Ghost and Witch Vol. 1

ゴーストアンドウィッチ [Ghost & Witch] #1

by Kore Yamazaki

From the brilliant mind behind The Ancient Magus' Bride comes a brand-new fantastical tale about a girl and the being possessing her as they travel around the vast country of Ireland.Haunted by a monstrous presence that clings to her soul, a girl named Saku flees Japan and journeys across the sea to Ireland. There, she encounters a silver-haired witch who may offer her refuge. But the witch's salvation comes at a price--and as Saku begins to face the power she's long feared, her path shifts from escape... to transformation.
This is the tale of a girl in flight...and the beginning of her journey to become a god.

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

188 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2024

About the author

Name (in native language) : ヤマザキコレ

Born in Hokkaido. Also known as Yamao Mitsu.

Reviews

[Kerowyn]

C'est très brouillon. Probablement à cause de problèmes de traductions. On a des absurdités parfois, comme la fille d'un irlandais qui a immigré aux usa, qui dit "je ne suis pas fille d'immigrés " bah si clairement, tu viens de le dire !
Et puis des jeux d'évitement mal géré pour ne pas dire clairement un truc.
C'est dommage parce que utiliser le folklore irlandais aurait été sympas. Mais c'est pas vraiment recherché si ? La gamine tombe sur une maison au toit de chaume, typiquement japonaise... bah non typiquement irlandais chérie. Et puis dans cette campagne reculée c'est bizarre même qu'elle en ait pas vu avant !
La représentation du petit peuple... qui a été traduit en "bonnes gens" (laissant supposé qu'on ne parle que de fée...)
Bref. C'est dur de suivre. Il y manque sérieusement de réponses. Je suis pas super emballée par ce 1er tome.

[Ashley]

interested in this story but very confused

[J MaK]

(2.4) Despite the confusion, this was a pretty good read about a haunting presence and the search for one’s roots. Witches, fae, gods, and otherworldly beings all converging at once made the story feel overcrowded, while the uneven pacing often left me feeling like something was missing. The cover artwork is amazing, but I don’t think I’m invested enough to finish the series.

[Liza]

Conceptually I do like it, however it feels like a rehash of Ancient Magus Bride as well. How many people are going to come over from Japan to the UK. The characters are also not as fun as Ancient Magus, the only one I kinda like is Sullivan.

[Anna (Ink of Books)]

she doesn't need to understand but the reader absolutely does. this was so so so confusing I don't know what's happening and the art style only adds to it unfortunately:/

[Marlena Frank]

I really liked this manga, even though the art and dialogue was a little confusing at times. It’s definitely something that would benefit from having different text styles for different speakers, though that could be a translation issue. Will definitely be looking to read the next volume!

[Nicole Wagner]

Kore Yamazaki's other series "The Ancient Magus' Bride" features fantastic, emotionally compelling stories involving thoughtfully developed characters, set in a gorgeous and detailed containing many beloved magical English myths and legends. I have been delighted and enchanted by the series in both anime and manga forms.

This brand new one, "Ghost and Witch", is set in Ireland, but promises the same sweeping storytelling, elements of mythology, and complex characterization of "The Ancient Magus' Bride". Consider me invested.

A comparison to Yamazaki's storytelling might be Peter S. Beagle's "The Last Unicorn", which was also an amazing novel aside from a classic animated film. It, too, portrayed the most romantic, noble, vulnerable, and wretched elements of the experience of being alive. It, too, is embedded in my sensory memory and literary spirit for life; part of my imagination's DNA.

I can't recommend Yamazaki's work enough. This new series promises greatness already. I can only hope it's someday adapted to anime!

[Sarah Jewett]

Something was likely lost in translation but even so I'm liking the story. Everyone has a tragic past, I can already tell, which tracks with the supernatural IMO. I look forward to the next volume and where this story leads me.

[Kathy]

The fae of Ireland are tricksy and dangerous, and an orphan girl from Japan with a snake attached to her has just arrived. Who is she really, when she doesn't know herself? Very dark, I had a hard time telling what was happening during the fight scenes.

[Rebecca]

Count on Kore Yamazaki to bring a little-known Irish goddess into the spotlight!

[Sarah]

An interesting start to a new series. I can't wait for the next book, stupid cliffhanger endings.

[SummerRae]

Art was beautiful. It just didn't draw me in. Story felt a little flat for me at least.

[Chloe Eaton]

This is actually so cool I need Vol. 2 now

[Richard Humphries]

Incredibly interesting & imaginative start, looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings)]

5/26 Sadly not as good as AMB. The characters, the story, the setting - all are sadly rather dull, lacking the spark they need to make them interesting. I don't think I'll be continuing the series.

[Nick H]

キャラクターと世界はそんなに面白くはない、アクションが大体見にくい、話は紛らわしい。時間読まないと思う

[Raven]

3.5

[Kayla]

Such a promising new series! Can't wait for more!

[Sarah]

5 stars

5 stars
What a crazy intriguing start to a new series from the creator of The Ancient Magnus Bride! I loved it!

[Kathleen]

I like the weird bestial forms of the fae creatures, and the Irish setting.

[Niche]

A girl from Japan, Saku, arrives at an small inn in Ireland trying to rid herself of a snake spirit that's possessing her. The proprietress is a witch and Saku soon finds herself working at the inn unwittingly getting sucked into the conflicts and machinations of the fae. There's hints that her snake spirit is a bigwig tied to the snakes being driven from Ireland by St. Patrick.

It has potential. It follows the aspects of folklore and the fae being dangerous if not malicious. I'm on the fence and will probably wait for it to progress further or finish to make sure there's no romance before reading more. I always side-eye a title if the author's written romance in the past.

[Blah]

La nouvelle série de Kore Yamazaki, dans le même lore (et monde ?) qu' "Ancient Magus Bride".
Saku, jeune japonaise orpheline et maudite, voyage en Irlande afin de lever sa malédiction.
Evidemment, ça ne va pas être aussi simple que ça.

Le mythe de Saint Patrick ayant fait fuir les serpents d'Irlande semble central dans cette série, serpents qui n'auraient pas été les païens (il n'y a pas de serpent natif d'Irlande) comme on le considère IRL mais une divinité.
Le début semble plus sombre que pour "Magus Bride" (enfin, de mémoire) et contrairement à Chise, Saku a un caractère plus affirmé.

Quelques problèmes ou incohérences possiblement liés à la traduction peuvent poser problème sur le moment mais pour l'instant rien de vraiment problématique pour la suite.

Por l'instant un très bon début.

[Geoffrey POTIER]

Quel plaisir de suivre une nouvelle histoire dans le lore de « The Ancient Magus Bride » !

[Manon]

DNF @66%
WTF was that ?

[Brittney’s Cozy Corner]

I enjoyed this one, very creative, original story, you don’t often read of mangas in other countries, but I enjoyed it. Excited to see where it goes.