NakiNagi 1

by Keigo Maki

A quiet sea witch meets a girl in love in this manga about magic and feelings from the creator of Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie. Perfect for fans of Ruridragon and Tsumiki Ogami's Not-So-Ordinary Life.

Nakika was once a feared witch of the deep sea, but she's moved to the surface to learn all about "human emotions." Nagisa is a naive romantic and Nakika's best friend. Although Nakika might not always understand Nagisa's infatuation, her compassion for Nagisa is deeper than the Pacific Ocean! Using her magical powers to support Nagisa's quest for love deepens Nakika's understanding of the human world—but it also strengthens her ties to the world of the land and to Nagisa herself. Follow the wholesome story of a girl in love and her watchful guardian!

Genres: Manga

176 pages, Paperback

Expected publication November 17, 2026

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love Maki's previous series, but this is 100% up my alley...by which I mean that it's a stealth retelling of "The Little Mermaid" starring the sea witch.

[Katies_bookish_adventure · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet and wholesome manga, I loved the art style especially the outfits, character designs, and the underwater scenery. The character design are some of my favorite by far, Nagisa style is very cute and girly with a childish personality then you have Nakita whose her complete opposite who looks amazing in an all black gothic style with a more mature personality. The two get along beautiful in a best friend kind of way. I think Nakita made for an excellent guardian/protector for Nagisa. I just thought their friendship was written so beautifully, the two were supportive and there for each other and I loved that for both of them.

I loved the magic elements of the story too, we get bits and pieces of it but I thought it was a neat added element. The ending had a bit of a cliff hanger that I’m curious to know the answers for, the bonus chapter was also really good but I don’t know if that ties in the main storyline or not. I had also really enjoyed the chapter page art, before each chapter is a little info on the characters or a piece of art work with both Nagisa and Nakita, it’s beautiful art work and it really captures their close friendship. Thank you to the publisher for my complimentary review copy.

[Laura (crofteereader) · Rating 3.25 out of 5]

The art style depicting the magic and the ocean was really cool, making for a very dramatic contrast with “reality” which was often very bright and lacking fine detail. Nagisa is a very familiar kind of high-energy, slightly oblivious, and weirdly shy manga/anime protagonist. Pairing her with “black cat” Nakika who not only puts up with her antics but actively helps her along in rather bananas ways is the entire story.

Unfortunately, I think the so-called “bonus comic” did most of the heavy lifting here - without it, none of Nakika’s choices actually make any sense. From what little I read of Shikimori, Maki-sensei focuses pretty heavily on short comedic/ironic bits to keep things moving, so I’m not expecting this to dive too deep (pun intended).

{Thank you Kodansha for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}

[Emily]

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for providing a copy of this manga!

Overall, I wasn't super into this manga. It wasn't bad by any means, I just wasn't overly into the characters. This is also one of those manga where you need to read the summary beforehand, otherwise you'll probably be a little confused. I did quite like Nakika. I especially liked her interactions with her male classmate who has a crush. I just wasn't really that into Nagisa's relationship with her crush. Nagisa's crush is just really bland and feels more like a blank slate than anything else. I probably would've enjoyed this a lot more if he had more of a personality. My favorite part of this manga was actually the end when we get the "little mermaid" story. It was so beautifully done. I almost wish this manga would've just been about that story, as I was a lot more invested in that.

[sea ʚ♡ɞ · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Thank you to Kodansha Comics for the Advanced Reader's Copy via NetGalley! This review is voluntary and my honest opinion ♡

Yes, yes, yes. This Little Mermaid retelling is about a sea witch who comes to land to experience humanity, and while she's not always a fan of it, she deeply cares for Nagisa, her bubbly love-obsessed best friend. And as she helps her best friend on her journey despite not understanding human emotions, you think maybe she knows more than she thinks because her joy is palpable when she makes Nagisa's life better. It's really cute and the art is beautiful. I cannot wait to uncover more of this story and I love the difference of characters. It's about friendship and what it means to love someone. It's really beautiful and I definitely recommend it!

[coury · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Thank you to Kodansha for this eARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the central focus on friendship in this volume. It reminds me a lot of the children’s cartoons I used to watch as a kid that were light-hearted, fun, and easy to binge. The bonus story is very akin to The Little Mermaid, and I appreciated getting to see Naki’s backstory and how she came to “be human,” even though she still possesses her magic. I hope we get to see more of Nagi’s confidence grow with the help of Naki, and also how they even first became friends to begin with. The message of just being yourself and not changing yourself to fit what you think your crush would like is sweet and heartfelt too.

[ฅ^•⩊•^ฅ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this manga because the plot is a little all over the place, and I honestly don't have that much to say about it.

I enjoyed the friendship between the two girls. The bonus chapter at the end about the Little Mermaid was a nice touch. And... that's pretty much it.

It wasn't one of the best manga I've read, but I'm still curious to see how these two girls' stories develop in the next volumes. So, while this one didn't exactly blow me away, I'm willing to give the series another chance.

[Cassandra]

Pretty good start to this series, it works hard at first before really delving into the magic of the witch showing us how strong these two friendship is. Its really nice to see completely supportive friends without ego or jealousy. Our witch's one wish is that her friend love herself and achieve the things she wants. We start with a bit a of silly ways of how she helps her win in class and helping her find opportunities to be with her crush. The ending though, our magic might be a little bit darker than the start of the series is. I like the art a lot as well, very cute.

5/6 stars

[Kait W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to cry. This first volume is absolutely beautiful and we're still learning the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, but I am beyond invested and feel like I already deeply know them. It's gorgeous artwork, a really interesting twist on a classic fairy-tale, and I am so excited to continue reading this series.

[Curious Madra · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this manga!

The art is absolutely gorgeous like it is really too bad it isn’t a Yuri because both girls would be such a potential couple in this!