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REVIEW: Witchcraft Works GN 1


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Yadilie



Joined: 10 Dec 2014
Posts: 104
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:41 pm Reply with quote
Really loved the anime and immediately grabbed Volume 1 (and pre-ordering up to 5, heh) when I saw it was on Amazon. Really came to like the manga/anime even more after reading more into the One shot that Ryū Mizunagi did that this is based on.

Only issue I have is that it's a little on the small size but I love that art. The anime didn't do justice to most of Ayaka's transformations to her different power level forms. Volume 2 has some gorgeous ones.

Hoping the manga sells well enough that the anime will get brought over but who knows.
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AiddonValentine



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 2204
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:13 pm Reply with quote
I find that Honoka is an interesting take on the wimpy/unexceptional male lead because it puts a mystery around it. It brings up the question of whether Ayaka is constantly around him because it's her duty or because she WANTS to be. Is it a sense of fulfilling orders given to her or are they her genuine feelings? And that's before you get into the other odd details surrounding the shared history of their families. Once the mystery is set up it keeps you intrigued (though admittedly the author might be teasing us a bit too much with little payoff at times).
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Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1524
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 1:15 pm Reply with quote
Hmm. When I heard of this I pretty much wrote it off as another "average loser guy gets involved with sexy magic-girl; wish-fullfilling hijinks ensue". But this review definately has me intrigued.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 2:02 pm Reply with quote
I couldn't stand the anime due to the fact that I couldn't sense any chemistry between Ayaka and Honoka, while what I've read of the manga has pacing issues and trie to do too much world building in a few volumes.
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 2:20 pm Reply with quote
Parsifal24 wrote:
I couldn't stand the anime due to the fact that I couldn't sense any chemistry between Ayaka and Honoka, while what I've read of the manga has pacing issues and trie to do too much world building in a few volumes.


I would not say that there is a lack of chemistry, more like an odd chemistry. Ayaka is the strong, silent type, so her (mostly indirect) actions are the ones that show her true feelings. Honoka is a bit of a tsundere, stubborn and trying to take control of situations well beyond his (and the reader) comprehension. in a sense this is the opposite of what we see in most manga, where either the female lead is ga, ga over the male lead and/or the male lead is thinking only about doing lewd things (without asking for permission first).
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Merxamers



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 720
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 3:50 pm Reply with quote
this sounds like a series i should check out; solid shonen battle stuff with decent art and minimal exploitation of female characters. I can dig it Very Happy
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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1528
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 4:10 pm Reply with quote
Yadilie wrote:

Only issue I have is that it's a little on the small size but I love that art.


I agree. I was a bit disappointed when I received volume 1. My other Vertical titles aren't so puny and have better quality paper. That said, maybe it was such a niche release that they couldn't justify spending any extra money of "bells and whistles"?

Edit: Sorry! Changed Vertigo to Vertical.


Last edited by here-and-faraway on Fri Dec 12, 2014 1:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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AiddonValentine



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 2204
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 5:15 pm Reply with quote
here-and-faraway wrote:
Yadilie wrote:

Only issue I have is that it's a little on the small size but I love that art.


I agree. I was a bit disappointed when I received volume 1. My other Vertigo titles aren't so puny and have better quality paper. That said, maybe it was such a niche release that they couldn't justify spending any extra money of "bells and whistles"?


That is a shame, because Mizunagi's art is GORGEOUS. It borders on cluttered at times, but it really is beautiful. Definitely a plus for being in a bi-monthly magazine.
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Happiness for Subaru
Subscriber



Joined: 24 Feb 2011
Posts: 242
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 5:18 pm Reply with quote
here-and-faraway wrote:
Yadilie wrote:

Only issue I have is that it's a little on the small size but I love that art.

I agree. I was a bit disappointed when I received volume 1. My other Vertigo titles aren't so puny and have better quality paper. That said, maybe it was such a niche release that they couldn't justify spending any extra money of "bells and whistles"?

Ed gave some really informative answers a while back regarding book sizes.
https://twitter.com/Vertical_Ed/status/407860535666159616
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 5:43 pm Reply with quote
mangamuscle wrote:
Parsifal24 wrote:
I couldn't stand the anime due to the fact that I couldn't sense any chemistry between Ayaka and Honoka, while what I've read of the manga has pacing issues and trie to do too much world building in a few volumes.


I would not say that there is a lack of chemistry, more like an odd chemistry. Ayaka is the strong, silent type, so her (mostly indirect) actions are the ones that show her true feelings. Honoka is a bit of a tsundere, stubborn and trying to take control of situations well beyond his (and the reader) comprehension. in a sense this is the opposite of what we see in most manga, where either the female lead is ga, ga over the male lead and/or the male lead is thinking only about doing lewd things (without asking for permission first).


I'll give you that in that it does avoid many of the tropes associated with Seinen Romances. That was one of the things that drew me to the series originally. Yet for my reaction is spoiler["this guy has a genki white demon living in his body and his sister has a giant teddy bear that fights a mecha rabbit I shouldn't be this bored"].

Or that Ayaka is so deadpan she makes Motoko Kusanagi look like Tomo Takino again simply my perception is all
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zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 645
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 6:18 pm Reply with quote
IIRC, the mangaka's notes stated that Honoka was originally meant to be a girl; the manga was supposed to be lesbian/yuri-themed.

Honoka was later rewritten as a boy, but I can't remember if a clear reason was given.
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 6:57 pm Reply with quote
zztop wrote:
Honoka was later rewritten as a boy, but I can't remember if a clear reason was given.


The reason was obvious, if Honoka were a girl this would be another one of the nameless yuri stories out there, but as a gender reversal this is something new. Also, it is not as if the mangaka had to redraw the manga, she just changed the a bit the original and adapted it to a non yuri romance.
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Suena



Joined: 27 May 2012
Posts: 289
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:09 pm Reply with quote
here-and-faraway wrote:
Yadilie wrote:

Only issue I have is that it's a little on the small size but I love that art.


I agree. I was a bit disappointed when I received volume 1. My other Vertigo titles aren't so puny and have better quality paper. That said, maybe it was such a niche release that they couldn't justify spending any extra money of "bells and whistles"?

Vertical releases are either BIG AND FANCY or tiny & Japanese-sized. I don't know if you've had a chance to handle Japanese-language manga, but the volumes are quite small.
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Calico



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 383
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:13 pm Reply with quote
mangamuscle wrote:
zztop wrote:
Honoka was later rewritten as a boy, but I can't remember if a clear reason was given.


The reason was obvious, if Honoka were a girl this would be another one of the nameless yuri stories out there, but as a gender reversal this is something new. Also, it is not as if the mangaka had to redraw the manga, she just changed the a bit the original and adapted it to a non yuri romance.


Another one? Can you please tell me where I can find all of these awesome fantasy-themed yuri manga that I apparently missed?
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mangamuscle



Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 2658
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2014 7:53 pm Reply with quote
Calico wrote:
Another one? Can you please tell me where I can find all of these awesome fantasy-themed yuri manga that I apparently missed?


Yuri manga tends to have low print runs and often have very short stories, therefore very few are ever translated (lets not talk about it being animated). So dive into scanlated manga or learn japanese is the harsh advice I can give; the tall, black haired and beautiful lead with the small fragile trope seems to be quite prevalent in the genre.
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