Magical Girl Retires
 |
Description
Book Introduction
“It’s a common story: saving the world and ruining yourself.” Park Seo-ryeon, winner of the Hankyoreh Literary Award and Young Writer Award The arrival of a lovely magical novel that will save your world. The new novel, "Magical Girl Retires," by Park Seo-ryeon, winner of the Hankyoreh Literary Award and the Young Writer's Award, has been published, receiving rave reviews from many readers for its unique and colorful narrative and sparkling prose. This is the thirteenth work in Changbi's young light novel series [Novel Q]. Park Seo-ryeon, who has been expanding the horizons of her artistic world by presenting strong and beautiful female characters in each of her works, has returned this time holding the hand of a 'magical girl'. The magical girls in the novel are not confined to the dictionary definition of 'girl'. “Anyone can become a magical girl, regardless of age, age, or gender, as long as they do not feel uncomfortable regarding themselves as a magical girl” (Author’s Note). Set on a planet facing destruction due to accelerating climate disasters, this novel features strong and resilient girls with magical abilities who protect the world, offering incredible immersion and entertainment from the very beginning. Readers who read the novel while thinking of “their own magic tools and spells” (recommended by Jinyoung Choi) will be “fallen under the spell of Seo-ryeon Park” (recommended by Seon-ran Cheon) and will not be able to escape this lovely magical world. |
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Preview
index
Destiny to become a magical girl
Sustainable Magical Girl
How Magical Girls Fight
Magical Girl's Precious Things
Time Magical Girl Transformation
A Letter from a Magical Girl
The Magical Girl of Prophecy and Me
Even magical girls have trouble
Magical girl with a rose
Magical Girl vs. Magical Girl
The worst magical girl ever
How to defeat a magical girl
Magical Girl Retires
Author's Note
Sustainable Magical Girl
How Magical Girls Fight
Magical Girl's Precious Things
Time Magical Girl Transformation
A Letter from a Magical Girl
The Magical Girl of Prophecy and Me
Even magical girls have trouble
Magical girl with a rose
Magical Girl vs. Magical Girl
The worst magical girl ever
How to defeat a magical girl
Magical Girl Retires
Author's Note
Detailed image
Into the book
But at the time, I didn't know anything, and I thought it was a miracle that someone was talking to me, so I asked while crying.
“Do you know about my destiny?”
"sure."
It was a truly trustworthy and affectionate voice.
Aroa came over and took my hand gently, as if he was touching something very precious, and said:
“You are destined to become a magical girl.
--- p.19
"Wait a minute, the end of the world... Has something like a demon lord or aliens appeared? Or is there a great war about to break out? Are magical girls the only ones who know about it?"
"no.
Everyone knows it.
“The real crisis, the real disaster, comes in the form of climate change.”
The chairman's kind gaze suddenly turned scary.
“The Earth will not end because of the Demon King or aliens.
At least for now.
But the climate crisis is actually the greatest disaster facing the planet.”
--- p.68
“This is a bit…”
I felt that the chairman was choosing the right words to address me with consideration.
The chairman spoke with an elegant smile on his face.
“It’s unique.”
It wasn't a bad thing, and if I had to be specific, it was a good thing to say, but it also sounded like something you'd say to a baby or a puppy when you can't quite find the words "You look so strong" or "You look so smart."
So I was so embarrassed.
If it's true that Magu's heart is printed in the shape most similar to a magical girl's heart, then my heart is shaped like a credit card.
It was an unexpected turn of events that brought home to me the truth that I was a person whose head and heart were always tied to the thoughts and anxieties of revolving credit card debt.
--- p.76~77
The magical girls that exist in this world cannot be unconditionally good, and they do not need to be good.
Because this isn't a cartoon.
Because instead of fighting aliens from outer space or beings from some magical world while sharing things like love, hope, and goodness with people, they live in a way that is not much different from ordinary people, hurting their bodies and minds just to make a living.
It's not much different from the manga in that magical powers can't be explained by the laws of physics, but unfortunately, not everything is like the manga, and in this world, when someone fights a magical girl, someone gets hurt.
Someone is bleeding.
That someone is inevitably a human like a magical girl.
But we can't not fight.
As is the case with the awakening of the Magical Girl of Time, her first fight as a Magical Girl is a battle to protect herself.
--- p.119
“When we first met, you asked me that, if you could become a magical girl without being a girl.”
Aroa suddenly said.
Oh, yeah, yes.
As I walked along, lost in thought, I answered hastily, and Aroa let out a long sigh.
“It may be too vague to be called a theory, but this is my opinion.
“Well, the will of the world is trying to achieve a balance of power.”
"balance?"
“The reason magical girls are created is because that person needed that power the most.
Conversely, a magical girl on the verge of awakening is the most vulnerable being in the world.”
(…)
“I wonder if it seems like only girls are given magical powers because the weakest beings are given the power they need most.
That's what I think."
“Do you know about my destiny?”
"sure."
It was a truly trustworthy and affectionate voice.
Aroa came over and took my hand gently, as if he was touching something very precious, and said:
“You are destined to become a magical girl.
--- p.19
"Wait a minute, the end of the world... Has something like a demon lord or aliens appeared? Or is there a great war about to break out? Are magical girls the only ones who know about it?"
"no.
Everyone knows it.
“The real crisis, the real disaster, comes in the form of climate change.”
The chairman's kind gaze suddenly turned scary.
“The Earth will not end because of the Demon King or aliens.
At least for now.
But the climate crisis is actually the greatest disaster facing the planet.”
--- p.68
“This is a bit…”
I felt that the chairman was choosing the right words to address me with consideration.
The chairman spoke with an elegant smile on his face.
“It’s unique.”
It wasn't a bad thing, and if I had to be specific, it was a good thing to say, but it also sounded like something you'd say to a baby or a puppy when you can't quite find the words "You look so strong" or "You look so smart."
So I was so embarrassed.
If it's true that Magu's heart is printed in the shape most similar to a magical girl's heart, then my heart is shaped like a credit card.
It was an unexpected turn of events that brought home to me the truth that I was a person whose head and heart were always tied to the thoughts and anxieties of revolving credit card debt.
--- p.76~77
The magical girls that exist in this world cannot be unconditionally good, and they do not need to be good.
Because this isn't a cartoon.
Because instead of fighting aliens from outer space or beings from some magical world while sharing things like love, hope, and goodness with people, they live in a way that is not much different from ordinary people, hurting their bodies and minds just to make a living.
It's not much different from the manga in that magical powers can't be explained by the laws of physics, but unfortunately, not everything is like the manga, and in this world, when someone fights a magical girl, someone gets hurt.
Someone is bleeding.
That someone is inevitably a human like a magical girl.
But we can't not fight.
As is the case with the awakening of the Magical Girl of Time, her first fight as a Magical Girl is a battle to protect herself.
--- p.119
“When we first met, you asked me that, if you could become a magical girl without being a girl.”
Aroa suddenly said.
Oh, yeah, yes.
As I walked along, lost in thought, I answered hastily, and Aroa let out a long sigh.
“It may be too vague to be called a theory, but this is my opinion.
“Well, the will of the world is trying to achieve a balance of power.”
"balance?"
“The reason magical girls are created is because that person needed that power the most.
Conversely, a magical girl on the verge of awakening is the most vulnerable being in the world.”
(…)
“I wonder if it seems like only girls are given magical powers because the weakest beings are given the power they need most.
That's what I think."
--- p.119~120
Publisher's Review
“You are destined to become a magical girl.”
I decide to die because I can't afford to pay my credit card debt.
The price for using the "friendly" revolving service that told you to pay next month if you couldn't pay this month was steep.
Debts are mounting, and the spread of the pandemic is causing job losses.
“I think I lived hard.
“I” who thinks, “I was not given much, but I tried my best without wasting anything” ends up standing on the Han River Bridge “as if I was pushed by someone” (page 8).
After crying for a long time without being able to jump, I suddenly see a taxi running towards me.
While he was hesitating, a woman dressed in white like an angel got out of the taxi, and he immediately spoke.
“You are not destined to die now” (page 18).
The person in white, who introduced herself as the 'Magical Girl of Prophecy', continued speaking in a trustworthy and affectionate voice.
“You are destined to become a magical girl.” (Page 19)
The name of the magical girl of prophecy is Aroa, and according to Aroa, 'I' am the one who will become the 'Magical Girl of Time'.
An era where magical girls protect the world.
Magical girls with special abilities protect our everyday reality.
They are employed by specific organizations or individuals to perform security duties, participate in counter-terrorism operations, and even work to stop the climate crisis, the greatest threat to the planet.
In order to continuously fight against something as huge as the climate crisis, the magical girls created the 'National Magical Girls Cooperative' (National Magical Girls Cooperative). They thought that a magical girl of time was absolutely necessary to prevent the destruction of the Earth due to the climate crisis, and they came to find 'me' with the power of Aroa, the magical girl of prophecy.
'I' feel that being a magical girl of time is my destiny.
As a child, I learned how to repair watches over my grandfather's shoulder at the watch shop he ran, and I dreamed of becoming a watch designer.
I, who loved watches, am a magical girl of time, and what's more, it is said that the magical girl of time will become the strongest magical girl in history.
Save humanity from Earth's destruction!
An unknown magical girl holding a credit card
I have been given the weighty responsibility of preventing the destruction of the Earth, but I am not yet a magical girl.
To become a magical girl, a special awakening event is required.
Faced with the urgent task of the climate crisis, the president of the Jeonma Association, a magical girl producer, decides to create a harness that will stimulate 'me's' awakening.
In the hands of 'me', who was gathering my earnest heart by offering up the photos and watch I cherished as sacrifices, the saddle that was gradually taking shape among the sparkling lights was none other than a 'credit card'.
I wondered for a moment why the credit card was so messy, but even after a few days, the awakening of 'me' did not occur.
Meanwhile, Mirae, who introduces herself as the 'Magical Girl of Time', appears.
And with his appearance, the weather changes drastically.
Amidst a series of dark days with heavy rain, Mirae's online live broadcast begins.
He announces that he will use his ability to manipulate time to bring about the "destruction of humanity."
People destroy the environment and each other, so “humanity’s existence on Earth is unnecessary” (p. 135).
Will a magical girl emerge who can stop the future that threatens to further accelerate climate disaster and ultimately wipe out humanity?
What role can I, a seemingly insignificant person, play in this?
In this way, the novel brings unique fun by incorporating realities we experience firsthand, such as credit cards, revolving doors, epidemics, and climate disasters, into a world where girls who use magic appear.
When the magical world blends into a scene that isn't too different from our own reality, we can experience the pleasure of experiencing both fantasy and familiarity.
In her “Author’s Note,” Park Seo-ryeon says that she, who was “born a completely ordinary Earthling and never discovered any evidence that she was a princess of the magical world in her past life” until she was in her thirties, and that everyone, “whether they like magical girl works or not,” “sometimes desperately needs magic or a miracle.”
This novel begins with the idea that each person desperately longs for a magical miracle in their own life.
“There is only the end of the world,” and no one clearly appears to fight against it.
News of someone losing their dignity at the hands of another, news of the planet getting warmer and its weather becoming more unpredictable, news of wildfires and floods that have left people homeless and loved ones lost.
In this age where we feel like the world is going to end several times a day, Park Seo-ryeon's novel tells us to imagine that we can all become "magical girls" because it is exactly that kind of world.
“Magical girls are beings who endlessly contemplate their relationship with the world and use the amazing powers given to them not only for their own convenience but also for the world,” and the world needs such beings so much.
It's not a far-off or grand story.
You, who have been invited to the magical world of Park Seo-ryeon, are already someone who is contemplating the relationship between me, others, and the world, and is ready to use the great and small powers given to each of us for 'us'.
“So, surprisingly, we are…… a nation of magical girls.
“Accept it.” (Author’s Note)
Author's Note
I'm not all that proud of being an adult who 'still' likes the magical girl genre, but I don't think it's something I should be ashamed of or hide.
A bit of a sense of indebtedness that must be acknowledged is in the context of whether it might seem like we've plundered a genre that was originally for children, but I hope that the generous proposition that "anyone can become a magical girl" will be happily accepted by children as well.
In reality, the protagonists of the magical girl genre are usually teenagers, but if 'anyone' can become a magical girl, the possibility opens up to even younger people.
In theory, a newborn baby can become a magical girl, a pregnant woman can become a magical girl, and not surprisingly, even a man can become a magical girl… … Didn’t we already talk about Hwanung?
Anyone can become a magical girl, as long as they don't feel uncomfortable thinking of themselves as one.
I hope so.
Because being a magical girl is not only a cultural asset in childhood, but also has benefits that continue to be valid even after becoming an adult.
Magical girls endlessly contemplate their relationship with the world, and use the incredible powers they have been given not only for their own personal convenience, but also for the benefit of the world.
We hope this proposal will be accepted as an 'engaging fantasy'.
I hope you too can become a magical girl and be content with that fact.
You are the candle that will illuminate this dark world where there is only the apocalypse and no one to fight against it.
And you are not alone.
Meanwhile, I bought a few classic magical girl toys with the royalties from this work.
Because there was a personal narrative that could only be completed that way.
Maybe I'll have a chance to tell that story someday.
Okay, that's it.
Spring 2022
Park Seo-ryeon
I decide to die because I can't afford to pay my credit card debt.
The price for using the "friendly" revolving service that told you to pay next month if you couldn't pay this month was steep.
Debts are mounting, and the spread of the pandemic is causing job losses.
“I think I lived hard.
“I” who thinks, “I was not given much, but I tried my best without wasting anything” ends up standing on the Han River Bridge “as if I was pushed by someone” (page 8).
After crying for a long time without being able to jump, I suddenly see a taxi running towards me.
While he was hesitating, a woman dressed in white like an angel got out of the taxi, and he immediately spoke.
“You are not destined to die now” (page 18).
The person in white, who introduced herself as the 'Magical Girl of Prophecy', continued speaking in a trustworthy and affectionate voice.
“You are destined to become a magical girl.” (Page 19)
The name of the magical girl of prophecy is Aroa, and according to Aroa, 'I' am the one who will become the 'Magical Girl of Time'.
An era where magical girls protect the world.
Magical girls with special abilities protect our everyday reality.
They are employed by specific organizations or individuals to perform security duties, participate in counter-terrorism operations, and even work to stop the climate crisis, the greatest threat to the planet.
In order to continuously fight against something as huge as the climate crisis, the magical girls created the 'National Magical Girls Cooperative' (National Magical Girls Cooperative). They thought that a magical girl of time was absolutely necessary to prevent the destruction of the Earth due to the climate crisis, and they came to find 'me' with the power of Aroa, the magical girl of prophecy.
'I' feel that being a magical girl of time is my destiny.
As a child, I learned how to repair watches over my grandfather's shoulder at the watch shop he ran, and I dreamed of becoming a watch designer.
I, who loved watches, am a magical girl of time, and what's more, it is said that the magical girl of time will become the strongest magical girl in history.
Save humanity from Earth's destruction!
An unknown magical girl holding a credit card
I have been given the weighty responsibility of preventing the destruction of the Earth, but I am not yet a magical girl.
To become a magical girl, a special awakening event is required.
Faced with the urgent task of the climate crisis, the president of the Jeonma Association, a magical girl producer, decides to create a harness that will stimulate 'me's' awakening.
In the hands of 'me', who was gathering my earnest heart by offering up the photos and watch I cherished as sacrifices, the saddle that was gradually taking shape among the sparkling lights was none other than a 'credit card'.
I wondered for a moment why the credit card was so messy, but even after a few days, the awakening of 'me' did not occur.
Meanwhile, Mirae, who introduces herself as the 'Magical Girl of Time', appears.
And with his appearance, the weather changes drastically.
Amidst a series of dark days with heavy rain, Mirae's online live broadcast begins.
He announces that he will use his ability to manipulate time to bring about the "destruction of humanity."
People destroy the environment and each other, so “humanity’s existence on Earth is unnecessary” (p. 135).
Will a magical girl emerge who can stop the future that threatens to further accelerate climate disaster and ultimately wipe out humanity?
What role can I, a seemingly insignificant person, play in this?
In this way, the novel brings unique fun by incorporating realities we experience firsthand, such as credit cards, revolving doors, epidemics, and climate disasters, into a world where girls who use magic appear.
When the magical world blends into a scene that isn't too different from our own reality, we can experience the pleasure of experiencing both fantasy and familiarity.
In her “Author’s Note,” Park Seo-ryeon says that she, who was “born a completely ordinary Earthling and never discovered any evidence that she was a princess of the magical world in her past life” until she was in her thirties, and that everyone, “whether they like magical girl works or not,” “sometimes desperately needs magic or a miracle.”
This novel begins with the idea that each person desperately longs for a magical miracle in their own life.
“There is only the end of the world,” and no one clearly appears to fight against it.
News of someone losing their dignity at the hands of another, news of the planet getting warmer and its weather becoming more unpredictable, news of wildfires and floods that have left people homeless and loved ones lost.
In this age where we feel like the world is going to end several times a day, Park Seo-ryeon's novel tells us to imagine that we can all become "magical girls" because it is exactly that kind of world.
“Magical girls are beings who endlessly contemplate their relationship with the world and use the amazing powers given to them not only for their own convenience but also for the world,” and the world needs such beings so much.
It's not a far-off or grand story.
You, who have been invited to the magical world of Park Seo-ryeon, are already someone who is contemplating the relationship between me, others, and the world, and is ready to use the great and small powers given to each of us for 'us'.
“So, surprisingly, we are…… a nation of magical girls.
“Accept it.” (Author’s Note)
Author's Note
I'm not all that proud of being an adult who 'still' likes the magical girl genre, but I don't think it's something I should be ashamed of or hide.
A bit of a sense of indebtedness that must be acknowledged is in the context of whether it might seem like we've plundered a genre that was originally for children, but I hope that the generous proposition that "anyone can become a magical girl" will be happily accepted by children as well.
In reality, the protagonists of the magical girl genre are usually teenagers, but if 'anyone' can become a magical girl, the possibility opens up to even younger people.
In theory, a newborn baby can become a magical girl, a pregnant woman can become a magical girl, and not surprisingly, even a man can become a magical girl… … Didn’t we already talk about Hwanung?
Anyone can become a magical girl, as long as they don't feel uncomfortable thinking of themselves as one.
I hope so.
Because being a magical girl is not only a cultural asset in childhood, but also has benefits that continue to be valid even after becoming an adult.
Magical girls endlessly contemplate their relationship with the world, and use the incredible powers they have been given not only for their own personal convenience, but also for the benefit of the world.
We hope this proposal will be accepted as an 'engaging fantasy'.
I hope you too can become a magical girl and be content with that fact.
You are the candle that will illuminate this dark world where there is only the apocalypse and no one to fight against it.
And you are not alone.
Meanwhile, I bought a few classic magical girl toys with the royalties from this work.
Because there was a personal narrative that could only be completed that way.
Maybe I'll have a chance to tell that story someday.
Okay, that's it.
Spring 2022
Park Seo-ryeon
GOODS SPECIFICS
- Publication date: April 10, 2022
- Format: Hardcover book binding method guide
- Page count, weight, size: 208 pages | 330g | 129*195*21mm
- ISBN13: 9788936438739
- ISBN10: 8936438735
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