Witch & Ghost vol. 2

Saku is possessed by a serpent.  Not just any serpent, but the one that Saint Patrick drove out of Ireland centuries ago.  Said serpent is now looking to reassert itself in its ancestral home through its host, which is exactly what it does when faced with some vengeful rabbits.  Unfortunately the serpent didn’t count on Saku’s new boss, the witch known as Rosie, and she didn’t count on how peeved the Church Coalition would be by this – especially its most driven member, Bartolomeo.  Fortunately, Fate has a different plan in mind for all of them and now they’re left waiting for seven guests to arrive at the Well of Knowledge.  First up:  A man whose possessed niece has two friends she wants to save from a mermaid.

Vol. 1 was nice, but I think I like vol. 2 more.  It keeps the momentum from vol. 1 going while digging deeper into its characters, Saku most successfully, while introducing new ones.  Bartolomeo makes a great first impression as this title’s answer to “Hellsing’s” Alexander Anderson before settling down into something more workable and sane, and I hope we get to know more about the Brownie introduced here.  We’re also set up with what looks to be another quality story of the consequences of humans interacting with wild creatures of magic, which mangaka Kore Yamazaki does oh so well.

I don’t know if it’s just this volume, or the start of a trend, but this volume of “Witch & Ghost” is a considerably more violent affair than “The Ancient Magus’ Bride.”  What with all of the dismemberment, swallowing whole of characters, and general bloodletting to be had.  It’ll be interesting to see if this was a one-time thing or if Yamazaki is going to keep scaling things up.  This doesn’t distract from how clunkily the main thrust of this series is set up, which is a rare misstep for a creator who’s usually so good with their worldbuliding.  Still, what we get here is a lot of fun and has me wanting to see more of its world and characters for however long it lasts.