Manga Review: Oto x Maho

Title: Oto x Maho
Author: Shirase Shuu,Suemitsu Jikka
Release: Monthly
Status: Ongoing
Genre: Shonen, Mahou Shoujo, Gender Bender
Art: B
Originality: S
Story: B
Characters: A
Humor: B
Action: B

Impression: Another manga with a twist. It’s about androgynous young boy who has to succeed his mother’s work as magical girl and this is based on a series of light novels that seem to be gaining popularity in Japan. Basically a trap character is being forced to work as Magical Girl or else he’ll no longer be a trap as per the contract his mother forced him to sign. I like this story for its concept and the unique characters in it but the story itself isn’t particularly outstanding which makes me wonder if that’s because the mangaka lacks the ability to express the source material properly or if novels themselves were only interesting ideas used in uninspired ways. From what I can guess, the manga is still probably in its first or second novel out of the nine already compiled. I’m thinking that if the project had been handed to a more fun and wild author, it would have been a much more enjoyable read.