Book 2: Chapter 176: Dogtail Grass
Vol 2 Chapter 176: Dogtail Grass
Veronica's knowledge about the anime "Color Sky Angel" was actually quite limited.
All her impressions came from occasionally catching glimpses of scenes when Lin Xiaolu watched TV, and a few animated images on promotional posters during Asou Madoka's concert in Fangting City.
Therefore, after identifying the origin of the girl's outfit, Veronica began to worry: while she could recognize the clothing, she couldn't engage in deeper discussion about it. If the girl wanted to discuss such "advanced knowledge," Veronica wouldn't be able to keep up.
Fortunately, the girl only briefly mentioned "Color Sky Angel." With Veronica's deliberate guidance, the conversation quickly shifted to the girl herself.
"So, the reason you dislike transforming in front of others is because you're worried about getting strange looks after transforming?"
After roughly understanding what the girl meant, Veronica summarized: "Over time, you don't even want to show your face during battles, feeling embarrassed to be seen for even a second. One of your purposes for coming here is to inquire about changing your magical outfit?"
"Yes."
The girl across from her had already canceled her transformation, changing back into her tracksuit, her face filled with the expression of someone who'd "found her people." She poured out her troubles like spilled beans:
"After defeating Remnant Beasts in busy areas before, I'd encounter children who also liked 'Color Sky Angel.' They often mistook me for the real 'Twilight Angel,' crowding around me screaming excitedly. While it made me somewhat happy... I felt this sense of shame, like I was undeservedly borrowing someone else's glory. Then there are those who dislike 'Color Sky Angel,' criticizing online how unprofessional it is for a city's Magical Girl to dress like an anime character. Some who've never seen the anime say my outfit is indecent and corrupts children, leaving incredibly vulgar comments..." "Twilight Angel" seemed to be the virtual character this girl's magical outfit imitated. In "Color Sky Angel," all the Magical Girls' names apparently came from types of skies or celestial phenomena, with the protagonist codenamed "Rainbow Angel" to match the title.
Incidentally, Veronica's current disguise as "Magical Girl Gentian" came from the anime "Sweetheart Angel," which actually belonged to the same franchise as "Color Sky Angel." Though the stories and settings were completely unrelated, commercially they shared the same production company.
This franchise's anime titles all followed the "XX Angel" format, with three most popular works: "Magical Angel," the series' pioneering work;
"Sweetheart Angel," which perfected the magical girl genre and established the franchise's tone, bringing its reputation to peak;
and "Color Sky Angel," which in recent years implemented bold reforms by adding many unprecedented elements, achieving new heights through self-innovation.
However, as a reformed work, "Color Sky Angel" clearly targeted a different age demographic than before - not just children's magical girl anime, but seemingly aiming to conquer more teenage and even adult viewers. Consequently, the magical girls' transformation outfits in this anime were significantly more "revealing" than previous works, drawing constant criticism from parents.
The Magical Girl before Veronica was clearly suffering collateral damage from this issue.
"And actually, none of that is what upsets me most."
Having rarely had chance to share her inner thoughts, the girl poured out her grievances like a flood:
"What hurts most is 'Color Sky Angel' fans online accusing me of 'using my Magical Girl status to monopolize interpretation rights over Twilight Angel, trying to make the character exclusive and deconstructive.' But I never meant to do that! I just thought Twilight Angel looked really cool and heroic, so when I was chosen as a Magical Girl, I instinctively imagined this outfit..."
"So you really love and admire it, but now want to change your magical outfit?"
After listening for so long, Veronica finally got a chance to interject: "Being able to manifest such an outfit when becoming a Magical Girl is quite rare, isn't it?"
"That may be true... but the troubles this outfit brings have exceeded my expectations."
The girl looked dejected: "I didn't even originally plan to come here for the exam. It was my senior in the same city who told me there might be ways here to change magical outfits."
"So, did you find any?" Veronica pressed.
"None at all. My senior lied to me."
The girl sighed: "I should've known - she's about to retire and worried about lacking a successor, so she tricked me into coming to get certified."
"Are there no other Magical Girls in your city?" Veronica asked further.
"No, our Lishui City is small - usually only needs two resident Magical Girls."
The girl nodded: "So when my senior retires, I'll have to mentor a new junior next year. And if that junior asks about this outfit... ugh, I want to crawl into a hole."
Honestly, her situation did evoke sympathy.
In truth, Veronica couldn't claim complete ignorance about changing magical outfits - after all, her current outfit was fake, so she knew about "disguise" methods. But this couldn't be revealed - the "Gentian" identity disguise was core to their operation, and the unique technology provided by Emerald was key to maintaining secrecy. She couldn't disclose such critical information out of sympathy.
So facing the girl's disappointment, Veronica could only feign helplessness.
However, the girl clearly hadn't expected Veronica to know the technique anyway, instead asking:
"That's why I was really surprised seeing you."
"So many kids recognized your outfit as 'Gentian,' yet you seemed completely unfazed. Like you don't care at all what others think about the outfit. I really want to know - how do you view this? How do you maintain such calm?"
In "Sweetheart Angel," all Magical Girl names were based on desserts - like the protagonist "Cocoa Angel." But "Gentian," whose name had nothing to do with desserts and even felt tonally inconsistent, became a constant topic among viewers throughout the anime's run.
Though characters in-show never found it strange for a Magical Girl to not have a dessert name, audiences kept speculating this uniquely-named character had secrets. Later when Gentian's true identity was revealed and the name proven fake, the resulting storyline became one of "Sweetheart Angel's" most classic arcs, still beloved by fans today.
Veronica hadn't known any of this until fans educated her.
Frankly, after learning, she'd also felt somewhat reluctant to wear this outfit.
But she couldn't exactly admit: "Because I didn't know who 'Gentian' was, I could wear this without guilt," could she?
After much deliberation, Veronica managed to improvise:
"Because I think it's actually a good thing."
"A good thing?" The girl's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes. Even if accused of 'monopolizing and misinterpreting' the character, or riding coattails to enjoy unearned fame - I believe these don't negate your contributions as a Magical Girl."
Keeping a straight face, Veronica struggled to justify: "When citizens enthusiastically surround you after you defeat Remnant Beasts in your city, is it just because you're imitating an anime character?"
"Maybe... not?" the girl hesitated.
"Of course not."
Veronica stated firmly: "They express gratitude and admiration because you're their Magical Girl, their city's protector. That you imitate an anime is just 'extra delight' for fans - they'll always remember first that you're a real Magical Girl, codenamed—"
"Dogtail Grass."
The girl filled in what Veronica didn't know: "That's my codename."
"Yes, Dogtail Grass." Veronica nodded: "They'll know you first as Magical Girl Dogtail Grass, then associate you with the anime."
"But doesn't this still harm the original's reputation..." The girl remained unsure.
"You're a real Magical Girl. Your choice to imitate an anime character is actually the best promotion, enhancing the anime's reputation."
Veronica said solemnly: "Unless you do something harmful or disgraceful, every day you act as a Magical Girl is the best publicity for that anime. You're actually a hero among fans."