I was able to read a digital copy of the manga, Adorned by Chi. It is a magical girl manga based in Nigeria that follows the story of Adaeze, a young, sensitive girl that is trying to make it through college life the best she can. Introverted and shy, she is stumbled upon by a small, puppy-bear creature, Chi Chi, and told that she, Adaeze, is the dividing line between the safety and destruction of the world. A nefarious group, the Order of Nothingness, wants to empty the world of all its joy – and Adaeze is the key to make that happen.

Paired up with her friends, Adaeze fights back against the Order and tries to bring peace back to her world.

Reading the manga, I have to say it is very delightful. I have grown up with mahou shoujo/magical girl stories (Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors and my personal favorites, Cutey Honey and 3×3 Eyes). Adorned by Chi is very similar to these stories but still puts a new spin on and old tale. There are still magical guardians, there is still mythical monsters and there is still an ominous, overwhelming force out to ruin the world/universe. However, the cultural infusion of Nigeria helps revamp the story and keep it from being just another “Magical girl” story.

The artwork throughout the manga is professional level, there are times it feels pulled from the pages of Clamp. There are still some slippies here and there with body structure and perspective but I chalk it up to being new – besides, they managed to avoid yaoi hands and shoujo legs so they’re off to a good start for a first book. The story line is simple but that’s not a bad thing, not everything needs to be read like it was penned by Lady Murasaki. Clamp had very simple stories but they wove together well to make for deep impacts. Adorned by Chi could probably do a little better though by removing the SFX directives (Example: “SFX: Bright Magical Light”) and let the art narrate for itself, it does an amazing job doing so without them. Some commas are missed in a few places, which can slow the story just a touch but, again, this is a new manga that is not backed by a major publisher. I expect it to get better as time goes on.

While there are some imperfections, imperfections doesn’t make for a bad story. Anyone who read One Punch Man when it was just a webcomic would know that deeply.

See what I mean?

The story is captivating, the outfits are amazing, the animal guardians are cute, it is all very satisfying.

Pre-Orders are still available