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.

STORY:

Flying Witch is a title that promises a magical experience, but how good that experience will be will depend greatly upon your tolerance for slice-of-life stories.

I guess there's almost a clever sort of inversion with this series, where the big city girl is the naive one while her country cousins are more savvy.  That being said, Makoto's good-natured ditziness and lack of direction makes her feel less like a modern girl (magical or otherwise) and more like the moe girls of old.  That's more than I can say for Kei or Chinatsu, who are downright nondescript.  I guess Chinatsu is a bit more of a skeptic?  They don't even react that much when they do encounter supernatural things.  I get that manga like this are about mellow vibes, but there's a difference between 'mellow' and 'inert.'

If there's anything that does work here, it's the way Ishizuka mashes up the modern world with the magical one.  It's as casual as anything else here, but that contrast often helps to highlight how unworldly Makoto's abilities can be.  Sometimes it even works as a sort of low-key comedy.  One of the best gags in the book is when Makoto harvests a mandrake as a thank-you gift to a new friend, oblivious to how strange this might seem to them.  It's only during these moments that this series exhibits something more than dull pleasantries and thus comes to life.  It happens somewhat regularly, but not enough to truly bring this story to life.

ART:

Ishizuka's art also possesses a simple, casual nature.  The character designs and backgrounds alike are uncomplicated, and the paneling is spacious and unadorned.  For all the fuss that's made over the fact that this is set in Aomori and how important nature is to the magic of this world, we don't see a great deal of the countryside.  Its notion of nature is still quite urban, taking the form of neglected yards and rural roadsides.  It's realistic to be sure but not particularly relaxing.

RATING:

Flying Witch strives so hard to be pleasant, so much so that it forgot to be interesting as well.  Fans of slice-of-life manga might be pleased, but anyone else might just be bored.

This manga is published by Kodansha Comics under their Vertical imprint.  This manga is complete in Japan with 13 volumes available.  12 volumes have been released and are currently in print.