Kara Dennison
October 6, 2024 
Big news for fans of magical girls: there’s a new manga simulpub waiting for you in the Viz app! Magical Girl Dandelion is the new series from Kaeru Mizuho, author of the 2023 one-shot The Dragon God Can’t Cry. In this new series, we follow the adventures of a girl name Tanpopo who has the aptitude to transform… but also has a dark secret that could complicate her new role as a magical girl.
Four installments of this new series are already available to read, so you can dive right in. Before you do, though, let us guide you through the basics. Will this series be a hit for you? Read on and find out!
The Story
In the world of Magical Girl Dandelion, magical girls aren’t a secret. If anything, it’s an aspirational job. But you have to have a certain level of magical aptitude to even be considered. And it just so happens that Tanpopo’s magical aptitude has skyrocketed recently. Her numbers are on par with frontline fighters.
When she gets scouted to join the fight against the Fiends of her world, she’s excited. But there’s one person who’s far less excited: her devoted friend Shade. Who happens to be a Fiend.
The Twist
In the early chapters of Magical Girl Dandelion, we learn that Tanpopo has had a rather tragic life so far. She lost her parents at an early age, with her grandfather raising her. But he’s not alone: Shade, a Fiend that only Tanpopo can see, protects her as well. But she’s somewhat deceived about his intentions, and that becomes even clearer when she accepts her magical girl role.
While she believed that Shade was a “good Fiend” (like Blade for magical girl baddies), the truth is not so straightforward. When a tragic incident threatens the only family she has left, she learns the truth of Fiends, too. And what Tanpopo learns—and what she does next—may change how the world perceives and deals with Fiends forever.
And the Rest
Magical Girl Tanpopo definitely has echoes of certain other magical girl titles. Madoka Magica and The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies come to mind. But this new series puts its own spin on this concept. It’s true that being a magical girl isn’t exactly as advertised. It’s also true that there’s a malevolent force at work right along the edges of the story. But this story brings its own version of a ray of hope into the narrative.
Tanpopo has a perspective on the Fiends of this world that forces veteran magical girls to rethink their approach. This insight also raises a lot of questions about how the world functions, and who the real villain of the piece is. Whether this series will differentiate itself enough from Madoka Magica remains to be seen. A lot of the themes are the same, with Dandelion presenting a certain Madoka-esque twist right at the beginning. But there’s plenty of potential to take what has become a fairly standard 21st century magical girl story and turn it into something truly unique.
Magical Girl Dandelion is now available to read on the Viz app.
