Maria the Virgin Witch vol. 3

This wraps up the main story with the fourth volume “Exhibition” set to contain… I dunno, maybe side stories set before, after, or even during the events of the previous three volumes.  Anywhoo, vol. 3 wraps things up in better fashion than what I was expecting after vol. 2.  It’s nothing fantastic by any stretch of the imagination, but if you were hoping to see Maria get a happy ending that involves her finding happiness for herself, then you’re likely to be satisfied.  I felt that the plot mechanics, as orchestrated by mangaka Masayuki Ishikawa, were pre-ordained to deliver this kind of conclusion.  So while it’s nice to see the title character achieve the “mega-happy ending,” it didn’t really feel earned so much as dictated.  At least the yammering about God’s role in humanity’s existence is dialed back a bit for this volume.

I will give credit to the mangaka for the parts of this volume that didn’t feel forced.  Maria’s ecstatic joy at finally getting a boyfriend was fun, Ezekiel’s moral dilemmas and ultimate fate were handled quite well, and the witch Edwina’s role in the story was constantly amusing.  In Edwina’s case, she comes off as a witch who just wants to go about her business as always, but has to deal with the consequences of witches like Maria and Viv who do not.  Her exasperation at their actions was genuinely funny as she was the one person who didn’t want to cause any fuss, yet wound up in a personal dispute between Heaven and Man that she had no real stake in.  Honestly, I’d much rather see another volume about her life than Maria’s since Edwina’s has much greater potential for comedy and entertainment at this point.

Based on the story told over these three volumes, “Maria the Virgin Witch” isn’t a bad series.  It just hasn’t shown itself to be anything more than agreeable fluff.  I can only hope that my patience in buying it has convinced Kodansha that there’s an audience for Ishikawa’s work to the point that they’ll license-rescue “Moyasimon.”  (Not that I’ll be holding my breath at this point.)