Magic Patissiere Kosaki-chan!! (2015)
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Volume 1
Author/Artist: Taishi Tsutsui
Original Story: Naoshi Yomi
Publisher: Jump Comics Plus
Synopsis:
When an imbalance of mana puts the human world in danger, a lovestruck high schooler is chosen to become a magical girl.
Story/Characters:
I first stumbled across this series when I was looking for other works by Taishi Tsutsui. I saw it and I thought, "Huh. A fanservicey magical girl story. Maybe I'll pick it up later." It wasn't until after I saw the anime adaptation of Nisekoi that I really wanted to get it. For those of you who felt Onodera got a raw deal in the main series, this spinoff is for you. The characters' personalities are only loosely based on their original incarnations. Onodera and Raku's relationship starts at zero, with her being an underclasswoman admiring him from the sidelines. He proves to be the push she needs after she initially rejects the call to adventure. Only at the end of her first sortie do we learn the gag that will be the primary source of both comedy and fanservice in the series, that the magical girl's transformation leaves her naked for a few seconds. The second chapter gives us some breathing room for Rurlin (Ruri as a talking mouse) to explain how mana works and the gimmick of the points card reward system where a magical girl's heroic activities will ultimately grant her a wish, with lesser happy events along the way as mid-tier rewards. One such happy event has Raku and Onodera taking shelter together during the rain, where Onodera learns that Raku has fallen for her magical girl persona. However, Rurlin warns her that if anyone finds out her secret identity, she'll be punished by being turned into a snail. Next we have the main villain revealed as Dr. Maiko, whose minions raid the Onodera bakery just when Raku drops in for a visit. This is followed by a two-parter where Onodera confronts Dr. Maiko directly and unleashes her special attack Gorgeous Whip Blaster. (Surely you can guess what the cost is for using this attack.) Afterward we learn that Dr. Maiko's cover identity is Maiko-sensei, one of Onodera's teachers. (If you're wondering, "Dr. Maiko" is rendered in katakana and "Maiko-sensei" is rendered in kanji.)
Chitoge and her partner Tsugumya (Tsumugi as a talking cat) get introduced next, but Chitoge has to be convinced to take on the role of magical girl as she hates her costume. It takes a minion weak to physical attacks to give her the push she needs to go ape on the thing. We immediately introduce Marika after that, who stands out for having no shame regarding the naked transformation thing and also her aggressive pursuit of Raku. (Chitoge almost immediately falls for Raku when they meet in the previous chapter, but she hasn't had the time to really present herself as a rival.) Marika has no interest in teaming up with Onodera and Chitoge and sees them as an obstacle to her hooking up with Raku, but once the need arises, the other two come to her aid and our power trio is born. We close on a chapter where the girls' partners are absent, which means they can't transform, and they end up trying to fight off some minions without their powers. As you might imagine, it doesn't work out so well, but some clever thinking from Onodera saves the day.
Art:
If you know Tsutsui's Bokuben, then you know you can expect some visually pleasing art. The fanservice level is pretty high, but it's not too excessive. I'm guessing it's for the Clark Kent effect, but most of the characters have glasses in this series. I'm definitely not complaining. Action sequences are fairly well done, as is the visual comedy.
Other:
We have a thank you page from series creator Naoshi Komi to Tsutsui with Komi's own rendering of Kosaki-chan.
Conclusion:
If you're an Onodera fan and you want a magical girl story with a fair bit of fanservice mixed in, this makes for some decent light reading. There's not a lot of depth to it, but sometimes it's just nice to have a little fun. If that's enough to get your interest, consider giving it a shot.
Rating:
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