Manga of the Month: Flying Witch

Flying Witc(ふらいんぐうぃっち) by Chihiro Ishizuka

hisui_icon_4040_round If you were hoping for a trifecta of titles where the anime and manga are radically different I feel this pick will sadly disappoint you. Flying Witch has a very consistent feel between its various iterations. No matter how your experience Flying Witch you will get a similar relaxed down home feel with vibrant magic, warm friendships , and hilarious family bonding. The manga provides all of this in spades and the anime merely uses the original as a spectacularly solid template.

Flying Witch is the exemplar of magical slice of life shows. It is hardly the first in the genre. Heck most of the original magical girl manga would actually be classified as magical slice of life manga if they were made today. The thing is if you want a title that perfect encapsulates the idea of slice of life with witches then there are few other manga that are so close to a platonic ideal. Other than Makoto and Chinatsu trying to be witches there is nothing even resembling an overarching plot but magic is omnipresent in the manga. This is not Kimagure Orange Road with its almost aggressive disinterest in its super natural aspects. It is a careful balance of the mundanity of country living and fantastical awe of magic. They are seemingly opposite ideas that blend together surprisingly well for a greater whole.

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The April 2018 Line-Up

The Line-Up is a monthly rundown of new anime, manga, novel, and artbook licenses for the U.S. It also lists new streaming/broadcasting announcements and posted crowdfunding projects available to U.S. residents. And finally, it includes anime/manga projects and live-action anime/manga adaptation announcements from Japan.

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Most Wanted: April 2018

In these posts, we’ll highlight some of our recommended new U.S. manga and anime releases. The Line-up posts have helped record what gets licensed (among other things), while Most Wanted will help to record when those licenses actually come out. We might even throw in a light novel or game from time to time.

These lists are as much for you as they are for us. Let us know what you are most looking forward to picking up!