Ichi the Witch: Manga Review

A world where magic is alive, where humans can defeat its manifestations and gain powers. Well, only women are able to wield magic—that is, until Ichi (a man!) comes along.

Minor spoilers for Vol. 1 of Ichi the Witch

The chances of a man becoming a witch are infinitesimally small, so much so that it’s considered a miracle. We don’t know what makes Ichi so special, besides his superhuman hunting abilities and perceptiveness, but he is certainly an anomaly.

Ichi the Witch

At first, I’ll admit I was annoyed at our main character being basically the only man in the story and his circumstances making him so extraordinary. However, I put the pitchfork down as the volume progressed, because I found the initial worldbuilding very interesting. A society in which the literal physical power system (magic) can only be used by women, is antithetical to our own patriarchal society; portraying how this results in women being completely independent, the main workers and providers, is fascinating. However, in this first volume, we only see a hint of that, and I’m hoping there will be more of it in the future.

The tone in general was more light-hearted and goofy than I expected, especially when it comes to Desscaras, the most powerful witch in the world and basically Ichi’s newly appointed mentor. All I had seen of her online made me think she was going to be one of those overpowered, stoic-type characters, but she proved me completely wrong. She’s so fun to experience, I think I will mostly continue reading because of her.

Final Thoughts

So far, I do not find any elements of the story particularly unique; the way witches obtain their magic is interesting, but that’s about it. The rest is basically the typical fantasy shonen formula. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; I’m just saying I’ve seen it before. However, the characters are quite fun, and the worldbuilding is compelling enough to make me want to read more.