Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Tanpopo has had a very unconventional friend ever since her parents were killed. Other people can’t always see him, but hidden in the shadows is her constant companion, the fiend known as Shade. During a meeting with her school advisors, Tanpopo is informed she has enough magical energy to become a Magical Girl, part of the fighting force that protects humans from fiends and helps ensure fiends do not feed off the life forces of humans. Shade is wary of anything that will disrupt their friendship, while Tanpopo is eager to join a team she has idolized for years and to help Shade in what she believes is his quest against the most evil fiends. Mizuho’s charming illustrations take inspiration from other magical girl titles, like Cardcaptor Sakura, with overly flowing, frilly dresses and plenty of stars and sparkles. The magical girls have powerful attacks they just know instantly upon first transformation, though real-life consequences and power drain are included. Hand this one to CLAMP fans who have been waiting for more magical girl stories.

School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gr 8 Up—Magical girls fight dark forces in this action-filled, sometimes bloody manga. Tanpopo's first memory is of her parents being killed by the monsters, called fiends, who inhabit her world. Shade, a fiend with a soft side, rescues her and remains by Tanpopo's side as she grows up, keeping her free from harm. But when Tanpopo becomes a magical girl, their relationship shifts, as they are now on opposite sides. It's never that simple, though, as Tanpopo discovers when she sees her grandfather turning into a tree—actually, a fiend—and learns that fiends were once human. She rescues him, but there's still a lot going on under the surface, most of which she doesn't understand. The art in this manga is dark and crowded, filled with shadows, sound effects, and supernatural phenomena. Among several violent scenes is Shade's decapitation, although since it's him, he just puts his head right back on. On the flip side, there are many moments of tenderness between characters, such as when Shade returns a lost teddy bear to a little girl. VERDICT A solid magical girl action story for fans of dark supernatural manga like "Jujutsu Kaisen" and "Gachiakuta."