Claire Ryland - Riot Purple

Claire's just come out of the closet as a trans girl in a most unexpected way: undergoing her awakening as a magical girl! She's found herself as the new keyboard player of secret magical girl rock band Magica Riot. Now she has to wrestle with all her anxiety from being a newly-out trans girl and the challenges of fighting interdimensional monsters while keeping her magical life a secret from her best friend, Hazel. She's going to do her best, but it sure would be nice to catch a break!

Sara Ward - Riot Red

Sara is Magica Riot's leader, and their rhythm guitarist and lead singer on stage. A serious and determined fighter, Sara has spent the last two years trying to heal and move on from the loss of Iris Carr - her girlfriend, and the original Riot Purple. With Claire's unexpected arrival, Sara is forced to face her feelings and consider taking the band's new, anxious member under her wing.

Cass Coates - Riot Yellow

Magica Riot's second-in-command, lead guitarist, and backing vocalist, Cass is one of the most capable magical girls in the entire Starlight Alliance. Fiercely precise on stage and in a fight, she's always ready to face the group's challenges head-on. She's also thoughtful and kind, capable of breaking emotional walls and offering a guiding hand. This quality has been crucial to the group's success, whether serving as a leadership peer alongside Sara, helping to steer Claire through her adjustment period, or engaging with the community through her mutual aid organization.

Hana Hasegawa - Riot Green

Hana is the sunbeam that lights up Magica Riot's feelings, and the rock-solid bass player who drives the group's music and fighting with her keen sense of rhythm. She's always ready with a smile and a helping hand whenever the other girls are down, and her deep empathy also lets her crack even the thorniest problems in the group's way. She's developed a protective nature that sees her looking out for everybody - especially Nova, and now Claire as well.

Nova - Riot Blue

Nova is Magica Riot's drummer, the youngest member, and a barely-contained firecracker of energy on stage and on the battlefield. She's the one who finds Claire at the moment of her awakening, and latches on to her in a sisterly way. As the group's other trans member, she understands Claire's anxiety especially well. To Nova, Magica Riot is the only family she wants - so she's especially sensitive about threats to that family.

Kara is a former city planning journalist and current musician turned fiction author. After a dozen years writing about urban issues for various publications in her hometown, she moved to the Pacific Northwest and finally got to be her real self. Taking her love of magical girl anime, her life playing in bands, and her personal experiences dealing with gender issues, she created Magica Riot to bring a joyful, action-packed queer story of self-discovery and adventure to the world. She lives in a modest house with a pretty garden, with her wife and three cats.

Mentions of off-screen abuse, mentions of off-screen death, realistic fantasy blood and viscera, comic book-style action and combat, multiple head impacts, mention of heights/falling, one instance of biting in the context of a fight, one mild instance of misgendering, romantic intimacy, body possession, a plot-relevant insect, occasional cursing.