2022-01-06 11:47:15
MGRP QUEENS first impressions (Prologue - ch.3)
Obvious MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING for Magical Girl Raising Project: QUEENS (chapters 1 through to chapter 3, haven't read further), also Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood spoilers?:
I'm still processing Snow White snapping after bottling up her emotions for the majority of the series, it was seriously cathartic. I was honestly in disbelief at first, not sure if she'd been brainwashed yet since it was so seemingly off character, but when she never once brought up Puk Puck it became clear this WAS Snow White, and she had finally fucking had it. Its so visceral, and Uluru has seriously shot up as one of my favorites for how she stood up to her, for her. Its such a powerful scene and really speaks to the themes of the series and the internal struggle Snow's been going through, she never stopped being the same girl she was in Vol 1, and its been killing her inside. I honestly couldn't help but feel called out, as I too foisted the Magical Girl Hunter onto her, confident in telling people she's basically a different character, all cool, unfeeling and badass. What a fantastic character, good lord.
Then comes in Puk Puck, holy fuck. I think with Limited Endou proved mindfuckery and brainwashing are his strong suit (Pukin's magic from the victim's POV was just chefs kiss). Its to this series what Time Fuckery Stands are to Jojo, and Puk Puck is the final stage of it. Something about the narration as Snow succumbs to Puk's magic is so good, terrifying and fucked up. You just see the narration shift and accept this new, Puk centered reality, and something about the cheery, pleasure driven mindfuck makes it so much more horrible than if it had been a standard brainwash. I also noticed on my ACES reread that Hamuel describes her magic as "Any remarks or rude behavior that might give a bad impression are distorted, and other people feel as if they’re held in esteem" and I couldn't stop thinking about it as I read on and noticed that her magic LITERALLY AFFECTS THE NARRATION, even though the reader knows better, nothing narrated under her name ever paints her in any negative light, always made to be thought of as caring even if we recognize its completely warped and selfish. I'm also wondering now if she does act rude or what have you, but it literally does not come through or even gets replaced/interpreted by niceties instead. Its a mindfuck, cause now I'm even doubting the pages on the book.
The next big for me was the reveal of her true plans, I had heard it got a apocalyptic and I could guess at what was said leading up to it. I had in mind simply using the machine to restore the magic, amplify her magic to brainwash all magical girls into a collective Puk order. Basically, I was expecting Neon Genesis Evangelion's Third Impact, and had completely ignored the energy had to come from somewhere (I might've spared a thought for her draining all other worlds). Turns out its not NGE its fucking Fullmetal Alchemist and she's gonna goop all magical girls into a giant battery HOLY FUCK (a bit of NGE still makes it in but, THE GIRL BATTERY). Its seriously surprising me just how much this is fucking me up. FMA is appropriate as a comparison as I am literally re-watching FMAB with my wife atm and despite an identical evil plot, Puk's seems 100 time more vicious and horrific, maybe its the contrast with how pretty she's dressing it all up to be. Nice bonus though is I can borrow some of my updated FMA analysis to this, something about abstracting people into resources and the philosopher stone being just a shorthand exaggeration for what those in power already do to the people under them. Though what FMA uses this for is its big point that people as people, their relationships and such can create opportunity from nothing, seemingly against the laws of rationality in a way a philosopher stone or alchemy could never. MGRP's Magical-Girl-Battery is more a plot device concerned with the people in power, the systems and the harms they create, what with the global warming parallels and endless growth/resource extraction of the kingdom, the colonial annexing of other worlds for those resources, the self-justifying nature of it all. They were already taking advantage of these girls for their own gains, Puk's just making that magical resource extraction all at once. The series is far from some revolutionary agitprop, but its definitely on the Based™ side of the scales and I deeply appreciate that.
Not that friendship isn't magic here as well, just that that's not what the battery is communicating. But FMA also deals heavy in systems of power extraction and colonialism, so what even is my distinction here.
I'd do a bit about being under her magic but nah, Puk Puck is truly a fucking monster, I am in awe