Suicide Girl

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Suicide Girl is a rather interesting little manga. I would describe it as a horror magical girl manga that has a dose of comedy here and there, with characters and an artstyle similar to Getter Robo or Gurren Lagann. This manga is in its infancy at the moment, but it shows potential to be a rather splendid and interesting series. There’s not too much to say right now about the series so this review won’t be too long, but it’ll give you the general idea of what this manga is about.

--Story— (slight spoilers for ch. 1-2)

The synopsis on this page doesn’t really go into enough ... detail, so allow me to elaborate on the main plot. Our story starts off with our main character Kirari joining a group suicide ritual at this place known as the Suicide Cafe. Surprisingly giddy about this, she wears a smile on her face as she lets the gas get the job done. She wakes up though to not only be alive, but the other individuals in the group ritual to suddenly be much happier. She figures the gas just failed and goes home to commit suicide, only to find she cannot die.

It turns out the admin of the Suicide Café is running an operation to exterminate demons that cause these suicides known as “Phobia”. These phobia amplify the negative thoughts and emotions of a person eventually making them turn to suicide. Through anti-magic substances, the admin creates a gas that gets rid of the phobia. These people are saved from the phobia, but it’s not enough to beat the threat of the phobias. So over the years, there will extremely rarely be a girl who comes who wants to commit suicide of their own will instead of a phobia’s will. Cue Kirari being one of those girls, and she is employed as a “Suicide Girl”. This gives her the power to see visions of people committing suicide in the future, and it’s up to her with some help from the admin to stop these phobia. From then on, the story basically becomes a mission based magical girl story with a lot of horror mixed in. It’s a little generic sure, but I would say without spoiling anything else the author has done a good job of making it a fun read.

--Art—

Now THIS is where the manga truly shines imo. Nakayama has a very overexaggerated, but rich way of drawing his characters.The characters themselves and their personality are reflected in the artstyle. I specifically love just how much he uses the “spiral eye” visual element. I would compare it maybe to Go Nagai’s or Ishikawa’s work a bit, but with a modern touch. He goes for a big-eyed, intense expression, dynamic style that just works really well. It’s contrasted greatly by the actual demons themselves. There’s a variety of rather creepy and dark looking creatures, with a bit of body horror mixed in even. The backgrounds are well drawn, and the action/fight scenes are pretty easy to follow for the most part, while also just being good eye candy. Though do know some of the English scans for this series aren’t the best, and you might have to refer to scans in other languages to get the art with good quality.

--Characters—

There’s not really much to say here since the manga is young in its development. Right now, there’s Kirari, the admin, and another Suicide Girl as far as main characters go. However, I’d say Kirari works well as a main character so far. She’s got a simple, but well done enough backstory to work as a foundation for her character to grow. She’s hotblooded, determined, and uh maybe a bit insane at times lol. At the same time though, she’s compassionate, cute, and a bit of an airhead. The other Suicide Girl’s personality is good too and contrasts well with Kirari’s, but that’s all I’ll say about her since spoilers. I don’t have much to say about the admin really, he’s cool.

--Overall Enjoyment—

So far, I quite like this manga. I think this series makes a “dark/edgy magical girl” story work well while avoiding the typical tropes that make the genre infamous these days. It helps that the horror part of it is handled quite nicely. Artstyle is very unique and wild, and I love it a lot. Characters are enjoyable enough so far. This series could admittedly get axed in the future, but for now I’d say it’s doing pretty well. Give it a try, and if it doesn’t grab you in the first uh let’s say 4 chapters, it’s probably not for you.

This manga definitely exceeded my expectations. I expected it to be an edgefest ala Mahou Shoujo Site.
But, this is so much more. Despite its darkly comedic tone, it handles the issues of mental health and suicide with incredible sensitivity. It shows how family, friends and even passerby are affected by a suicide. It gives hope, surprisingly. This manga seems to give the message to keep going and survive, for we were born to live.

It is also very pretty, artistically. The large and cutesy eyes along with the costume design for the suicide girls and phobias are very pleasing to the eye. It also utilizes ... shading and hatching very well when changing from a light-hearted scene to a tense moment. The suicide forest where the souls of those who committed are was also incredibly well-drawn with the faces contorted in agony and begging for mercy.

Overall, a very intriguing magical girl series. I am looking forward to seeing more of it translated.