A seemingly traditional magical girl superhero story quickly becomes something entirely else as a new saga begins!
Written by Bones LeopardCover by Kelly and Nichole Matthews
Illustrated and Colored by Kelly and Nichole Matthews
Lettered by Jim CampbellWhat if Magical Girls weren’t Earth’s champions at all?
Aoe, Thel, and Gen, better known as the Lovely Trio, first burst onto the scene five years ago when they saved Earth from a surprise space monster attack!
Since then, everyone, including Gigi, whose brother died as a bystander in a Lovely Trio battle, idolizes them as superheroic pop icons.
But when Gigi witnesses the Lovely Trio battling a monster firsthand, she sees something that causes her to question everything she thought she ever knew about her heroes!
A magical new series from the team behind Pandora’s Legacy, writer Bones Leopard (Identical) and artists Kelly & Nichole Matthews (Just Beyond), that’s perfect for fans of Sailor Moon and Wynd.
Magical girl adventures are a common story type in animation, be it in North America, Europe, or Asia. The tropes and styles of the genre are easily recognized by those in the know. With “Save Yourself!” #1, Bones Leopard seems to rely upon this familiarity for the storytelling, albeit pushed more through a more traditional superhero idea. When trying to make such a story, having it be friendly for many audiences, Leopard has their work count out for them. Do they rise to the occasion, or end up as a dime-a-dozen story of success and triumph? With a name like “Save Yourself!” #1, there are certain ideas that may immediately pop up, and it may seem difficult for a fan to latch on.
Thankfully, with “Save Yourself!” #1, Leopard shows that they are more than up to the task, putting together the trappings of a lighter superhero girl team on the surface before turning it into something very different. An early revelation by the protagonist Gigi warps what could be seen as heroic into something far more sinister, but simultaneously does not lose the kid-friendly charm either. Significant comedy amongst some of the major characters helps to both accentuate the more horrifying events and to soften their blows shortly thereafter. The characters are rather entertaining on the whole, and help to flesh out the world without explaining too much up front, letting the interactions speak for themselves more than any overt exposition for the most part. The result is an intriguing mashup of lighthearted interpersonal comedy, shocking elements of horror, and high-flying action all wrapped in intrigue, mystery, and wonder surrounding celebrity superheroes and a recently disillusioned fan. Even as the darkness begins to infect the story, it does not appear to be too quick, and easily allows readers to enjoy the introductions to Gigi, Bear, and the other cast of protagonists and antagonists as the journey begins. Altogether, Leopard’s structure is an intriguing, delightfully twisted take on superheroes not dissimilar from the famous “Invincible” comic, but with a very different setting and tone. In a world where magical girls are perhaps not the saviors they should be, perhaps, as the title indicates, normal, non-powered people have to “save themselves” instead of relying on a higher power in the first place.
While the storytelling is good in the script side of things, what really helps “Save Yourself!” #1 stand out is its art style, as supplied by the twins Kelly and Nichole Matthews. The pencils seem rather soft and inviting, not too dissimilar from the likes of Gurihiru’s work on “Gwenpool.” In all, it seems very inviting, even deceptively so, seeming almost more applicable to a very different kind of story than the one presented. However, rather than detracting from the plot, the Matthews sisters instead are able to merge the two tones – one of child friendliness, and another of serious violence – into a cohesive whole that functions well in both areas at once. The actual presentation of the characters depends on who we are looking at, and varies from happy-go-lucky to bored to outright horrified without ever missing a beat. Oddly, the superheroes themselves appear, rather than faster or more active, instead to be slower or “slowed down” in the artwork, as if they were posing in each panel. By contrast, people like Gigi or her friend “Bear” are constantly shown in moments of intense motion, be it close-ups or wider shots, and are regularly seen as somehow livelier than their idols, who seem almost to be stuck in “freeze frames” with the exception of moments of calm that allow them to act at a similar speed to normal people. In one memorable instance, it is the fact that a scene is cut into “shards” of an image across two pages akin to a spread, seemingly slowed to a crawl and alternating between Gigi and what she is seeing, that really helps to emphasize a scenario and thereby keep the terror fresh until it can be pushed away or at least mitigated for the time being afterwards with a faster pace.
While the illustration of the artwork itself is good, it would still not be nearly enough without the marvelous colors also chosen by Kelly and Nichole Matthews. The hues and tones are borderline (or perhaps deliberately) pastel in style, softer and lighter in a way that belies the horrible events that occur, simultaneously allowing reads to smile even in the darkest of times narratively. While a dark color palette may have worked for the tone of the story as well, it is this lighter one that helps readers to calm down and enjoy themselves while trying to figure out what is happening, rather than dwelling in the horrors and wallowing in them too severely. By being subversive, the Matthews team help to both be contrary to the story in a way that can shock the audience, and let readers ease into it at the same time, as contradictory as that dichotomy might seem.
Final Verdict: 7.5– While there is still much to learn, “Save Yourself!” #1 is off to a great start.
