Manga 117165 Majitora

CONTENT WARNING: This is a genderbend manga, so think twice before reading if you are made uncomfortable by this genre of manga, and please refrain from posting anything rude about the series beyond simple criticism in order to make the community as non-toxic as possible for people who just want to enjoy the series. Thank you in advance.

Magitora, or Magical Trans, is likely one of the closest examples of the 'pure genderbend manga' that you can find. It's a cute example of everything a story in that genre can do on the surface level, wrapped up in a nice, organized package.

Story - 8/10 (Including a ... synopsis as the MAL synopsis hardly says anything)

The plot of Magical Trans is one that manages to be both unique and not unique at the same time. It follows the story of Minami, a high-school guy who stumbles upon a flier for a 'Magical Girl Club' and for some odd reason immediately thinks it would be funny to join the club and crossdress, so he pressures his childhood friend into going with him and enters the clubroom on the justification that the flier says 'boys welcome' in small handwriting in the corner of the paper. He soon realizes, though, that the president of the club has such a large obsession with magical girls that she develops an app to actually turn people into magical girls. Minami is naturally hesitant to join the club at this point since all he wanted to do was crossdress and make fun of people who took the club seriously. In the end he ends up using the app to turn himself into a girl and is naturally shocked, causing him to become more reluctant to join, as instead of crossplaying, he actually became a female (which isn't as funny). After putting his hand on his 'chest' and thinking it over, though, he has a change of heart and joins the club. Minami then continues to explore womanhood, slowly spending more and more time as a female until eventually he can't go more than a day without turning into a girl. Eventually an 'antagonist' shows up, but she's only really there for occasional comic relief and doesn't actually matter much plotwise. Essentially, nothing that actually happens in the story is very relevant in the grand scheme of things, as the emphasis is on Minami becoming more and more feminine as the story goes on.

Art - 6/10

While there isn't much about the art that is inherently wrong, I can't help but be picky and say the proportions are a little bit off, the facial expressions sometimes don't fit the situation well and look weird, and a few action scenes aren't handled well. It's not bad to the point that the series is anywhere close to unreadable, though, and the art works well with the plot on occasion. The mangaka is definitely going for a cuter artstyle and often succeeds, but there are still times that it feels out of place.

Character: 7/10

Magical Trans's characters are good but nothing special, outside of our protagonist Minami, whose constant desire for feminine experience, contrasted by his massive ego and the fact that he constantly jokes about being attracted to himself, is utterly hilarious. Many of the other characters are funny or gimmick characters (such as a puppet with an afro who turns into a naked loli on occasion) and the obsessed club president who bawls her eyes out whenever she watches a magical girl anime. Then again, some characters are completely useless, like the childhood friend who does very little other than be mad at the protagonist for being a girl all the time. Although there are characters like these, they are all nevertheless cute and charming, complimenting the franchise in the end.

Enjoyment: 7/10

Enjoyment, as genderbend manga goes, varies greatly from person to person. I personally enjoy reading genderbend manga, but I'll try my best to be unbiased. Magical Trans fulfills all of the tropes common in the genre, as well as introduces some new ones. In the end, though, many points are somewhat bland, and there isn't much to be seen beyond face value. Even still, appeal can still be found in the cuteness of the arstyle and, frankly, the series as a whole.

Overall: 7/10

If you have any questions or concerns about this review, want to recommend a fringe manga to me, or even simply want to chat about this title, please DM me or contact me at [email protected] for any and all inquiries. My door is always open.