Back in 2011, when Madoka Magica was running, a spinoff series came out called Puella Magi Oriko Magica. Unfortunately, with only two volumes to work with, it ended up being kind of a rushed mess, with very poor artwork and a stop-and-start narrative that felt like it was missing a third of itself. Its main achievement was introducing a trio of new characters: Oriko, a manipulative prophet with a messiah complex, Kirika, a psychotic assassin serving as an attack dog, and Yuma, a youthful innocent adopted by Kyouko. While they were immortalized in fan content at the time by people desperately trying to find people outside of the original series's small cast to interact with, they were all very controversial, particularly Oriko herself. I myself always had a fondness for them, but I believed that the relative failure of the manga would mean that they'd be consigned to the dustbin of history, with a single truncated arc being all we ever saw of them.

And sometimes I'm wrong, and I'm happy about that, because they made two followups. The first, Extra Story, showed the cast in a much fonder light, giving Kirika a proper background and giving Oriko a greater deal of sympathy. And the second, Sadness Prayer, is the culmination of the strange saga of Oriko Magica, and easily the high point of it all.

Though billed as a prequel, Sadness Prayer is more of a remake of the original story, taking what was a rather aimless narrative and fully centering it on Oriko's point-of-view. And what a point-of-view it is; Oriko is one of the most strangely fascinating characters in the entire 'verse of Madoka Magica. She walks a line between pitiable and fearsome, a clearly unstable person who believes herself to be entirely in the right, constantly haunted by visions of a nightmare to come, wearing a mask of altruism and nobility over a cruel self-centeredness and a desire to belong. While the original Oriko could be rather difficult to like, Sadness Prayer takes the correct course and acknowledges Oriko as a terribly flawed person whose actions are fueled by her own psychosis rather than moral obligation.

When speaking of Oriko, it is also impossible to not acknowledge Kirika, for their relationship has always been one of the things that drew people to them. Even in the original manga, where they only shared a handful of scenes, it was evident that they were in love - and even in a franchise known for its constant yuri-baiting, they came across as remarkably explicit, professing genuine love long before Homura did the same. But while they were in love, the series was never all that clear on how they had met or why they cared so deeply for one another.

Sadness Prayer, wisely, makes Oriko and Kirika's first meeting, growing fondness, and culmination into the main emotional throughline of the story. It is a messy relationship - codependent, magically-fueled, and starting with a fight to the death - but it feels right for them. They come across as two disturbed people finding solace only in each other, their gradual deterioration escalating until they become solely focused on protecting their world, which is each other. Their time together is genuine--cute, even--and by the end, even if you don't agree with them, you understand why they'll stay together to the end of the world.

Kirika herself is a similarly fascinating character. While Oriko is a genius constantly struggling with self-doubt, Kirika is a fool self-assured to the point of insanity. In the original, it was implied that Kirika had been magically overwriting her own personality, and Sadness Prayer makes that fact explicit, and shows just how much impact it has on her. While Oriko spends the later part of the series crumbling from stress, Kirika hollows herself out, destroying herself in the name of becoming a companion for Oriko. Yet despite her disturbing nature, she's also funny, absurd, and a joy to read, as one would expect of what is essentially an artificial manic-pixie-dream-girl.

Whether or not you like these two will largely determine whether you enjoy the story as a whole. I, personally, do, and therefore I had a wonderful time, but if you are not one of those people, you will likely find it to be a waste of money. The artwork of the series, though significantly improved from its early days, remains subpar at best. Character proportions are incredibly wonky and change from panel to panel, anatomy is rough all-around, and fight scenes are confusing and clumsily-rendered. It's self-contained to its own characters and provides little insight on the original Madoka cast. And while definitely improved, the story still has some pacing issues and oddly out-of-nowhere ideas.

But as messy as it is, it feels like this is the story these characters deserved back in 2011. The PMMM spinoff library is a mess of variable quality on the best of days, but I find Sadness Prayer to be a hidden gem. Unfortunately, it's also horribly obscure due to being the third installment in a series where a lot of people didn't like the first. But if you muscled your way through Oriko Magica's original installment and didn't find yourself hating everyone involved, then you should have a great time with Sadness Prayer. And if you did, well... maybe give it a shot.

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