Review: LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA

 OK, I need to cover a witch manga that's as traditional as you can get with witches.  Broomsticks, pointed hats, magic, the whole nine yards!  And one that's actually good!

Thankfully, Studio Trigger provided us with something that fits the bill perfectly

LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA (Ritoru Witchi Akademia), based on the original series by Studio Trigger and Yoh Yoshinari, with art by Keisuke Sato.  First published in 2016 and first published in North America in 2018.

PLOT:

Ever since she was a little girl, Atsuko "Akko" Kagari admired the witch Shiny Chariot and yearned to be a witch just like her.  She even went so far as to apply to the same school Shiny Chariot attended: Luna Nova Academy.  The problem is that every other girl there is a witch born and raised, while Akko struggles with the basics and knows nothing of the witching world.  Nonetheless, she manages to make some friends while having some wild adventures of her own.

Review: ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE: THE WITCH, THE KNIGHT, AND THE LOVE POTION SLIP-UP

There are plenty of witches to be found in the light novel world, alongside the many reincarnated noblewomen and villainesses.  Are they any good, though?

ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE: THE WITCH, THE KNIGHT, AND THE LOVE POTION SLIP-UP (Koisuru Majo wa Elite Kishi ni Horegusuri o Nomasete Shimaimashita: Itsuwari kara Hajimaru Watashi no Dekiai Seikatsu), based on the light novels by Harunadon and illustrations by Eda, written by Itsuki Azumaya with art by Shino Agetate.  First published in 2023 and first published in North America in 2024.

PLOT:

Cecily dreams of having a storybook romance of her own, but her status as a red-eyed witch makes her an outcast in her world.  According to her mother, the only way Cecily can find love is to hone her powers and make a love potion.  Cecily is reluctant to do such things, but after she falls for the kindly knight Zeke she gives in to the temptation.  She makes some major changes to the recipe, but it seems to work.  As Zeke draws Cecily further into his world, Cecily is torn between her growing affection for him and her guilt over building this relationship on a magical lie.

Review: FLYING WITCH

There are many manga that posit what it would be like if magic and witches were real.  This is possibly the most ordinary notion of that idea possible.

FLYING WITCH (Furaingu Witchi), by Chihiro Ishizuka.  First published in 2012 and first published in North America in 2017.

PLOT:

As far as Kei and Chinatsu knew, they were simply hosting their big city cousin Makoto while she went to school with them in rural Aomori.  What they didn't know is that Makoto is a witch in training who has come there to further her magical studies.  So while they help her get her bearings and make some friends, she helps them navigate some of the supernatural things she encounters.

Review: THE GOOD WITCH OF THE WEST

 This year things will be especially witchy at The Manga Test Drive.  Witches can take all sorts of shapes in the world of manga, including as innocent shojo heroines.

THE GOOD WITCH OF THE WEST (Nishi no Yoki Majo), based on the novels by Noriko Ogiwara with art by Haruhiko Momokawa.  First published in 2004 and first published in North America in 2006.

PLOT:

Firiel Dee is a gentle girl growing up in the countryside alongside her loving foster parents, her reclusive biological father, and his brilliant but terse apprentice Rune.  On her fifteenth birthday, Firiel is given a beautiful necklace with a blue stone, an heirloom from her late mother.  In truth, Firiel's late mother was a runaway princess and this jewel marks Firiel as a potential candidate to become the next queen.  No sooner does Firiel learn about this than her life is thrown into chaos.  Her foster family is murdered, her bio father has fled, Rune has been captured by a cult, and the only way for Firiel to make it right is to embrace her royal heritage.