Sal Jiang’s newest manga, Wicked Spot, Volume 1 (ウィキッドスポット) is a classic case of a story beginning in one place and ending way far away from there in many different ways. I love it. ^_^

This begins with a bunch of witch hunters up in the mountains, in a dark, terrifying cave, streaming about their hunt for the unknown. When the unknown pops up to say hi, they pass out from fear, leaving witch Sadako, who has grown up up hidden away from humanity, alone with a cell phone. Fascinated by humans as Sada is, she finally leaves her people and walks into town, using her powers to grab clothes, food, drink, and followers online. Now, she is an influencer.

Hana, a woman with unusual strength and trauma about being called a “witch” as a form of rejection, is 100% a fan of Sadako’s, until she announcas to the world that she is, in actual fact, a witch. Hana goes from super fan to anti in seconds. Sadako tracks her down to see what the deal is.

And then they are both kidnapped by the “Sabbat,” a council of witches and dumped in the one place on this planet witches aren’t uncommon. They have no idea where they are, but, my friends, I was married only a little bit away from that very statue. In fact, our dinner afterwards, was in the same plaza.  So when they awake in Salem, Massachusetts, right in front of the Bewitched statue featuring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, I smiled. It also makes me smile that this is not the first time the series Bewitched has appeared here on Okazu as a reference!

Ratings:

Art – 8 sometimes beautiful, other times messy
Characters – 8 Yes, this kind of off the wall, please
Story – 9 Awesome so far
Service – Cute clothes are about it
Yuri – Could go any way right now, but I trust

Overall – 8

What will become of Sadako and Hanako? I don’t know and can’t guess and I’m excited about that! Go! Go! Sal Jiang! Write a story that completely does stuff I can’t predict. I love it.