As you may recall, I called this a Sailor Moon and St. Tail crossover. Well, just like Sailor Moon‘s first arc, we have to continue collecting allies until we reach the magic number of five. Witches, assemble!
In this second volume of Stellar Witch LIP☆S, Miku meets two of her favorite stars: the fortuneteller Saya and idol Ray. Saya she meets when both she and Ryusei have their eye on EGG, the company suspected of being behind all the strange incidents. Later, she bumps into Ray while preparing to audition for Ray’s label. Attendees at both end up as targets, and then Lunatic Rosé and Glitter Gold make their debut at each.
Their debuts are the main highlight of this volume. Rosé is a more experienced Witch who is Mari’s protégé, and Gold’s costume (and civilian identity) sets her apart from the others. But there are two other important points in the story. First, Ryusei and Miku face uncertainty about their positions. Ryusei is given a gun and told to shoot the Witches. Miku needs to improve her magic skills by embracing what she likes. That’s going to be important, as Mari reveals quite a bit about their opponent: the millennia-old Eden, who knows Mari but still attacks her.
If you read my review of Stellar Witch LIP☆S or decided to pick it up for yourself, there’s nothing here that’s going to make you suddenly fall in or out of love with the series. Had this been released in the 90s, it’d probably be called a magical girl copycat; nowadays, it’s an homage. Ryusei finds himself thinking about the mysterious Star Scarlet, and Miku can’t help but feel inferior to her alter ego because of it. As for her fellow Witches, Rosé will probably stay in the forefront more because of her experience, but Mint and Violet? Their roles are minimal here. There’s a chance they and the other Witches can to regain their individuality since volume 3 is going to feature a training arc. But there’s still the matter of the EGG boys; there’s four of them, and they just seem to exist as generic underlings. Again, only the male and female leads getting character development is not an uncommon issue in a manga like this, but that doesn’t excuse it.
But the Mari/Eden connection could prove to be interesting. I was thinking maybe a situation similar to Magic Knight Rayearth, but that doesn’t seem to match what we see. Mineo the owl has already been fulfilling the mascot role, but the ending leaves room for him to help take on a more unique role in the story.
While the story remains okay, I am still so fond of the art. Glitter Gold gets a unique uniform, and I have to admit thinking it looks a little odd with just one breaking the skirt dynamic. And, uh, if you thought casting spells in short skirts was a little ridiculous, well, short shorts isn’t much better. Otherwise, the manga continues with its sparkly visuals, and Miku/Ryusei get some cute moments for fans. However, that’s not enough to support the manga alone. Stellar Witch LIP☆S volume 2 is solely for magical girl manga fans and does little to engage other audiences.