Line #4 Manga/PuellaMagiKazumiMagica


1	[[quoteright:358:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bafb52ec00a0918418ed6fb560240a7a.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:358:[[CallingYourAttacks Limiti]] [[GratuitousItalian Esterni!]]]]
3
4	->''You sure [[Creator/GenUrobuchi Urobuchi]] isn't writing this?''
5	-->-- [[http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=298103 This post]] about Chapter 5. (SPOILERS)
6
7	''Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice'' is a SpinOff {{Manga}} of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', written by Masaki Hiramatsu and illustrated by Takashi Tensugi. It ran in the monthly magazine ''[[Magazine/MangaTimeKirara Manga Time Kirara Forward]]'' starting in January 24th 2011, and continued until November 24th, 2012. It features a different set of characters in a new plot separate from the anime, but in the same universe.
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9	'''THIS PAGE HAS UNMARKED SPOILERS, BOTH FOR THE ANIME AND ''KAZUMI MAGICA'' ITSELF. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.'''
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11	''Kazumi Magica'' follows Kazumi, a amnesiac young girl who wakes up in a suitcase. Fortunately for her, she's quickly reunited with her friends, Umika and Kaoru. But when her life is in serious danger from a [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant praying mantis]], she unlocks her magical potential and transforms into a {{magical girl}}. Kazumi doesn't remember anything about who she was before she was locked in that suitcase, but as she works towards finding out more about her past self and her strange and difficult quest to fight witches, what will the "new Kazumi" become?
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13	The series has been licensed in America by Creator/YenPress and released in its entirety. Please use the official translations on this page when possible.
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15	Kazumi, Umika and Kaoru [[http://mm.my-gg.com/news/information/detail/2116 would later]] [[http://mm.my-gg.com/news/information/detail/3064 appear]] in the ''Puella Magi Madoka Magica Online'' game as well as the 2017 smartphone game ''[[VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory Magia Record]].''
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17	----
18
19	!!Tropes in ''Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice'' include:
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21	* AllThereInTheManual: The collected editions have some information that isn't in the serialized chapters, such as the name of Kazumi's cat (Toto), and Airi's last name.
22	** Kazumi's cat was later named in-story in chapter 12.
23	* AlternateCharacterReading: In chapter 3, a grief seed is called a "witch's essence/seed" (魔女の実, ''majo no mi'').
24	** Which is a CallBack to Episode 8's WhamLine.
25	** In chapter 8 Jubey initially refers to Kazumi's magic as "breaking religious law"/"sacrilege" before apparently correcting himself and saying it's "destruction". Both are "hakai" in Japanese. This is completely removed in the English release.
26	** Mirai Wakaba's name, which means "future young leaves", is similar to "ashitaba" (tomorrow's leaf), a plant also known as ''angelica keiskei''[[note]]It is called this way because of its regenerative powers; apparently a nipped bud will regrow overnight.[[/note]]. Mirai's bear museum is named "Angelica Bears" for this reason. ([[BlindIdiotTranslation The official translation mangled this point, inexplicably translating "ashitaba" as "asuna"]]).
27	** "Kazumi" can be read as "thirteen". In chapter 13 we find she's the thirteenth Kazumi clone.
28	* AmazonBrigade: The Pleiades Saints, a seven-member team of magical girls.
29	* AnimalEaredHeadband: Satomi has cat ears on her magical girl costume. Kazumi also has these on a hoodie on the cover of chapter 3.
30	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: It's revealed that Kazumi is actually a clone of a dead Puella Magi constructed from the preserved remains of Michiru Kazusa and her witch.
31	** Also applies to the girls who turn into witches, which includes Niko, Satomi, and Saki.
32	* ArcWelding: Kyubey and Mami's presence in this series connects it to the anime.
33	* ArtEvolution: Starting in chapter 3, the soul gems look the way they do in the anime. Before that, they just looked like unadorned stones. Another example is with the evil nuts.
34	** The first compilation volume redrew the soul gems and evil nuts from earlier chapters so that they remained consistent.
35	* ArtShift: In one panel during chapter 10 while the Pleiades are affected by a witch's kiss, the art becomes simplistic and much more cartoony with the characters all white and the background all in black with no shading. [[MythologyGag This is a reference to the anime's]] DerangedAnimation.
36	* AuthorAppeal / CreatorThumbprint: Nearly every chapter [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming is named for food]], all of the magical girls are {{Big Eater}}s, and three of them are also [[FeminineWomenCanCook good cooks.]]
37	** ''Kazumi'' takes the CallingYourAttacks in GratuitousItalian seen briefly in ''Madoka Magica'' and runs with it by having every magical girl in the series name their attacks and spells in Italian. (This is later explained in-universe; see CallingYourAttacks below.) The author of ''Kazumi'' would later write the screenplays of two of the ''Madoka Magica'' audio dramas, one of which has a new called attack in Italian that wasn't present in the original series. WordOfGod says he added another Italian-named attack in the screenplay of the other Drama CD, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but it was cut from the final product.]]
38	** And on that note, someone seems to like referencing American LiveActionTV. See the BilingualBonus and ShoutOut sections. There are even attacks named "{{Crossover}} Episode", "SpinOff", and "Second Season".
39	* AuthorCatchPhrase: "Ciao!" It appears in the Q&A pages for the collected editions (as "Ciao, Hiramacchi!") before finally popping up in chapter 10.
40	* AwfulTruth: [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica You knew it was going to happen]]. After chapter 5, Kazumi has learned firsthand that magical girls become witches. What's worse is that Kazumi's teammates knew it already and were keeping it from her.
41	** In chapter 9 we learn the other AwfulTruth: Kazumi's teammates are actually taking the soul gems of magical girls and turning their bodies into {{human popsicle}}s.
42	*** chapter 13 reveals that the real Kazumi became a witch and died; the Kazumi we've been following is the latest in a series of clones.
43	* BarbieDollAnatomy: Kazumi, at the start of chapter 1. Then again, knowing what [[ArtificialHuman we now know about Kazumi's origins]], this may not be down to the art style...
44	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Averted with Kazumi's friends, who used their wishes to support their dreams without having them granted outright. As of chapter 5, it's played straight with Yuuri's wish, which was....to become Yuuri. See, she's not the real Yuuri, but rather her friend Airi. The real Yuuri wished to heal Airi from her life-threatening illness. Both their wishes ended badly; Yuuri used too much of her magic to heal people, while Airi was already [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge not in the right frame of mind]] when she made her wish.
45	** It should be elaborated; in the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica anime]], it's explained that "imbalanced" wishes have a type of EquivalentExchange penalty. The greater a wish, the more likely for it to go awry or demand a cost that you can't afford. Someone apparently explained this to most of the cast beforehand, so they were careful to make their wishes aids to achieving their dreams as opposed for directly wishing for their dreams to be fulfilled. This also gives the benefit of the girls being able to take full responsibility for what happens afterwards, rather than taking in grief due to cruel fate.
46	** Their attitude is taken from Michiru, who didn't wish for her grandmother to be cured, but to spend whatever time her grandmother has left together. She said she wanted to respect her grandmother's lifestyle. In this way, she avoided making the same mistake [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyoko]] made, which was to wish for followers for her dad without considering how he'd feel about it.
47	** Eventually turns out to be played straight with [[spoiler: Niko's]] wish. She wished to [[spoiler:create another version of herself who had no memory of the childhood accident in which she shot her friends. So an exact copy of Niko was created...who went mad with anger when she found out the truth about her origins, and subsequently became a magical girl in order to take revenge, and was behind the creation of the evil nuts.]]
48	* BigBad: [[spoiler:The one pulling strings behind the scenes all along was Kanna Hijiri, Niko's clone. It appears that she broke down as a result of learning about her origins from Jubey - although it's later explained that it was actually Kyubey. It's revealed that she's the one responsible for creating evil nuts, then giving them to Yuuri and Ayase, as well as turning Niko, Satomi and now Saki into witches. In short, she's behind most of the horrible events in the series so far.]]
49	* BigEater: ''Everyone''. Kazumi mostly, but all the magical girls love to eat. Considering at least three of them are amazing cooks, it’s hard to blame them.
50	* BilingualBonus: The author seems to like CallingYourAttacks in GratuitousItalian - see AuthorAppeal, above. His catchphrase ("Ciao") is also in Italian, and is said by Kazumi in chapter 10. [[ShoutOut Many of the translated attack names also seem to refer to American television shows]]. Here's a list as of the fifth English volume:
51	** Palla di Cannone: "Cannonball"[[note]]Probably refers to either [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannonball_%28TV_series%29 this]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannonball_%28film%29 this]] or the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannonball_Baker_Sea-To-Shining-Sea_Memorial_Trophy_Dash historical coast-to-coast rally]] that led to the inspiration of the latter.[[/note]]
52	** Limiti Esterni: "Outer Limit", [[ShoutOut Or possibly]] "Series/{{The Outer Limits\|1963}}"
53	** Corno Forte: "Strong Horn" [[note]]Probably a music reference. "Forte" is a musical term, while "corno" can refer to an animal horn or the music instrument.[[/note]]
54	** Figli del Toano: "Children of Toano" (Toano being a municipality of Italy.)
55	** Episodio Incrocio: "{{Crossover}} Episode"
56	** Mezzanotte Chiamante: "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Caller Midnight Caller]]"
57	** Il Triangolo: "The Triangle."[[note]]Probably refers to one of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_%28disambiguation%29#Film_and_television these]].[[/note]]
58	** Tocco del Male: "Film/TouchOfEvil"
59	** Avviso dell' Ustione: "Series/BurnNotice"
60	** Prolungare: "Extend"
61	** Prodotto Secondario: "Second Production" (Or alternatively, "SpinOff")
62	** Secondo Stagione: "Second Season"
63	** Caso Freddo: "Series/ColdCase"
64	** Picchi Gemellati: "Series/TwinPeaks"
65	** Rendere o Romperlo: "Series/MakeItOrBreakIt"
66	** Capitano Potenza: "[[Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture Captain Power]]"
67	** La Bestia: "The Beast"[[note]]Probably refers to one of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beast#Television_series these]].[[/note]]
68	** La Bestia Refare: "The Beast [[TheRemake Remake]]"
69	** Fantasma Bisbiglio: "[[Series/GhostWhisperer Ghost Whisper]]"
70	** Carcere Pausa: "Series/PrisonBreak"
71	** Pietra di Tuono: "Thunder Stone"[[note]]Probably refers to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstone_%28TV_series%29 this]][[/note]]
72	** Il Frase: "The Sentence"
73	** Scala a Paradiso: "[[Music/LedZeppelin Stairway to]] [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure Heaven]]"
74	** Suoneria: "Ringtone"
75	** Meteora Finale: "Final Meteor"
76	* BittersweetEnding: By the end of the story, [[spoiler:almost all of the Pleiades are dead, and the future promises to be uncertain for the surviving ones. However, after so many ups, downs and all-arounds, Kazumi can finally live as a normal girl, without the stigma of being a witch inside a human's body, and Kaoru and Umika are still by her side. Hope has triumphed over despair once again.]]
77	* TheBlank: What Niko does to the body of her "preliminary". Later, turns out [[spoiler: it was actually what the so-called "spare" did to Niko.]]
78	* BlatantLies: From the volume 1 {{Omake}}:
79	-->"...I want ''Kazumi'' to be [[CerebusSyndrome full of excitement and laughs and to be a comedy full of heart!!]]"
80	-->"I don't care [[BloodierAndGorier how bloody]] it gets (This is (''Magazine/MangaTimeKirara'') Forward, you know)"
81	* BloodierAndGorier: Chapters 4 and the following chapters aren't just more violent than the preceding chapters; they're also more violent than the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica parent series.]]
82	* BodyHorror: Occurs in chapter 6 to Kazumi and Yuuri's witch form. In a nice bit of symmetry, Kazumi's BodyHorror is caused by Yuuri's magic trying to turn her into a pseudo-witch, while the witch's BodyHorror is caused by Kazumi's magic trying to turn her into ''a pseudo-magical girl''.
83	** And then it's revealed that Kazumi already IS a pseudo-magical girl, and the evil nut was turning her back into a witch.
84	* BottomlessMagazines: Averted with Kazumi's summoned guns. They do run out of ammo, and fairly quickly.
85	* BrainwashedAndCrazy: The effects of evil nuts on ordinary humans.
86	* BreatherEpisode: Chapter 8 is a return to the comedic elements of the first three chapters. This trope is then subverted at the very end.
87	* BridalCarry: Niko does this for Kazumi two times in chapter 8.
88	* BroadStrokes: It seemed this way at first, but was arguably subverted.
89	** Actually mentioned in an [[WordOfGod writer's Q&A]].
90	-->'''Q:''' This is a SpinOff of ''Madoka'', but the details of the setting seem a bit different?
91	-->'''A:''' That's odd...I read all of the scripts before I started writing ''Kazumi'', and we cleared it with our supervisors...It matches! [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial I'm sure it matches!]]
92	* BrokenBird: To an extent, ''all of the Pleiades'' except Kazumi. [[AwfulTruth Knowing that the witches you're killing used to be humans will do that to you.]] And that you're ultimately doomed to become one of them.
93	** Then in chapter 10 we get to see their backstories. Oh dear...
94	* BulletHell: Chapter 7 gives us this.
95	* CallBack: "Your wish has surpassed/had the power to combat entropy".
96	** Many of Kyubey's appearances in chapter 5 are visual references to the anime, such as watching Airi's witch transformation, or being framed in shadow behind a hospital window curtain.
97	** Compare Yuuri and Airi's initial appearance at the hospital in chapter 5 with similar scenes between Sayaka and Kyosuke in the anime.
98	** Jubey's first lines in chapter 11 are pulled almost directly from episode 10.
99	** For an actual in-story CallBack, Kazumi's brief flashback in chapter 1 where she remembers that only bad guys waste food appears again in chapter 11.
100	** Chapter 12 has Jubey recite Kyubey's monologue about witches from the end of Episode 9. There's also two more call backs to the flashbacks Kazumi has with her earring-bell from chapter 1.
101	** Chapter 17: "I'll repeat it as many times as I have to".
102	** In chapter 18, [[spoiler: Mirai's death is exactly the same as Mami's in the anime, only it manages to be ''even worse'']].
103	* CallingYourAttacks: Unlike the anime, where only Mami did this, ''Kazumi Magica'' takes this trope and runs with it, complete with GratuitousItalian. It's later revealed that Mami was the first magical girl encountered by the founder of the Pleiades Saints. Said founder is purposely trying to imitate Mami, and insisted the other Pleiades play along.
104	* TheCameo
105	** Silhouettes of Madoka and Kyubey are seen when Umika and Kaoru start explaining about magic.
106	** Kyubey himself appears briefly in chapter 4. He has more of a role in chapter 5.
107	** Madoka makes another appearance in her MagicalGirl form in one of the extra short comics in volume 1.
108	** Sayaka and Oktavia von Seckendorff appear as examples for an explanation the Pleiades give Kazumi in chapter 10.
109	** The biggest is in chapter 11 when Mami Tomoe appears -- it turns out she saved the future founder of the Pleiades from a witch.
110	** In chapter 16, Kyoko makes an appearance in a flashback, where she battles with Yuuri Asuka before Michiru arrives and breaks it up.
111	* TheCavalry: The Pleiades Saints in chapters 3 and 8.
112	* CerebusSyndrome: What did you expect? It starts in chapter 4, and is possibly [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Jubey when he tells the Pleiades Saints "Playtime is over". On the other hand...
113	** CerebusRollercoaster: ...Chapter 8 brings back the comedic elements from the first three chapters. [[MoodWhiplash Followed by more horrible things happening.]]
114	** CerebusRetcon: The Pleiades' wishes could be considered this (Umika's wish for an editor to recognize her works, Kaoru wanting a healthy body to play soccer, Satomi wanting to talk to animals and Niko wishing for "regeneration"). When we first hear them they seem pretty innocuous and simplistic, compared to other wishes made in the series. They take on a serious meaning after chapter 10, when you learn their backstories and find out ''why'' they would make these wishes.
115	** Chapter 9 has [[spoiler:Niko turning into a witch and being violently killed, causing Satomi to suffer a complete mental breakdown.]] But wait! [[spoiler:Niko is actually fine and the one who turned into a witch was a body double...]] Or so we thought, until Chapter 18 reveals that [[spoiler:Niko really did turn into a witch and die, and the "Niko" that appeared after was her copy, Kanna Hijiri.]]
116	* ChekhovsGun
117	** Kazumi's bells. They turn out to be a [[TragicKeepsake keepsake from her grandmother]]. Well, kinda; she lost them but Saki gave her replacements. [[spoiler: Also, one of them turns out to contain Michiru's grief seed, which Kazumi uses to save Umika and Kaoru from becoming witches.]]
118	** Yuuri has several. All of her "clues" in chapter 4 are explained in chapter 5. Another one is [[MasterOfDisguise disguising herself as Satomi in chapter 3]], hinting at her wish. However, the one that's easiest to miss is the spoon hanging around Yuuri's neck.
119	** The news article Niko is looking at in chapter 7, which was about a Japanese kid who shot people in California. In chapter 8, copy-Niko's witch form has shooting target dummies as familiars, and in chapter 9 there is a colored picture of Niko holding a gun. It's revealed in chapter 10 that Niko was the kid in the article and the whole thing was a horrible accident.
120	** Niko's wish gives her the ability to create clones. [[spoiler: Including the current Kazumi.]]
121	* ClingyJealousGirl: Mirai towards Saki. In particular, she seems to be jealous of Michiru/Kazumi, who it's implied Saki was in love with.
122	* ComedicUnderwearExposure: In chapter 2, Kazumi forgets to form her skirt when she transforms, [[{{Fanservice}} and her underwear is exposed.]]
123	* ContinuityNod
124	** Chapter 5 has a flashback that shows [[TheOneGuy Souichirou Tachibana]]'s old restaurant.
125	** The container used to hold the evil nuts in chapter 4 reappears in chapter 10. It's purpose was to hold magical girls and their soul gems.
126	* TheCorruption: Like in the anime, soul gems still get dirty when magic is used. Unlike in the anime, the WeaselMascot is quite capable of purifying them. [[spoiler: Or not. Turns out the Pleiades' attempt to give Jubey that ability only resulted in him polishing the outsides to ''look'' purified, when in reality, they were continually accumulating corruption.]]
127	** In chapter 4 we learn that the fake witches are ordinary humans that have been implanted with an evil nut, an imitation grief seed created by a magical girl. This gives them the ability to transform into monsters, but it also makes them [[IncrediblyLamePun kind of nuts]].
128	*** In chapter 5 Kazumi is implanted with an evil nut. Her [[BodyHorror body starts taking on monstrous qualities, but she seems to be able to reverse the transformation somehow.]]
129	* CoversAlwaysLie: Kazumi spends two chapters with long hair, after which it is cropped short by Umika and Kaoru. [[spoiler: She regrows it when she makes her contract in the final chapter.]]
130	** The manga is billed as a heartfelt alternative to the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica original anime]]. It does look that way for the first few chapters, but then moves into a much darker tone.
131	* CrucifiedHeroShot: All the Pleiades in Chapter 5.
132	* CrypticConversation: Kyubey's [[TheCameo cameo]] in chapter 4 is this.
133	* CypherLanguage: The runes appear in chapter 5. And then in chapter 6 we actually see a witch ''[[{{Wingdinglish}} speaking it]]''.
134	** Chapter 9 adds some {{Foreshadowing}}: "We have no future as long as he's around", as Niko's [[spoiler: not]] copy turns into a witch.
135	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Kazumi may have one; a {{Flashback}} panel in the first chapter has her standing over a number of ''dead bodies''. [[spoiler: They're her clones.]]
136	** Chapter 10 reveals ''all'' the other Pleiades have one. See DespairEventHorizon and PsychicAssistedSuicide.
137	* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:The Kazumi fight in chapter 14 was two-fold: the current Kazumi did not intend to fight the clones, while the others wanted their deaths.]]
138	* DespairEventHorizon: Chapter 10 shows how each of the Pleaides (except Kazumi) went over the horizon before the story began.
139	** Umika's book was picked up by an editor, who promised to get it published. Later on, she finds out that her work was plagiarized and released under the name of a famous idol. When Umika confronts the editor, he has the audacity to ask her when her next book will be ready.
140	** Kaoru was injured in a soccer match by an opposing player. While she was recovering in the hospital, she saw the player who hurt her being brought in. It turns out that the girl had been bullied for hurting/ending the career of a great soccer player (Kaoru) to the point where she decided to try and take her own life.
141	** Satomi received a kitten on her third birthday, whom she named Sare. Years later, Satomi ignores it (despite its loud pleading) and goes out. Sare dies and the vet says that, had the cat been brought in earlier, it could have probably been saved. Satomi realizes that, had she listened to Sare, it wouldn't have died.
142	** Mirai was once a lonely girl who was ostracized by her classmates. Her only company is the teddy bears she makes by hand. As she sews up her 666th teddy bear, she cries as she wishes for friends.
143	** When she was very young, Niko was playing "sheriff" with her two friends using a loaded gun. She accidentally pulls the trigger and the bullet ricochets around, killing her two friends and injuring her.
144	** Saki was very close to her younger sister, Miyuki. When they're older, Miyuki is killed in a car crash, devastating Saki.
145	* DramaticIrony: Some of the big revelations occurred well after the anime ended. The reader might get the impression that everything the {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s did was a waste of time.
146	* DrivenToSuicide: In Kaoru's backstory, the person who injured her nearly killed herself for ending Kaoru's career. See also PsychicAssistedSuicide.
147	* EleventhHourSuperpower: When Kazumi [[spoiler:makes her ''real'' contract with Kyubey during the final battle, it also upgrades Umika and Kaoru's powers and outfits.]]
148	* EverybodyLaughsEnding: Chapter 3, though punctured by the MysteriousWatcher.
149	* TheFairFolk: The contract-making creatures are described here as fairies (although the official translation uses "mystical creatures" or "sprites"). One of them, Jubey, appears at the end of chapter 3, although he's not revealed to be one until chapter 4. It's later revealed he's an Incubator that underwent HeelFaceBrainwashing... [[spoiler: [[UnreliableNarrator not.]] He's actually a magical girl-created construct.]]
150	** DevelopmentGag: An early series proposal for ''Madoka Magica'' also described the contract-making creatures as fairies. This may be a reference.
151	* {{Fanservice}}: Unlike in the original anime, there’s quite a bit of it here, what with the skimpy magical girl outfits and such.
152	* FeminineWomenCanCook: Umika, Kazumi and the real Yuuri are really good cooks. [[spoiler:Michiru apparently was as well; when the girls noticed that the current Kazumi had inherited Michiru's cooking skills, they took it as a sign that they may have finally created a successful clone of Michiru.]]
153	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
154	** It's pretty heavily foreshadowed that magical girls become witches...and the Pleiades know this.
155	** More character-specific, but when the Pleiades first arrive, Mirai is seen clinging to Saki, and also seems gleeful at the fact she's paired with Saki and Kazumi in their search. It's mostly ignored at the time, but guess who's shown to have a ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend streak for Saki six chapters later?
156	** In chapter 6 Kazumi turns Yuuri into some bizarre witch/human hybrid. This ultimately foreshadows Kazumi's own nature as something similar.
157	** Waaay back in chapter 4, Kyuubey appears and says "I wonder if you'll do so well ''this time''?" He's referring to the fact that Kazumi is their thirteenth attempt at reviving Michiru.
158	* GenreShift: Much like its parent series, it initially appears to be a straightforward magical girl series with a heavier emphasis on comedy and {{Fanservice}}. This only lasts for three chapters.
159	* GoneHorriblyWrong: [[spoiler:Jubey can't clean soul gems; he was only making them ''look'' clean by taking away the visible corruption.]]
160	* HotterAndSexier: The outfits in general are much more revealing than in Madoka Magica.
161	** {{Lampshaded}} in an {{Omake}} in Volume 1.
162	-->'''Saki, [[AuthorAvatar representing the artist]]:''' Magical girls are supposed to be all... super cute! Super frilly! With lace and ribbons and all pink! The black cloak and visible panties... they're all just too risque!\
163	'''Umika, [[AuthorAvatar representing the writer]]:''' So you'll restrain yourself in the future?\
164	'''Saki:''' Of course... [[HypocriticalHumor I'd never do that.]]
165	* HumanPopsicle: The Pleiades "store" separated magical girls and soul gems in this manner.
166	* IWasQuiteALooker: Kazumi's grandmother, according to a picture for the collected edition.
167	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every chapter's title is taken from an unusually named food (or something named after food) that appears or is mentioned in it. Sometimes it actually [[ChekhovsGun plays a role in the plot]]. WordOfGod is that he's "got no better ideas".
168	** Chapter 12 is simply called "Pleiades".
169	** Chapter 13's title goes back to food puns -- "Farce" is a synonym for "stuffing".
170	** And chapter 14, "Cannibalism"... well, it ''sort'' of counts.
171	** The food puns finally stop with chapter 18.
172	* IJustWantToBeYou: Airi wished to become Yuuri. A variation in that she didn't wish it out of envy, but rather to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take revenge in Yuuri's name.]]
173	* IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight: Attempted by Kazumi on Airi after the latter's transformation into a witch. When it doesn't work, she tries to turn her back with magic. [[CameBackWrong That doesn't go too well either.]]
174	** Kaoru tries this on the witch in chapter 9... for about ten seconds.
175	* ImportantHaircut: Kazumi's long, flowing hair gets quite a trim from her friends in the second chapter. She decides it fits with the 'new Kazumi'.
176	* [[IncrediblyLamePun Incredibly Lame]] {{Stealth Pun}}: In chapter 9, Mirai has a giant teddy bear hold down a witch by hugging it. It's a ''bear hug''.
177	* InNameOnly: Initially, it appears that the only connection this series has to the anime is that the monsters are called witches. It gets increasingly subverted in later chapters, until it's very clear that it's set in the same universe.
178	* KillAllHumans: [[spoiler: This is what Kanna Hijiri (Niko's clone, who was created by her wish) wants to do. When she found out the truth, that she's not the original and was created by magic, she came to the conclusion that her life was a lie. Now she's set on killing normal humans and replacing them with artificial beings like herself and Kazumi. It's implied that this is the result of MotiveDecay - she just wanted revenge on Niko at first, but then she decided to go after everyone else.]]
179	* LetsSplitUpGang: Occurs in chapter 3 to search for missing teammates.
180	* LighterAndSofter: Compared to [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica the original]], ''Kazumi Magica'' comes off as far more lighthearted, with its heavier focus on comedy and {{Fanservice}}. Then comes [[WhamEpisode chapter 4]], and the CerebusSyndrome sets in.
181	** So far it can still be considered LighterAndSofter than its parent series, if only because the reader and the magical girls are already aware of the details and catches that were [[WhamEpisode huge, horrible revelations]] to the original cast, and because ThePowerOfFriendship is emphasized even more. It only remains to see what the death toll is to know if it really is so.
182	** [[spoiler: At the end the death toll among the Pleides is four, with Niko, Satomi & Saki turning into witches & Mirai getting decapitated by Saki's witch.]]
183	* LostInTranslation[=/=]StealthPun: A ''lot'' of them, most of them being {{pun}}s on the Japanese language, characters, and pronunciation. See MeaningfulName and MythologyGag for examples. The official translation is a bit better about this.
184	** When describing Kazumi's magic, Jubey initially refers to it as "breaking religious law"/"sacrilege" before correcting himself and saying it's "destruction"; both are "hakai" in Japanese. This detail couldn't really be translated effectively into English, [[spoiler: and its removal also means removing a piece of foreshadowing regarding what Kazumi is and where her magic comes from.]]
185	** Mirai Wakaba's name, which means "Future Young Leaf", gives Kazumi the idea to the name her museum, "Angelica Bears". The Angelica genus includes a plant named Ashitaba (Tomorrow's Leaf). ([[BlindIdiotTranslation This doesn't come across in the official translation.]])
186	* LoveTriangle: Mirai loves Saki, who loves [[spoiler: Michiru.]]
187	* LoveConfession:[[spoiler: In a tragic scene, Mirai proclaims her love for Saki, who has just turned into a witch. Mirai is then quickly decapitated and killed by her witch form.]]
188	* {{Magitek}}: The Pleiades have a ''smart-phone application'' that can upload the magical wavelengths created by witches into soul gems, to make it easier to track them.
189	* MaleGaze: Much like its [[Manga/PuellaMagiOrikoMagica sister spinoff]], the art tends towards things like low-angled shots of the girls, focusing on their legs and backsides.
190	* MarshmallowHell: In Jubey's initial appearance, Satomi gives him a big hug. The problem is he's the size of a housecat and gets smothered.
191	* MeaningfulName: The Pleiades Saints, a seven-member magical girl team, named themselves after the [[StellarName Pleiades Star Cluster]]. It's a [[LostInTranslation pun in Japanese]]; "Pleiades Saints" and "Pleiades Star Cluster" only differ by one character and are pronounced the same way. The Pleiades cluster is also known as the "Seven Sisters", which is why they chose they chose that name for their seven-member group.
192	** According to [[WordOfGod the writer's Q&A from the collected edition]], the subtitle "innocent malice" is meant to mean "naive evil intent" in Japanese. [[spoiler: This likely refers to the fact that Kazumi is a magical girl clone made from a witch. According to Kaoru in ch. 23, [[TitleDrop this can also refer to]] [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Kyubey's skewed sense]] [[ObliviouslyEvil of morality.]]]]
193	** Niko means something along the lines of "two child" or "second child." [[spoiler: Her wish was to create a replica of herself to experience the happiness she couldn't]].
194	** And [[spoiler: Kazumi's new name by C23, Kazumi Subaru. Subaru is the Japanese name for Pleiades]].
195	** [[spoiler:Kanna]] has named [[spoiler:her new race of beings that she intends to replace humanity]] the Hyades. The Hyades are another constellation, and in Myth/ClassicalMythology, they were the half-sisters of the Pleiades. It sounds like [=HUman PleiADES=].
196	** Kazumi can be spelt with the kanji for '[[ThirteenIsUnlucky one three]]', which also make [[FourIsDeath four]]. [[spoiler: She's Michiru Kazusa's thirteenth clone]].
197	** Saki means 'bloom'. [[spoiler: As in wishing for a flower to bloom forever]].
198	** Usagi, as in Satomi Usagi, means bunny.
199	* MoodWhiplash: Chapter 8 mostly returns to the comedy of the first three chapters… and then we have the ending where [[spoiler:Niko witches out.]]
200	* MundaneWish: See BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor. The girls made simpler wishes to help achieve their dreams rather than wish for them outright.
201	* MythologyGag[=/=]ContinuityNod: Possibly. A black cat (later revealed to be named Toto) is seen in Kazumi's house at the beginning of chapter 2, and later in chapter 4. A similar black cat is seen in the TitleSequence of ''Madoka'', as well as some official artwork. Interestingly, the writer of ''Kazumi Magica'' wrote the screenplay of the drama CD that [[AllThereInTheManual explained who the]] TitleSequence [[AllThereInTheManual cat was]].
202	** Note that "ju" is ten and "kyu" is nine in Japanese.
203	** In chapter 7 Ayase says she stopped at Asunaro before going to Mitakihara. While looking through binoculars like the ones Kyoko used, no less.
204	** Chapter 5 is thematically similar to episodes 8, 9, and 10 of the anime.
205	*** So are chapters 8 and 9. A girl becomes a witch at the end of chapter 8, who is then destroyed in chapter 9 and a character nearly snaps the way Mami does.
206	** And chapter 10 is the OriginsChapter, just like episode 10 was. The ArtShift in chapter 10 resembles the the anime's DerangedAnimation.
207	** In chapter 18 [[spoiler: Mirai gets decapitated by a witch.]]
208	*** Speaking of which, chapter 18 is titled "Connect", after ''Madoka Magica'''s opening theme.
209	** [[spoiler:Kazumi's very existence courtesy of the Pleiades Saints essentially answers Kyoko's question to Kyubey of whether or not it's possible to turn a Witch back to their human self...and shows that while ''technically'' possible, Kyoko wouldn't have had the power or resources to implement it by herself, and [[CameBackWrong the girl she gets back wouldn't be Sayaka Miki]].]]
210	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Chapter 21 reveals that Niko created Jubey as an incubator who would work for the Pleiades and clean their soul gems, and Umika cast a spell on the city to make Kyubey invisible to everyone in the city and even replace the memories of magical girls (including themselves) to show Jubey in the place of Kyubey, along with erasing the memories of how to clean soul gems the normal way using grief seeds. Unfortunately, it turns out Jyubey wasn't actually able to purify soul gems, as he only removed the visible darkness without actually removing the corruption itself.]]
211	* NoOntologicalInertia: Referred to in chapter 7 when Kazumi realizes that Airi couldn't have erased her memories because they didn't come back when she died.
212	** The evil nuts' apparent aversion of this hints that someone else created them.
213	* OriginsChapter: Chapter 5 is this for "Yuuri"/Airi.
214	** Chapter 10 gives us the origin of the Pleiades Saints. Chapters 11 and 12 are a continuation and also adds Kazumi's origin...[[UnreliableNarrator or so it seems.]]
215	** [[spoiler: Then another one in chapter 18 for Kanna Hijiri, Niko's "spare."]]
216	** [[spoiler: Chapter 21 explains the origin of Jubey.]]
217	* OrwellianRetcon: The release of the first volume redrew some parts of the artwork, especially in chapter 2. During serialization, the soul gems in that chapter initially looked like normal stones, but were redrawn as anime-style soul gems for the volume. In addition, the redrawn chapter reveals that Kazumi's earring-bell is her soul gem.
218	** In chapter 17 Saki releases an attack that causes a bright flash. The collected version adds a humanoid silhouette in the flash. WordOfGod explains that this was the moment the enemy Saki was fighting was replaced with a copy.
219	* [[OurMonstersAreDifferent Our Witches Are Different]]: The first witches of this series are just humans who can transform into monsters (although they [[EmotionEater feed off despair]]). Defeating them turns them back to normal, and it's said that someone gives them this power. Chapter 4 reveals they are actually "sort-of-witches" created by imitation grief seeds, known as evil nuts. The standard witches from the anime do exist.
220	* ParentalAbandonment / ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Umika and Kaoru mention that their (and Kazumi's own) parents are working overseas, and Saki's father is said to travel a lot. No mention is made of the other girls having guardians, meaning there is no one to question why seven teenage girls are running around outside of school. Before the events of the story, Kazumi/Michiru lived with her grandmother when she wasn't studying abroad; no other mention is made of her parents.
221	* PeopleJars: Where the Pleiades keep the bodies of the magical girls whose soul gems they take.
222	* PrintBonus: The collected volumes contain a few extra pages and some silly comics. It also has design info for the various antagonists and a writer's Q&A.
223	* PsychicAssistedSuicide: Before they became magical girls, the Pleiades Saints were witch-kissed and made to jump off a building. They meet Kazumi when she rescues them.
224	* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Played with; in chapter 14, Kazumi's (and the clones) eyes are shown as red colored.]]
225	* RetGone: [[spoiler:After learning the truth about witches, the Pleiades turn on Kyuubey, and attempt to "erase" him from their city. They cast a spell that makes all Incubators invisible to everyone in their city, as well as altering their own memories so that they do not remember ever meeting Kyuubey, replacing him in their memories with the false Incubator they created.]]
226	* ShoutOut:
227	** The official translation of Umika's incanatation when she uses her GreatBigBookOfEverything is "[[Series/TheXFiles X File]]". Amazingly, the {{scanlation}} ''missed this completely''.
228	*** And then the official translation revealed the ''other'' shout outs to American LiveActionTV that the scanlation missed. See BilingualBonus.
229	** [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Unlimited Kazumi Works]].
230	** Kazumi's friends aren't the only magical girl team named after the Pleiades Cluster with an alien TeamPet. Bonus for Kazumi's CuteWitch hat, and the fact that ''[[Anime/WishUponThePleiades Houkago no Pleiades]]'' is known as ''[[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor Wish]] Upon the Pleiades'' in English. It also appears as a cameo book title.
231	** Mirai Wakaba seems to be a shout-out to Wakaba Shinohara from ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' given her brash nature, the fact that her wand transforms into a sword, and her CuteAndPsycho {{Yandere}} disposition against anyone who would harm her beloved Saki.
232	* [[SinisterSilhouettes (Not) Sinister Silhouettes]]: A panel in the first chapter contains four silhouettes. Three of them appear to be Kaoru in her magical girl form, as well as Niko and Saki. The fourth silhouette, the one with a witch's hat, may be Mirai -- she was seen wearing a similar looking witch's hat as part of her magical girl outfit in a small panel from chapter 12.
233	* StartOfDarkness: Chapter 5 shows Yuuri's backstory.
234	* StepfordSmiler: Judging by her attempt to kill Kazumi in chapter 14, which she's disturbingly cheerful about, Satomi might have been this all along. Her politeness and smiles seem to have been hiding an unstable and violent side. Like Mami in TheOriginalSeries, this was most likely a result of finding out the truth about witches.
235	* StoryArc: The first six chapters of ''Kazumi Magica'' can be thought of as one, connected through the [[BigBad primary antagonist]]. They can also be divided into two sub-arcs: The first three chapters are about Kazumi re-learning her role as a magical girl, and the next three are about a confrontation with the arc's BigBad. The two sub-arcs also have dramatically different tones -- the first three chapters are lighthearted and comedic, while the next three [[CerebusSyndrome are just the opposite]].
236	** The next three chapters deal with an antagonistic magical girl, and the six chapters after that are the OriginsArc. The remaining eight chapters consists of the big finale
237	* {{Stripperific}}: Kazumi, "Yuuri"/Airi, and Mirai's MagicalGirl costumes.
238	* TakeThat: [[invoked]]The author's Q&A from the fourth volume include one to [[TheScrappy Kyousuke]] from the anime.
239	* TenderTears: Kazumi and Satomi in chapter 4.
240	** Nearly all the magical girls in chapter 6.
241	** Satomi and a younger Niko in chapter 10.
242	* TheDeadHaveNames: The Pleiades record the names of each of the magical girls they capture.
243	* TitleDrop: This is true for most of the chapters.
244	** The last two chapters are titled "Kazumi Magica" and "Innocent Malice".
245	* TransformationSequence
246	* TransformationTrinket: The soul gems.
247	* TwoFirstNames: Like in the anime, the magical girls.
248	* UnreliableExpositor: Subverted. In chapter 5, Yuuri claims that the Pleiades Saints are a gang that kills magical girls. The subsequent flashback implies that she only thought that because her friend had turned into a witch, and was then killed by the Pleiades. [[spoiler:But then in chapter 7 the Pleiades really do attack a magical girl, and then do ''something'' to her soul gem. We later find that they sever the connection between soul gems and magical girls, and put them both [[HumanPopsicle in storage]]]]
249	** In chapter 10 Umika tells Kazumi that they lied to her about the origins of witches. What makes this disconcerting was that it was ''Jubey'' who told that lie to Kazumi.
250	** Chapter 21. [[spoiler:Kaoru lied about her real wish to soft-boil the circumstances of the Pleiades' wishes. Umika lies about brainwashing Jubey, and instead casted a city-wide brainwash spell so people will ignore the real Incubators as part of the Pleiades' plan to fight their system. Niko's "spare" was actually the real Niko, and the duplicate is the BigBad!]] At this rate, Kyubey is actually more trustworthy than the girls.
251	*** The reason they lied about [[spoiler:brainwashing Jubey is that they modified their ''own'' memories so that they would not remember Kyuubey, to make his exile from their city complete]].
252	* UnreliableNarrator: There are some hints that the WholeEpisodeFlashback in chapter 11 isn't entirely accurate. [[spoiler: When Jubey first appears in the chapter, he seems to have Kyubey's silhouette. Then in the flashback in the flashback he is seen with Mami Tomoe. [[FakeMemories There's a reason for this.]]]]
253	** Chapter 12 contradicts chapter 2, where Kazumi is told Umika and Kaoru didn't know what her wish was. In chapter 12's flashback Kazumi does tell them about her wish. Furthermore, Kaoru's wish in the flashback is entirely different from what she told Kazumi in chapter 2. It's later explained Umika and Kaoru were lying...and also that the entire flashback was filled with FakeMemories and omissions, including the important fact that they weren't even Kazumi's memories to begin with.
254	* TheUnreveal: In chapter 8, Kazumi is set to learn the truth about the Pleiades Saints...and then Niko [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie becomes a witch.]] Or does she? [[spoiler: She does.]]
255	* VisualPun
256	** Chapter 9's BEAR HUG!
257	** Why does Satomi's witch form have a whistle for a head on the outer shell? Because she was a whistleblower about the discrepancy in Kazumi's memories!
258	* WellIntentionedExtremist: The Pleiades are turning magical girls into {{human popsicle}}s so they don't become witches. They hope to find a way to clean their soul gems.
259	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: The Pleiades are utterly relieved to find that only Niko's "preliminary" turned into a witch...but it's clear to the reader that she had thoughts and feelings of her own. [[spoiler: This eventually turns into FridgeHorror when we discover that it was in fact the real Niko who died, and the "spare" who had been passing off as Niko since then.]]
260	** This is Satomi's attitude towards the Kazumi clones. Since it looks like the newest Kazumi might be corrupted by an evil nut, she just decides to kill her and try again. In fact, all of the Pleiades have shades of this attitude - they just want Michiru back, and will keep cloning her (and the recently witchified Satomi) until they get it right. Saki's reservations only came from the fact that she loved Michiru and couldn't bring herself to kill the clones. Kaoru calls them out on this, but it doesn't work.
261	* WhamEpisode: A whole damn lot of them.
262	** Chapter 4: Kyubey appears at the beginning of the chapter. The other WeaselMascot can ''purify soul gems''. The witches from the first two chapters were really pseudo-witches created by imitation grief seeds. Yuuri reveals her name and becomes the KnightOfCerebus. And just to top it off, the chapter ends with [[{{Cliffhanger}} Kazumi getting an imitation grief seed shoved in her forehead.]]
263	** Chapter 5: Kazumi learns the AwfulTruth firsthand when Yuuri becomes a witch. It's confirmed that the other Pleaides Saints already knew that magical girls become witches. A flashback reveals that Yuuri wasn't really Yuuri at all, but a girl named Airi. The real Yuuri was Airi's friend who had turned into a witch and was killed by the Pleaides Saints. Airi had wished to ''become'' Yuuri and took her name and appearance in order to get revenge for Yuuri's death. ''[[HijackedByGanon And she was being manipulated by Kyubey the whole time.]]''
264	** Chapter 8: Comparatively minor, but the Soujus pull out evil nuts, which either implies they were created by someone other than Yuuri. [[{{Cliffhanger}} And then Niko becomes a witch]].
265	** Chapter 9: Mirai kills witch!Niko with one hit. Then another Niko appears, and we find the other one was actually a copy, which she demonstrates by [[TheBlank erasing the face of it's body]]. Then Kazumi is taken to Mirai's museum, and she learns that the Pleiades are turning magical girls into {{Human Popsicle}}s.
266	** Chapter 10: Kazumi is told the truth about soul gems and witches. It then turns into the Pleiades' OriginsChapter as they give Kazumi back her memories. Umika's first novel was plagiarized by her editor and released as another person's work. Kaoru received an injury that prevented her from playing sports and made the person who injured her [[DrivenToSuicide try to kill herself out of shame]]. Satomi's childhood pet cat died and she blamed herself for not listening to it. Mirai was a NerdGlasses-wearing student ostracized by everyone else and her only companions were teddy-bears. Niko, as a little girl, accidentally shot her friends while playing around with a gun. Saki was caught in a horrible car accident with her [[IncestSubtext younger sister]] Miyuki, who died. Then they all get [[BrainwashedAndCrazy witch kissed]] and [[PsychicAssistedSuicide jump off a building]]...where they are saved by Kazumi.
267	** Chapter 12: Jubey is an Incubator with FakeMemories and HeelFaceBrainwashing courtesy of Umika. [[spoiler: Later chapters reveal this to be false.]] Then, at the end of the chapter, Satomi says a WhamLine with a SlasherSmile, suggesting something more sinister is going on.
268	** Chapter 13: The real Kazumi was a girl named Kazusa Michiru who turned into a witch and died before the events of the story; the current Kazumi is the thirteenth clone made from the remnants of the original's witch form. Kazumi's earlier exposure to the evil nut is causing her to revert to her witch form, and Satomi wants to kill her before it happens.
269	** Chapter 14: Kazumi was stabbed by Satomi while in combat.
270	** Chapter 15: Satomi becomes a witch while fighting Kazumi, and most of the other girls vote to kill Kazumi and revive her and Satomi as many times as is necessary.
271	** Chapter 17: Niko swaps Kazumi with a copy. When Mirai questions her, Niko points out Saki's soul gem, which is about to break. Then another Niko clone shows up behind Saki and presses an evil nut into her forehead, while the real Niko remarks that it would be troublesome if "you humans" killed Kazumi.
272	** Chapter 18: [[spoiler: Saki becomes a witch and decapitates Mirai, who refuses to fight because she doesn't want to hurt Saki. The Niko we've been following turns out to be a clone of Niko; the real Niko was actually the one who turned into a witch back in Chapter 9. Niko's wish was to create a duplicate of herself with no memories of the shooting incident in her childhood. She gave her original name, Kanna Hijiri, to the duplicate. The duplicate knew nothing about the Pleiades until seeing them fighting Yuuri's witch; she subsequently learned the truth about her origins. Her wish was to connect and spy on the Pleiades without their knowledge in order to take revenge on them. Her goal is to use the magical girls in the Freezer to wipe out humanity.]]
273	** Chapter 19: [[spoiler: Jubey is an "incomplete" Incubator, disappearing and leaving the remaining girls on their own.]]
274	* WhamLine: Chapter 12. ''"Saki... let's kill Kazumi"''.
275	** Chapter 17: ''"I can't let you kill Kazumi. You humans, that is."''
276	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Just what happened to everyone after the reality rewrite in the anime? Does Kazumi even exist?
277	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Chapter 11, which ends with a [[NestedStory flashback in the flashback.]]
278	** Chapter 12 continues chapter 11's flashbacks, up until the end.
279	* WrongContextMagic: The Pleiades Saints can do things that were never even implied to be possible in the original series, like creating a sentient Incubator with the ability to remove darkness from Soul Gems ([[spoiler:except not really]]), creating fake Grief Seeds known as Evil Nuts that can turn ordinary women into fake witches, and [[spoiler:repeatedly cloning their dead friend by combining her human and witch parts]].
280	* {{Yandere}}: The Pleiades Saints for Michiru. They have cloned her up to 13 times, with Kazumi being the most recent one, in the hopes of getting her back. Airi is also one for Yuuri, going so far as to wish to '''be her'''. No matter how you look at it, the girls are messed up.
281	* YinYangBomb: Kazumi and Niko pull something like this off in chapter 8. The Soujus also use a variation on the trope with fire and ice.
282	* YouAreNotAlone: Said word-for-word in chapter 3 by Saki, when Kazumi’s wondering what to do without Umika and Kaoru, who had been swallowed by a witch (they later manage to get them out).
283

Context Manga / PuellaMagiKazumiMagica