Stella no Mahou is at its best when enjoying the simple lives of the girls in the SNS club. Character interactions and character comedy are the backbone of the series, much like a sitcom of Western tv. Unfortunately, a few bad characters spoil the bunch. Take Yumine, pseudo-member of the club and the main character’s best friend. She is a fujoshi. That is literally all she is. Her character has no real development or complexity beyond that and every panel with her is just her imagining the various girls as guys and shipping them. She is one gag, and she comes up constantly. There are a few characters that exist in this completely one dimensional space and they all pull the series down. Additionally, as the series has continued, the mangaka has chosen to weigh into drama more. Don’t get me wrong, I like dramas, and it could even work in this series... if it was done well. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Characters will randomly get serious or angry even if it doesn’t really match up with prior characterization, and when it comes time for the drama to come to a head, the characters will suddenly decide “Nah, I’m fine. Back to hijinks.” The author simply doesn’t write the serious parts well, but they keep forcing it in as the series continues. It got to a point where I’d completely skip a drama-focused chapter, and not miss any plot. It is frustrating, as when the series is good, it’s good. But it can’t seem to escape these shackles.