There are a lot of “known” things about witches. They don’t float in water. They can’t cry. They can’t pass over water, and above all things, if a witch falls in love, they lose their powers. We all know these things.

In Kujira’s A Witch’s Love At The End of The World this last thing turns out to be true….and also, wholly false.

Mari Muruguma is an outsider among outsiders. Here at a prestigious school of witches, she is powerless, lacks basic knowledge and when questioned directly, has no real idea why she is here. Alice Keating is a model student, who is assigned to tutor Mari, which makes Mari even more of a target for bullying than previously. But together, Mari and Alice discover that they can transcend not only their personal limitations, but the strictures placed upon witches. Mari becomes a key and a lock, which Alice unlocks. In doing so, she finds herself changed.

But bullying in a school of magic isn’t just screwing with your desk or hiding shoes….jealous of Mari, several of the girls plot a nefarious and permanent way to rid the school of her. When it goes awry, both Alice and Mari are caught up in the spell.

For no particular reason, I had never before read this manga beyond a few chapters in webcomic form, so the English edition from Yen Press is my first encounter with it. It’s far more interesting than I expected, with a surprising (kind of, not really, but yeah, kind of) funky twist at the end that makes me want to keep reading it.

Translation by Eleanor Summers is full of good “voice” work and Sara Linsley’s touch on the lettering is always something to be enjoyed.  Thanks to everyone at Yen who worked on this book!

Kujira’s art is sparse and simple, allowing us – requiring us – to spend time with the characters’ emotional states, as there is little detail in he scenery to focus on. The story, while combining some well-known outsider x popular girl tropes from shoujo manga and riding on the bristles of the “magic school” broom from popular YA fantasy, combines for a unique, compelling story.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8 they grew on me
Yuri – 6 but there’s potential
Service – Not really

Overall – 8

Thanks very much to the fine folks at Yen Press for this review copy. I’m very much looking forward to find out what happens in the conclusion in Volume 2!