A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga.
Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end her troubles by jumping off Seoul’s Mapo Bridge.
But her suicide attempt is interrupted by a girl dressed all in white—her guardian angel. Ah Roa is a clairvoyant magical girl on a mission to find the greatest magical girl of all time. And our protagonist just may be that special someone.
But the young woman’s initial excitement turns to frustration when she learns being a magical girl in real life is much different than how it’s portrayed in stories. It isn’t just destiny—it’s work. Magical girls go to job fairs, join trade unions, attend classes. And for this magical girl there are no special powers and no great perks, and despite being magical, she still battles with low self-esteem. Her magic wand . . . is a credit card—which she must use to defeat a terrifying threat that isn’t a monster or an intergalactic war. It’s global climate change. Because magical girls need to think about sustainability, too.
Park Seolyeon reimagines classic fantasy tropes in a novel that explores real-world challenges that are both deeply personal and universal: the search for meaning and the desire to do good in a world that feels like it’s ending. A fun, fast-paced, and enchanting narrative that sparkles thanks to award-nominated translator Anton Hur, A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game.
Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur.
This sounded like such a clever idea! Of course the magical girls we used to watch would have grown up; of course they'd now be dealing with adult problems as well as magical ones. And I can't say this is a bad story, exactly. But it is short.
Translation first; the translation is very smooth and there's no confusion over anything, but the tone is still somewhat foreign. I didn't find it offputting in any way, but it was noticeable.
The description calls this a novel. I would class it as a novella, and like some novellas the story feels a little rushed in spots. It didn't feel like we really had time to go indepth on anything in particular. However the story was easy enough to follow, even without the details I would have liked, and I loved the different Magical Girls and their powers - and the explanation for them! Very smart.
Hopefully there's more to come set in this universe - I'd love to read more of their adventures.
A Magical Girl Retires publishes on the 30th April, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
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