I really enjoyed this book! I think it is excellent for anyone who thinks that they've aged out of being A Magical Girl. It asks us to think about our responsibilities to not only others and the environment, but also ourselves.

I'm really glad I read this short book. Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for the ARC I read.

This book is both heavy and light. The heaviness comes from the topics and themes explored, but this is balanced with the lightness of magic, justice, and humor. The story starts off with a planned suicide attempt. This is how we meet our main character. It was actually pretty hard for me to read the first chapter because I resonated with a lot of our main character's thoughts and struggles. But with the book being so short, it does quickly become more hopeful and easier to read. I liked how our main character's issues weren't suddenly solved by becoming a magical girl, like I had thought they might be. Ultimately, the path she takes leads her to a better future, but that's from her learning and growing, not because she suddenly becomes some amazing magical girl. The ending also feels very realistic, but hopeful. So if you are struggling with similar issues as the main character, I think you can also gain hope from reading this.

I also loved the artwork at the start of each chapter. This book would make for a wonderful manhwa adaptation, so I hope that happens at some point in the future. I also really appreciated reading the translator's and illustrator's notes at the end. The translator especially helps really summarize the meaning behind this story. It was a great edition to have in the book.

I already have my copy of the book pre-ordered so I'm excited to revisit the story with a physical copy soon.

2.5⭐️
This one of those stories where the idea is good but the execution wasn’t so much. It would have been better as a manwha or manga.

Check your TW if you need them.
This is a beautiful written story about girls whom become magic girls. They come into a their powers something happening in their life good or bad. It'd a story about Global Warming the effects it has on out plant world wide. The magic girl of time is supposed to be the most powerful of all the magical girls. Perhaps she will help save the earth or destroy it?
I had a fun time reading this story it felt too fast but it was just perfect for what it was. The art in the beginning of each chapter added to the fun and magical to the story. I definitely want to own the finished copy.
YES I definitely recommend this book to everyone.

I really enjoyed reading this short and sweet story! A 29-year-old woman contemplating suicide in South Korea suddenly becomes a magical girl?! If that wasn't enough to grasp my attention, there are a couple of cute illustrations scattered about and interesting yet realistic characters and situations. Shoutout to Anton Hurr for translating this! I wanted the story to be a bit longer, but that's just how interested I was in it! If you've got a spare hour, definitely give this a try!

Thank you, Netgalley and HarperVia, for an ARC of this book!

A lightly magical novella that reflects on the darker implications of magical girls in our modern society.

Since the girls awaken their powers through traumatic and stressful events (mentions of attempted suicide and domestic violence), the magic they receive is like the universe trying to balance power.

But how can you expect a girl to always be perfectly good and noble under these circumstances?

I loved the art at the start of each chapter and the growth the main girl experiences; however, each chapter felt a little bit disconnected from the next, making the narrative a little choppy. And I can totally imagine this as a series of 4-panel comics.

See below for Content Warnings.


This books was SO much fun!! Park puts her own spin on the classic magical girl genre (think <i>Sailor Moon</i>) in a way that is engaging and relevant to a generation of people who grew up with this genre as kids and now can return with a different perspective as adults. Our narrator faces many of the issues Millennials live with (debt, under-employment, lack of fulfillment), and despite never knowing her name, the reader follows her with empathy and interest. I also really loved the comic panels in each chapter, which effectively connected the work back to the genre's original medium.

I loved this book so much and read it in almost one sitting. I can't wait to pre-order a copy for myself and for my library. I've already recommended it to several friends!


CW for suicide attempt

Not a masterpiece by any means. I still really enjoyed it though. Like what do you mean a magical girl union?? Really fun and cute.

After losing her job and going into some extreme credit card debt, an unnamed woman decides to end her own life. Before she can do it, a woman jumps out of a taxi telling her that she's a magical girl--not just any magical girl, but one who is crucial to stopping global warming from ruining the earth. What starts as a 'sad millennial finding out that she's important' story soon turns into something stranger, sadder, but no less life affirming.

I can't say too much about 'A Magical Girl Retires' without spoiling it, since it's less than ninety pages long. I was surprised to learn that millennial ennui isn't just an American thing, which is... weirdly assuring? I also lost my job during the pandemic and spiraled into a pretty deep depression, and I think this book would have helped me during my lowest point. Ah Roa, the magical girl that our nameless protagonist is recruited by, is a delightful character who gives her motivation just by being a good friend. Sometimes that's all you need!

Anton Hur deserves credit for a great translation! Sometimes I feel that novels translated from Japanese, Korean, or Chinese are a bit 'lifeless' in their translations, but nothing feels off or lost here.

Overall, I think 'A Magical Girl Retires' is a great, short read that I'll definitely recommend to people.

A Magical Girl Retires is a cute, quirky read about a young woman in Korea who discovers she is a Magical Girl - though she doesn’t know what her powers are yet - while the magical girl society is racing to stop the end of the world due to climate change. This is a fantastical, sort of millennial fairy tale, though the light tone belies darker elements. While I enjoyed this, I think it would have benefitted from expanding into a longer format with more room to develop the plot and characters, or even as a graphic novel. I loved the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, and the art combined with the writing style made me picture it as a graphic novel throughout. Regardless, I enjoyed this urban fantasy and its world building and appreciate how it brought in climate change and life as a woman in Korea.

I got an eARC which didn’t affect my review! This was really cute and satisfying! I also liked the art at the beginning of each chapter a lot! So happy I got to read this early.

I think this book was good. The cast of characters was interesting and all so different from one another. I love the setting and environment this book created it really helped to create well rounded and dynamic characters.

This was cute and quick but I think would have worked better in graphic novel form. i feel as though there’s not enough substance for a novella.


thanks to netgalley and harpervia for the arc!!

I loved this novella! Being someone who grew up with magical girls this book called to me. We all wanted to be one and the FMC gets to do so at a similar age to me now.

The start was heavy but as the story unfolded she’s find her place and is able to overcome obstacles. The illustrations were amazing too!

Highly recommend if you’re wanting a quick read and still want to be a magical girl at any age.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

It’s such a fun novella with gorgeous chapter illustrations. There were also some very cute sapphic interactions which was so satisfying because I immediately shipped the characters in question and didn’t see it going that way at all. I’m low-key obsessed with the magical girl of clairvoyance Ah Roa.
A Magical Girl Retires reminds us that we are all magical girls—that fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight can be anyone's game.

I have to admit, the reason why I added A Magical Girl Retires to my TBR was cause of Anton Hur's translation. I've grown to adore his work, pretty much reading anything that has his name attached to it, and I'm so glad I did the same with this one, for this was a gorgeous little book.

A millennial 29-year old woman who lost her job due to the pandemic and is drowning in credit card debt decides to end it all, only to learn before that she is a magical girl, and that she is needed to end a common enemy to humanity: climate change.

This book mixes de fantasy of "Sailor Moon", the depth, nuance and statement of "Kim Ji-young, Born 1982" and the quirkiness and uniqueness of "Convenience Store Woman". In only 170 pages Park Seolyeon sold me a charming story and an endearing main character, leaving me wishing for a couple extra pages with her once I finished the book.

The fantastical elements were very well crafted into the story, making them read as something that easily could happen in real life, and there are certain undertones that were a little more serious; very nuanced as I mentioned before. I loved the author wrote something that, at first glance, looks like a silly little story but in reality is a lot more.

Another hit for Anton Hur and another great book to add to my korean literature shelf.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harpervia for the e-arc copy of this book!

This little book is for everyone who was obsessed with Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura as a kid (me) and I feel like I can also see an influence from Madoka. (I want to rewatch all 3 now.) I don’t want to say too much, but I think you do need to be at least a little familiar with Magical Girl as a genre and some of the tropes associated with it in order to fully fall in love with this story! It’s just so short that there’s not time to fully explain/develop those themes in the story itself.

Despite that, there is actually quite a lot packed into this book as far as character work for the MC and development of the world and exploration of themes of environmentalism and feminism. I think the translator did an excellent job not just translating the words but also the emotions. His translator note at the end was lovely. I’m happy the author had someone translate her work who truly gets her story. Can’t wait to read what she does next!

A delightful little story that manages to build a wide world. I loved the approach to magical girls and found the creation of them to say a lot about being a woman in society. I do wish we got more but it did it's job well for a novella.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"It was embarrassing, to say the least, that my heart’s truest form was… a credit card. Way to tell the whole world that a corner of my mind is forever colonized by the thought of my credit card debt."

What an fast paced, odd. funny and charming little book!
I read this in one sitting and really enjoyed the 'darker' side of being a Magical Girl. It dealt with darker and more realistic themes that face women currently- and let's not forget climate change!
I also really adored the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, so beautiful and really brought the reader along.

Since it is a shorter read, I would have loved to see the story expanded on a bit more, I was left with some confusion and loose ends that felt kind of lazy to not tie up. Maybe it was the translation but the dialogue felt clunky at times.

Wow- almost all I can say. Deeply emotional and hopeful, from the first few pages the story will hook your heart strings and leave you rooting for our main character. For a short novella, the author does a good job of creating a story and giving at least a little depth for our protagonist.

Our main character is a lost 29 year old, feeling bleak, lost, and buried in debt with no promises of the future. Many trigger warnings for the introduction. But when she is at her lowest, she gets an introduced to Roa who lets her know she is a magical girl. Roa and even overall the story represents to me, even when you’re at your lowest, you never know what tomorrow will bring. I would have enjoyed a little more story at the ending, as it felt rushed but a good novella still.