Kazumi Subaru

Kazumi Subaru (昴かずみ?) is one of the three main Magical Girls as well as the title character in Puella Magi Kazumi☆Magica ~The Innocent Malice~. She is an amnesiac young woman with no recollection of any memories before waking up naked in a suitcase. During the end, she starts attending Asunaro City Southern technical college as a first year, having adopted the surname "Subaru".

Japanese: 昴 かずみ Romanized: Subaru Kazumi Also known as: Kazumi Series: Puella Magi Kazumi Magica ~The Innocent Malice~ Gender: Female Age: 24 Date of Birth: Unknown Height: Approximately 165 cm Eye Color: Red Hair Color: Black Origin: Asunaro City Occupation: Magical Girl / Cook Affiliation: Pleiades Saints Known Relatives: Michiru Kazusa; the other clones of Michiru; the late Maia; the Pleiades Saints Magical Girl Theme: Witch / Stars / Food Soul Gem: White, S-shaped gem located on her chest Weapon: Star-ended magical staff Witch Form: Carola Wish: "Make me a real human!" Primary Ability: Rule Break / Star Leap Japanese Pronoun: Watashi (わたし)

Overview

Kazumi Subaru is the titular protagonist of Puella Magi Kazumi Magica ~The Innocent Malice~ and a member of the Pleiades Saints.

Originally an artificial Magical Girl created from the flesh of Michiru Kazusa's Witch form and the combined magic of the Pleiades Saints, Kazumi was initially the thirteenth clone of Michiru. Although she possessed Michiru's memories and many of her characteristics, the clones repeatedly failed to become the person the Pleiades hoped to resurrect.

Unlike her predecessors, however, Kazumi eventually developed an identity independent of Michiru. After making a contract with Kyubey and using her wish to become a "real human," she became an authentic human being and Magical Girl.

Years after the events of Kazumi Magica, Kazumi has grown into a confident young woman. While many of the circumstances surrounding her creation remain an important part of her identity, she no longer considers herself merely a clone or imitation. To Kazumi, the person she became through her own experiences is every bit as real as the person she was created from.

Her surname, Subaru, meaning "Pleiades," remains a permanent reminder of the people who gave her the opportunity to live.

Appearance

As an adult, Kazumi retains the most recognizable characteristics of her younger self: black hair, red eyes, and her distinctive ahoge.

Her hair has grown considerably from the short, uneven haircut she adopted during her childhood. She generally keeps it around shoulder length or slightly longer, although she has little interest in maintaining an especially elaborate hairstyle. Her ahoge remains intact and continues to behave strangely in the presence of supernatural phenomena.

Kazumi's appearance has become noticeably more mature, but she retains the same energetic expressions and somewhat unconventional mannerisms she possessed as a child.

She is generally seen wearing practical clothing rather than following current fashion trends. She favors comfortable clothes suitable for cooking, traveling, and fighting Witches, and often carries a small bag containing food or cooking supplies.

Her Soul Gem remains embedded in her chest in its post-wish form. Unlike her original artificial Soul Gem, the white S-shaped Soul Gem represents Kazumi's existence as a genuine Magical Girl.

Her Magical Girl attire retains the witch-like aesthetic of her original transformation while incorporating the star imagery associated with the Pleiades. Her adult costume is somewhat more refined and practical than her childhood outfit, reflecting both her maturity and years of experience.

Personality

Adult Kazumi remains energetic, expressive, spontaneous, and occasionally hotheaded.

However, the passage of time has made her substantially more emotionally mature.

As a child, Kazumi frequently reacted to unfamiliar situations instinctively. Her amnesia, artificial origins, and sudden rediscovery of her former life left her with little emotional framework for understanding what was happening around her. As an adult, she has had years to process those experiences.

She is consequently much better at controlling her temper and thinking before acting, although she is still capable of becoming extremely passionate when someone she cares about is threatened.

Kazumi remains fundamentally optimistic. She does not believe that suffering automatically makes a person wiser or stronger, nor does she consider tragedy an unavoidable justification for becoming cynical.

Her experiences with the Pleiades Saints, the clones of Michiru, Yuuri Asuka, and her grandmother have instead given her a particularly strong appreciation for the value of individual lives.

One of Kazumi's most important beliefs is that a person's origin does not determine who they are.

This is especially significant given her own history.

She was created as a copy of another person, yet she ultimately became someone who could not be completely defined by Michiru's memories, the Pleiades' intentions, or Kyubey's system.

As a result, Kazumi is highly sympathetic toward people who feel as though they are living in someone else's shadow.

She is also unusually accepting of people's imperfections. Kazumi knows firsthand that memories can be painful, that people can make terrible decisions, and that even good intentions can result in tragedy.

Rather than attempting to erase these experiences, she believes they should be acknowledged as part of the person who survived them.

Food and Cooking

Cooking remains one of Kazumi's strongest interests.

She was already an excellent cook as a child, and this ability has only improved with age. She considers cooking both a practical skill and a way of expressing affection.

Kazumi is particularly fond of preparing meals for other people and has retained her enormous appetite.

She is capable of eating surprisingly large portions, especially after magical-girl battles.

Despite her tendency to joke about food, cooking has a deeply emotional meaning to her.

Her grandmother taught her the importance of food, family, and continuing to live after tragedy. Kazumi consequently considers recipes to be a form of memory.

Among the dishes she knows how to prepare is the strawberry risotto her grandmother taught her.

Kazumi also continues to remember the Pleiades Saints through food, frequently preparing meals associated with memories of their childhood together.

She jokingly maintains her old belief that "bad people never finish their food," although as an adult she admits that this is hardly a scientifically reliable method of judging character.

Relationship With Her Identity

Kazumi's relationship with her identity is considerably healthier than it was during her childhood.

She no longer views the distinction between "Kazumi" and "Michiru" as something that must be completely resolved.

Kazumi acknowledges that Michiru was the foundation from which she was created. She also recognizes that the Pleiades Saints intentionally attempted to reproduce Michiru through their clones.

Nevertheless, she considers herself a separate person.

She does not describe herself as "the real Michiru," nor does she consider herself an inferior copy.

Instead, she considers herself Kazumi Subaru.

Her wish to become a real human remains one of the most important events in her life. However, she does not interpret "real" as meaning that she was previously worthless or fake.

Rather, she sees the wish as the moment when she was given the opportunity to determine her own future.

This distinction becomes particularly important when discussing her relationship with the other Michiru clones.

Kazumi mourns them and considers them family, but she does not believe she must reproduce their lives or complete the purpose for which they were created.

The Pleiades Saints

Kazumi continues to regard the Pleiades Saints as her family.

Although the events surrounding the group were extraordinarily traumatic, Kazumi refuses to reduce the Saints to either heroes or villains.

She remembers their mistakes alongside their kindness.

Her relationship with Umika Misaki and Kaoru Maki remains particularly close. The two girls were among the first people Kazumi recognized as friends after awakening without her memories, and their bond remained central to her development.

Kazumi also maintains affection for Saki Asami, Mirai Wakaba, Niko Kanna, and Satomi Usagi.

Even years later, she continues to think of the Pleiades Saints as a group rather than merely a collection of Magical Girls.

The name "Subaru" itself serves as her permanent reminder of them.

Relationship With Her Grandmother

Kazumi's grandmother remains one of the most important people in her life.

Although her grandmother died shortly after Kazumi's wish, the memories she left behind became foundational to Kazumi's understanding of humanity.

Her grandmother's cooking lessons, advice, and final gift of the earring-bell became symbols of continuity for Kazumi.

Kazumi does not regard her grandmother as someone who was simply lost.

Instead, she believes that the things her grandmother taught her continue to exist through her actions.

This philosophy is one reason Kazumi continues cooking.

Every meal she prepares is, in some small way, an extension of the life her grandmother gave her.

Magical Abilities

Rule Break / Star Leap

After becoming an authentic Magical Girl, Kazumi's primary ability changed dramatically.

Her magic allows her to temporarily enhance or "upgrade" other Magical Girls.

This can increase their physical and magical capabilities and can even alter their Magical Girl transformations.

As an adult, Kazumi has developed considerably greater control over this ability.

Rather than simply increasing another Magical Girl's strength, she can tailor the enhancement to complement that person's existing magic.

The result is less like giving someone raw power and more like temporarily bringing out the full potential of their existing abilities.

Kazumi refers to particularly powerful combinations as "upgrades."

Destruction

Before her authentic contract, Kazumi's innate magic was associated with destruction.

This was reflected in the enormous destructive power of her magical attacks.

After becoming a genuine Magical Girl, this ability ceased to be her primary magical specialization, but remnants of it remain within her.

Kazumi is therefore capable of producing extremely powerful concentrated attacks when necessary.

Pseudo-Witch Detection

Kazumi's distinctive ahoge possesses unusual supernatural properties.

It can react to and locate supernatural entities that ordinary Soul Gems cannot easily detect, most notably the pseudo-Witches associated with the events of Kazumi Magica.

The ahoge also appears to react to Kazumi's emotions.

As an adult, Kazumi has learned to treat this phenomenon as a useful supernatural sense rather than merely an amusing physical characteristic.

She still refuses to cut it.

Pleiades Magic

Because Kazumi was originally created through the combined magic of the Pleiades Saints, her body possesses characteristics derived from their abilities.

During her original existence, she demonstrated access to multiple magical techniques associated with the group, making her unusually versatile.

Some remnants of these abilities remain accessible to her even after becoming a genuine Magical Girl.

Regeneration

Kazumi's artificial body possessed unusual regenerative properties connected to its Witch-derived composition.

Her adult human body no longer functions exactly like the original clone bodies, but traces of this unusual resilience remain.

Her regenerative capacity is not limitless and does not make her immune to injury.

Witch Hybridization

Because Kazumi was created using the flesh of a Witch, her body has always possessed unusual similarities to Witches.

Under extreme emotional distress or Soul Gem corruption, these traits can become more pronounced.

Kazumi has learned to recognize the warning signs and is considerably better at controlling herself than she was as a child.

Weapon

Kazumi's primary magical weapon is a star-ended staff.

Her original weapon was a large cross-shaped staff capable of functioning both as a close-range weapon and as a conduit for powerful magical attacks.

The adult Kazumi generally favors the newer star-themed staff associated with her post-wish identity.

The weapon is capable of changing its configuration according to the attack being performed.

Kazumi's fighting style has consequently become highly adaptable.

She generally prefers fighting from a distance but is capable of defending herself at close range.

Signature Attack

Limiti Esterni

Limiti Esterni is Kazumi's signature attack from her original Magical Girl form.

It manifests as an extremely powerful beam of magical energy.

Although Kazumi's adult fighting style has evolved significantly, she still retains the attack and can reproduce a more controlled version of it.

Rather than relying exclusively on overwhelming destructive force, adult Kazumi generally attempts to use Limiti Esterni only when necessary.

Meteora Finale

After becoming an authentic Magical Girl, Kazumi gained access to Meteora Finale, a powerful finishing attack associated with her post-wish form.

Unlike Limiti Esterni, Meteora Finale represents the Kazumi who chose her own identity rather than the artificial Magical Girl she was created to be.

For this reason, Kazumi personally considers Meteora Finale her more important signature technique.

Carola

Carola is Kazumi's Witch form and Doppel.

In the Magia Record continuity, Kazumi can manifest Carola despite her unusual origins.

Carola is associated with hunger and consumption and possesses wings that allow it to fly.

Its appetite is effectively insatiable, allowing it to consume magical matter and even portions of the surrounding battlefield.

Kazumi views Carola with a mixture of familiarity and caution.

Rather than treating it as an entirely separate monster, she considers Carola another manifestation of the parts of herself she has learned to accept.

Combat Style

Adult Kazumi is a highly versatile Magical Girl.

Her greatest strength is not simply destructive power, but adaptability.

She can function as a ranged attacker, magical support, detector, and temporary enhancer for other Magical Girls.

Her years of experience have also dramatically improved her battlefield judgment.

Unlike her younger self, she rarely attacks impulsively when another Magical Girl is in the line of fire.

Kazumi is particularly effective when fighting alongside other Magical Girls because her Rule Break ability allows her to amplify their individual specialties.

She considers teamwork more important than personal glory and frequently treats battles as opportunities to make sure everyone gets home safely.

Weaknesses

Despite her considerable abilities, Kazumi remains vulnerable to the fundamental dangers of being a Magical Girl.

Her Soul Gem can still become corrupted, and extreme emotional stress can trigger her Witch-like characteristics.

Her tendency to prioritize other people's safety can also become a weakness.

Kazumi has historically been willing to put herself in danger rather than risk harming a friend.

Although she has become better at controlling this instinct, she still struggles with situations in which saving someone requires making an emotionally difficult decision.

Her greatest psychological vulnerability is the fear of losing the people she loves and being unable to do anything about it.

Unlike her childhood self, however, she has learned that protecting someone does not always mean preventing every tragedy.

Sometimes it means remaining beside them afterward.

Adult Characterization

The adult Kazumi is fundamentally the same person she was as a child, but she is no longer defined by her confusion.

She is still loud.

She is still impulsive.

She still loves food.

She still cooks for everyone.

She still gets angry when someone threatens her friends.

She still refuses to cut her ahoge.

But the difference is that adult Kazumi understands herself.

She no longer asks whether she is a copy.

She no longer needs someone else to tell her that she is a person.

She knows.

Kazumi Subaru is someone who was created for another purpose, survived the collapse of that purpose, and chose to live anyway.

Her greatest victory is therefore not becoming stronger than Michiru, the Pleiades, or Kyubey.

It is simply becoming herself.

Trivia

• "Subaru" refers to the Pleiades, reflecting Kazumi's connection to the Pleiades Saints.
• Kazumi was the thirteenth clone of Michiru Kazusa.
• Her original body was created using Witch flesh and the combined magic of the Pleiades Saints.
• Her wish was to become a "real human."
• Her cat is named Toto.
• Kazumi is an accomplished cook and has an unusually large appetite.
• Her grandmother taught her how to make strawberry risotto.
• Her ahoge can detect supernatural phenomena and appears to react to her emotions.
• Kazumi's original Soul Gem was an unusual earring-bell rather than a conventional gemstone.
• Her post-wish Soul Gem is a white S-shaped mark on her chest.
• Her original magic was described by Kyubey as "destruction."
• Her post-wish ability is commonly described as upgrading or strengthening other Magical Girls.
• Carola is both Kazumi's Witch form and her Doppel in the Magia Record continuity.
• Kazumi's surname was chosen because of the Pleiades Saints.
• Although Kazumi was originally created to reproduce Michiru, she ultimately developed an identity distinct from her predecessor.
• Adult Kazumi continues to regard the Pleiades Saints as her family despite everything that happened between them.
• Kazumi considers cooking one of the most important ways she preserves the memories of the people she has lost.
• She considers Meteora Finale a more personal representation of herself than Limiti Esterni because it belongs to the Kazumi who chose her own identity.

Character Theme

"I was made from someone else's story. That doesn't mean I have to live the same one."

Adult Kazumi Subaru represents the idea that identity is not determined by one's origin.

She was created as a copy, given another person's memories, and expected to become someone she was not.

Instead, she became Kazumi.

And after years of living with that truth, she no longer sees being "real" as something that needs to be proven.

She simply lives.