Kabushiki Gaisha Magi Lumiere - Ch. 82 - Sakuragi Planning

[MangaDex]

 

[Midoriha]

Gets twintails again after transforming

Extreme levels of kino.

 

[Hicleric]

Twintails are back! (also at the ramen shout-out. Little details like that make this series what it is)

Not a huge fan of the frills on the skirt, but the rest...

 

[Spooder9]

yay, they're back

 

[Alcion]

Hype.

 

[defrag39]

Twintails are back! (also at the ramen shout-out. Little details like that make this series what it is)

Not a huge fan of the frills on the skirt, but the rest...

frills? maybe its a nod to shigemoto-san. iirc he talked about it in some earlier chapter

 

[UncannyGodot]

Magilumiere benefitted enormously from having a little room to breath. It started with great art but a seemingly rote story. Turns out a lot of the first act was a subtle foundation for the second. Now 80 chapters in it‘s spooling up to tell a similar but much richer story.

The twintails are a great example. They’re a surface level magical girl trope, indulgently played straight in this chapter as fanservice. I assumed Sakuragi had them because magical girl protagonists have twin tails. While that’s true, they’re also a symbol of her innocence and idealism, initially in plain view but now hidden, tempered by the realities of corporate society and harsh circumstance. Innocence and idealism are themselves a hallmark of the genre, so that’s a trope representing another trope. Pretty clever.

This manga worked as a well drawn modern magical girl manga played straight. With the corporate element it was also an okay deconstruction of the genre. Now based on its current direction maybe it will be a critique on the cynicism of other modern deconstructions of the genre. This chapter is a big step up and raised the bar of what I expect from the rest of the manga. Really enjoyed it.

 

[rwp140]

the outfit UPGRADES, and commander Kana?! i wonder how that works out can't wait for next chapter!! look at them all go!!!
I noticed there was a bit of fire to the transformations this time too, theres a sense of power and supreme tactics on display here already. Realy doing market capitalization with magical girls this is GREAT!!

 

[fennec]

Magilumiere benefitted enormously from having a little room to breath. It started with great art but a seemingly rote story. Turns out a lot of the first act was a subtle foundation for the second. Now 80 chapters in it‘s spooling up to tell a similar but much richer story.

The twintails are a great example. They’re a surface level magical girl trope, indulgently played straight in this chapter as fanservice. I assumed Sakuragi had them because magical girl protagonists have twin tails. While that’s true, they’re also a symbol of her innocence and idealism, initially in plain view but now hidden, tempered by the realities of corporate society and harsh circumstance. Innocence and idealism are themselves a hallmark of the genre, so that’s a trope representing another trope. Pretty clever.

This manga worked as a well drawn modern magical girl manga played straight. With the corporate element it was also an okay deconstruction of the genre. Now based on its current direction maybe it will be a critique on the cynicism of other modern deconstructions of the genre. This chapter is a big step up and raised the bar of what I expect from the rest of the manga. Really enjoyed it.

I think you've hit the nail on the head, especially the bit about her twintails. While a lot of manga will have characters change their hairstyles to reflect their new maturity or just the passage of time, this is the first time it's really struck me as a true sign of maturity beyond the "symbolic" sense. Honestly, even before this chapter the short hair felt more symbolic and kind of odd. When she started issuing orders in this chapter before transforming though, she honestly felt so much more like a professional businesswoman and "presidential" with the short hair. It really does give her an air of maturity.

Seeing the twintails return as part of her transformation shows she's still the same Sakuragi we all know though. Like you said, they're symbolic of her innocence and idealism. The dichotomy you described is actually even more fitting for a magical girl: they usually hide their magical girl activities behind a normal facade, and that's exactly what she's doing. Acting like a corporate businesswoman in her daily life, but embracing her true nature when she transforms.

This series definitely had a slow start, but it's done well to continue raising the stakes and build up the world. A lot of manga don't take that time to build things up and try to jump from one action sequence to the next. This one does a good job with the overall pacing.

 

[Hicleric]

frills? maybe its a nod to shigemoto-san. iirc he talked about it in some earlier chapter

Could be. I reread most of the series this week and it seems like the frills aren't taken from Barley Spice, so could be it's meant to be reminiscent of Shigemoto's, er, unique style.

But! I was reading the latest chapter of Bookworm when I suddenly remembered why Kana-chi's new outfit looked so familiar--it shares a bunch of design cues from Rozemyne's outfit for Part 4! It may be just a coincidence but I love the aesthetic.

Black cape, powerful shoulders, sweeping skirt = total boss

(Also, complete simp for the "Move Out!" pose. Works great for all genders! )