Avec sa couverture de saison, je suis contente d'avoir attendu pour lire ce nouvel épisode de nos amusantes sorcières alors que l'ambiance automnale s'installe.
Avec elles, c'est toujours tendre, drôle et loufoque. Et si la série s'essouffle un peu, il y a un certain plaisir à les retrouver le temps d'une histoire sans qu'une ambition particulière ne se dessine, juste pour le plaisir. On est vraiment dans du pur tranche de vie mais avec une jolie touche magique pleine de charme.
Dans ce tome, on découvre les pouvoirs effrayants de lapinou à l'occasion de l'anniversaire de notre petite Chinatsu qu'on avait un peu oublié. On passe un long moment avec notre trio de sorcières d'Aomori, dont la ville a été choisi par le consortium des sorcières pour le sabbat, mais c'était sans compter un autre trio trouble-fête ! Enfin, on va ramasser quelques pommes dans un verger et s'en servir pour lancer des sorts. Charmant !
L'ambiance d'Halloween promise est cependant assez légère, pas de citrouille ou autre fantôme, juste quelques pommes ''enchantées'' pardon ''empoisonnées''. Le reste est assez classique, on a de la vie de tous les jours à leur côté et un petit moment plus conséquent qui vient twister le tome et l'animer à coup d'un sacré défi sous le regard des autorités - sorcières. Cependant, ça reste du léger vraiment sympathique et amusant, plein de douceur bon enfant vraiment appréciable. On aime rire, fêter et voyager à leurs côtés. On n'a pas besoin de beaucoup plus pour nous divertir. C'est juste amusant de les voir se tirer de chaque mauvais pas ou bourde dans lesquelles elles se mettent. On a appris à les apprécier, on aime passer ce temps tranquille avec elles.
Lecture chill sans grand enjeu mais toujours sympathique à suivre où on s'amuse à découvrir les nouveautés de leur quotidien où les bourdes ne sont jamais bien loin. Parfait ici pour jouer avec la figure d'un lapin pas si gentil que ça, des sorcières pleine de roublardises et des cueillettes de pommes surprises. Un nouveau joli moment de détente !
Literally not a thing I didn’t like about this volume! We got a Beachy cameo in a quick story at the beginning where his “playing” actually protected the family from bad spirits in the process. It was a good short way to start, anything more and that would’ve been too much but it worked as the intro story.
The main story of the volume focused on Mako, Akane and Miss Maria trying to prove that their town was worth holding an event known as the Great Sabbath to two visiting special witches.
Their attempts get thwarted by 3 Norwegian witch sisters who pose as them and send each witch off to somewhere in Norway to get them out of the way. I loved this story! It was funny and cool to see how the girls problem solved (except Akane just got drunk… 😅 But she did come up with a good suggestion even while drunk!).
A story about the family harvesting apples led to a funny interaction (ie. fight) between Mako’s Uncle and a deer who always comes to eat their apples. This one was really funny.
And finally, the last story introduces us to Anzu’s dad who works in the “other world” and they make some fun “gift apples” for him to take back, which grants each if the witches unique powers.
I really enjoyed it! It was easy to remember why I like this series so much. Sometimes when you’ve had a few months between volumes it’s hard to get back into it or the vibe feels off, but it wasn’t the case here.
Excited for volume 14 but I probably won’t get to read it for at least 6 months to a year since it looks like the Japanese version just came out 6 months back… It looks like there’s been an average of 8-12 months between the Japanese and English versions the last couple years so hopefully I’ll get lucky and the English translation will be out within the next couple months! It’s about a year wait for each volume, though, so it’ll be a while after to at until volume 15!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Makoto and friends try to impress the witches who will decide if their town gets to be the place the Great Sabbath is held.
3.5 stars - I liked this volume much more than the last two and am glad I decided to give this one more try. I used to adore this series to the point of buying the books rather than just getting them from the library but it had soured for me. This one recaptured the sweetness of the first seven or so with an extra spice of darkness in dark spirits trying to crash Chinatsu's birthday party (though I think there is no way a kid would forget their birthday had occurred). I also enjoyed the 'deer invading the apple orchard' bit and the 'gift apples' that have creepy faces on them.
Literally my favorite chill manga being created these days. All three stories were varied: exciting, hilarious and exhilarating; a witch battle, a deer battle and battling apples. I can’t overstate how well written and drawn this manga is with unique characters and weird creatures. Is it the best manga with witchy characters? For me it is times a thousand, (Witch Hat Atelier is close) especially based in modern times. I’m so looking forward to the next volume!
I love this series because it's low-stress and low-conflict. In general, it's pretty soothing. This volume, however had a few darker moments where things actually looked tense. (They worked out after a handful of pages, but even so.)
The art is excellent as always, and I love the weird cast of characters. The part at the end with Anzu and her father was really nice.