SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

May 25, 2017 by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Review: ‘Flying Witch,’ Vol. 1

May 25, 2017 by J. Caleb Mozzocco   1 comments

Flying Witch 1Flying Witch, vol. 1
Writer/artist: Chihiro Ishizuka
Vertical Comics; $10.95

Teenage Makoto is a witch and, as the title of the manga she stars in indicates, she does indeed fly. On a broom, of course, in the traditional manner of witches.

That is not what makes her stand out as an outsider in Hirosaki, the relatively small town she is just in the process of moving to in the very first pages of Flying Witch. Nor is it what makes her a remarkable person, and a charming character for a reader to spend time with. Rather, the fact that Makoto is a witch is treated as almost incidental in these first few stories by Chihiro Ishizuka, a sort of in-story code for the fact that she is a character from a different place with a different background.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

She and her familiar, a black cat who apparently talks to her, move from their home in the big city of Yokohama to stay with relatives while she continues to try and find her way in the world as a young witch. Her cousins Kei, a boy about her age, and Chinatsu, a little girl so young that she has no memory of ever having met Makoto, spend the most time with her, introducing her to their friend Nao, the town, and her new school.

It’s quite an adjustment. While Chinatsu and Nao are surprised, fascinated and occasionally alarmed or frightened by aspects of Makoto’s witchy life, like her ability to fly on a broom, or finding a Mandrake, or getting a visit from the personified spirit of spring, Makoto finds wonder in the most mundane, everyday elements of their neighborhood, from the presence of snow (“Wonder if it’s okay to eat? Ooh! It’s cold!!”) to the appearance of a common pheasant, which she spends a great deal of time trying to catch.

This first volume of the series contains six chapters, introducing us to Makoto’s various quirks as she and Chito settle in, and by the final story we meet her older sister, a full-fledged witch in full command of many powerful spells whose very presence further emphasizes the lead’s gentle, easy-going nature—and the the gulf between the world of witches and of regular, non-magical people. Although, perhaps that’s the wrong term since, as Flying Witch reveals, there’s magic in everyone and everywhere and everything; one simply needs the right point of view to see it and appreciate its wonder.

Filed under: Manga, Reviews

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Chihiro IshizukaFlying WitchVertical Comics

About J. Caleb Mozzocco

J. Caleb Mozzocco is a way-too-busy freelance writer who has written about comics for online and print venues for a rather long time now. He currently contributes to Comic Book Resources' Robot 6 blog and ComicsAlliance, and maintains his own daily-ish blog at EveryDayIsLikeWednesday.blogspot.com. He lives in northeast Ohio, where he works as a circulation clerk at a public library by day.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

August 2023

Akane-banashi, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

July 2023

Daemons of the Shadow Realm, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

May 2023

School-Live!: Letters | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

May 2023

Spider-Man Fake Red | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

May 2023

My New Life as a Cat, vol. 1 | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

A JUST ONE FLAKE Preorder Secret

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Apply for the Bechtel Fellowship, You Clever Librarians Out There!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Superman vs. Meshi | Review

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

Friday Exercise: Take backs allowed. #NotsoNewbery

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Grief, Hope, and Bittersweet Endings, a guest post by Victoria Wlosok

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

‘A Buoyant Ode to Joy’ Lane Smith Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Be Afraid (but not too afraid) | The Year in SLJ Covers

Shoujo Manga Is Back: 8 New Comics Made for Girls

12 Graphic Novel Series Updates for Young Readers

The Comics of COVID | Stellar Panels

Nonfiction Graphic Novels Spotlight Microhistories and Overlooked Historical Figures

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kristin says

    May 27, 2017 at 10:04 am

    Hello from a fellow library worker from Northeast Ohio! I work at Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library. I had a question about this title. I have been buying some Manga for our children’s graphic novel collection, but I’m not very familiar with it, and I’m often unclear what to buy unless the publisher information or a review journal says a title is for kids. Is this title appropriate for children in 5th or 6th grade? I can’t find any information online about the intended audience. Thanks!

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023