Magical x Miracle is a Josei manga by Yuzu Mizutani, which was serialized in Monthly Comic Zero Sum from 2002 to 2006 and collected into six volumes. It was licensed in English by Tokyopop.
Merleawe, a fourteen year old girl, has just come to the kingdom of Viegald to learn magic. On her way to her first day of school, she is kidnapped by a man named Vaith and taken to a castle. She learns that Viegald is in danger because of the disappearance of the great Sylthfarn, the master wizard, who's the most important person in the country, perhaps even more than the royal family.
Merleawe is asked to impersonate Sylthfarn to protect Viegald's peace agreements with neighboring countries. She agrees, but there's just a few problems: she can't do more than simple, basic magic, and she knows next to nothing about the master wizard she's supposed to be taking the place of. As her new friends search continue to search for the wizard while they teach her how to imitate him, Merleawe struggles to discover her own identity, and that of Sylthfarn.
Tropes in Magical x Miracle include:
- A-Cup Angst: Vaith teases Mel quite a lot about being flat-chested. Justified, because she is only fourteen.
- Action Girl: Mel grows into one over the course of the story; She's the one to take down Ardi.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Perhaps fuels her crush on Vaith.
- Amulet of Concentrated Awesome: Ardi has one of these that negates all magic used against him. He stole it from Slythfarn.
- Anime Catholicism: Downplayed, but still present. Glenn became a priest when, strictly speaking, he would have been too young to. The outfits are also wrong, at least for Glenn, but the Archbishop's robes seem to be accurate. As for holy magic and fighting evil... Francis seems to know martial arts (which quite possibly has more to do with being Francis and less to do with being a priest), and Glenn can use some basic protection magic, at least in book 1. Other than that, the series is actually fairly accurate in depicting Catholicism, excepting, of course, the Jesus Taboo.
- Badass Bookworm: Yue.
- Beleaguered Assistant: Princess Seraphia's maid, Leanne, cares for her very much, but is quite often exasperated by her erratic behaviour.
- Berserk Button: Mel does not like being teased about having a small chest.
- Don't comment on Seraphina and Fia Luka having similar-sounding names.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Fern, at first.
- Big Brother Instinct: Edel, Merleawe's brother.
- The Big Guy: Vaith.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: What Ardi does to the King of Viegald, and the knights under Vaith's command.
- Break the Cutie: Mel never completely breaks, but she's put under a lot of stressful and on occasion, dangerous situations over the course of the books.
- Brutal Honesty: Yue and Fern.
- Camp Straight: Francis, Glenn's best friend, is a rather flamboyant and effeminate man, but fell in love with a girl and was therefore banned from being a priest.
- The Charmer: Vaith is described in his character notes as "deceptively smooth", and he has Mel's friends gushing over him in a matter of minutes.
- Chekhov's Skill: Mel's ability to create flowers? It's the key to undoing the spell on Ardi's pendant, rendering him vulnerable enough to attack so that Yue can kill him.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Several of Mel's childhood friends reveal they married other members of the group when she returns home in volume 5.
- Child Mage: Slythfarn was a powerful mage from a very young age, and given great responsibility from a very young age as well (became Master Wizard in his early teens).
- Chivalrous Pervert: Implied with Vaith, when he stops some sleazy guys when they're hitting on Mel, but then later on mentioned her flat chest in conversation. It fits in with his Loveable Rogue personality.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Princess Seraphia is slightly towards Sylthfarn.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Sylthfarn is often noted to be an odd individual, and he does some strange things, like making a little girl a good-luck charm out of a priest's robes.
- Cool Big Sis: Salavy to Lushka, her step-sister.
- Costume Porn: Seraphia's dresses alone are gorgeous and incredibly detailed, and some of Merleawe's clothes are as well.
- Creatures by Many Other Names: Elves are, due to Inconsistent Dub, called both "Hahaze" and "Onburu".
- Faint in Shock: Mel is forced to give a speech as Sylthfarn, and faints when it's over.
- Fake Faint: The group tell Mel that she should pretend to faint when she's forced to give a speech as Sylthfarn. Instead, she delivers a Rousing Speech, and Faints in Shock when it's over!
- Fan Boy: Lecto, Mel's class president, towards Yue.
- Fangirl: Tirika towards Mel.
- Friendless Background: Pretty much everyone Sylthfarn became close with at the castle before he met them.
- Full-Contact Magic: Seems to be the way magic is used in the universe.
- Heroic BSoD: Mel has a brief one at the end of Volume 1 when a woman dies in front of her and she is unable to do anything to save her.
- Hidden Elf Village: The village of the Hahaze.
- Identical Stranger: Mel is asked to impersonate Sylth because they have the exact same face.
- Inconsistent Spelling: Silsfern/Slythfarn, Seraphia/Selaphia, Lecto/Rekt... the list goes on and on.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Mel's are of the "innocent" category.
- Jerk With A Heartof Gold: Yue may be strict and kind of uptight, but he does care about Mel's wellbeing and is equally worried about Sylthfarn as everyone else.
- Fern also count.
- Kidanova: Implied with Sylthfarn, when Mel (who is impersonating) imitates his famous charm to calm down Seraphina and Fia Luka.
- The Klutz: Mel, to the point where she could count as a Cute Clumsy Girl.
- Lady of War: General Lenolora, who is the general of Caldia, to the west of Viegald. She plays an escort to Princess Fia Luke of Caldia in Volume 2, and in the final volume she is sent to negotiate with Yue, and her intelligence is implied to be on par with his.
- Large Ham: Glenn's friend Francis even has his own theme song!
- Living Emotional Crutch: Sylthfarn to Fern, who was even more obnoxious before Sylthfarn befriended him.
- Loveable Rogue: Despite being a knight, Vaith has elements of this.
- Magi Babble: Yue, Fern, and even Vaith subject Merleawe to this as they try to help her study for her exams.
- Misunderstood Loner With A Heartof Gold: Salavy, a witch from Glenn's hometown, was believed to have cursed the town. In actual fact, She was trying to find a cure, but it backfired.
- My Greatest Failure: Vaith's entire troop getting killed in the Uprising of Selba.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: The reason Mel is forced to ask Vaith about his dark past is because her friend, Louie, never got to say goodbye to her friend Alfred, who went to fight in the Uprising of Selba and died of his injuries. He gave Vaith a letter to give to Louie, but Vaith was forbidden from visiting the friends or family of the dead soldiers.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Francis seems to chronically have this issue, and tried to hug Merleawe. This just might have given away the masquerade, had Fern not stepped in to save the day.
- Not a Morning Person: Both Mel and Sylthfarn share this trait, apparently.
- Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering: When the Council is first introduced, one might take it to be an Omniscient Council of Vagueness, but when the Council is viewed in action in Volume 5, it's pretty obvious that much more arguing than action takes place there. Yue mentions that he feels Surrounded by Idiots while on the Council, though the politicians who serve on the Council are more corrupt than stupid, if Agros' framing of Vaith for his superior officer's embezzlement of funds is any indication.
- Odd Friendship: Sylthfarn's motley crew; A priest, an Elf child, a knight and a member of the Country Council.
- Our Elves Are Different: The Hahaze (aka Onburu). They have an unusually high resistance to magical spells, resulting in them being used as bodyguards for important people. They have long, pointy ears and have super speed when they need it. Fern, the resident Hahaze, takes to his Elvish smugness in the form of being the snarky Non-Human Sidekick. They seem to have some Celtic influences.
- Over-the-Shoulder Carry: Vaith does this to Mel when he first meets her and realises she is the perfect double for Sylthfarn. Since this is literally the first time they meet, Mel assumes he's kidnapping her.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Seraphia and Sylth were engaged at the request of the king, but they really do like each other.
- Perpetual Frowner: Yue.
- Plucky Girl: Mel, a fourteen-year-old apprentice wizard, takes on the huge responsibility of impersonating Sylthfarn until he returns, as well as attending school when not at the castle. That is definitely plucky!
- The Prankster: Sylthfarn, who, among other things, hid porn in Glenn's bookshelf, braided Yue's hair while he slept and fed Fern a super-hot pepper.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Ardi and partially Yue.
- Regal Ringlets: Seraphia.
- Rousing Speech: Mel delivers one as Sylthfarn in Volume 1, even though she is asked to do it rather suddenly and still hasn't fully gotten the hang of Sylthfarn's mannerisms. She does a convincing enough job to fool even the King, however.
- Royal Brat: Implied with Princess Fia Luka.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Yue has a PHD in this trope.
- Secret Test of Character: Seraphia finds out Mel is an imposter when she quizzes her about what the very first thing was Sylthfarn ever gave her. However, she's more angry with Yue and the others than with Mel.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: Vaith says this almost word-for-word when he and Mel are having lunch and is asked this.
- Ship Tease: Mel seems to have a crush on Vaith, and later on in the series Fern seems to have a crush on Mel.
- Also, General Lenalore and Yue seem to have some Belligerent Sexual Tension.
- Shrinking Violet: Merleawe. She eventually grows out of it enough to harass the king of one country and take on the master wizard title under her own identity.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Princess Seraphia and Princess Fia Luka, which is Played for Laughs. They grow out of it after the timeskip.
- She Is All Grown Up: Mel in volume 6. Princess Seraphia also qualifies; in-universe she is commented to have grown "body and mind".
- Shorter Means Smarter: Sylthfarn is 4'11". He is the smartest and most powerful man in the country.
- The Smart Guy: Yue.
- The Sociopath: Ardi. He hit a girl when she confessed she liked him and found it amusing to watch her cry.
- Stalker without a Crush: Lecto, after he notices Mel keeps wandering off to the castle and decides to find out why.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Lecto, Mel's class president, seems cold and distant, but becomes excited and talkative around his idol, Yue, and behaves much more friendly towards Mel when he finds out they're friends.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Vaith and Yue.
- Token Mini-Moe: Seraphia.
- Tomboy And Girlygirl: Mel is the Tomboy to Seraphia, but the Girly Girl to her friend Louie.
- Tomboyish Name: Louie.
- Tsundere: Yue.
- Undying Loyalty: Yue, Glenn, Fern and Vaith to Sylthfarn. And, in the finale, to Mel after she is named the next master wizard.
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?:
- Mel's brother's special magic talent is calling pigeons. He seems happy with his lot in life, however, and doesn't resent Mel in the slightest.
- Initially, Mel's signature spell is summoning flowers. Fern even comments on how lame it is, but Glenn says that it's actually harder then it looks.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Princess Seraphia chews out Yue, Vaith, Glenn and Fern after She discovers that Mel isn't the Master Wizard.
- Wise Beyond Their Years:
- Sylth is only a teenager, but is already one of the most important figures in the country, and has both the skill and charisma to back it up. A traveling magician he once met lampshades this by saying that he is wiser than his age.
- Likewise, Princess Seraphia is only 8, but is considered more mature than both Vaith and Fern. She was even able to trick the disguised Mel into revealing that she is not Sylth, then apologises to her on Yue and the others' behalf for imposing such a heavy responsibility on her.
- Would Hit a Girl: Ardi.
