Ranked #2426

Witches (Manga)

Witches is a series of short stories set in the same universe, and connected by the themes they share.

Most prominent among these is the idea that humans cannot see the real world. It is uniquely expressed in one story: an average person explores their room, confident they know everything from wall to wall; a wise person will open the door to reveal a house, and spend their life learning the mysteries of that house; all the while, every living person leaves the windows shut, never knowing the vast world outside or the epic space beyond the planet.

The art conveys these messages much more elegantly than the dialogue. Backgrounds in particular carry painstaking attention to detail. Cities, houses, trees, vehicles, oceans, and clothes are constructed in a realistic, yet still surreal way. On one occasion, a neighborhood may melt as if made of super-heated plastic, starkly contrasting the restrained character designs; in another scene, these same characters who once seemed plain will be drawn alongside fantastical creatures, becoming one with the things so far from existing.

There are moments when this manga’s humble origins are revealed. Usually, they manifest as off-model faces, a surprising artistic flaw considering the effort put into most panels. These can be easily forgiven though, since the drawings are just that good and the author probably can’t afford many (if any) assisstants.

Witches’ biggest weaknesses are the predictable, poorly-developed people. Personalities feel generic, tacked on only because they must be. More concerning is that we’re consistently presented one character with knowledge, and one without. This is because the writing is very didactic, so the wise person is the author while the ignorant one is the reader. Being what some may call preachy is not necessarily bad, but when someone possesses the artistic talent of Daisuke Igarashi, there is no need to voice each and every thing.

When the pictures do the talking, Witches is sublime. The same cannot be said of the manga as a whole, especially the writing, pacing, and structural diversity. Despite these drawbacks it is still good, and very much worth reading. read more

First, allow me to say that I picked this manga up on a whim. It was 7 chapters, no big deal, right? I had time, and it was being compared to brilliant works such as Music Of Marie, or Omoide Emanon. So it seemed to be something to definitely check out. Simply put: amazing, but ultimately a little inferior the the two.

Witches is sort of a one-shot anthology, although it really doesn’t feel like one. Instead of random stories shoved into a volume, it was more like every chapter had a piece of a bigger puzzle, and only at the end could you really shape and define the theme of what Witches was all about. While reading, there is an air of mysticism, surrealism, and an overall atmosphere of ‘what cannot be seen’. There are bits of pieces of different ideas and thoughts played around with. Each and every one of the stories is satisfying, intelligent, and interesting to see what kind of vibe it will take on. They are all abstract, and transcend the approach most mangas take.

Much is expressed through the art (or as the phrase goes, “a picture’s worth a thousand words”). The dreamy, vivid setting is carefully crafted, and makes every world in the separate stories so incredibly unique and (so very) well planned. Some scenes are just so powerful, I once got goosebumps. The art is the true asset of this manga, expressing things that just cannot be expressed through words. It is something that you need to see for yourself to be able to see an understand. Some fantastical sci-fi scene could be simple, and some normal teenage-girl scene could be epic. The way the art manifests itself in the manga is something hard to define.

The characters, too, are woven together, just like the stories. There may be two different characters with separate stories occurring in one chapter, and only at the end will they be finally tied together. None are really special or memorable; they are all so flawed and one-dimensional beyond belief (this is probably due to the limited amount of ‘screen’-time each gets, which is only about two dozen or so pages). In fact, they really couldn't work anywhere else except for this manga. They are just characters there to make the stories work; a medium for the true meaning of the manga to be expressed through. It sort of goes without saying, but all humans in this manga are depicted as gentle and fragile (and so very flawed). The satisfactory characters (although satisfactory) kinda enhance what the manga is really about.

For each chapter, the pacing and the narration is different. Some may be extremely choppy --as if the characters are pasted together. Others can be one-dimensional, and seemingly straightforward. And there is even one that uses text to narrate the time period. The narration and the pacing in each and every one is different, although none too noteworthy --and really nothing else is needed to be said about it.

There is one thing, however, that brings it to the level of Music Of Marie and Omoide Emanon. Beyond the reading experience, there is a plethora of themes about human nature and history. We all have origins and a past, and no matter how much we try to deny what we are, the history will always be there, regardless of how much time is past. Each story brings a part of the overall theme to the table, and you feel yourself gaining insight after each chapter is done. It is very well played out, combining both factual history with more of a spiritual history, creating the manga what is known as Witches.

So with 7 chapters total, I must say that this was a fantastic short read. I didn’t expect it to like it as much as I did (which goes without saying, that things can definitely can be deceiving once it comes to art and such). A very smart, intellectual read truly comparable to other brilliant mangas featuring philosophical views on human nature. I found that there was no huge flaws in this manga, and no little ones that couldn’t be factored out (especially when it comes to the fact there’s only 7 chapters). I think the the story of Witches deserves a 8.5 / 10.0 because of it’s remarkable imagery possessing the ability of the art to tell the story alone, while the characters only supported it (the reverse of a typical manga). It has the combination of Music Of Marie's world-crafting abilities, and Omoide Emanon's muses about history. This should be a -must- read for everyone's list.

★★★★★★★★☆☆
RECOMMENDED. read more