This year might feature the most diverse line-up we've had since I started doing these holiday reviews. A big part of that is that we've seen a lot of new manga publishers start up, including this debut work from a French manga publisher.
EDEN OF WITCHES (Majo no Eden/L'eden de sorcieres), by Yumeji. First published in 2021 and first published in North America in 2024.
PLOT:
Long ago, plants, animals, and humans lived in harmony. Then the humans began indiscriminately began killing the animals, and the plants and animals hid themselves from humanity. A select few humans possessed the ability to sense and communicate with the plants, but they too were driven into hiding inside their own personal oases while the rest of humanity clings to life.
Inside one of these oases is Pili, an apprentice witch. She has never ventured into the outside world, but her hand is forced when her mentor falls ill. Instead of finding help she inadvertently leads an imperial inquisitor to their home who proceeds to kill her mentor and steal their precious plants. In all the confusion, Pili summons an amurd - a power animal-plant hybrid spirit that she had previously planted. Together the two must wander forth into the world to fulfill the dying wish of Pili's mentor: to find Eden, the last enclave of the witches.
