Witch & Ghost vol. 1

Saku has had a hard life, and not just because she’s an orphan.  This Japanese girl has always had a tendency to get involved in fights, and to nearly beat the people involved in them senseless.  It’s not that she goes out looking for trouble, but because she’s possessed by the spirit of an antagonistic snake that wants her to give in to this violence.  Which is why Saku has found herself in the country famous for the saint that banished snakes from it, Ireland.  She hopes to find a magic well where she can wish away her problem, and instead encounters the brusque hospitality of grumpy middle-aged Rosie, and the dashing long-haired confidence of Sullivan in their run down inn.  It’s not that they might know a thing or two about her situation, but also a way to turn this girl into a… god?

This is the new series from mangaka Kore Yamazaki, who’s been responsible for the pretty great “The Ancient Magus’ Bride” for a good long while now.  It’s also not the first series she’s done alongside it – anybody remember “Frau Faust?”  I liked that series, even if it didn’t really touch Yamazaki’s signature work and that’s also the case here.  We’ve got some familiar character types – hotheaded protagonist in magic trouble, grumpy yet caring magic mentor, good-looking supernatural smartass – mixed up in some equally recognizable plots.  They say, “Write what you know,” and Yamazaki is doing that again here.

As someone who’s been reading her manga for quite a while, I can also say that she’s really quite good at it too.  Even with the “god” business teased at the end of the first chapter, this first volume feels like an enjoyably small-scale adventure with an engaging cast.  Saku, Rosie, and Sullivan all have their mysteries but are appealing personalities regardless, with the first among them acquitting herself as a capable protagonist here.  I will say that while this series feels like it could be taking place in the same world as “The Ancient Magus’ Bride,” such a connection isn’t made explicitly clear.  Yet it’s off to a good enough start that it doesn’t need one to keep me reading.