Gushing over Magical Girls
Gushing over Magical Girls, also known as I Admire Magical Girls, and..., is a Japanese magical girl manga series written and illustrated by Akihiro Ononaka. It began serialization on Takeshobo's Storia Dash website in March 2019. Eleven tankōbon volumes have been released as of January 2024. It is licensed in English by J-Novel Club. An anime television series adaptation produced by Asahi Production aired from January to March 2024. It is licensed outside of Japan by Sentai Filmworks for streaming and home video. A second season has been announced.
Plot
Utena Hiiragi is a normal, introverted girl with a strong admiration for magical girls, especially the beautiful trio that protect her town, Tres Magia. One day, a mascot named Venalita approaches Utena and gives her magical powers, but rather than becoming the magical girl of justice she always wanted to be, she instead becomes an evil general of the Enormita organization. Despite the misfortune in being forced to fight against the magical girls she admires, Utena soon discovers that she has a hidden sadistic side, and revels in torturing her idols with her newfound obsession.Characters
Due to magical powers, the true identity of Tres Magia's members when transformed is unknown to Enormita's members and vice versa. As the magical girls' power come from their emotions, some of them later learn to assume a more powerful form known as "La Veritas" when their emotions grow stronger.Enormita / Evil Magical Girls
; Utena Hiiragi / Magia Baiser; Venalita
; Kiwi Araga / Leoparde
; Korisu Morino / Nero Alice
; Roboko
; Matama Akoya / Loco Musica
; Nemo Anemo / Leberblume
; Holy Tengeiji / Sister Gigant
Heroic Magical Girls
Tres Magia
;Haruka Hanabishi / Magia Magenta;Sayo Minakami / Magia Azure
;Kaoruko Tenkawa / Magia Sulfur
;Vatz
Shio-chans
;Michiko Tanaka Shion Imita Imitatio Lord Enorme;Momo Momomori / Pantano Pesca
;Randa Tada / Berserga
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Akihiro Ononaka, Gushing over Magical Girls began serialization on Takeshobo's ' website on March 29, 2019. It was also serialized on the company's ' magazine, until it ceased publication in July 2019. As of January 2024, eleven tankōbon volumes have been published. On March 15, 2024, it was announced the manga would go on hiatus due to Ononaka's health issues. The series resumed serialization on Takeshobo's TakeComi! website on October 17, 2025.J-Novel Club licensed the series for English release, and began pre-publishing it in March 2022. Previously, Coolmic licensed the series and published the manga divided in, as of late December 2022, 68 "episodes" consisting of about 10 pages each, on a smartphone-only website, under the title "I Admire Magical Girls, and....". In January 2025, J-Novel Club announced that a print release would begin publication in July 2025.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on March 16, 2023. The series was produced by Asahi Production and directed by Masato Suzuki and Atsushi Ōtsuki, with series composition by Noboru Kimura, character designs by Yasuka Otakil, and music composed by Yasuharu Takanashi, Akinari Suzuki, and Johannes Nilsson. It aired from January 3 to March 27, 2024, on AT-X and other networks. The series aired censored on all television networks and partially uncensored with censored audio on AT-X and streaming sites, with the fully uncensored visuals and audio being featured on the home media release. The opening theme song is "My Dream Girls", performed by Nacherry, while the ending theme song is "Togetoge Sadistic" performed by Fūka Izumi, Aoi Koga and Shiori Sugiura.Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, Australia and British Isles for streaming on its Hidive platform and home video through Section23 Films, simulcasting the AT-X version as it aired.
A second season was announced during an event for the anime series on October 5, 2024.