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necessaryfictions's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
this is a great volume to get you really excited about a story. i have read this one and a bit past it before — online years ago — and reading it physically really makes the end of page anticipatory panels hit different!
coco rules. i love how excited she is about this world opening up to her, i love how she’s able to take her practical non-magical skills and succeed in a place that no one thinks she can. and that dragon at the end looks cool as fuck.
very very interested in delving into the motivations of the eye-hats. are only the chosen able to use magic …? what a good question to swiftly answer and then bring about a whole host of new ones…
coco rules. i love how excited she is about this world opening up to her, i love how she’s able to take her practical non-magical skills and succeed in a place that no one thinks she can. and that dragon at the end looks cool as fuck.
very very interested in delving into the motivations of the eye-hats. are only the chosen able to use magic …? what a good question to swiftly answer and then bring about a whole host of new ones…
ecargmura's review against another edition
5.0
The story is about Coco, the young daughter of a seamstress that dreams of using magic after buying a picture book from a mysterious merchant. The world of magic enchants her as she spends her days dreaming of being a witch, despite not having the talent or the lineage for it. Her meeting with a male witch, Qifrey, changes her world as he ignites a stronger curiosity for magic within her, but it gave her a huge drawback: her mother became petrified after misusing a spell. After being rescued by Qifrey, he introduces her to his atelier where she becomes his apprentice alongside three other aspiring witches.
From the get go, this world that Shirahama created is mesmerizing! Usually, stories about magic revolve around incanting words or phrases that would then materialize into what the user says. In this world, magic is used in the form of glyphs. I love that. I always loved looking at the magical glyph patterns that anime and game spell casters use whenever they cast magic. Glyphs are super underrated in the magic world and I am happy they are utilized here. The author really took the time to design each glyph to their respective usage. I love how drawing is utilized as a skill set here. If you cannot draw a proper circle, your spells won’t work. Colors and patterns really matter! Details matter when drawing! I love these sort of details!
The characters are wonderful too! I love Coco! She’s enthusiastic about the world of magic and keeps going forward because she believes she can turn her mother back to normal if she works hard to obtain more knowledge about magic in order to reverse the spell. Her passion for magic and her love for her mother make her an enjoyable protagonist. She’s still a newbie in the world of magic and has a lot to learn, but her optimistic attitude helps her persevere. Seeing a young girl with this attitude makes an adult like me want to emulate her. I love the fact that she keeps smiling despite the grave mistakes she made; I think it’s brave to do so because she could’ve been so negative and pessimistic about everything, but she doesn’t and I really like that. I loved the portion where she uses quick thinking to use the wet ink cloth as a makeshift pen. It shows that magic can happen anywhere and anytime if you put your head into it. I want to watch her develop into the greatest witch ever, even stronger than Qifrey.
Speaking of Qifrey, he’s my favorite character. I love the mentor-student relationship he has with Coco; he’s like a father to her. He encourages Coco to keep her love and passion for magic and sees her potential. The fact that he takes her in as an apprentice and not erase her memories shows how much he cares for her as a person, even if there might be some hidden agenda regarding this. Qifrey’s motivations for taking in Coco may be suspicious at best, but he still has kindness in his intentions because Coco has no one else. Qifrey’s design is absolutely wonderful and one of the reasons this manga pulled me in. He has all the qualities I love in a character and that’s why he’s my favorite.
Qifrey has three other apprentices, Agott, Tetia and Richeh. Tetia and Richeh are cute and seem to have distinct personalities with Tetia being the chipper one and Richeh being the quirky one. Agott, on the other hand, sort of rubs me the wrong way with the way she deliberately puts Coco in danger by testing her to get an herb despite the weather not being in the right season for travel. She doesn’t even apologize to her when Qifrey tells her that Coco was always going to be an apprentice and that there was no need for a test. If Agott develops later on, this negativity I have for her might dissipate, but she’s my least favorite of the bunch by far; her design’s awesome despite my opinions on her character.
The world of magic always has adversaries. The villains seem to be these Brimhats that Qifrey is after. One of them gave Coco a book of magic that she never knew contained forbidden spells. I wonder what it is he intends for her since he gave her that book. I hope to read more to learn more about them.
The minor characters in this story are great too. Coco’s mom seems like a bad mother up front, but she has good intentions. Any mother would be protective of their child and it’s understandable that she’d be against Coco’s passion given the requirements needed to be a witch. Although I don’t support that sort of mindset, Coco’s mother was right about magic in a way—look what happened to her. The stationary shop owner Nolnoa and his grandson are also interesting characters. They are implemented into the story that magic has to be materialized from somewhere and that not all magic users are witches and some can be used as supportive roles for them like them. As someone who loves stationery, I hope I can see more of them! Also, Qifrey’s friend that he went to visit in order to get Coco licensed is hot and I want to see more of her too.
The drawings are beautiful. From the start of the first chapter, the drawing of the lake Coco was in was beautiful and set the tone of the majestic world Shirahama visualizes. The character designs are unique too. The children have similar faces, but all the adults are quite distinct in character designs. I love how the art is like a mix of Eastern and Western drawing styles with the eyes and face shape being more eastern while the noses are more western. The stationery store is my favorite design by far due to the tree design. Shirahama draws trees so well.
With the way the first volume ended, I want to see what happens next. How will these rookies deal with a dragon?
From the get go, this world that Shirahama created is mesmerizing! Usually, stories about magic revolve around incanting words or phrases that would then materialize into what the user says. In this world, magic is used in the form of glyphs. I love that. I always loved looking at the magical glyph patterns that anime and game spell casters use whenever they cast magic. Glyphs are super underrated in the magic world and I am happy they are utilized here. The author really took the time to design each glyph to their respective usage. I love how drawing is utilized as a skill set here. If you cannot draw a proper circle, your spells won’t work. Colors and patterns really matter! Details matter when drawing! I love these sort of details!
The characters are wonderful too! I love Coco! She’s enthusiastic about the world of magic and keeps going forward because she believes she can turn her mother back to normal if she works hard to obtain more knowledge about magic in order to reverse the spell. Her passion for magic and her love for her mother make her an enjoyable protagonist. She’s still a newbie in the world of magic and has a lot to learn, but her optimistic attitude helps her persevere. Seeing a young girl with this attitude makes an adult like me want to emulate her. I love the fact that she keeps smiling despite the grave mistakes she made; I think it’s brave to do so because she could’ve been so negative and pessimistic about everything, but she doesn’t and I really like that. I loved the portion where she uses quick thinking to use the wet ink cloth as a makeshift pen. It shows that magic can happen anywhere and anytime if you put your head into it. I want to watch her develop into the greatest witch ever, even stronger than Qifrey.
Speaking of Qifrey, he’s my favorite character. I love the mentor-student relationship he has with Coco; he’s like a father to her. He encourages Coco to keep her love and passion for magic and sees her potential. The fact that he takes her in as an apprentice and not erase her memories shows how much he cares for her as a person, even if there might be some hidden agenda regarding this. Qifrey’s motivations for taking in Coco may be suspicious at best, but he still has kindness in his intentions because Coco has no one else. Qifrey’s design is absolutely wonderful and one of the reasons this manga pulled me in. He has all the qualities I love in a character and that’s why he’s my favorite.
Qifrey has three other apprentices, Agott, Tetia and Richeh. Tetia and Richeh are cute and seem to have distinct personalities with Tetia being the chipper one and Richeh being the quirky one. Agott, on the other hand, sort of rubs me the wrong way with the way she deliberately puts Coco in danger by testing her to get an herb despite the weather not being in the right season for travel. She doesn’t even apologize to her when Qifrey tells her that Coco was always going to be an apprentice and that there was no need for a test. If Agott develops later on, this negativity I have for her might dissipate, but she’s my least favorite of the bunch by far; her design’s awesome despite my opinions on her character.
The world of magic always has adversaries. The villains seem to be these Brimhats that Qifrey is after. One of them gave Coco a book of magic that she never knew contained forbidden spells. I wonder what it is he intends for her since he gave her that book. I hope to read more to learn more about them.
The minor characters in this story are great too. Coco’s mom seems like a bad mother up front, but she has good intentions. Any mother would be protective of their child and it’s understandable that she’d be against Coco’s passion given the requirements needed to be a witch. Although I don’t support that sort of mindset, Coco’s mother was right about magic in a way—look what happened to her. The stationary shop owner Nolnoa and his grandson are also interesting characters. They are implemented into the story that magic has to be materialized from somewhere and that not all magic users are witches and some can be used as supportive roles for them like them. As someone who loves stationery, I hope I can see more of them! Also, Qifrey’s friend that he went to visit in order to get Coco licensed is hot and I want to see more of her too.
The drawings are beautiful. From the start of the first chapter, the drawing of the lake Coco was in was beautiful and set the tone of the majestic world Shirahama visualizes. The character designs are unique too. The children have similar faces, but all the adults are quite distinct in character designs. I love how the art is like a mix of Eastern and Western drawing styles with the eyes and face shape being more eastern while the noses are more western. The stationery store is my favorite design by far due to the tree design. Shirahama draws trees so well.
With the way the first volume ended, I want to see what happens next. How will these rookies deal with a dragon?
selfishxromance's review against another edition
5.0
Precioso, me recuerda a Terramar… Seguiré leyendo, son 8 tomos
loudonuts's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Bullying
velocipedia's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
Boy witch! Boy witch! Boy witch! Qifrey is a gentleman and a style icon, and I hope he doesn't let me down.
I didn't expect this level of fashion inspiration from a supposedly seinen series, but I'm obsessed with the pleated yokes on the apprentice dresses (among other things). The illustrations are wonderful across the board. And Coco's a sweet little weirdo
I didn't expect this level of fashion inspiration from a supposedly seinen series, but I'm obsessed with the pleated yokes on the apprentice dresses (among other things). The illustrations are wonderful across the board. And Coco's a sweet little weirdo
risten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Death of parent, War, and Violence
goshdarndragons's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
ra22ouille's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ah this is so fun! And the art is incredible, stunning. I love the magic system and the commentary on class, I really hope that continues to be a theme throughout the series. Really the only thing that didn't blow me away was some of the exposition at the beginning. It felt very tell not show. But that definitely wasn't the majority and it didn't take me out of the story. Super excited to read more!