Houshou Margo

Name: Houshou Margo

Prisoner Number: 664

Age: 15

Birthday: October 15

Gender: Female

Height: 160 cm

Weight: 56 kg

Original Sin / Epithet: “One Who Knows Love”

Magic: Unknown (??? in official materials)

Trauma: Unknown (??? in official materials)

Likes: The faces of people who are being deceived

Dislikes: Ordinary, peaceful, and tranquil everyday life

Occupation / Role: Con artist, magical girl candidate, prisoner

Series: Mahou Shoujo no Majo Saiban (Magical Girl Witch Trial)

Voice Actress: Touka Itsuki

Margo is officially described as a con artist girl who treats everyone in a friendly, affectionate way.

Behind this, however, she trusts no one, never takes anything seriously, and always behaves with a calm, unruffled air.

Her personal creed is “do not trust and do not rely on anyone or anything.”

Because of this, her bright smile and every word she speaks are never her true feelings.

Margo is an exceptionally talented con artist despite being only 15.

She has razor-sharp observational skills, quick thinking, and a silver tongue that lets her control conversations with ease.

She uses every kind of con, including impersonating an adult woman and using seduction as a tactic when useful.

At the same time, she often indulges in pranks that feel more like those of a mischievous little girl.

Her attitude toward people is consistently warm, teasing, and seemingly affectionate.

Yet beneath that surface, she categorically refuses to believe in people, objects, or phenomena – she distrusts the entire world.

Because she never shows her true heart, interacting with Margo means constantly wondering which parts are real and which are just another setup.

This tension between charming friendliness and total disbelief is one of her most distinctive traits.

Two of her representative lines emphasize both her flirtatious tone and her calculating, mystery-loving nature:

“Will you come closer to me? I’m dying of curiosity.”

And regarding the deadly setting of the prison mansion she inhabits, she remarks:

“If a murder case is going to happen in this prison estate, don’t you think it’s foolish to reveal all the cards in your hand?”

Margo has short black hair in a bob cut, with her bangs parted in the center.

Her eyes are a pale purple (wisteria-like), and she wears eyeshadow in a similar shade, emphasizing her cool, bewitching gaze.

She wears a small mini hat adorned with a short purple veil.

Her outfit is a bold East-meets-West ensemble in purple and black, with an open chest and shoulders and butterfly motifs scattered everywhere.

Around her neck is a black choker with a dangling ribbon ornament.

Two strip-like extensions hang down from the choker, which may also function to hold her kimono-like elements in place.

Her waist is decorated with a black and purple ribbon, like an ornamented obi belt.

She wears white tights on her legs, completing the pale contrast with the darker upper outfit.

On her feet, she has black Western-style shoes decorated with purple butterfly accents.

If you look closely, the edges of the front panel of her outfit and the translucent purple fabric beneath are lace-like in texture.

Her sleeves are asymmetrical and eye-catching.

The right sleeve features a black-and-white checkered pattern, while the left sleeve is solid black, decorated near the bottom with purple-and-white butterfly motifs, making her costume distinctive and slightly eccentric.

Overall, Margo’s appearance is that of a “violet heroine”: dark hair, purple eyes, and butterfly-themed ornaments that hint at both elegance and danger.

On the surface, Margo is approachable, sociable, and sweet to everyone she meets.

She actively teases others, plays with them, and often takes control of any conversation she is in.

However, her inner world is nearly the opposite of her outward friendliness.

She fundamentally does not trust or rely on anyone or anything and believes in nothing in this world.

This extreme disbelief extends to people, objects, and even phenomena.

As a result, she treats almost everything as a game, never allowing herself to get genuinely serious.

Her love of deception is reflected in one of her listed likes: “the faces of people who are being deceived.”

Conversely, she strongly dislikes “ordinary, peaceful, and tranquil everyday life,” preferring chaos, tension, and emotional extremes.

Because all of her smiles and words are calculated, it is unclear how much of her behavior is genuine.

Still, she shows flashes of unexpected decisiveness and care, especially when someone’s life or a promise is on the line.

The word “Margo” has several meanings in Italian.

It can signify “magician,” “sorcerer,” “fortune-teller or illusionist,” and by extension “a person who excels in a particular art.”

These nuances align well with Margo’s character as a con artist who manipulates perceptions.

She is not a magician in the literal sense but performs “magic” through lies, observation, and psychological tricks.

Margo appears as one of the magical girl candidates in “Mahou Shoujo no Majo Saiban” (Magical Girl Witch Trial).

The story involves a prison-like mansion and a deadly “trial,” where the girls are trapped in a tense, mystery-filled environment.

Her skills as a con artist make her especially dangerous in a closed setting where trust is already scarce.

She makes statements implying that in a place where a murder might occur, revealing your “cards” is foolish, underlining her survival-focused mindset.

Although she treats others warmly, she constantly analyzes and probes them.

In a scenario where hidden motives and secrets decide life and death, Margo thrives by keeping her own intentions obscured.

Official 2-Panel Comic “After This, You Will Die”

In the official 2-panel comic “After This, You Will Die,” Margo’s con artist nature is played for dark humor.

For example, she tells Sawatari Coco that she will do a relaxing ASMR performance to help her sleep, but instead she tells a scary ghost story.

In another scene, she places a piece of paper on the roadside with “Very Bad Luck” written on it, face-down.

Saeki Millia picks it up, believes it completely, and becomes depressed, showing how easily Margo manipulates others’ emotions.

She also watches Shitou Alisa and Toono Hanna and imagines them as a romantic yuri-style couple, murmuring “This is so good…” in a state of bliss.

Because of this, fans started drawing yuri fanart of Alisa and Hanna (“AriHan” as a ship name), and some replies to the comic jokingly speculate that Margo is a “princess-type girl who loves girls-love stories.”

These comedic episodes highlight both Margo’s penchant for psychological pranks and her enjoyment of seeing others emotionally stirred.

They also show a playful, fandom-like side to her personality, as she “ships” people around her.

Reading Play “Magical Girl Witch Trial ~The First Page~”

Margo appears in the reading theater performance “Magical Girl Witch Trial ~The First Page~.”

In this story, a group of girls awaken in a place that may be either dream or reality, having lost their memories.

Margo wakes up together with Sakuraba Emma, Toono Hanna, and one more girl.

In the daytime performance, the third girl is Tachibana Sherry, while in the nighttime performance, it is Nikaido Hiro.

Together, they must survive and search for the “Black Curtain Witch,” an enigmatic figure at the heart of their situation.

They navigate deadly scenarios such as a bathtub filling with blood, a dining hall engulfed in flames, and a lake covered with thin ice.

On the frozen lake, Emma becomes trapped when ice forms around her feet and she cannot move.

Margo is the very first to rush in and start breaking the ice at Emma’s feet.

As she does so, Margo says, “I hate people who don’t keep their promises.”

This line reveals a core aspect of her inner values, hinting that, despite her refusal to trust, she places deep importance on promises.

Within this dreamlike prison, each girl carries a “sin” tied to her past.

Margo’s sin is rooted in her childhood as part of a family that frequently transferred to new places.

Because she moved so often, she repeatedly broke promises such as “Let’s stay friends forever” with the friends she left behind.

This accumulation of broken promises weighs on her as guilt and becomes her “sin.”

The contrast between a girl who never trusts anyone and a girl tormented by broken bonds gives Margo an unexpected emotional depth.

Her harsh stance on “people who don’t keep their promises” seems to be directed as much at herself as at anyone else.

Margo interacts with many of the other magical girl candidates and prisoners in the franchise.

Her teasing, flirtatious, and manipulative style makes her relationships complex and often ambiguous.

A notable fan shipping tag is “Ma-NaNo” (also known as “NanoMargo”), referring to a pairing between Margo and Kurobe Nanoka.

This ship name comes from a combination of their names and focuses on their dynamic as fellow magical girl candidates with contrasting personalities.

Her delight in watching Shitou Alisa and Toono Hanna as a yuri-like pair led to the popular pairing tag “AriHan.”

Although Margo is not part of this pair, she functions as something like an in-universe shipper who lovingly observes from the sidelines.

Through these relationships and the way she plays with others’ emotions, Margo stands out as both instigator and observer.

She is deeply involved in the emotional web of the cast, even while refusing to truly let anyone into her own heart.

Margo’s combination of black hair and purple eyes makes her fit the “violet heroine” archetype, often associated with mysterious and somewhat dangerous girls.

Her butterfly motifs, lace details, and asymmetrical sleeves give her design a theatrical, almost stage-magician-like feel.

Her love of deception and dislike of peaceful normality make her the opposite of a typical “pure magical girl” archetype.

Instead, she feels like a “trickster” character dropped into a magical girl setting, adding tension and unpredictability.

Despite insisting that she trusts no one, Margo’s actions in the reading play – especially rushing to save Emma and her fixation on promises – suggest a more complicated inner life.

She may be someone who desperately wanted to believe in bonds once, was hurt by the world’s instability, and now hides that vulnerability behind lies and playful cruelty.

This blend of charm, cruelty, self-loathing, and hidden sincerity is what gives Houshou Margo her enduring appeal among fans.