The latest volume in Miki Yoshikawa’s hit series chronicling school delinquent Ryu Yamada and his fellow Supernatural Club members’ mission to uncover the witches in hiding at Suzaku High.
Yamada and the members of the Supernatural Studies Club have been tasked with keeping problem-child Noa Takigawa and her lackeys in line. However, Noa is no ordinary student—she’s a witch—and it’s up to Yamada to figure out her power. Yamada will use his brawn and (not so) clever tactics to discover Noa’s power and end her hell-raising, but with her unconventional ability and devoted followers, it won’t be easy! Can Yamada stop Noa before she causes more chaos at Suzaku High?
Yamada-Kun & The Seven Witches was part of a wave of several standout new series in a great year of releases from Kodansha Comics that included Your Lie in April, A Silent Voice, Maria the Virgin Witch and many more in 2015 that covered all genres including shonen action, romance, drama and comedy. It very much falls into the shonen category as an action packed romantic comedy. Having spent a good portion of her early career working as an assistant for Hiro Mashima on Fairy Tail, Miki Yoshikawa not only has the shonen formula down to a tee, but also adds plenty of fresh ideas in her breakout series.
While the early volumes tease that it is a standard body swapping affair, the series quickly sheds that façade as it moves onto its main focus of focusing on how teens from different backgrounds react to suddenly finding they are witches and those who ally with them. Yoshikawa manages to switch between drama and comedy with ease which is particularly evident in this volume as it segues from Yamada’s less than subtle methods to discover Noa’s abilities to the actual reveal of her power’s nature and the toll it puts on her. In addition the art is top notch, especially in regards to Yoshikawa’s skill in depicting body language and all the great character designs.
The anime adaptation of Yamada-Kun & The Seven Witches wrapped up last year, but the manga is still going strong. For anyone looking for a fresh take on the manga romantic comedy, this is definitely one to check out.
Yamada-Kun & The Seven Witches 6 is published 21 January by Kodansha Comics
Post by Leo Sutherland
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