Manga Review: Kazumi Magica The innocent malice Volume 4 Pt 1: Amazon Nu

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All they wanted was to bring back someone dear to them and would go to any lengths to do so, is that so wrong?

 Now it has been far, far too long since we've gone back to the world of Madoka Magica, particularly Kazumi and the Pleiades Saints. Long story short, real life got in the way and I needed some time to myself. Though I have been sporadically been releasing new reviews I will be back to a normal schedule from now on. Though I will be experimenting between once every Monday or Friday, I'll test this for a few weeks to see which day will generate more views but if you all have a suggestion be sure to let me know in the comments. Now as for Kazumi since it's been a few months since my last review there will be no doubt a few of you who have forgotten what's happened in this not so happy story so here are the links to my previous reviews so you can be caught up.

Part 1 http://ondavidsbrain.blogspot.com/2016/09/manga-review-kazumi-magica-innocent.html

Part 2 http://ondavidsbrain.blogspot.com/2016/09/manga-review-kazumi-magica-volume-1.html

Part 3 http://ondavidsbrain.blogspot.com/2016/09/manga-review-kazumi-magica-innocent_24.html

Part 4 http://ondavidsbrain.blogspot.com/2016/10/manga-review-kazumi-magica-innocent.html

Part 5 http://ondavidsbrain.blogspot.com/2016/10/manga-review-kazumi-magica-innocent_17.html

Part 6 http://ondavidsbrain.blogspot.com/2016/10/manga-review-kazumi-magica-innocent_24.html

 Speaking of memory loss how was Kazumi since we last saw her?

Oh right one of her friends going crazy, telling her she's a clone and sending the rest of the clones to kill her. Well she's had better days that's for certian.

 As if fighting against 12 of you wasn't bad enough Satomi decides to shake Kazumi even more by telling her what really happened when Michiru became a witch. It was a dark and stormy night, just like that night (no seriously) and Michiru was making her grandmas strawberry risotto to celebrate Umikas first book publishing under her real name. Everyone was happy and celebrating until everyone started thanking Michiru for helping them become magical girls, but as you can imagine she knew the truth at that point so she witches out over her tremendous guilt. Satomi says that Yuuri being when they found out was a lie that Umika used to soften the blow for the others. So on top of all their other horrible acts these girls have also been manipulating their own memories to hide the truth and have been committing the ultimate taboo at least 13 times to resurrect their dead friend.

You think that only once would be enough to get the point across but noooooooo! Well brother I guess they're just the type of people who have to touch the stove twice before they realize "ow that's hot!" I mean we were just little kids when we tried that, what's their excuse?

 And just like with the Fullmetal Pipsqueak and his big little brother the Pleiades' attempts weren't exactly all that successful to say the least, but these clones at least look somewhat human. But close ain't good enough and with Kazumi starting to turn into a witch as well, they'll have to try again. 

Personally I would have maybe brought Kazumi a chair for her to sit down and take this all in or  a "sorry you're not who you think you are" Card and a Gift Certificate to Amazon or something not just drop it on her and try to kill her in cold blood but then again I would't even be in this situation because I'm not that crazy yet! Also Niko what are you doing up there? You are not Batgirl!

 Satomi continues to pour Salt and Lemon juice on Kazumi's wound by telling her the reason why Saki couldn't go through with killing the failed prototypes, she was so in love with Michiru that she couldn't bear to kill something with her face; much to Mirai's ire as she was overhearing everything near by. So Satomi figures she'll kill two birds with one stone by using her Phantasmo Bisbiglo to take control of Kazumi, have her and the clones fight to the death and she'll finish off the winner, easy peasy.

 So Kazumi's forced to do battle with her clones and during the skirmish she discovers that since she was created using the magic of the others she in turn can use their abilities such as Umika's barriers, Kaoru's super hard skin, Mirai's Dragon Slayer and Saki's lightning speed. To add to the horror of finding out she's a Super Skrull; when she took excessive damage her body absorbed the dead clones nearby and regenerated. The chapter ends with the last clone begging Kazumi to kill her; she can't do it but Satomi is more then willing as she impales both Kazumi and the clone with her feral cat wand.

 Chapter 15 continues with Satomi chuckling to herself over her victory, but when she sees Kazumi regenerating from the last clone she finally snaps and becomes a witch. The beast tamer witch attacks Kazumi who in turn transforms into a pseudo witch form herself. 

 Not exactly like that but close enough. Especially since this may be an amalgamation between Kazumi and what Michiru's Witch form may have looked like. The beast tamer witch then summons her familiars which swarm over The Witch Amazon; who then in turn uses Mirai's La Beastia spell to take control of the familiars which tear through the witches shell and exposes the core creature. 

Tell me about the Rabbits George. "Click" "VIOLENT CRUSH!"

 Saki regains consciousness at the worst time as she sees Kazumi smashing Satomi's lifeless head into the wall like a paintball pellet. Kazumi is of course horrified by what she did but Saki hugs her and tells her that it wasn't her fault. 

Well congratulations Saki you have said the absolute wrong thing to her and have just confirmed Satomi's stance that all Kazumi was is just a cheep replacement for Michiru. 

 To confirm how completely she had fucked up Kazumi is of course furious of Saki only seeing Michiru and not her. She turns to Kaoru and Umika and begs them to answer if she's human, her memories are real and not all just a fabrication. When they don't respond she teleports away in tears. Back at base Niko can't track her since she's subconsciously hiding her energy. Saki apologizes for failing to destroy the clones but Mirai tries to assuage her guilt by saying that the group shouldn't have placed the burden on her since they knew how much Michiru meant to her, that even though they knew she couldn't kill them they just didn't want to face the truth. 

 Niko has to be the buzzkill and brings up two major problems that need to be addressed; first what to do with Kazumi now that she's turning into a witch; second what to do about Satomi now that she's dead and all that's left is her corpse and grief seed. Saki says that they'll just keep reviving Michiru and Satomi till they finally get it right. Everyone agrees except for Kaoru who of course brings up the tiny little fact that Kazumi isn't just some mistake to sweep under the rug that she's you know, a sentient being and all. But she gets overruled by Saki with her asking if she's willing to let Michiru's diary just end with her descent into despair.

 Later on Saki and Mirai are out looking for Kazumi where Saki thanks Mirai for speaking up for her back at the meeting, Mirai bashfully blushes and says that she totally knows how Saki feels. 

So much so that she'll kill Kazumi nice and slow. Is there anyone on this team who isn't bat squeak loco?

 This chapter ends with Kazumi alone, depressed, miserable, broken, alone and in tears over how her whole existence is a lie, her friends only see her as a cheap replacement of Michiru and how she has no one else in the world she can turn to, until she's confronted by a familiar face.

 Chapter 16 shows who that familiar face is. It's the detective from the first chapter, however she's had her memories altered by Umika so that the bombing was placed on fake people; hers and Tachibana's involvement were changed and that her memories of being the Mantis Witch were removed. The detective offers to take her home and during the ride the conversation leads to the detective investigating the disappearances of young girls, one of whom was Airi. Several of the missing girls had a similar word pop up in their texting history before their disappearance, "Hyades" however the address that sent the texts wasn't in the phone company's records.

 The detective then asks if Kazumi recovered her memories, which causes Kazumi to start crying not just because of recent events but.

Well at least she's not completely miserable, she might be a homunculus but hey a girl's gotta eat.

 They stop by Tachibana's bistro where Kazumi falls asleep and the two adults have a conversation about why the detective is so determined to solve the disappearance cases. Her friend from middle school also disappeared when the two moved up to their third year and her friends 3 year old sister told that she was a magical girl. Though of course nobody but the detective believed her. We cut to a week later where Kazumi was staying with Tachibana. He tells her that she was sent a diary, Michiru's to be exact. 

 (Also apparently she knew Yuuri before she met the six and also encountered Kyoko, so great another cameo.) It tells how she figured out that Magical girls become witches and so to prolong her friends she always let them use their earned Grief Seeds first. The book also contained a letter from Kaoru warning her to skip town and that she'll do everything she can to protect her, that she's Kazumi and not Michiru and how she'll always be her friend. This was the motivation to give Kazumi a plan of action regarding the Pleiades, so she shares her recipe for Strawberry risotto with Tachibana and says her goodbyes to him. Our chapter ends with her telepathically contacting the girls and give them an ultimatum, either come to the freezer and face her all at one or else.

Next Hunt: Witches Brew

Special thanks to my Patreon backer Jesse for his support.

Kazumi Magica The Innocent Malice is owned by Masaki Hiramatsu, Takashi Tensugi, Magica Quartet and Yen Press.
Kamen Rider is owned by Ishinomori Productions, Toei Productions, and Bandai.
Fullmetal Alchemist is owned by Studio Bones, Square-Enix, Funimation, Viz Media and Hiromu Arakawa.
Hot Fuzz is owned by Edgar Wright, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, Big Talk Productions and Universal Pictures.
The Whitest Kids U Know is owned by Sam Brown, Zach Cregger, Trevor Moore, Darren Trumeter, Timmy Williams, Good Shepard Productions, Jimco and IFC.
Rick and Morty is owned by Justin Rolland, Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland's Solo Vanity Card Productions, Harmonious Claptrap, Starburns Industries, and Williams Street