Red Threads

by Ila Nguyen-Hayama

In this manga-inspired YA graphic novel, Tokyo schoolgirl Hana Suzuki’s life is changed forever when she is chosen to attend Japan’s premier magical academy

Fifteen-year-old Hana is bored by her humdrum existence in Tokyo—there must be more to life than cram school and chores. After she rescues a crow caught in a net by her house, a mysterious visitor arrives at her door, offering her the chance to enroll in the most prestigious magic academy in The Benten School of Esoterics.

Hana jumps at the chance for adventure and life at Benten is everything she ever dreamed of—magic, mystical creatures, and making a new best friend in fellow new student Yoomi. But before long, Hana’s dream becomes a nightmare. Something is haunting the halls, and a series of horrifying attacks leave everyone is Benten cursed? Will the legendary school have to close its doors for good? If Hana and Yoomi want to save their new home, they’ll have to unravel the mystery or die trying!

A magical story of friendship and new beginnings, Red A Witch’s Tale is perfect for fans of Magic Fish, Beetle and the Hollowbones,and Spirited Away.

Genres: Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Mythology, Comics, Magic, Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[Emily]

From the rights report: "In this magical boarding school story set in Japan and drawing on Asian myths and folklore, an ordinary Tokyo girl discovers her powers and her best friend, a Korean fox spirit, battles prejudiced suspicions as they hunt the evil spirit attacking students."

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After rescuing a crow, a 15 year old Japanese girl named Hana is offered a scholarship to a magical boarding school where she meets and befriends a Korean red fox and ultimately saves the school from an evil spirit whose stealing shadows.

It sounds very Ghibli and feels that way too while you’re reading it. I definitely read it imagining what Miyazaki could do with the story and how it would play it.

In a story about a girl becoming a witch, we got to read about quite a few folk tales, as well as were introduced to many different Asian gods. I love books that bring so many stories together to create such a magical world.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

[Megan Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I thought it was really interesting and tied in so much mythology. I thought it had weird pacing in a few places, but other than that, I liked it!

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, magical girl learns she’s magic and goes off to magical academy. A tale as old as time, esp in Japanese comics. But this my dear friends I believe is an American comic written by an Asian American author set in Japan. Not a bad thing, but there is nuances to this in the way the book is written and mythology explained for a non Japanese audience.

I think middle grade and young adult readers will enjoy this. The first part of the story could definitely use a bit more clarity when our FMC learns magic is real but the author really found her groove by the end of the story. I ended up putting this down three times and having to come back to it but once things picked up with the school mystery I found things trucking along.

[Zephorah Dove · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story we get to follow Hana, a “magicik-less” student, who gets enrolled in the Benten School of Esoterics, Her new school is full of adventure and typical high school shenanigans. Hana bonds very quickly with a friend she meets on the train and by the end of the story, they’ve cracked the mystery that’s been surrounding the school for months.

I really enjoyed the emphasis that Hana placed on not taking anyone’s crap anymore and stepping up to classmates. When she called out other students during lunch for their lack of taste buds, I howled. It was such a good comeback. All of the teachers were very cool and accepting of Hana and they seemed to strive to treat her the same as other students who had more of a background in magic.

I’m really curious if this will be a standalone story or if the writer intends to expand on the story. The setting and buildup of the school/staff was very interesting and I found myself wanting to know more about the schools history.

Overall, this was a very cute story about new beginnings and forming new friendships. I can’t wait to reread this when it comes out in full-color!

Thanks so much to the publisher for the DRC!

[Chelsea]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Red Threads by ila Nguyen-Hayama is an upper Middle Grade/lower YA contemporary fantasy graphic novel. When Hana saves a crow, she receives an invitation to attend an esoteric Buddhist school which is secretly a school for mages. But there's been supernatural attacks and the school is in danger of shutting down if someone doesn't find the culprit.

The story delves into anti-Korean discrimination in Japan first very subtly and then more overtly. Hana’s best friend at the academy is Yoomi and if a reader is unaware of Japanese vs Korean naming conventions, they might miss that she is of Korean descent. Yoomi is bullied by several of the more elite students from Kyoto and they get more and more explicit with it being because she’s Korean, she’s as say kimchi smells. This is an important topic to discuss, so seeing it in a book for kids and presented in a way that could indicate simply general dislike and then showing it is due to racism is a good way to teach young people about how things can look one way but it really is a systematic issue.

The ARC I got did not include color illustrations, but the publisher has stated that the completed version will be full-color. Because of this, I cannot comment on that aspect of the book or how color symbolism plays into the broader story, but I can comment on other aspects of the style. The story is manga and Japanese folklore inspired, but it’s not in the manga/anime-style as many readers might think of it aka Attack on Titan or Ghibli. It’s a bit closer to the Powerpuff Girls anime, I'd say, as it feels a bit like a blending of American and Japanese styles rather than going for a specific one.

I really struggle deciding if this is YA or Middle Grade because it's right smack in the center for me. It's a magic school book with no focus on romantic relationships, the main relationship is a friendship, and it doesn't delve into themes in the way I expect YA to. But it is also set in a high school and has a lot more moments of calm than I've come to expect from more recent MG. I'd say it's upper MG edging into lower YA.

Content warning for depictions of xenophobia and racism

I would recommend this to young readers interested in Japanese mythology and folklore and readers of graphic novels who also love magic schools

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ebook in return for a fair review.
3/5 stars
For fans of “magic school” stories, this may or may not scratch the itch. It has interesting ideas but ultimately ends up feeling quite rushed. A whole school year passes and most of that time is breezed over through time skips. We only get to see a tiny portion of what magic they’re studying, which is somewhat expected because they’re only first years, but I would’ve loved a bit more.
I think this book is a little bit misrepresented. Despite the YA tag, it really feels more like a middle grade book. It featured a 15-year-old protagonist, but she easily could have been 12. It felt far more like something for older middle grade readers.
I was excited about the idea of Hana being a non-magic student at a school for magic. I imagined the hurdles she would have to overcome, maybe some plot points related to finding ways to succeed even without magic. But despite one class snippet saying that most kids present magic at 3-4 years of age, once Hana is at the school, she suddenly has magic and is quickly quite adept at it. It didn’t feel like a challenge for her to overcome, just a tiny pebble to step over without even noticing. It was a lost opportunity for some interesting storytelling.
Ultimately, enjoyable, but not a story that stands out among all the magic school offerings.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Yoomi as she discovers her magical powers in thread magic, Red Threads is a lovely story of loyalty, friendship and magic that I think anyone whose in their magic school era would love and enjoy.

Though I think this story is a little slow to begin, when it does begin it really does hold your attention. The art really allows you to fall into the story of these two friends as they figure out whose behind the attacks at the school and the themes around friendship and loyalty particularly when defending from bullies is a really important message for children to have, and this does that well.

The art style is really cute and really delivers this story, with beautiful end of chapter pictures of flowers and fauna that really do highlight the skill of the artist in this comic. The characterisation of the classmates particularly our lead characters is done so well, with such expressive drawings that really highlight the emotion being conveyed.

It was a good story with moments that reminded of Natsume's Book Of Friends and a beautifully drawn novel that really shines a light on the feeling of these girls. I hope there's more stories from these characters.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc for honest review!)

[Bozhena Levine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you ABRAMS Kids, Abrams Fanfare, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This is a middle grade story about a girl who gets accepted into a school of magic after saving a crow. Exploring the topics of friendship and new beginnings, the story alludes to many Asian folktales, is based on Japanese mythology, and is set in Japan. We also get introduced to many Japanese supernatural beings (aka Yokai). Overall, it was a nice read and I would recommend this book to those interested in Japanese folklore written for middle grade.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Threads is a YA graphic novel/manga style book about a young girl, Hana, who is accepted to a school of esoterics. Here she learns about magic and the folk culture of Japan, including the various Yokai, or supernatural beings, from Japanese folklore. It's also a tale about friendship and is a cosy hug of a book. Even though I'm not the target audience for this book I think it will probably be a hit with a YA audience.

Thank you to @NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Red Threads.

[Elia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, because I am a sucker for magical girl manga, but this is LITERALLY just Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets set in Japan like - to a T. There's nothing original here to speak of.

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

[rachel x]

"In this manga-inspired YA graphic novel, Tokyo schoolgirl Hana Suzuki’s life is changed forever when she is chosen to attend Japan’s premier magical academy"

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a standard magical school story, set apart by being set in Japan. Although the characters are fifteen or sixteen, this feels much more middle grade than young adult.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had potential, but unfortunately it seemed like every aspect of it was underdeveloped. I'd try more from this author in the future to see if there's improvement. The art was nice though.

[Tori O’Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really good. I’m glad I read it when I wanted to instead of putting it on my list and reading it at some point or loosing interest!

[Siavahda]

'In this magical boarding school story set in Japan and drawing on Asian myths and folklore, an ordinary Tokyo girl discovers her powers and her best friend, a Korean fox spirit, battles prejudiced suspicions as they hunt the evil spirit attacking students.'

GIMME