Magical Girl Apocalypse
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Magical Girl Apocalypse, in the Seven Seas Entertainment version, or known in Japan as Magical Girl of the End (魔法少女・オブ・ジ・エンド, Mahō Shōjo obu ji Endo), is a Japanese psychological action-horror magical girl shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Kentarō Satō. It was published in July 2012 to August 2017 in the manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Champion, published by Akita Shoten, and has been compiled into sixteen tankōbon volumes as of September 2017. The series is licensed in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.
It spawned a spin-off/sequel series called Magical Girl Site in July 2013, that shares the same themes.
Plot
A 16-year-old student named Ki Kogami hates his normal everyday life and wishes for something to happen. One day in the middle of class, he looks out the window and sees his coach teacher's head exploded at the hands of a little girl. He goes to the bathroom to calm himself, but when he gets back to the classroom, he finds most of his classmates were killed by little doll-like girl who is supposed to be a Magical Girl.
Why It's Magical
- A darker plot about mysterious Magical Girls slaughtering people and turn them into zombies is an interesting concept and differs to what Puella Magi Madoka Magica had done but even doesn't need to imitate the same charm at all.
- It's not as meanspirited to its later spin-off series, Magical Girl Site, which is still relatively decent. Unlike Site, it really handles the dark and edgy themes very well.
- Likable characters like Ki, Tsukune, Rintaro, Kaede, Miki, Yoruka, Ren, etc.
- Speaking of Rintaro Akuta, the author's favorite character, is shown to be aware about the invasion of the Magical Girl Alteratives and shows how heroic he is as a police officer, then a perverted masochist.
- It has some smart writing which is less dark and doesn't have to be very mean-spirited or soulless.
- While it's supposed to be like a zombie horror manga, it borrows lessons from another zombie horror manga, titled High School of the Dead.
- The art is well done, and decently atmospheric.
- The Magical Girl Alternatives are scary, threatening beings that are twisted versions of actual Magical Girls.
- It has no subplots.
- Some decent funny moments that are cute.
- The action is decent.
- It handles much of the horror tropes very well and doesn't have to be nasty and sickening to read.
- It has cool concepts about witches creating Magical Girls but are not evil at all than the actual "witches" from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
- Ki's sacrifice against the main antagonist, Rei Kurorogi, is sad and very emotional.
- Some of the villains like Rei Kurorogi, and Wataru Himeji aren't even mediocre at all.
- Engaging storyline and themes that don't need to have higher stakes.
- Surprisingly happy ending: Tsukune does grow up as a mother after Ki's death and hopes his legacy will live on forever.
- It doesn't even have some "MacGuffin" set-up in the final chapter, if it weren't for it, Magical Girl Site should have never existed.
Bad Qualities
- It hadn't gotten an anime adaptation at all since the aformentioned spin-off did.
- The final battle with Rei Kurorogi was anti-climactic, with Ki sacrficing himself helping Tsukune defeat him with her magical powers.
- Kaede and and Miki were thought to have bullied Tsukune in the first chapter but were revealed to be her friends who would never harm her.
- Relies little on very cliched Magical Girl transformations.
- Still has the same slow pacing as Magical Girl Site.
- Rintaro can sometimes be unlikable due to his perverted nature.
- Some fanservice can be annoying.
- Miu Anai can sometimes be too masochistic and similar personalities to Rintaro.
- Some mediocre characters like Kaede's three kidnapping men from year 2002, four thuggish men from year 2035, and Ki Kogami's father.
- Has some cliches like the idea of alternative timelines, time travelling, and Magical Girls being artificially intelligent robots created by witches can sometimes be poorly executed.