is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by Asari Endō and illustrated by Maruino.

Takarajimasha is a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is known for publishing subculture-oriented fashion magazines aimed at teens, fashion magazines in general, as well as guide books. History The company was founded on September 22, ...

has published thirteen volumes since 2012 under their Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! Bunko imprint. The series is licensed in English by

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

. A

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation with art by Pochi Edoya was serialized in

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

's ''

Comp Ace is a Japanese PC game, computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. ''Comp Ace'' began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, ''Comptiq''. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and ...

'' magazine between September 2014 and October 2015. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by Lerche aired in Japan between October and December 2016.

Plot

A viral, popular social network game known as the "Magical Girl Raising Project" has the ability to grant players a 1-in-10,000 chance of becoming a real-life magical girl. Each of the magical girls possess unique skills and special abilities and earn Magical Candies by protecting people and performing good deeds. However, at some point, the administration has decided that sixteen magical girls in a certain city is too many, announcing they will cut the number in half by having the magical girl with the fewest Magical Candies each week lose their powers. As the rules of the game get twisted out of control, the girls eventually find themselves dragged into a life-or-death battle against each other.

Media

Light novels

The first light novel volume was published on June 8, 2012 under

's Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! Bunko imprint. Fifteen volumes have been published as of May 2021.

has licensed the series in English and began releasing translations of the light novels starting June 20, 2017.

Volume list

Manga

adaptation illustrated by Pochi Edoya was serialized in

's ''

'' magazine between September 26, 2014 and October 26, 2015. It was collected into two ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes released between June 26, 2015 and March 26, 2016. An adaptation of ''Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart'', illustrated by Nori Senbei, began serialization in ''Comp Ace'' from June 2016. The first ''tankōbon'' volume was released on September 30, 2016. A spin-off manga illustrated by Ryouta Yuzuki, ''Magical Girl Raising Project FTP'', began release on the ''Kono Light Novel wa Sugoi! WEB'' service from August 29, 2016. Yen Press began releasing translations of the manga series starting December 19, 2017.

Volume list

Anime

television series adaptation by Lerche aired in Japan between October 1, 2016 and December 17, 2016 and was simulcast by

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

. An English simuldub by

Funimation Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

was streamed weekly during the summer of 2018, starting on July 29, 2018. The anime was released across four Blu-ray & DVD volumes containing three episodes each. The opening theme is by

Manami Numakura is a Japanese voice actress and former singer. She is affiliated with Arts Vision. Her best-known role is in '' The Idolmaster'' video game franchise where she voices Hibiki Ganaha from the rival group known as Project Fairy. Other major roles ...

, while the ending theme is "Dreamcatcher" by Nano.

Episode list

Reception

Previews

The anime adaptation's first episode garnered generally positive reviews from

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...

's staff during the Fall 2016 season previews. Paul Jensen saw potential in this being a good series, highlighting the early character setup of Koyuki and the mobile game mechanics being used as a possible critique of the "dark and bloody approach" that magical girl shows took in recent memory. Jacob Chapman criticized the "laughable tone obfuscation and pregnant pacing", and that viewers will be aware of where the series is heading towards but commended Koyuki for being a "generally likable" heroine and the stylishly diverse cast of magical girls, concluding that this '' Madoka Magica'' imitation carries potential entertainment value. Theron Martin praised the decent animation, character aesthetics and the perverse intrigue of a blood-soaked magical girl competition but criticized the producers for stringing viewers with said promise shown in the opening. Nick Creamer praised the thoughtful introduction of its ensemble cast, the "grounded but funny approach" it takes with magical girls and the solid production having consistent and colorful animation, saying it's an engaging start that has him hooked to follow more episodes. Rebecca Silverman saw the obvious influences to ''Madoka'' and was optimistic of the show moving towards similar series like '' Nurse Angel Ririka SOS'' and ''

Kamikaze Kaitō Jeanne is a magical girl ''shōjo'' manga series written and illustrated by Arina Tanemura. The story is about the adventures of a high school girl, Maron Kusakabe, who is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) and transforms into a phant ...

'' in later episodes but felt it will go into the "presumed subversion of making magical girls into a violent murderfest" foreshadowed in the opening.

Series reception

Fellow ANN editor Amy McNulty placed ''Magical Girl Raising Project'' at number two on her top 5 best anime list of 2016, praising the contrast of "primal brutality with the cutesy art style" and the various ways the female ensemble approach the grisly game, concluding that: "While the series largely gets by on spectacle and shock value, many of its key players—good and bad—are flawed, complex, and sympathetic, and their respective backstories and motivations run the gamut from "downright silly" to "genuinely moving."" Martin reviewed the

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

release in 2020 and gave it an overall B− grade, praising the magical girls for their varied outfits and diversity amongst its cast, the overall plot having decent story twists and action set pieces, but was critical of the tonal inconsistencies throughout the series.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magical Girl Raising Project 2012 Japanese novels Action anime and manga Anime and manga based on light novels Battle royale anime and manga Crunchyroll anime Dark fantasy anime and manga Fiction about death games Fiction about social media Funimation Kadokawa Shoten manga Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! Bunko Lerche (studio) Light novels Magical girl anime and manga Magical girl light novels Seinen manga Survival anime and manga Yen Press titles