魔女が恋する5秒前 [Majo ga Koi suru 5 Byou Mae]

by Zeniko Sumiya

孤高の大魔女メグと魔女狩りのリリスはいつも森でいがみ合っては喧嘩している宿敵関係!　好きだから悪戯して、挑発して……を繰り返してしまう、そんな不器用な二人を、周囲は呆れながらも微笑ましく見守っていた──しかし、あるトラブルで本音が漏れてしまった!　切羽詰まった状況で、ブチギレながらも二人は告白寸前の状況に!?

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Yuri, Lesbian, Graphic Novels

135 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2020

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

super short fluffy lil sapphic manga! part one is about a witch and a witch hunter who believes she's under a love spell (spoiler alert: it's not a magic spell!). part two is an interlude following a different set of characters (including a playful angel and demon who are both super smitten with a human they watch over). and part three returns us to the witch and witch hunter, to see their romance realized.

all these one-shots are cute and fun, but i don't think they'll be particularly memorable. a fun diversion though! and it's nice that each part can stand alone just fine.

[lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

all three stories were super cute but i think the third was my favorite :)

[Angel (๑❛ᴗ˂̵)〜☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witch x Witch hunter
Human x Demons
omg absolutely adorable, watching Meg and Lilith's passionate confessions was just soo cute ugh, absolutely gushed over their expressions

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is absolutely adorable, and that's coming from someone who doesn't even particularly like the enemies-to-lovers trope. It's also interesting to note that "Demon Harem" really does run like a plain ol' shounen harem story, despite there not being a boy in sight. Yuri harem is certainly its own genre, but this feels like it owes more to its shounen brothers than yuri sisters.

[Coco · Rating 3 out of 5]

3✨

Este manga me suscitaba mucha curiosidad principalmente por la trama: una bruja, Meg, y una cazadora de brujas, Lilith. En diferentes encuentros saltarán las chispas que su enemistad (o previsiblemente otro sentimiento) puede ocasionar.

Hasta ahí todo bien, pero mi problema fue que no pasó nada en particular en la historia que no hubiera imaginado ya. No es nada nuevo y no hay mucha chicha para estirar y me dejó con una sensación prácticamente de indiferencia. Lógicamente esto me dio mucha pena y rabia ya que me hubiera gustado haber podido disfrutar más de la historia de Meg y Lilith. De todas formas, estaré atenta a ver si se publica un segundo tomo porque tengo esperanzas en que la trama se vuelva más interesante.

Por otro lado, entre el primer capítulo y el segundo hay una historieta de una chica con habilidades extrasensoriales. Esto no aparecía en la sinopsis ni se explica al principio, así que en este capítulo me despisté bastante hasta que entendí de qué se trataba. Esta breve historia (aunque seguramente será continuada, supongo que en el tomo dos) me resultó más entretenida. Trata de Kanna, una estudiante que rescató a una demonio y a una ángel que ahora están obsesionadas y enamoradas de ella y que harán todo lo posible para que Kanna esté sana y salva (mientras discuten entre ellas).

En conclusión, esperaba otra cosa de este manga y, aunque no ha sido una (o dos) historias que me hayan gustado en especial, me quedo con curiosidad por saber si mejoraría la cosa en el siguiente tomo.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to love, gender’s just an optional extra.

Lilith is a witch hunter who goes at it hammer and tongs with the ancient sorceress, Meg, but can never quite seem to win out. Then cat hi-jinx start happening. Elsewhere, Kanna, a young schoolgirl, is followed by an angel and a demon who should be trying to save/corrupt her soul, but appear to have more carnal pursuits in mind…

This book is a collection of one-shots that appeared in Yuri Hime, all done by the same mangaka, which are all fairly queer in tone, although outside of that great quote leading this review, the angel/demon story is merely okay and actually super chaste except for (as expected) demonic workwear.

That story was the author’s first published work and it definitely shows, going a bit too overboard cramming stuff into its running time, yet still managing to be fun, but not exemplary. Not a bad read by any means, though hardly the star of this show. It definitely tries to be way more than you can fit into a single 40-page story.

With Meg and Lilith, however, the book bookends itself with two really silly and generally fun stories about a hopeless 508-year-old witch and the hunter who loves her. Or is cursed to love her. Maybe. It does exactly enough to convey setting, relationships, backstory, romance, and then wrap it all up.

These two are a cute pairing and play off one another well, even if neither of them wants to admit their feelings. It’s also surprisingly forthright about respecting and discussing consent between the parties in a way that many manga aren’t and said discussion doesn’t get in the way of things at all. It’s very smartly done - there is a standout scene featuring a truth serum that’s absolutely better than it has any right to be.

When looking at any one-shot, the big question is whether it is fun enough to justify its existence and whether it tells a cohesive story. Thankfully, Meg and Lilith’s story is, as noted, done very neatly - even the first part ends well enough that if the second part didn’t exist it would be fine. That really shows how much better the mangaka got at this.

The art is especially well done - the expressions of bashful embarrassment on these two as they sort themselves out and dance around their mutual affection are great. Lots of yelling and getting caught up in the moment abound. The (un)helpful warlock in the background is a great addition too.

Two fun yuri stories that acquit themselves well and make a very cute and fluffy way to enjoy the genre without having to sweat any especially deep meanings or a heavy plot. A really nice “beach read” manga that’s a bit of a novelty for what we get released for yuri - I would certainly not be opposed to more of these.

4 stars - 3 stars for the angel/demon/Kanna menagerie, 4 stars for our titular witch and her love, but they feature more prominently in the book, so 4 it is. A very welcome start to my reading week.

[Anne (ReadEatGameRepeat) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga is so freaking cute its insane!!!!! Its like seratonin on a page its the cutest thing ive read in a long while and i cant stop smiling about it!!!!!!! 

I will just say the synopsis for the manga was a bit misleading this is actually 3 short stories only 1 of which is described in the synopsis the third is related to it but the middle one is just a completely different (equally cute) story . 

[Willow Heath]

The first volume of 5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love is a collection of three one-shot sapphic manga. The first chapter is a cat-and-mouse game between the powerful sorceress Meg and the witch hunter Lilith. As they fight and toy with one another, their true feelings bubble to the surface. First Meg's, then eventually Lilith's. In this chapter, Meg turns Lilith into a cat but must soon come to her rescue when she's stolen.

My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/essential-yur...

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO CUTE! But very short. Don't get to know the characters very well. Adorable as a short story but I wanted more!

[Dara · Rating 3 out of 5]

for what this is (basically an oneshot.. and a half?) it was cute and silly. I still don't know what was going on in the second "chapter", and I was taken by surprise for sure, but I still enjoyed reading this I guess!

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry voor de vele gay manga updates. Ik ben bored at work dus dan ga ik dit soort spul lezen lmao

[Eyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up
I absolutely loved this omg, it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and when it arrived, I was initially disappointed at how short it was. But I actually don't mind that it's rather short, it's a concise and cute story that doesn't need too much to be a fun and enjoyable read.
This volume contains two stories, the witch and the witch hunter and also an average school girl and her hellish harem. Both were really enjoyable, I enjoyed the dynamic in the witch story more though. I don't think there's too much to say about it besides that it's just fun though, but I do recommend! I think I'll definitely end up re-reading it every now and then. Also the art is gorgeous!!

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

AAAA this was so cute!!! Short and a little basic story-wise but the art style was lovely and I was utterly charmed. It helps that all my favorite tropes were thrown in lol. I would love a full length series about this!

[ariana esnifa libros · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5/5⭐️ el diseño de la prota se me hace muy aniñado y todo fue tan rápido así q ni me pude encariñar pero cute? si tuviera 5 capítulos seguro le daba 3 estrellas

[Bingus Boingus · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

This book is fraudulent, I kissed my cat and it didn’t turn into a tall hot anime woman

-BB

[Dawn Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fluffy sapphic manga with a two part story about a sapphic witch and a witch Hunter, and also another one part short manga about a bunch of demons being absolutely smitten with this one human girl who is like just a genuinely nice person is exactly what I need to get my brain off things. Gorgeous artwork. I loved all the quirky characters, especially the witch and the witch Hunter had a surprisingly nicely paced romance that feels satisfying given the short length of their two-part romance plot.

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lectura rápida de trama simple, pero con un guion efectivo y bien ligado. Pocos personajes, pero muy bien llevados. Los diseños son curiosos y originales; el dibujo, bonito y agradable a la vista.

Un yuri de fantasía divertido para desconectar de lecturas más densas.

[Aisling · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

That felt a bit icky ngl

-BB

[Fina Spellman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un manga con tres historias, dos de la bruja y la cazadora de brujas y otra de una humana, una demonio y un ángel, son entretenidas y divertidas, muy amenas de leer. Para pasar un ratito distraído sin más 😊.

[Larakaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dorky sapphics! 😁

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but I wish it did more with the premise. Also the way it's organized is weird - it's a 2-part short stories following one couple and then a 1-shot following another character. The 1-shot is sandwiched between the two parts so it reads a little confusingly.

[Laryssa ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

so cute

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's fine. Characters are cute with some nice action but it's always committing to the two of them refusing to acknowledge their romantic feelings instead of doing anything with the momentum. The two-parter is interrupted by an unrelated one-shot in the middle and that one-shot is fun and all but it's confusing the way the whole series is collected. This could have had more magic! More chasing! Or more actual romance! But it's all done in minimal amounts. There are some nice jokes, some great moments throughout, but for such a goofy and intriguing premise it doesn't do anything lasting with it.

[✧desiree✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4☆ Review:

Are you kidding? This was so cute.

This was my first gl manga and I really enjoyed it.

This standalone features two stories separated into three parts:

5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love - 4⭐️

Demon’s Harem - 5⭐️

5 Seconds Before Falling in Love with a Witch - 4⭐️

This was easy to read, fast paced, and short. I really wish we could get more of the Demon’s Harem story, it was my favorite 😭

Will definitely recommend this!

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh comme ce titre me faisait envie! Moi qui suis une grande fan de tout ce qui a pour thème la sorcellerie en tout genre, chaque titre avec des sorcières qui sort me fait cruellement envie à chaque fois. Le côté one shot de celui là m’attirait encore plus. Le titre est hyper attirant, rien qu’en le voyant on a envie de découvrir plus en détails cette histoire. Cet ouvrage se découpe en trois petites histoires, enfin deux histoires plutôt. La deuxième se glisse entre deux chapitres de la première. Chaque histoire est très plaisant à découvrir. Sans jeux de mots, on est ensorcelé par cet univers. C’est une lecture rapide et très agréable. J’ai beaucoup aimé le format un peu plus grand qu’un manga standard.

J’ai beaucoup aimé l’histoire avec Meg et Lilith. Tout d’abord on a Meg, une sorcière solitaire qui fait des misères dans les villages aux alentours. Et puis on a Lilith, une chasseuse de sorcières. Elle passe son temps à chasser Meg mais au final elle la laisse toujours partir. Au final, ces deux là passent leurs temps à se chamailler, à se jeter des sorts, à se poursuivre, à se faire des coups bas mais finissent par développer des sentiments l’une pour l’autre. Lilithe est persuadé que Meg lui a jeté un sort qui la rend comme ça. Meg en profite pour lui voler un baiser sauf que Lilith est persuadé qu’elle n’a toujours pas levé le sort. C’est mon histoire préférée entre les deux. J’ai vraiment adoré la relation entre Lilith et Meg, elles sont tellement drôle toutes les deux! Elles se détestent mais en même temps ne supportent pas être loin l’une de l’autre. Elles sont la définition même du qui aime bien châtie bien!

J’ai un peu moins accroché à la seconde histoire, pas qu’elle n’était pas intéressante bien au contraire mais plus parce qu’elle était hyper courte. Comme c’est un format court, ce n’est pas développé à fond. On y retrouve Kanna, une jeune humaine qui voit les choses qu’un humain n’est pas censé voir. Un jour elle tombe sur deux créatures, une démone du nom de Belphegor et une ange déchue du nom de Samaël. Une amitié très forte lient désormais ces trois là. Une autre démone va faire son apparition et va mettre la pagaille dans cette amitié. J’ai tout de même grandement apprécié la relation entre les personnages. Elles sont très attachés à Kanna et j’aime beaucoup la façon qu’elles ont de la protéger.

Ce one shot était très plaisant à lire. J’ai vraiment passé un excellent moment durant ma lecture. J’ai adoré l’histoire avec Meg et Lilith. C’était drôle, c’était frais et c’était léger. Le genre de livre parfait à lire pour se détendre tranquillement. Je regrette juste le manque de développement de la seconde histoire. Même si c’était une histoire génial c’était bien trop court à mon goût. Mais ça n’enlève rien à la qualité de cette histoire. C’est un petit one shot que je ne peux que vous conseiller si vous aimez les histoires avec des sorcières.

[Ray · Rating 1 out of 5]

Content warnings for: extreme physical, sexual and emotional abuse; extremely, aggressively regressive sexual tropes regarding women along with same-sex attraction and lesbians, and extreme gaslighting...and not only is that basically the whole review right there, but pretty much the answer to three questions I've actually been wondering about a lot, "why did I stop reading manga years ago" and "why does yuri, a genre I admittedly used to love tremendously, now gives me such anxiety," and "why do I hate the enemies-to-lovers trope/genre with a burning passion," the only question left to answer is "why are so many women in particular so enthusiastic for such aggressively sexually regressive and abusive tropes"

[Anniken Haga · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I really enjoyed the stories about Meg and Lilith, the Demon's Harem didn't give me anything at all. In fact, it ended up pulling this book down at least 1 star in its rating.

I don't read a lot of manga, for I prefer my art to be a bit more lifelike than what a lot of manga offers. So in that regard, the art in this book was just what I expected, and so I didn't mind. It also helped that this was a stand alone. While I would LOVE more of Meg and Lilith, a one-shot can be as powerful as a full series with its message.
Or something. I don't know. I just liked this for a bunch of reasons!

[lia ☆ミ]

το δεύτερο κεφάλαιο ομολογώ ήταν λίγο περίεργο και άσχετο με όλο το υπόλοιπο (είχε μια διάβολο και μια άγγελο που ήταν obsessed και την ψιλό έπεφταν σε μια (17χρονη απ όσο είδα μετά) κοπέλα και δεν ξέρω κάτι δεν (πέρα απ τα προφανή προβλήματα)

το υπόλοιπο ομολογώ ήταν πολύ καλουλη και μ άρεσε, είχε λίγο αυτό που η κυνηγός νόμιζε ότι της είχε κάνει σαν ξόρκι αγάπης γιατί είχε όλα αυτά τα συναισθήματα που δεν μπορούσε να εξηγήσει και τελικά την είχε ερωτευτεί (το λάτρεψα αλήθεια)

γενικά ήταν πολύ μικρό βέβαια και δεν το έχτισε πάρα πολύ, μακάρι να ήταν λίγο περισσότερο

ίσως αν το βρω μπροστά μου να το αγοράσω κι ολας κάποια στιγμή

[Odyssée · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je suis décontenancée par ce manga, ce n'est pas ce à quoi je m'attendais. Étant donné que ce sont 3 histoire courtes (dont 2 qui vont ensemble), on ne voit pas d'univers se mettre en place et l'évolution de la relation entre les protagonistes est très rapide. Je pense que je suis trop vieille pour être le public cible, j'ai trouvé ça superficiel et souvent immature, j'aurais vraiment aimé l'apprécier (un yuri avec de la magie, ennemies to lovers, ça partait pourtant bien) mais ce n'est pas le cas.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a short fluffy yuri manga, mostly about the witch and the witch hunter, which were 3 one shots and a bonus chapter. There's also a story about a girl and her protective demons. I liked all of them, and the art was cute. It definitely has that ephemeral not entirely fleshed out quality of anthologies, but it's still cute and fun nonetheless.