“Flavor Girls #1”: Magical Girls Vs. “Independence Day” [Review]

When aliens attack Earth and threaten to wipe out humanity, Flavor Girls #1 shows us that only magical girls can stop the UFOs. With fruit and vegetable-flavored magic, no less.

Flavor Girls #1: Details

Flavor Girls #1 is the first issue of a new science fantasy magical girl comic book series. Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky (Persephone) is the writer and artist, with Eros de Santiago working with Locatelli-Kournwsky as the colorist. Locatelli-Kournwsky is also responsible for the main cover art, which is also the only cover art. Lastly, BOOM! Studios is responsible for publishing this comic book series under their Archaia imprint.

Flavor Girls #1 went on sale on July 13, 2022, for a retail price of $7.49. You can purchase the physical copies only at your local comic book shop. If you don’t feel like walking and you’re fine with the digital version though, then you can download it from content providers like Amazon. Strangely enough, you can’t find this comic book in the BOOM! Studios webstore. Even though they’re publishing it. Your guess is as good as mine here as to why this would be the case.

Warning: spoilers for Flavor Girls #1 below. If you want to read about magical girls fighting alien invaders for yourself, then stop here, and come back once you’ve emerged from the air raid shelters.

Flavor Girls #1: Plot Summary

Flavor Girls #1 starts us off by introducing us to Naoko and Irina. The former was a junior high/high school student from Japan meeting up with her friend Rumiko to take videos of an alien spacecraft that suddenly appeared in orbit over Earth, while the latter was a translator sent to said alien spacecraft as part of a diplomatic mission. Unfortunately, neither goes well. The aliens attack the shuttle upon arrival, apparently killing all aboard, taking particular care to stab Irina in the right eye to finish her off. Immediately afterward, the alien spacecraft bombards Earth, apparently killing Rumiko in front of Naoko just before the latter passes out. Cue time skip.

That Was Just the Prologue?!

Years later, Sara is a girl living in a fortified Paris living in terror under the alien spacecraft (now called the Agarthians) along with the rest of the world, with only the titular Flavor Girls giving humanity any semblance of hope. The reason they live in terror becomes apparent when said spacecraft drops down troops into Paris in an apparent terror attack. Sara and her friends run from the aliens, but they give chase. It quickly becomes apparent that they’re only interested in Sara for some reason though. That reason turns out to be a giant pineapple Sara runs into during her escape. Faced with no other option, she dives into a glowing door on said pineapple and turns into a pineapple-themed magical girl.

Unfortunately, she has no idea how to use her powers and is still powerless against the aliens. Fortunately, the Flavor Girls save her, and give her a choice to join them, or continue to have aliens pursue her. With no real option left, Sara says goodbye to her friends before stepping aboard the girls’ VTOL transport and flying away with them.

Sara arrives with her new comrades on their magical island fortress-hideout. There, after crossing the dense jungle and having a close encounter with an overly friendly tarantula and a suspicious government official, Sara meets the girls’ mentor, Himiko, and is officially inducted into the ranks of the Flavor Girls. Thus begins her training. What form will that take? Well, that’s presumably what we’ll see in Flavor Girls #2.

Flavor Girls #1: The Good

The story of Flavor Girls #1 is really its strongest point. The dark science fantasy and alien invasion story somehow goes well with the slice-of-life comedy antics the girls go through. It feels like the story equivalent of dark chocolate: the bitterness is balanced out by the sweetness. Indeed, Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky does a great job balancing both aspects of the story. It’s just dark enough to provide good drama without diving into grimderp territory, while the slice-of-life comedy provides much-needed relief. The sheer complexity of the story and the enigmas it brings up (like the appearance of the supposedly dead Irina as a spectator during the attack on Paris) are just icing on the cake here.

Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky doesn’t skimp on the art either though. You can tell that the artwork takes some very strong influences from manga, even right down to the manga sweat drops for when the characters are confused, exasperated, embarrassed, etc.. As a longtime fan of manga, this is a major plus for me.

Flavor Girls #1: The Bad

Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing to criticize about Flavor Girls #1. Even the point where this issue ended is perfect. Right at the beginning of the training, where we’re happy with it while also being excited about the next issue. I will definitely be eagerly awaiting the next issue of this magical girl comic book series.

Source: BOOM! Studios