Yes, there are day one simulpubs already- but those are established through specific magazines and companies that operate in the West. What Magical Girl Dandelion has done is something much akin to the Kagurabachinomenon– taking something so far into the stratosphere that decisions are made at light speed to capture that lightning in a bottle. After all, there’s only 3 chapters out for this Sho-Comi manga, but Viz still decided that they’d bring it over to simulpub (which you can read here), which I must say is definitely a good decision.
Magical Girls will always have a place in anime and manga, in the same way that battle shounens are immortalized as a timeless concept for a series. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t mess with the formula a little bit. Our main character, Tonpopo, certainly does fulfill the requirements for being a magical girl… but what of her fiendish shadow that’s sworn to protect her after a fateful night when she was a child? The two immediately expose an interesting dynamic that sees Tonpopo wrapped around the dark and hazy fingers of Shade despite Tonpopo dreaming of becoming one of those mythical magical girls.
It’s really solid work, but like I’ve said countless times over, green mangaka tend to rush through these things. Shade and Tonpopo have a great dynamic that has a vague sense of hostility mixed in with the passion, and I really wish we received a bit more of that before the rug ended up pulled out from beneath our feet. It’s entirely understandable that what exists within these three chapters is simply a precursor for what’s to come, but that doesn’t mean that an introduction can’t fill itself out a bit more. Even just for the sake of making some pieces a bit more believable. Tonpopo is clearly a generational talent as a magical girl, and is beholden to very unique circumstances, but it feels as though Kaeru Mizuho is unable to afford the space to explain that or to give Tanpopo some other trials to jump through first. The end result in both circumstances is the same, but having just that bit more room to sell things can help a bit.
All the same though, Mizuho’s eyes are on the horizon of Magical Girl Dandelion. How are magical girls made, how do fiends appear and how can you save them, who exactly Shade is and why he’s such a unique fiend, and so on and so forth. It’s all rather well explained alongside some of the more subtle sections. For example, Magical Girl Peony mocks Shade for his weakness in the third chapter, but then briefly after we see Tanpopo-slash-Dandelion block their slash rather easily. Is it the magic of silly powerscaling? In the ironic sense, yes. Peony helps explain that magic is ruled by emotion- both to strengthen and weaken it.
Similarly, did you wonder about Tanpopo’s magical weapon, her umbrella? Peony wields a sword, and while it does remain speculation, the dots connect to say that Peony was holding a sword when she blossomed (a tragic backstory, anyone?). The point I’m making here is that while Mizuho can rush some of the introductory pieces of Magical Girl Dandelion it in no way means that the greater story and world suffer the same fate. The world has a rather concrete and rich form already, and Mizuho’s story most certainly aims to dredge the depths of it- military and magical mysteries alike.
And of course, the thing that started the Magical Girl Dandelion fever- the (fan) art. While it’s a bit interesting to say, a lot of that fervor and fan response doesn’t stem from the quality of the art in the literal sense. Mizuho’s art is good, but it’s not on any sort of outstanding level. Where it really shines is the character designs and how expressive they are. Tanpopo has a very… typical look as a default. She’s cute with a head in the clouds more often than not. It’s thanks to that personality though that Mizuho’s art can really shine, as Tanpopo’s reactions are consistently a delight with quite a bit of range. Mizuho doesn’t stretch her designs to the limits like My Love Mix-Up! might though, there’s a very explicit effort to resign the changes largely to her eyes. Sometimes its subtle changes, and other times it’s very comical differences that can make or break the humor. Within that, Mizuho is very smart with how sparing they are, never overusing ridiculous faces or circumstances to make the most of Tanpopo.
On the flip side, Shade’s design thrives on visible traits which makes it a bit more difficult to play with their eyes. They have their coat, shirt…. thing, but it’s also not the greatest way to define their character. Because of that, Mizuho consistently likes to mess with perspective when Shade’s around- a decision I’m certainly not upset with. In a way, you can view it (quite literally) as a change in perspective. The moment that Shade appears is the moment that the bright and starry world of Magical Girl Dandelion change just that little bit.
Finally getting to read these first few chapters, it’s really no surprise why Magical Girl Dandelion blossomed like it did on social media. Strong character designs with a shocking twist to the magical girl formula, Mizuho has an idea that many fans seem to have been starved of. Usually this is the part where I would say to temper expectations of the series, but despite the narrow nature of these first chapters, I think that Mizuho has a story that can go the distance here. There’s a lot of groundwork and planning on display already, and they’ve done a commendable job of juggling a great deal of exposition through only a handful of pages. It might not meet the lofty ideals that some fans might hold it to, but with the right amount of care Magical Girl Dandelion should turn out to be quite the good read.
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