This manga makes me feel desperate, not the screaming and shouting kind of desperate but the empty and lethargic kind, and a few panels later it makes me feel all cozy and warm inside...


If i had to describe this manga as succinctly as possible, i'd say "Harry Potter but all female, lesbian as can be, war times, and a very weird mix of wholesome, cute, dark and heavy emotions and moods", and I say Harry Potter referring to the soft magic systems being basically identical, HP's is more explored whereas FLUYD's is only developed when necessary which is a very good thing, and that brings me to another really important part of this manga:

It's a manga largely about war, but not in your typical action and combat kinda way for it has almost no action scenes, if you are looking for a manga with those aspects this is not it, instead it chooses too depict the often unseen and unmentioned side of war: the people that are left behind, the people that have to deal with not knowing if the people they love and cherish will return to them ever again, this is honestly greatly refreshing for me for i am a sucker for a dark and heavy story, and i do mean heavy.
There are some aspects to this story that i do not wish to spoil for it would ruin a very interesting surprise, all i am gonna say is that surprises in this manga are not usually good, matter of fact they are usually very fucked up and disturbing in ALOT of ways, summarizing this whole segment:
-War, but the emotional and mentally fucked up side of it;
-Incredibly disturbing situations and scenarios that some characters are put in/have to deal with.
If you like those things or wanna know if you do like them, then this manga might be for you.

Now that we got the dark and depressing out of the way, time to talk about the cute and wholesome, remember when i said lesbian? Well it is, but not in your typical yuri kinda way, for a story that includes girls in love with each other, living together, there is no fan service at all (depending on what your definition of it is, for me there is none at all), it's more of a emotional and genuine kinda love, focusing instead on the genuine connections these people have and how they feel for each other.
However, this love is not depicted in a vacum like with a large part of other romance manga/anime i've seen, it's a romance that I would call "in context", almost as if the love wasn't written in by an author and was instead a product of two peoples interactions, another way to think about it is the connections and/or relationships present in this manga feel almost alive in a weird way, as if the author them self was in these characters positions and were writing them in first person...
After all that praise it's almost redundant to say that when the cuddly scenes or otherwise cute and wholesome moments hit, booooy do they hit, adorable as a word does not even begin to do it justice, but again, that is my personal experience with the manga, and it was the same the second time i read through it, and again, summarizing this whole segment:
-Very gay, very wholesome and cute;
-Genuine connections that feel as tho real people are being written in.

And those are the two main aspects of the manga, the emotional side of war and relationships alike, and an honestly genuinely refreshing use for a magic system, not as the main focus or even as a lazy "plot device" of sorts to insert ridiculous stakes, but a backdrop for an actual human feeling story that transmits all sorts of powerful emotions from positive to negative, so if you like crying and smiling through the tears mere minutes after, this manga is for you.

10/10 one of my favs for sure

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I was surprised that this manga was as good as this. My first impression wasn't that good, as the story, vibe and art feels very generic. A magical school, full of girls that are somewhat lesbians, an impending war and a "chosen one" with very special powers; it is a very template-y story. Turns out, I was so so wrong for thinking like this. This manga manages to do differentiate itself in so many ways and I really love it for that.

The characters are genuinely amazing. Everyone feels very real and genuine. They have their own distinct quirks, personalities and sets of beliefs that made them stand out. They fought, argue, reconcile and forgive in a very believable manner. Their interactions are also very entertaining to watch, as every dynamic between the characters feels very unique to one another. The development of the characters are also very nicely-done and there is no incidents where this development feels forced at all.

At first, I really dislike how Mimi is portrayed, as I never feel comfortable with seeing loli characteristics in characters. That being said, her character is surprisingly deep. At first glance, she is this naive, childish character that is all-powerful and due to that, she becomes very disconnected with reality and people around her. Then comes Sheena that changes how she thinks of the war, her powers and other people. She became more attentive and aware towards people around her and genuinely start to believe what it truly means to live, although she misinterpret it many times. I really enjoy her development, as it made her from your usual OP character to a genuine great character. I also really like how her powers are basically just immortality and whenever I see her recover, I am genuinely baffled and horrified by the process of it.

Sheena is a very complex character as a lot of what she is feeling is very subjective to her. She fears the war, due to her lack of actual magical abilities and her fear of death. She wants to understand and connect with people around her, but she always manage to put a wall between her and everyone. She is insecure, fearful and her lack of confidence on herself is not that apparent, as she puts a veil in front of her. As she meet with Mimi and changes her, she also is affected by that change. She started to be more open, trusting and brave; she finally found something that is more important than her own life and that is Mimi's happiness and wellbeing. I really enjoy how this selfishness of her is never seen as a bad thing, but rather as a thing that she need to change to become better.

I really like their dynamic with each other. Mimi is a child so she basically just clings to Sheena, but Sheena is not as open to her, but as time goes on, she becomes as clingy as her. Both of them needed each other. Mimi needs to understand that her powers are not as important as her happiness and although she has the obligation to save everyone, she doesn't have to do it until she herself sacrifices herself so much. Sheena needs to understand that she is important, needed and are worthy of being taken care of. Both of them accepts each other and I really like it. That being said, I am still very in-the-middle of whether they should have a fully romantic feelings to each other or not. To add, the parts where they hug each other or cry together or sleep together are very, very, very adorable.

This manga also has a surprisingly mature way of seeing the world. All of the character's death are given so much attention and care to how people react afterwards. The romance between Seiran and Airi is one of the most beautiful romance I've ever seen and it is so, so harrowing to see the fate of both of them. The fact that even until the latest chapter, Airi has not moved on from Seiren and her attitude and actions are very believable. I really like that the war itself is just perpetual and even the children doesn't even know what it is that they are fighting for; It really gives a commentary on how pointless war becomes after a long time, as even the soldiers don't know what they are fighting for and who they are fighting for. Other than that, it gives a different interpretation of this chosen-one archetype, as it showed that even if Mimi doesn't suffer anything permanent, the people around her suffers so much more and I really cannot imagine how distraught Sheena feels when seeing Mimi reconstructing herself from the heavy injuries.

Talking about the art, it is great and beautiful. The characters are very greatly-drawn and adorable, especially Airi with the contrasting colours of her hair and her skin. There are some surprisingly horrifying scenes with gore that took me back for a while. Although I would say that the action scenes are not as easily-readable, but I really enjoy it nonetheless.

Overall, I love this manga. It manages to subvert a lot of expectations in this sub-genre and gave a lot of interesting twists. It also manages to make the world very lived-in and filled to the brim with consequences. It has great characters and enjoyable interactions. I really enjoy it and loved to see how the story continues, or just to see Mimi and Sheena again.

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