It’s no exaggeration to say that without Desscaras, I would probably like this a full star less in terms of my ranking. Oh, it’s action-packed and the art’s phenomenal, but Desscaras really makes this work for me.
So, nothing new, basically. Well, not quite. In fact, this technically upends the heck out of the status quo while continuing its basic premise of going out and hunting things that would otherwise harm humans.
What we really establish this volume is what looks to be our series antagonist, the World-Hater Majik, whose goal is pretty much the end of everything (who could tell with that name?).
The initial struggle against him is actually quite good because it does something I really like in a series - it lets the hero fail. That’s not anything new, but it is rare enough in manga that I can appreciate it.
Having Ichi at least accomplish something during the encounter, but almost pay a heck of a price, manages to give the big bad some bona fides and also changes the way our team operates.
We get a little bit of Desscaras’ backstory, courtesy of a hard-drinking session with the chaotically directionally challenged Togeice, which explains just why she keeps hanging around Ichi in the first place. Besides her massive ego, of course.
But the next development has Desscaras putting literally all her chips on Ichi in a way that speaks volumes to her character, while also letting her be a colossal jerk. Real ‘have your cake’ energy there. It emphasizes the ‘found family’ aspect of things and sneaks in some potential romance between Ichi and Kumugi.
There’s also a bit of prophecy flung around by a new character and I can live without prophecies, although I suspect the writer can too given that said prophecy is what pushes Desscaras to do what she does.
I’m not hugely sold on that character, although her backstory is certainly more interesting than you might think and carries a note of ‘can we trust this person?’ to it.
The other new character we get is Gokuraku, who is out to acquire majik, despite being a male, and has no qualms beating majiks to pieces (repeatedly) to acquire it. He’s definitely presented as overly cruel at the start.
And, again, I think the story knows it because there’s a sidebar later that takes pains to remind everybody that these majiks are terrible and kill people recklessly. There’s definitely an issue with how savage Gokuraku’s methods are presented - he’s shown this way, we don’t see the majiks doing anything and that’s a bit of a lapse, narratively.
But he quickly softens when paired with Ichi, which I liked because it was entirely based on Ichi’s hunting philosophy. Ichi has always believed that killing to kill is pointless and you need a reason to hunt. He won’t do anything if he won’t use what he’s up against and Gokuraku seems to be learning from that.
And there are the usual jokes mixed into this, which makes it very definitely shonen series, but a really strong one. Again, the art is crackers good. One of Desscaras’ attacks early on resembles a summon out of Final Fantasy and is just gorgeous.
Keep adding to that pile of gags, add some decent storytelling that is, so far, holding my interest and toss in some curveballs along the way? That’ll do me for another volume of this quite solid series.
4 stars - yeah, didn’t love the new characters unequivocally, but Gokuraku is growing on me and there’s lots to love around the stuff I didn’t, so still a worthwhile reading experience.
Not going to lie. I always hate the intro of a “prophesied one” or “chosen one,” trope, but I liked how they handled it after. I also liked Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun and that has a prophecy as well. So I’ll continue to follow the story to see how this is handled. The family bit made me tear up. I’m a sucker for wholesome scenes and moments. (Crier), really enjoyed the moment. Also really like that Desscaras spoke on taking responsibility for a child so he can have a good (normal is moot at this point) life.
This new addition, yay. Our team becomes a team of four, and we will be getting an interesting new member. Looking forward to that next volume.
World-hater magik more like À̷̫̲͕͖̭̌̍̅̓́͛̒̈́͊͘͘͝w̴̡̠͓̠̠̪͓̎̇̄͆͂͜͝͠ ̸̢̮̹̳̞̫̋͂̀́f̷̲̘̝̺̖̦͓̆̓̊̆̅̄͜ȗ̵͇̻̉̐̉̎̚͠c̶̛̜͓̮̝̉̓͌̆́̂͑̂̔̇k̸̨̗̘̬̣͖̄͑͛͆̂̾͒̿̾̓͠,̸̛͚͈̫̈́̾̈́̏̄̀͗̃͘̚ ̶̪̮̔̊͘͠w̴̛̛̠͙̳̫͋͐̋̎͒́͐͌̇̕h̶̢̡̥̼̹̜̹͂͑̾̏͛̐͋̈́̂̀̆̐̚a̷̢͎̭̬̗͚͈̻̯͕̺̮̱͌̒̿̓̾̂̇̑̓̑̕t̵͇͎͌̓'̸̨͎̰̜̝̬̙͉̯̯̓̓͌̾̅͌͋̓̌̔͘͜s̷͓̞͎̫̙͓̃̊͒͛̿̚ ̷̡̺͚̱͇̲͇̖̤͚̣̄͆̚͝h̸͎̻̖̭̬̰̖̼̕ͅḁ̸̡̢̼̹̩̠̮͙͎͖̀̀̍̀͑̓͛̀͛̚̕͜͝p̵̝̗̀́̎p̵̨̼̜̠̳̤͙͉̺͌̈́é̸̲͙̦͕̈́̉̿͂͗̏͠ǹ̴̡̨̟̜͍ͅi̵͎̟̼͒ͅn̴̢̧̝̪͉̯̠̻̟̈̈́̒́̅̅͛̿̒̃͝g̸̣͉̠̬̰̭̦̙̪̏̓́̈̑̃̉̋̕͠ ̷͎̥͚͈̟̺͔͖̪̬̉͆̍̏̆̏͌̽͋̿̚ͅt̶̢̘̗̺̣̗͒ͅơ̶̺͑̎͊ ̸̢͉̫͕̣̲̀͑͋́̉̈̇̆̕̚͝͠ͅͅḿ̶̩̠̌̄̎̿̌̍̈́̕è̷̠̑
Quel shonen magique et spectaculaire ! Les auteurs ont parfaitement digéré leurs prédécesseurs pour nous offrir une aventure enlevée !
Je me suis régalée avec ce tome qui clôt l'introduction et nous lance vraiment dans le vif de l'histoire ! C'est explosif, pétillant, drôle et touchant, avec une pointe de mystère et de danger parfaitement dosé. Que ce soit Osamu Nishi qui nous réserve de belles surprises au scénario ou Shiro Usazaki qui livre des dessins explosifs et inventifs lors des phases de combat, les deux m'ont fait vivre un très bon moment.
Ichi affronte le Majik anti-monde est c'est LE virage de la série. Celui-ci est plus qu'à la hauteur de sa réputation mais quelque chose le noue à Ichi, même si c'est Desscaras qui fera le plus de dégâts et sera la plus impressionnante. Nous tenons notre antagoniste ! Sauf que celui-ci a un côté un peu désespéré. Il n'est pas un psychopathe, il n'est pas fou, mais il veut tout détruire avec un certain désespoir ancré en lui. Il intrigue. Alors quand tombe la prophétie qui les concerne Ichi et lui, forcément cela questionne.
J'ai apprécié que les auteurs ne foncent pas tête la première dans la réalisation de cette prophétie. Ils développement plutôt les personnes, leurs relations, leurs pouvoirs. Ainsi Desscaras va plus loin encore que la simple relation de mentor qu'on attendait d'elle et surprend. Sous ses dehors barrés, elle cache un mal être qu'elle va tenter de guérir en se comportant autrement avec Ichi, en cherchant à contourner la prophétie pour le sauver. Je l'aime beaucoup. Elle est forte, sûre d'elle, mais cache une profonde blessure.
On repart ainsi dans nos chasses de Majik avec un autre objectif en tête que juste les éliminer, ce que je trouvais nécessaire. Alors certes, on retrouve des schémas typiques des mangas pour acquérir des compagnons et des pouvoirs, mais c'est bien fait, grâce à l'écriture des personnages et du lore. Ichi part ainsi au pays du bonheur traquer un Majik et trouver un allié. Il tombe sur quelqu'un d'extravagant encore qui surprendra par ce qu'il a été prêt à faire pour atteindre son but, mais qui reste encore largement à découvrir. Il sera le compagnon un peu psycho du groupe.
Aventure, sentiment, émotion sont donc au rendez-vous dans ce shonen efficace, donc j'affectionne la narration sans cesse renouvelée par exemple pour rappeler l'histoire. C'est à ce genre de petits détails aussi qu'on voit les intentions des auteurs qui ne sont pas juste de se calquer sur tout le monde ! Entrant dans le vif du sujet, ce tome dévoile la prophétie, l'antagoniste et donc la quête du héros, en s'appuyant aussi bien sur le lore magique qui impressionne lors des combats, que les relations humaines qui sont développées même en dehors pour nourrir le récit. C'est vraiment un très bon début !
Plutôt un 3,5/5 Un tome 3 bien meilleur que le 2. Ouf, j'avais un peu peur et comptais sur ce troisième pour savoir si je poursuivrais ou non la série. L'intrigue avance bien et semble un peu moins tirée par les cheveux que dans le second, avec ses gags à la limite du ridicule, qui m'avaient fait lever les yeux au ciel plus d'une fois. L'humour est toujours présent mais moins lourdingue. De plus, on en apprend davantage sur le monde des sorcières et j'ai beaucoup aimé la rencontre avec un ennemi clé, le magic anti-monde, très charismatique et intrigant, qui nous amène au coeur du sujet. J'ai maintenant hâte de lire la suite, en espérant que mon intérêt se maintienne sur le long terme... À voir...
"alright, desscaras, i've healed enough to talk." "not dressed like that you aren't, feral boy." *Ichi switches into the twinkiest school boy costume imaginable, complete with a choker* "better?" "YASS WITCH SLAY!"
And now, a parody of Armed & Dangerous from King Von:
World-Hater Magik: Witches steady watchin’ me, every day they clockin' me Red alert, armed and dangerous, I keep that Glock on me And I ain't lookin' for no trouble, I'm just lookin' out for me 'Cause I done did shit, them witches ain't talkin’ ’bout no rappin' beef
Boy, I’m talkin' tragedies, massacres, casualties Shit that I can't even remember, bet they remember me Shit that happened late in December, I bring that winter heat Witches dyin' the whole October, the real Halloween
Omg Desscaras is literally so fucking cool omg. I sense Yuri between her and Togeice ehehhe also Desscaras backstory sneak peaks!? Genuinely fucking cried when Desscaras asked Ichi to be her family and when he got so excited at the idea. I don't cry much when reading/watching things but found family is something else oh man.
Gokuraku, I know I'm gonna like this guy lmaoo. He's chaotic asf, again Kumagi being the only normal person in this group...familY! I kinda hope he gets his wish of being a witch but I can also see his character development going down a route where he accepts he's powerful on his own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I really enjoyed this one, it's more like a bridge to the the next arc, so I think the next volume will be great. As for the story in this volume, the World-Hater Majik is the Final Boss, so the next arcs I think is going to be Ichi getting more knowledge, companion, weapon and power to face the final boss, with the help from Desscaras and Mugi. We got new character that I don't know if I can trust him and Desscaras herself, what she did is pretty surprising, even though we got a glimpse of her past, but I need more explanation. Lots funny stuff and more action. So overall, it's a fun entertaining read, can't wait to read the next volume
everything about this series is absolutely phenomenal and we are only three volumes in — that is incredible imo, and ichi the witch has instantly become a favorite series of mine.
this volume contained so much: - we get some insight into desscaras’ past and her lore - desscaras and ichi become mentor and pupil - we meet a potential new companion to assist on the journey of killing the human-hater majik
overall, i am very impressed with every aspect of this series; from character designs to worldbuilding to plot progression, i see this becoming a new fan favorite shonen series🙂↕️
Un tome trois à la hauteur de mes espérances, j'ai de nouveau pu rire et apprécier les dessins absolument magnifiques de ce manga!
Le gros point fort de ce tome c'est son graphisme absolument sublime, vite suivi du storytelling extrêmement bien ficelé et de l'humour parfaitement maîtrisé ! Sans oublier évidemment les personnages absolument incroyables (Descaras ma star vraiment)
Wow the battle really looks good. Their skill and magic giving fantasy vibe so much. I like how Ichi and the anti-world magic. Hope he will someday can tame him like properchy said. Screw the died part.
Everyone outfit look nice, I want it. Hehe.
Gakoraku, I hope he will be the new team member. Cannot wait how the four of them interacting each other.
first of all i am unfortunately really invested in this story and characters and secondly i do think the bakugami thing would work on me like hes so freaking cute i couldnt kill him hes just a tiny guy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I’m Actually almost caught up on this on Shonen Jump! I love this series so much. This is also one of my fave arcs like I LOVE Gokuraku (I just call him Goraku tbh) and Jikishirone. Some truly wonderful designs and characters.
Easy to read, sometimes funny, with a bit of intrigue, some great fights, and artwork that could be even better. Very enjoyable. I'll read the sequel as soon as possible.16/20