Magical Boy, Volume 1

October 1, 2021
Descendant and heir to Aurora, the fallen Goddess of Light, a transgender boy reluctantly steps into his destiny of fighting monsters and guarding the world from an ancient evil. Biracial (White and Japanese) Max has two secrets that only his best friend, Jen, knows--his gender identity and his power to see colorful auras of emotion around people. On his 16th birthday, Max decides to come out to his parents as trans, but before he can explain, his mother reveals his magical lineage and insists that he take up the mantle of the Goddess of Light and do his part to protect the world. Monsters that feed on negative energy are already attacking, so Max must quickly embrace his emerging abilities in order to prevent destruction. The plot revolves around the binary of lightness, standing for good, and darkness, representing evil. Max is frequently misgendered and referred to by his deadname, and his powers force him into frilly clothes that cause him dysphoria. Even his father, Kai, who doesn't aggressively police his gender like his mother, Hikari, is little more than a bystander to the maternal abuse. The manga-style art is intensely expressive, but the page layouts are chaotic and sometimes hard to follow. Jen and Sean (an anime-style delinquent at Max's school) are the only primary characters depicted with brown skin. A fast-paced magical story whose protagonist endures intense transphobia. (Graphic fantasy. 12-17)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 13, 2021
Coming-out stories and the magical girl genre get a fresh twist in the Kao’s heartfelt, rapid-paced fantasy tale of magic, monsters, friendship, and family, adapted from a webcomic. In Chicago, biracial (Japanese and white) Max is a trans boy trying to step into his identity, which involves navigating intolerant classmates and figuring out how to come out to his parents. When he learns on his 16th birthday that his aura-reading powers are the manifestation of a familial bloodline, things feel more complicated—he’s supposed to wield a goddess’s power to fight an incursion of darkness, which involves a transformation that comes with a full outfit, including a frilly dress, makeup, and heels. As Max slowly learns
to control his powers, he and his friends must fight off invading monsters bent on devouring humans’ life force and freeing an ancient power of darkness. Though Max experiences deadnaming, forced gender expression, and misgendering, the gendered prophecy’s interplay also allows for a thoughtful exploration of coming out, dysphoria, and exploring sexuality in a new context. Some panels can be difficult to order, but the visual details of Max’s powers and changing appearance subtly develop the story via clean, expressive manga-style art. Ages 12–up. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary.

Starred review from January 1, 2022
In this fantastic reimagining of the popular magical girl genre, Kao sticks to classic genre conventions while considering a important question: What happens when a person granted the cosmic powers of a magical girl is actually a trans boy? Max has finally worked up the courage to come out to his parents as a trans boy on his birthday, but his mom has other plans--she reveals that he's a descendant of the goddess of light, Aurora, and he's destined to be a magical girl, just as his mother once was. Max isn't interested, especially when his transformation involves a frilly gown, high heels, and makeup. But a malicious deity, Devoid, has broken the seal Aurora originally put in place to hold him, and the monster begins to use the ignorance and fear of the people in Max's town to gain more power. Max finally adopts his family's mantle, but calls himself Magical Boy instead--with, happily, a more masculine outfit to match. Using a classic manga art style in full color, Kao keeps the story fun and exciting while tackling real-life issues Max faces, such as frequent misgendering and deadnaming (an opening content warning helps here). While Max's experiences of transphobia can be upsetting, the notion that he can identify as a magical boy and still retain his power is a refreshing and welcome take.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.