Iroha and Yachiyo go after a new Rumour in the fifth volume of Fujino Fuji’s Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story manga adaptation. They set their sights on the rumour of the Radio Girl.
This volume contains chapters twenty-six to thirty.
Front cover of the fifth volume of Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story, featuring Sana Futaba
The girls’ hopes conjure up a warped dream.
Iroha and Felicia have taken up Yachiyo’s invitation to live with her, and things are looking livelier than ever. The magical girls’ next target is the rumour of the Radio Girl, whose forlorn voice is said to be emitting from the Central District’s radio tower. Making their way to the top, Iroha and the others run into a member of the Wings of Magius, but she’s not the only unexpected face. Could a moment of peril signal the arrival of Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi?!
Not long after Iroha and Felicia settle into Yachiyo’s place, they are already looking for the next Rumour to track down, and that leads them to the Radio Girl rumour. Seems that this particular Rumour isn’t quite as malevolent as what they have faced previously, as it even reaches out to Iroha to request help.
Not that Iroha initially has any idea where the strange messages on her phone are coming from, but some research from her friends helps put all the puzzle pieces in place.
This volume also takes the extra time to reveal a bit of Iroha’s past, and how she was quite isolated. Which ties in to a victim of the Radio Girl rumour, funnily enough. Seems rather convenient to have that piece of information come to light right at this point…
Dealing with the Radio Girl rumour also leads to encounters with new faces. Well, new faces for Iroha, but I imagine readers will already be quite familiar with Madoka and Homura. Part of me still feels like they’re only in there to increase interest in Magia Record. It has left me curious if Magia Record could stand on its own without any characters from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Several other manga spin-offs have managed that.
Well, it is what it is. I do like seeing Madoka and Homura again, at least.
Still, what we have here is pretty good. It was pretty nice seeing Iroha’s resolve to help someone else out after all the help she’s had up to this point. The cast of characters also expands, with new additions on both the protagonist and antagonist sides. Iroha is moving towards her goal of finding Ui… very slowly, but she is moving.
Rory Muses 