Magical Girl Apocalypse (Volume 3)

Kii was shocked to find that he hadn’t died when that Magical Girl attacked. However, he was even more surprised to find that he had been sent back in time to ten years before the Magical Girl Apocalypse!
Magical Girl Apocalypse (Volume 3)
What happened?
Kii couldn’t believe it when he overheard a couple of otakus talking about the latest single from a popular idol. The surprising thing was that it was released ten years ago. Surely, he hadn’t been sent through time! Soon after his discovery, he found Rintaro arguing with some cops. At this point in time, he hadn’t made it onto the force so they had no idea who he was. Kii managed to settle things with the police, although they soon went their own ways.
Kii wandered the streets trying to work out what to do. Had it all been a dream? His clothes would argue it wasn’t. Plus there was Rintaro. Not to mention that he found Kaede waiting outside his childhood home. He hadn’t realised that this was where he was heading until he arrived. He watched as his younger self came running out of the house chased by his drunk father. His mother came out soon after, sent to get booze for his father. Kii tried to say something to her, but it was no use. Soon enough she would commit suicide, leaving him with his father until he was arrested for theft.

Kaede had no idea how much Kii had been dealing with. He told her that since then he kept his head down and tried to be as normal as possible. He ignored anything that would upset the balance. Kaede told him that she loved him and had done so for a long time. She also told him that Tsukune had threatened her and Miki. When they tried to ignore her threats, her parents got sick or injured in bizarre accidents.
Tsukune made them “bully” her so that Kii would notice her once more, but he was too busy trying to ignore everything. Kii refused to believe Kaede and stormed off. He walked and walked and ended up outside Tsukune’s family home. Her father came home at that moment and seeing Kii injured and in pain, he took him inside to patch him up. Kii asked to used the bathroom and while upstairs he walked into Tsukune’s room and looked inside her treasure box that she used to hide from him when they were kids. It was full of pictures of Magical Girls. They looked almost identical to the ones that attacked them.

Tsukune’s father came in and caught Kii looking. He told him to get out, but when Kii asked him about the pictures, he said something that led Kii to believe he wasn’t the first person to ask about them. Regardless, he left. A young woman found him almost sleeping in the street and took pity on him. She was an aspiring mangaka and was surprised to hear his story.
Meahwhile, Kaede got into some trouble with a group of guys but was rescued by Himeji and Rintaro. Rintaro then took great pleasure enacting some sort of vengeance on the guys. He soon turned his attention to Kaede and demanded to know where Yoruka lived. When Rintaro arrived at Yoruka’s house he found her taking out the trash, but when he approached he was zapped back through time, along with Kii, Kaede, and Himeji.

What did you think?
I knew from an early point that I was going to love this series, but this volume absolutely cemented that fact. The time travel aspect was so cool and allowed these characters to grow without the impending threat of death and learn more about the past that led them to the present. The discovery about Tsukune was incredible and I thought it was handled really well. Kii not willing to believe what Kaede said about Tsukune was completely believable. His reaction when he saw the pictures though was special.
I think the best thing about this volume was how it developed the relationship between Kaede and Kii. You really got to see what they had been through and how that had no doubt made them stronger, whether they realised it or not. And then there’s Rintaro… That guy is literally the worst character ever. He’s portrayed incredibly well, but he is undoubtedly the scum of the Earth. Even with him, this series is incredible.

What have you learnt?
So, more and more things are being revealed to us. Rintaro was able to use one of the Magical Girls’ wands which is crazy and cool. Does that have anything to do with the comment about him being irregular? There’s the revelation about Tsukune although that’s far from cleared up. Then, there are the two strange figures that have something to do with everything or at least the Magical Girl that sent them back through time.
We got to see a lot of the reasons that certain characters behave in certain ways and it was also a nice reveal. It explained Kii and Kaede’s characters well. I liked that it took its time to get to this point too. We were allowed to see them as they were and get sucked into the story before revealing motivations and backstories. Too often, authors can be in too much of a hurry to get all the good stuff out when a more considered approach can be far more effective.
Also, was the scene with the young mangaka some sort of self-reference to Sato’s life. Was he visited by someone from the future and that was what inspired this series? I hope not!!!

Other posts in the series
- Series Review
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 1
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 2
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 3
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 4
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 5
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 6
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 7
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 8
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 9
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 10
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 11
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 12
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 13
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 14
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 15
- Magical Girl Apocalypse – Volume 16
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