Witch's Heart

Recently re-read this and I cannot sing its praises enough. Possibly one of my favourite Manga's to date. It has a simple, but amazing story that draws you in, absolutely stunning art, especially when Mika uses her witch powers, and it manages to keep its major twist hidden until the very end of it. Mika as a protagonist is very stoic in nature, which can get rid of some enjoyment, but makes her perfect for a story of this type, with most of the personality coming from Lumiel, and later Ritsuka. It also helps having nearly every chapter essentially be a story contained in itself, with fewreturning faces, granted this also means some characters are less memorable. I will say it has its flaws though: For one, some of the contained stories end really quickly, for seemingly no reason, this is mostly a problem at the start though and quickly ends later on. Additionally, the main 3 characters (Mika, Lumiel and Ritsuka) seem to stick way too closely to their archetypes without spreading out: a stoic and sometimes aloof immortal (for some reason stoicism and aloofness seems to be closely linked to immortality in manga/anime), the mildly obnoxious object-based companion (which is mostly there just to further advance plot and provide personality), and the magicians apprentice which sucks at magic. Additionally, the backstory given to Lumiel is rather weak, and fails to ever be mentioned again, why there were no points in the story that had him return to being a dragon I'll never know. However, it also does a good job at sprinkling in a couple life lessons if possible, one of which is more prominent than the rest: Learning to spread outside the role you've been assigned. Overall, an absolutely amazing manga that I cannot recommend enough, and if your a fan of mystery and magic, then its worth reading. Good characters, A great story that manages to actually keep the ending a surprise, genuine heart-wrenching moments and its fair-share of comedic points. If you liked Kino's Journey or Wandering Witch Elaina, you'll enjoy this as it follows a similar pacing and idea, and has the same tones as them.

Story: 7/10 This is primarily an anthology of self-contained and unrelated stories with the through line being Mika's involvement. There's also the overarching plot of Mika and her sister. The anthology stories are like fairy tales and are pretty interesting. The overarching plot can be a bit confusing at times but it's a wonderful bittersweet tragedy. The author is a master of writing short stories that punch you in the gut in at the last page although some chapters are too short to really have an impact and feel a little rushed. The genres are a mix depending on the fairy tale evoked, from soft andfluffy to dark and dramatic. The ending was very good and actually a surprise. Art: 8/10 Great art. Really nice landscapes and backgrounds. Nice character designs, even with the influx of new characters each chapter you can tell them apart fairly well. Character: 5/10 Characters are this manga's weakness. The main characters are fairly flat. Mika is stoic at all times, Lumiel is obnoxious and in love with Mika and Ritsuka is unsure of himself. That describes the whole of their personalities. The chemistry between the main characters really doesn’t make up for this either. The characters in the self-contained stories have the depth of actual fairy tale characters, none. This makes sense as they're usually only seen in one chapter each but it does make the stories weaker because we have no connection to them. Lumiel's backstory in particular is rather weak and literally doesn't come up more than once after we see it. Did you know he's supposed to be a dragon? This is a detail that is only relevant once somehow. Despite this, Lumiel is the highlight character throughout this manga as he is rather funny and his antics are endearing. Overall: 8/10 Quite enjoyable, honestly didn't even feel like a manga because it was so different in terms of story-telling and lack of tropes (mostly). The ending was great too. Definitely give this a read, despite my misgivings it's a great bitter-sweet tale. Good • Amazing ending. The first twist was a surprise, the second twist was a gut punch. • Lacks a lot of the typical manga tropes • No fan-service • The chapters can be quite emotional, even with characters we see only once • Lumiel's antics can be quite funny Bad • The quality of the self-contained stories can vary • The tone of these chapters vary wildly as well, there really isn't a consistent tone. Made worse when two chapters of different tone are read one after the other • Really weak characters • The chapters that advance the overarching plot can be a bit confusing Extra Subjective • Different style of story to most manga, sometimes I forgot this was even a manga. Not necessarily a good or bad thing but just different. • Similar feel to "Kino's Journey" (not read it yet, just what I've seen other reviewers say)

I rate this 10 outta 10! I was interested by the art at first, I was not expecting the story to be this good! The story is relaxing to read, it is a combination of short fairy tale stories that involved the Main character Mika. Then slowly the story shares about the backstories of the characters. The art style is super cute! I really enjoyed reading this and I wish it was longer. The art work's colouring is so beautiful too! I became extremely sad when the story is completed and can't stop thinking about it for a week. You might think this is boring but trust me,read it or regret it! I recommend this to all my friends!