Eden of Witches Volume 1

L'Éden des Sorcières #1

by Yumeji

When a young witch is forced from her home by humankind, can she awaken her powers and find a way to save her home? People and nature are at odds in this epic Ghibli-esque fantasy manga from debut author Yumeji

In a world devastated by humankind and forsaken by plants and animals, only witches have the power to communicate with nature.

A long time ago, plants and animals lived in harmony . . . until humankind came to power and, unable to coexist with nature, destroyed and exploited both flora and fauna without a second thought. Now the world has become a barren wasteland. But witches have the power to speak to nature. Blamed for the extinction of plant life, and feared by humanity for their powers, they hide away from the rest of humanity in secret lairs bursting with greenery.

Pili, a young witch-apprentice, has set out on the roads accompanied by the wolf Oak. However, she is not accustomed to the world outside and traveling long distances. Her fatigue quickly takes its toll, and she ends up injuring herself by tumbling down a rocky slope! Fortunately, a boy named Bowei finds Pili and takes her home to nurse her back to health.

However, the arrival of the unfamiliar young lady arouses suspicion among other villagers, who quickly discern her true nature as a witch. And all captured witches share the fate of execution!

Eden of Witches is a magical and lushly illustrated coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä, and Witch Hat Atelier, brought expertly to life by rising star manga artist Yumeji. It will sweep readers away into a fairy tale where witches and their familiars are the last keepers of the natural world.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Witches, Young Adult, Comics, Magic

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2024

Reviews

[Igel :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved Witch Hat Atelier you NEED to read this one too!

-BEAUTIFUL ART 😍🥹

-Creativ Worldbuiding

-Interesting main character

- a wolf made of plants ( that's pretty cool right?)

-very ghibli-esque

[Innis ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Я знайшла свій рай ❤️. І як тепер дочекатися наступних частин? P.S. Дуб вкрав моє серденько!

[Matthew Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eden of Witches: Volume 1 by Yumeji is a manga novel about the last of the witches and their connection with the Earth and it's creatures.

Wherever we're standin', I won't take you for granted
'Cause we'll never know when, when we'll run out of time
THERE ARE NO SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Five out of five stars (5/5 stars).

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Essentially, this covers a lot in politics, but there are images of people dying on the stake. So... Death?

"When a young witch is forced from her home by humankind, can she awaken her powers and find a way to save her home?"— GoodReads book page for 'Eden of Witches'.

// Pre-read: I thought that I had read this before but I think it's a different one altogether. There's nothing wrong with that, though. Off to read.//

"A long time ago, plants and animals lived in harmony . . . until humankind came to power and, unable to coexist with nature, destroyed and exploited both flora and fauna without a second thought. Now the world has become a barren wasteland" — the Goodreads page for 'Eden of Witches'.

Does this sound familiar, or what? Eden of Witches definitely touches on one of my favourite political topic: climate change and the way humans treat the world. Sometimes it reminds me of finding a cockroach nest, there may be only 12 cockroaches but they leave their literal shit everywhere. Eat and shit, constantly. It's actually really disgusting with how much waste, food and non-food items just dumped every day when there are people that have nothing. Why aren't we shipping "low quality" foods to other countries or feeding the homeless? It drives me mad.

I love the 'Amurd' concept a lot. Oak (a wolf-plant hybrid of sorts) is a wolf Amurd - are the Amurds the plant part of the creatures or the whole package (so to speak)? I'm not sure, but I am keen on reading the next volume and seeing if I can find out more about that specifically.

"Pili, a young witch-apprentice, has set out on the roads accompanied by the wolf Oak. However, she is not accustomed to the world outside and traveling long distances. Her fatigue quickly takes its toll, and she ends up injuring herself by tumbling down a rocky slope! Fortunately, a boy named Bowei finds Pili and takes her home to nurse her back to health.

However, the arrival of the unfamiliar young lady arouses suspicion among other villagers, who quickly discern her true nature as a witch. And all captured witches share the fate of execution!" — a blurb from the 'Eden of Witches' GoodReads page.

The main character, Pili is sweet and naive as a good witch should be, but she also needs to learn to look after herself especially since the humans are so cruel to witches. Why are they shunning the one group of people that can literally feed them??! Idiots. Like they should be paying them and employing them to grow their food, plants love them and if you can't be them join them. I know that's not actually the saying, but it is what it isn't.

Anyway, Pili is a witch who hardly has any energy and she like faints/falls asleep/slumps to the ground a lot which is actually pretty funny especially when Oak is like: "nah screw em" and rips them apart like they're harmless bunnies. Is Oak big? Is he fast? Yea, maybe. Lmao

You have to read this to believe it, and believe me when I say it's good.

The illustrations are clean cut and interesting with beautiful colour palettes throughout and as an artist, myself, this is important, but then again I don't think there isn't art I don't enjoy in some way even if it is just because I saw something that helped me see things from someone else's eyes.

So please go and read it right now. It's a fantasy based manga with interesting characters and plot.

[Ірина Грабовська · Rating 4 out of 5]

Цікава ідея, гарна мальовка, але якось всього мало. Сюжету, слів, сенсу.

[пустунка · Rating 5 out of 5]

це була моя перша манґа і мені сподобалося. трішки незвично, що так мало букв, але все так гарно, ще й історія затягла) тепер мені відразу потрібен другий том. Піллі, Бо та Дуб такі бусінки 🤌🏻. а на деяких моментах я ледве трималася, бо було жорстко, але тим не менш ці події підігрівають інтерес.

5/5 ⭐️

[Allen Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This first volume felt like watching the first 30 minutes of a Studio Ghibli film (in the best way). The art style was chef's kiss, stunning. The story follows Pili, a young witch apprentice. In this world, witches are able to talk to plants and have kept themselves hidden from humans who have exploited the planet. Pili is forced to interact with humans after her mentor becomes ill, and Pili's quest to find help leads to a dangerous human uncovering her witch nature.
This has the perfect mixture of beauty, nature, and violence that so many of the Studio Ghibli films have. I found myself getting emotional reading this first volume. I can't wait for the rest of the volumes to be translated into English and released.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this volume in exchange for an honest review.

[Yuyine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le premier tome de L’éden des sorcières est un coup de coeur. Parce que l’univers post-apocalyptique de cette fable écologique me parle énormément. Parce que malgré une trame classique, l’histoire est passionnante. Parce que j’aime déjà énormément son héroïne. Et parce que visuellement, c’est un bijou! Je suis convaincue à 200% ! Vivement la suite!

Critique complète sur yuyine.be!

[Heather | Nerdy By Nature Blog · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork was cool, but nothing about the story gripped me.

[Faye 🫀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Literally Ocarina of Time meets Princess Mononoke meets Twilight Princess meets Witch Hat Atelier

I ate it up

[Julia Marks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful debut perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli, featuring environmental themes akin to Princess Mononoke and a whimsical atmospheric setting like Kiki's Delivery Service. The creator earns the Studio Ghibli comparison through the expansive landscapes and detailed linework, and the story itself has a similar rambling flow that emphasizes the emotional journey of the main characters. I look forward to reading future volumes. Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

[Yuliia Kravchenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ну таку красу можна читати запоєм

[Mimi Schweid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Manga in years. I want to read the rest of the series ASAP. The story was beautiful and bittersweet. I'm so excited to see if I can read them all from the library.

[Camgayfantasyreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like witch hat atelier this is definitely worth trying. Why is there only one volume though 😭

[Анна Полегенько · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дуже захоплива історія, в якій переплітається і проблема екології, і магія, і жорстокість суспільства. З нетерпінням чекаю на другий том, бо історія Піллі мене заінтригувала 🔥

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Thank you to Net Galley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting, bleak premise. Humans have (shocker) ruined the earth and only witches live in harmony with plants - all humans live in basically rocky deserts. We start off with Pili and get mentor Toura in their hidden home away from the rest of civilization.

The magic system is still a bit unknown other than these special magical seeds that can grow into huge, powerful animals with plants wrapped around them.

My e-ARC copy didn’t have very high quality artwork, which was a bit disappointing because this is a manga and the artwork is extremely important to telling the story, but I’m sure the final copy will be more polished.

The villain was scary and brutal and I didn’t expect this to be as dark as it was, but it makes sense considering f the world these characters are living in!

I’m interested to see where this story goes, so I would definitely check out the next volume, especially since this first volume had a lot of introductory stuff they had to get out of the way. Overall, this was a quick, interesting read that reminded me a bit of Princess Mononoke meets Witch Hat Atelier. 😊

[Dan P · Rating 1 out of 5]

A flickering imitation of Kamome Shirahama's immortal smash hit Witch Hat Atelier. The art is decent but it feels like it's just trying to imitate Witch Hat. The writing is shallow and the none of the characters stand out. Even the wolf made of plants feels boring. And worst of all the setting is just incredibly stupid. Over a hundred years ago all animals and plants disappeared from the earth? Everyone would be dead, full stop. And yet here they are, hanging out and persecuting witches. If there's some grand magical explanation for why humans are still alive, we don't get it in the entire first volume. It's very stupid!

[Michelle Graf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the ARC.

The art is really gorgeous here, the comparisons to Ghibli and Witch Hat Atelier are very apt. The story is a basic hero's journey, where the loss of her mentor/guardian and her home sends Pili on a quest to find this Eden where wildlife thrives. Every stop on her journey thus far sparks a strong desire for more in those around her, for both good and bad reasons. I'm interested in where it goes from here.

[Paloma orejuda (Pevima) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pueees... leído en francés. Es un seinen que sin ser espectacular es entretenido.

**Alerta Spoiler!!

Lo pillé porque estaba en 2x1 en el fnac y me gustó la portada. La idea no es original, pero trata de una bruja que vive en un mundo post-apocalíptico ecológico, sin plantas (o solo las suyas) y demás, que quiere cumplir el sueño de su mentora y encontrar el edén.
Hay desiertos, científicos malvados, brujas buenas y monstruos. Y el dibujo, aunque podía ser más elaborado, es bonito.

En fin, 4 estrellas sobre 5 porque me he viciado y quiero seguir con los siguientes. El problema? que solo hay 5 tomos publicados T.T

PS: Amo que los franceses estén tan locos por los mangas. En España no encuentras ni una milésima parte de lo que hay aquí.

[Ana Camastro · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first manga. Even after I got the hang of reading from right to left, I wasn't sure I was completely following along. It didn't seem very imaginative to me and I felt like it heavily relied on other works. I don't know, maybe the medium isn't for me.

[Mawie · Rating 5 out of 5]

witches who live in harmony with nature and animals, and who have to save them from humans? i mean... totally what i crave for 😍🌲🐺 (+ the drawings are mesmerizing 🤩)

[Liliia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Досить класична зав'язка, але ж які розкііііішні ілюстрації! Дуже миленько і красиво

[La pieuvre dilettante · Rating 5 out of 5]

On part sur un coup de coeur, hâte de lire la suite ! ❤

[Nikita Zhuravel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Довго вагався чи потрібно купувати. Хоча я люблю манґу, проте не думав, що сподобається сама історії. А тепер можу сказати, що вже чекаю з нетерпінням продовження (так, я знаю, що в мене багато непрочитаного 😅), ця історія мене зачарувала від першої сторінки та тримала в зацікавленості аж до кінця.

Якщо коротко про сюжет, то колись давно всі рослини та тварини жили в мирі та гармонії. І це тривало до одного моменту, доки не з'явилися люди. Вони безжально руйнували все на своєму шляху і ось як вже сотні років флора та фауна зачаїлися в таємному місці. Хоча також є таємні лігвиша відьом, де рослиність продовжує буяти і як не дивно саме люди звинувачують відьом в занепаді життя.

Це якщо коротко, а ось детальніше потрібно читати вже манґу, бо там дійсно є про що по читати та про що по мислити.

[Tesutamento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gizlenen doğa cadılarını arayan küçük bir cadının hikayesi denebilir. İnsanların çoğunun perişan ya da kötü kalpli olmasından dolayı başına gelenleri okuyoruz. Hikaye son derece klişe fakat kararında temposuyla hiç sıkmadan kendini anlatıyor. Serinin en öne çıkan özelliği ise kuşkusuz çizimleri. Ana karakterler ve doğaüstü kısımlardaki detay seviyesi gerçekten muazzam. Ne yazık ki iş kötülere ve önemsiz tiplemelere gelince seviye bir hayli düşüyor. Muhtemelen başka bir mangada o kadar da kötü durmayacak olan o çizimler buradaki fazlasıyla özenli çizimlerin yanında biraz sırıtıyor.

[Валерія Растет · Rating 4 out of 5]

Повелася на чарівно промальовану обкладинку й не пошкодувала, на внутрішніх малюнках (навіть на голих скелях) можна по кілька хвилин залипати=)

Так, нехай у перших розділах і насипано бісячих тропів (обраність, смерть, дівчинка в біді, зрада, поклик до мандрів), але сама тема, де через людей почала зникати флора й фауна, а її рештки відступили й зачаїлися, щоб до них не дісталася рука нищителя, варті уваги. Це історія дорослішання й пошуку власного шляху геть юної відьми, адже у світі покинутому природою, відьми — єдина надія людства, бо лише вони зберегли зв'язок із природою.

[Alena Lutsenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Відьомський рай" захоплює з перших сторінок.
Ця історія розкриває перед нами важливу тему: взаємозв'язок між людиною і природою.
Розкішний візуал відтворює світ природи і допомагає заглибитися в атмосферу манґи.
Вона надає глибоке й майстерне розуміння складних взаємин між людьми і природою. І змушує задуматися над нашою власною роллю у збереженні планети та пошуку способів знаходження гармонії з навколишнім світом.

[Gabrielle (qaomia) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le premier chapitre donne le ton, et m’a agréablement surprise : on découvre un univers très sombre (définitivement un seinen!), une héroïne naïve et un mystère autour des plantes qui sont cultivées par des sorcières. Les dessins sont magnifiques et fourmillent de détails. J’enchaîne avec le tome 2 :)

[Aliks Pendragon · Rating 4 out of 5]

ça commence très bien, je l'ai choisi juste pour sa couverture sans n'avoir rien lu dessus; ce T1 annonce un monde plutôt sombre avec de superbes dessins, c'est une agréable surprise. je lirai le T2 avec plai-sir.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting start to a series. I haven't read many fantasy mangas but I like the set up of this story. It's a pretty brutal start...definitely interested to see where it goes from here.

[Musical_literature_of_vannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Très belle découverte.

Un beau récit de dark-fantasy sur fond d'écologie qui commence bien.
J'ai hâte d'avoir la suite.