It would be an understatement to say that Shiro Usazaki’s career got off to a rough start. After being scouted on social media for her fanart, the young creative uprooted her entire life to move to Tokyo to work on the acting drama series act-age, only for it to be canceled due to the crimes of the very person who brought her there two years later. Naturally, many people have been hoping that she would get a second chance ever since, and Ichi the Witch finally marks her return to the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump.
Debuting last month, it’s worth noting that Shiro Uszaki isn’t alone in this endeavor. Joining her is none other than Osamu Nishi, author of Welcome to Magic School, Iruma-kun!, who is writing the story for this series alongside Usazaki’s art. Putting to one side her place in Jump’s recent trend of headhunting experienced creators from other magazines, Usazaki’s team-up with Nishi only serves to make her return that much more conspicuous and, indeed, magical.
At the core of Ichi the Witch lies a fascinating idea: what if magic wasn’t a power to be tapped into, but a living one that needed to be hunted to be obtained? Indeed, Sousou no Frieren featured a similar concept with the title protagonist obsessed with tracking down obscure spells, but the meaning of hunting here is literal. Magic in this world, known as ‘majik,’ takes the form of huge monsters that need to be defeated before their abilities can be used by the characters.
If you weren’t already on board after hearing this truly unique premise, then surely you will be once you understand that every encounter with a majik in Ichi the Witch essentially plays out like a boss battle in Monster Hunter. That’s because each majik has a different condition that any prospective wielder has to fulfill if they want to get their hands on its ability: chapter 3 sees the protagonist take down a majik that essentially has to be defeated with a sneak attack, while chapter 1 sets the tone by centering around a majik that can only be defeated by a man.
The concept of inserting puzzles into combat in shonen manga isn’t exactly new. Hunter x Hunter did it very openly in the Hunter Exam arc with such sections as the Trick Tower, but the approach is nevertheless effective as it invites the viewer to engage logically with the encounter as it unfolds: instead of taking in the action passively as a spectacle, you’re encouraged to think ahead and wonder how the protagonist is going to win. If you’re able to figure out the puzzle before the characters do, then it’s almost as satisfying as taking down Rathalos or Diablos. Almost.
Aside from majik, Ichi the Witch also introduces the idea that all witches are hunters in this world, and that all witches are female. That is until the titular Ichi comes along and defeats the mighty King Uroro in chapter 1: because only women can wield magic in this world, Uroro was thought to be undefeatable, but Ichi manages to do so with his hunting expertise. Questions are therefore posed about how Ichi is able to become a witch, along with if everyone’s assumptions about men were wrong in this world, making him into a true fish out of water.
Indeed, there’s something meaningful about the all-female duo of Osamu and Usazaki creating a story where the “wrong” gender suddenly breaks into a world that once disregarded them, but there isn’t enough content to say for sure if this is an actual theme of the series or not. What is for sure is that Ichi the Witch has an arresting premise that’s evident of Osamu’s years of experience as an author-artist, while Usazaki also keeps up her side of the bargain with some gorgeous splash pages and intricate character designs. The fantasy setting featuring all kinds of magical beasts makes for a far cry from the very real world of act-age, but her art style is unmistakable here.
To say that Usazaki has been entirely inactive since the conclusion of her last major series would be inaccurate. Back in 2020, she penned the one-shot Engan no Cyclops along with rookie writer Osamu Ishikawa, as well as contributed to the multimedia project Kimi to Ao Yoru no in 2023. She even did a little bit of illustration work for Ado in February. Nevertheless, she never started another serialization nor made any indication that she desired to do so, meaning that Ichi the Witch was at once a pleasant surprise and a welcome return.
And what a return it is. Personally speaking, I was absolutely devastated when I first heard the news about act-age: it affected me so much that I had to actually take the rest of the day off work. As to why, there’s obviously the fact that I had followed the series since it began and was incredibly hopeful for its future at the time of its cancellation, but I also felt such an outpouring of emotion for Usazaki herself. It just so happens that we’re both the same age, so I couldn't help but think about how I would feel if I was put in that situation too.
Now that Ichi the Witch is here, though, we should try to forget the painful past and instead focus on the future. Even if you’re not emotionally invested in the Shiro Usazaki narrative, this is still a series that has plenty to offer in terms of premise, plotting, and artwork. As of the time of writing, we’re only four chapters in, but safe to say that the spell is well and truly cast.
You can read Ichi the Witch for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.
