Manga Review: Flying Witch, Volume 6, by Chihiro Ishizuka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: June 2018

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 5. 7.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Spell Celebration

Everyone gathers to grill giblets to celebrate Chinatsu’s first bit of witchcraft. The familiars are lured to school with the promise of a tasty lunch... which draws the attention of an upperclassman witch. Makoto is tasked with solving a case where people get spirited away, but the solution turns out to be very down-to-earth...

Review:

The volume starts with a celebration, as Chinatsu did her first bit of magic. Then, summer starts off with a very odd snow storm—but only in certain patches of the town. In the middle of the volume, we get a little break as the story focuses on the cats. Chito and Keeny decide to visit Makoto at school for the day, and journey their way there for some food.

In the second half of the volume, we meet a new witch, Sayo. She's very intense and strict, but surprisingly sweet and energetic in text. She's a classmate, and they end up going on a job together. It's nice to see Makoto branching out and meeting other witches, getting to learn from them and make new connections.

This series is so fun. It's fast and easy and funny. It's a simple pleasure, and I'm a bit upset that we're pretty much caught up with Japan already. That was fast, and now we have to wait for each volume. But that just means it'll be a fun surprise each time, I'm sure.

Manga Review: Flying Witch, Volume 5, by Chihiro Ishizuka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: March 2018

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 4. 6.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Makoto gets her first official job request from a Society Witch, and while the job seems mundane at first, a bit of immature magic makes for an unexpected situation. Makoto uses the payment from the job to buy a magical item that reveals the invisible. Chinatsu’s gift from Beachy starts to wreak havoc, until it’s reduced to a form that lets her use a spell...

Review:

Makoto gets her first job as a witch, and it's babysitting a little boy, who makes it rain when he cries. Since this is a slice-of-life, light-hearted series, this turns out fun instead of worrying. After that, Makoto's sister gets conned into buying a “magical” fishing rod, and then Kei gets hiccups that won't go away.

Chinatsu isn't really a witch yet, but she's trying to get there. She goes with Makoto to get paid, and they both try out a magical item that lets them see creatures that are normally hidden. And afterward, she gets a magical item of her own.

This series is honestly too fast, but it's such a fun, easy read. It's rather delightful.

Manga Review: Flying Witch, Volume 4, by Chihiro Ishizuka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: December 2017

Volumes: 7+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3. 5.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Serene Sorcery
Makoto makes her way to a fabric shop in town in order to sew a new robe, and ends up crafting a surprise for Chinatsu, too. Makoto combines her mundane studies with a bit of witchcraft and makes a freaky treat. On the way home from a late-night meeting with her mentor, Makoto runs into Inukai. They head to the beach and meet an adorably mysterious creature that immediately makes itself at home...

Review:

In this volume of Flying Witch, Makoto decides to make herself a new witch's robe, as hers is old and torn up, and goes ahead to make one for Chinatsu, as well. They go apple picking. And then Makoto checks in with a mentor of hers, a nice, biker chick. The characters in this series are each unique, and interesting in different ways.

The biggest surprise is when Makoto and Inukai stumble upon each other, and end up finding a little rabbit-like creature. Chinatsu and the creature end up forming a kinship, and I would think it becomes her familiar, but I'm not sure that's the right kind of “pet” for that.

These volumes go by too fast, honestly. They're easy and simple and so very fun. Supernatural slice-of-life in the easiest form, and the volumes are over before I realize it.

Manga Review: Flying Witch, Volume 3, by Chihiro Ishizuka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: September 2017

Volume: 7+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2. 4.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Slice of Magic

Makoto and her cousins visit a café run by a witch that’s cloaked in magic and has regular visitors from folks on the “other side.” Inukai stops by to make amends, and Nao gets a taste of some spicy medicine. Akane drops by just in time for a very special sighting of a rare, sky-borne animal...

Review:

We meet a new band of characters in this volume, the owners of a witch cafe in town. It's hidden, and the waitress is a ghost. The daughter and mother who run it are fun, though, and it's good for Makoto to meet more witches she can learn from.

We also got a lot of simple plots. We get to check up on Makoto's growing garden; Inukai shows up to give Makoto the fortune she forgot about at their meeting. Through a witch newspaper, we discover that there's a sky whale flying nearby soon, and so they go off on broom to see it. This particular chapter showed the creativity this series has. It's subtle and slow, everyday life stuff, that makes this a very easygoing witch series. There isn't even all that much witchcraft, most of the time. But it's easy little mentions and chapters like this that are interesting, something I wouldn't have thought of.

These volumes are extremely fast and easy, and I really enjoy reading them. The anime is the same, really. So good.

Manga Review: Flying Witch, Volume 2, by Chihiro Ishizuka

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: June 2017

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Makoto goes to a local cherry blossom festival and happens to encounter someone who has a bone to pick with her sister, Akane. When Akane happens to drop by, she teaches Makoto some new tricks for flying and some easy spellcraft. Their kid cousin Chinatsu is so charmed by the witches’ talents that she makes an unexpected request...

Review:

In this volume, we meet Inukai, who knows Makoto's sister and is a fortune teller. Only, she's hiding her face, because Makoto's sister supposedly put an awful spell on her. This turns out to have kind of been a misunderstanding, though Makoto still tries to help.

Makoto experiences a couple of new things in this volume, but the biggest is when Chinatsu decides to be a witch and asks Akane to mentor her.

There's very light magic-use in this series, it's much more focused on slice-of-life stuff, with Makoto not having experienced much, like food or light spells. It's very fun and light-hearted, and the humor works really well with it.

Manga Review: Flying Witch, Volume 1, by Chihiro Ishizuka

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5-4

Publisher: Vertical Comics

Release Date: March 2017

Volumes: 6+

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Prepare to be Bewitched!

Makoto Kowata, a novice witch, packs up her belongings (including a black cat familiar) and moves in with her distant cousins in rural Aomori to complete her training and become a full-fledged witch.

Review:

This took me a while to get around to. Mostly because, despite that I've heard good things, I was worried it wouldn't be that good. A slice-of-life series about a witch with a black cat—right there it sounds right up my alley.

And I shouldn't have waited so long, because it's great. I'm already eager for more.

Makoto moves out to live with some distant cousins, because as a witch at 15 she's supposed to move out on her own, but in modern times that's not very realistic, especially when she's still supposed to be in school.

Everyone can tell that there's something a little off about her, but she's not very good at hiding that she's a witch. We meet Kei and Chinatsu, her cousins; then there's Kei's friend Nao. Chinatsu has the hardest time getting used to Makoto, but mostly because of the weird people that come around for her.

Everyone is rather blasé about everything, and the humor is dry, but drops very well. It's very relaxed and casual, with little surprises. It reminds me a bit of Yotsuba&!, in the best way.

I'm already hooked, honestly, and can't wait to read more.