This was cute and so short, and I wished it had been longer. It felt like an adult take on Magical Girls. No weird monsters from other planets or dimensions; but debts, domestic violence and climate change. I honestly also liked how there was not a single male character in the book.
Really enjoyed reading the translators' note, too. The thought "if all the powers come to the girls/women in time of huge pain; then all of them already went to huge pain" came to me already while reading, and I thought it was interesting to see this written down again. Especially when since from all I have heard so far, SK doesnt seem to be the most feminist country.
I liked the quiet love story between Roa and the main character.
Overall, really cute, and I wished it was longer. The illustrations were great.
I also like the possible vibe of making the protagonist unnamed since the author wants everyone to feel like a magical girl who wants to join the fight against the climate catastrophe. I would’ve liked more details about the Mirae especially since Hur specifically mentions in the note how violence against women is very common in Korea (same in Japan too) and how Korean law is very lacking in punishing the accused (“When you are living in Korea, as I am, you are constantly fed media reports of violence against women, a phenomenon made even more disconcerting by the lack of consequences for the perpetrators, even in the face of stark and overwhelming evidence.” The burden of proof often rests heavily on the victim.) this is true everywhere in the world (In Dead Girls, Selva Almada talked about this pattern in latin america). Mirae being a victim of domestic abuse didn’t really get any conversation, even though her experience and decisions caused the climax of our story.
I’d say it’s a 3.5 ⭐️ for me because it could’ve been longer and more detailed with more world building but at the same time the shortness makes it more poignant. I’m really glad I picked this one up.