On the surface, Magical Diary appears to be a Harry Potter knock-off with a girl set as the protagonist. Once you come of age, you are whisked off to an academy for budding witches and warlocks to learn the thaumaturgic arts, making friends and butting heads with classmates and professors all along the way. Fortunately, it's also an oddity you don't get to see every day: a well-written dating sim with a serious focus on liberal social reform, alternative life styles, MAGIC!!!, and (strangely enough) American small town pride, topped off with a dash of inexplicable dungeon crawl exploration and problem solving. While its originality, charming writing style, and replay value to get all the endings make it a distinct success, the dungeon exploration sections seem half-hearted and the game occasionally ends with a thud that makes you wonder where the next 3 years of high school are hiding. All the same, it's a unique experience well worth the price of admission.