#9 Naoko Atsugi: Magic Girl PM

Seventeen years ago, klutzy, unassuming schoolgirl Naoko Atsugi found a magical wand on her way to school one morning. Next to it was a talking Yorkie named Orion, who told her it was the descendent of benevolent Alien Royalty & that it was her destiny to protect the Earth. Upon a wave of the wand & a few mystical words, she became Cadet Virgo, leader of the Magical Zodiac Cadets. Over the course of their high school career, her & her friends, the other Zodiac Cadets, vanquished the evil Queen Thanatas, Empress of the Underworld, & in the process saved the world.

Saving the world from the clutches of an Evil Sorceress can bring a pretty high profile with it. First, as a newsworthy pop idol, were the endorsement deals. Then as an established celebrity came the modeling jobs. Next thing she new, Naoko was jetsetting around the world with the International Fashion Elite. Part time model. Part time Patron. She became close friends with designer Maxwell Coburn, who went on to create some Haute Couture just for her. The ironic thing was that Coburn’s chief source of inspiration was none other than Cadet Virgo’s arch-nemesis, Queen Thanatas, causing some fans to question what was happening to their beloved heroine. Privately, there wasn’t an agenda. She liked the clothes & spending so much time in the public eye, she liked the idea of playing with how it was that she was perceived.

Much more recently, Naoko has become much more serious, & gotten herself interested in politics. She decided to run for Prime Minister. When her detractors argued she had absolutely no experience in leading a nation, in an impassioned speech, she contended that “[she] successfully spent [her] teenage years leading fellow high school girls in a fight against an omnipotent mystical threat just fine, how hard could a Nation be?”

It secured her the nomination.

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This took forever because apparently the one thing I have more trouble drawing than anything is Haute Couture. It doesn’t make sense to me. And yes, the shameless Daphne Guinness vibe is intentional, & probably way too obvious. Anyway, the one line idea for this one goes back to the first year I did the 30 Characters. On my list, this was right next to “Luchadore President” (which I think was just Luchadore in a suit or something, but I ended up making him president anyhow): Magical Shoujo Girl PM. But since I already had a president character, I never got around to working on it past always thinking it’d be weird if she was this fashionista that dressed vaguely like the villain she used to battle.

Recently, on Entervoid, an artist named Jetster posted an awesome Grown Up Shoujo Girl character of their own, & it made me think back to my old character prompt again. But while I only finished Naoko for the sake of this challenge, you should go check out Jetster’s Lady Vanity comics because they’re pretty cool!

Category: 2012, Drama, Fantasy, Manga, Superhero