Primary Tani Republica 2k16
(reposted from a submission who wished to remain anyonymous so that nobody would know he was, in fact, Dennis Kucinich)
PTR is set in a world that appears like ours, but is actually ruled from the shadows by an elite magical cabal. Some children simply develop magical capabilities around puberty, and are quickly noticed, informed of this state of affairs, and integrated into magical society. Magical folk lead double lives, masquerading as their old normal selves while secretly attending to important magical matters.
The title character and our protagonist, Tani Cruz, is the captain of her middle school debate team and realizes something is amiss when she accidentally hypnotizes the entire auditorium into agreeing with her (the effect continues even when she begins reading random passages from unrelated books instead of arguing her point). That night, she is met by a small, adorable creature called a Pal-ling, who informs her of the state of things:
Magical society is ruled by a noble - usually a Queen, as magical society is matriarchal - but succession is not hereditary; instead, every four years, the fates scatter fifty Red Voice Stones; a hunt ensues and whoever finds the most is crowned ruler for the next four years. Appalled at the state of the magical world, and at how little they care for ordinary folk, Tani decides to pursue the Red Voice Stones herself, next time the cycle comes around.
She doesn’t realize for many episodes that the Pal-ling lied to make this seem easy to her: there are actually fifty Blue Voice Stones as well, and the winner of the Red Voice Stone contest must fight to the death with the winner of the Blue Voice Stone contest when all is said and done.
The contestants are as follows:
Tani Cruz, our protagonist. An idealist who truly believes she is the girl who would help the most people, but who, as the race goes on, increasingly resorts to dirty moves to secure the Stones. Tani’s signature weapons are an assortment of enchanted guns; a popular choice among Red Stone seekers. A true believer, a master manipulator, and the most successful of the regular contenders, Tani is a smart, scrappy, and sympathetic hero. Her arc is largely defined by her relationship with…
Michiko Rubio, our deuteragonist. A friendly competitor with Tani at first, whose relationship with her is seriously strained as the race breaks out in earnest. She draws much of her power from the legendary Holy Lance, though she is not aware of its significance. Michiko has read up in detail about how past races for the Stones have been won, and this serves her well in many of the situations she faces, but she’s bad at dealing with surprises and accounting for unusual possibilities - both of which this particular race is fraught with, thanks to…
The Trump, the antagonist, a mysterious rogue witch who ignores all of the magical world’s rules in pursuit of a vague and mysterious agenda. It’s not even clear that she’s a fellow magical girl at first, because her power largely derives from her golden prehensile hair, which extends to obscure her human form altogether, and it grows in size as she grows in power. The Trump has the most brutal tactics of any of the magical girls in the race; she is by far the most willing to kill. When her power becomes clear and she appears to have divine mandate to win, picking up Stones left and right, the Pal-ling abandons all of its recruits and joins her. The Trump might have been motivated in the first place partly by her hatred of…
Princess Jolene Bush, daughter and sister of two past Queens. Princess Jolene does not want to run, nor does she want to rule; she is scarcely sure what it entails, as she is a shy and introverted type. But pressure to live up to her family name forces her to run a halfhearted campaign for the Stones, which ends only in disaster. Princess Jolene’s turtle motif and small mana pool do not suit her well, and ultimately, in mid-combat, she chooses to commit suicide rather than be slain by the Trump. Still, she at least makes it several rounds in, which is more than can be said for…
Koji Fiorina, Christine Christie, Ayn Paul, and a host of others, a gaggle of minor characters who are winnowed in the first few days of the hunt. Koji is one of the only magical boys seeking Stones. Christine is a cynical and crude magical girl from the inner city, whose dead spirit eventually submits to the Trump and thereby grants to her her power.. Ayn is an idealist to an even greater extent than Tani; she comes from a preexisting magical family (though one that’s a bit of a laughingstock) that seeks to minimize authority in the hopes that people will solve their own problems. Unexpectedly not amongst these figures, though, is the relatively more successful…
Bella Carson, an oddball and an eccentric, a bit of a loony character who is unafraid to speak her mind even when her beliefs are seen as odd. Bella is the only girl in the race with dark skin, a fact some consider notable. Bella’s specialty is healing magic, but despite this, and despite her gentle, pacifist demeanor, she is still a formidable threat more than willing to crack some skulls if need-be. Still, she is not taken seriously, and perhaps rightly so; she ultimately has little chance of becoming the next Queen. Neither does…
Jun Kasich, a quiet, but stable, type. Jun’s wits capture her several Stones, but she doesn’t have the bombastic passion to get herself Trump numbers, or even the numbers of Tani or Michiko. Jun considers herself wiser for her stoicism, but she doesn’t realize that aggressive emotional power is the source of magical power - this was Princess Jolene’s undoing; her emotions were all suppressed and self-directed, sorrowful rather than angry, passive rather than active. Jun is one of the first to notice…
Hisato and Bernadette, two mysterious figures who skulk confidently in the shadows around the races, not even aiming for the Red Voice Stones. In fact, they are the two foremost hunters of the Blue Voice Stones, and one of the two - probably Hisato - will have to face in combat whoever wins the series’ main race. Hisato is the other potential magical boy King, a rare figure; he is very corrupt, has escaped from prison numerous times, and is barely capable of controlling his hedonistic wife, who was herself once Queen. Bernadette is the second possible champion of the Blue Voice Stone contest. She does not come from power like Hisato, but has certainly found it; she taps into dissatisfaction with society similar in some sense to Tani’s, but proposes entirely different, more vengeful solutions. Hisato and Bernadette are first seen in silhouette through a window, slaying Martha O'Malley, an obscure potential competitor.
(via brazenautomaton)