doubt The next chapter begins with a flashback of Arisa's past. Chapter 4: Remorse |
Volume 2
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Chapter 5: Regret Chapter 6: Transformation Chapter 7: Truth Chapter 8: Price Chapter 9: Presence Chapter 10: Resignation |
Volume 3
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Chapter 11: Black shadow Chapter 12: Reunion Chapter 13: Memory Chapter 14 Chapter 15: Separation Final Chapter: Convergence |
Characters
Main characters
- Suzune Amano (天乃 鈴音 Amano Suzune)
- Arisa Narumi (成見 亜里紗 Narumi Arisa)
- Chisato Shion (詩音 千里 Shion Chisato)
- Haruka Kanade (奏 遥香 Kanade Haruka)
- Matsuri Hinata (日向 茉莉 Hinata Matsuri)
- Kagari Hinata (日向 華々莉 Hinata Kagari)
Supporting characters
- Tsubaki Mikoto (美琴 椿 Mikoto Tsubaki)
- Kanami (カナミ Kanami)
- Mika Nishinaka (西中 ミカ Nishinaka Mika)
- The leader of a group of bullies that targeted Arisa in the past, until Arisa made her wish and scared them off by crushing Mika's hand in her own. She then proceeded to put them in the hospital as revenge; it can be assumed that they left her alone after that.
- Kanata Kanade (奏 カナタ Kanade Kanata)
- Haruka's older sister. She was a kindly person who was good at everything she did, leading to her being constantly praised by others and called a genius; however, her little sister Haruka was jealous and envious of her, as she thought no one expected anything of her due to Kanata. Kanata tried to be friendly with Haruka, telling her that she "could tell her big sister anything", but Haruka kept rejecting her and claiming that Kanata didn't understand her feelings. Haruka's immense jealousy eventually led to her wishing to erase Kanata from existence; Kanata appears to have been wiped from others' memories as well.
- Kyubey (キュゥべえ Kyūbē)
- A reappearing character from Madoka Magica.
Observations
- "Hating someone so much you wanted to kill them" appears quite a bit in Suzune. Haruka wished for Kanata to be erased out of her jealousy, Arisa hated Suzune for killing Chisato and challenged her to a duel to the death, and the whole story happened because Kagari hated Suzune for killing Tsubaki and crafted a gambit to make her life miserable, prior to trying to killing her at the "climax" of said gambit.
- Suzune's overall story is similar to the original request that became Madoka Magica, with the request asking for a bloody story where the girls dropped off one by one.
- Kyubey says at one point in volume 1, regarding Suzune hunting other magical girls, that from one point on, she suddenly started targeting magical girls and that he didn't know why. This seems inconsistent with a flashback in volume 2 where Suzune inherits Tsubaki's pendant and vows to kill all magical girls, a scene in which Kyubey is present for... until it's revealed in volume 3 that Suzune's memories were altered by Kagari, which Kyubey was not present for; so to Kyubey, it would seem that Suzune's hunting of magical girls was sudden.
Speculation
- It is speculated that Suzune Magica had such an odd release life due to poor sales. After volume 1 sold poorly, it was given a chance to get more attention via serialization alongside volume releases. Due to volume 2's poor sales, however, Suzune is speculated to have been cancelled, resulting in the rushed final third where everything is wrapped up and concluded at a fast pace. However, since there has been no word by GAN on this, it is all merely speculation.
Trivia
- Matsuri, Kagari and Tsubaki are all named after flowers.
- All the characters' first names are spelt with katakana in the story, with kanji only appearing in the profiles at the end of the collected volumes. The only exceptions are Tsubaki, whose kanji name appears in a speech bubble in volume 3, and Kagari, whose kanji name was revealed in a tweet by GAN.
Gallery
Front covers
Volume 1 cover art
Volume 2 cover art
Volume 3 cover art
Official art
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Special Arisa image drawn by GAN, and a stripped version of volume 2's cover.
Art of Suzune.
Art of Arisa. Note that Arisa has blue eyes here, even though the manga covers give her pink eyes.
Art of Chisato.
Art of Haruka.
Art of Matsuri.
Art of Kagari.
Art of Tsubaki in a maid outfit.
Art of Kanami.
Power ranking and elements of all characters for a hypothetical game situation. From this tweet.
Manga pages
Suzune's profile.
Yunagi girls' profiles.
Volume 1 bonus colour page.
Volume 1 bonus end page.
Chapter 10 colour page.
Chapter 13 colour page 1.
Chapter 13 colour page 2.
The Yunagi magical girl quartet.
The Yunagi quartet transforming.
Mika Nishinaka, a girl who bullied Arisa.
Mika's friends and fellow bullies.
Kanata Kanade, Haruka's older sister.
A vision of Kanata.
The two women who work at Yunagi Newspaper with Suzune.
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The Hinata twins' father. He's a minor character, only appearing in about three pages.
Chisato's father.
Arisa's mother.
Silhouettes of magical girls Suzune has killed.
Yunagi girls whose deaths Suzune was responsible for; Kanami; and a few other silhouettes.
Miscellaneous
Kirara Magica series announcement pages, with the initial character designs for some of the series' characters.
Page two of the announcement.
- Suzunebonusmaterial.jpg
Volume 3 bonus material.
See also
External links
- The first twelve pages of Suzune are available for official preview here. Click on the orange button. (Japanese)
- Various download links for Suzune Magica on Walpurgischan.
- GAN's pixiv account. (Japanese)
- GAN's twitter account. (Japanese)
- Set of official art by GAN on pixiv. (Japanese)
- Tumblr post containing trivia tweets and art of the characters from GAN. (Japanese)
- Tumblr post containing the more art and trivia from GAN. (Japanese)
- Unofficial Tumblr for everything Suzune related.
- Walpurgischan's Suzune thread.
- Puella Magi Suzune Magica on TV Tropes.