Little Witch Academia, Vol. 1 (manga) (Volume 1)

The Little Witch Academia manga adaptation is... pretty good? Really? Yes. Yes it is. I don't typically write reviews for manga or light novels (which I typically view as rather disposable entertainment, with a few exceptions), but today I'm making an exception. Manga adaptations of anime are typically... not very good. The story is often abridged, sometimes losing necessary characterization, exposition and development in the process; and the art itself often comes across as a pale imitation of the source material. I am an enormous fan of the Little Witch Academia animations, so I pre-ordered this volume the moment I saw it listed on eBay (God help me, I'm here every week to see if a BD release is listed yet). But I fully expected it to be the same kind of hastily-produced tie-in adaptations that these things usually are. It is not. This manga adaptation is very faithful to the original story, but not beholden to it. About half the material in this volume was adapted from the anime, while the other half was new material that, conceivably, occurred in-between the episodes. It's a great approach that allows the manga to cover the fundamentals of the LWA story for uninitiated, while also giving anime fans like myself new material to enjoy. One consequence of this is that side-characters are introduced more quickly and get more moments to "shine," though if you haven't seen the anime you may sometimes be confused as the manga often references Akko's animated adventures. I was particularly happy to see some Constanze steal a few scenes in this volume, as she's probably my favorite of the peripheral cast. Poor pacing is a common problem with adaptations like this, but mangaka Sato Keisuki has clearly taken great care to maintain the flow of the story at a similar pace to the original, while still taking time to *perfectly* capture the essence of each character in each panel. So much of LWA's charm came from the voice acting, but I almost don't miss it, because the characters are even more expressive on the page than they were on the screen. Fellow fans of the anime might scoff at that, given just how expressive the anime is, but it's true. This Akko is the real deal. All of the wit and charm and humor and beauty that made the Little Witch Academia anime so compelling is translated to the manga format almost perfectly. For fellow fans of anime, rest assured, this is a worthy read and an excellent supplement to the anime; for the woefully uninitiated, I still think it would be better to watch the (absolutely stunning, brilliant) anime first, but even if you jump in blind with the manga, I have a feeling your first foray into the LWA world will still be a lot of fun. I haven't really been following news of the LWA "franchise" since the news of Shimada Michiru's passing late last year, but I'm very hopeful that it may continue, and would very much like to see this manga adapt the full length and breadth of the anime series (and possibly more). Without Shimada, we may never see more LWA, and if we do, it very likely won't be the same without the original writer penning Akko, Sucy and Charlotte's words... but if we do, I hope future iterations of the series are able to maintain the same level of respect for and understanding of the original Little Witch Academia as this manga adaptation.

Its awesome, i love it so much. The manga is amazing just like the anime, i really like the art style, and the quality of my book is goot no damage at all.

Little Witch Academia (LWA) conquers all that it can for what it wants to say in its story. The characters are unique and charming, the art of both the original show and this manga are expressionate and reflect the passion for this series that was able to survive through the obstacles it has faced. While highly recommending the show, especially since it came first, I was expecting it to be following the same exact story. And it didn't. But I'm actually glad. Because Keisuke Sato (the artist) decided to put new scenes in, but gives the characters the same lessons and emotions to be dealt with and learn as the show did. One of my favorite shows and probably manga as well. Isn't for everybody, but sure has components of everything a great series should have. Can't wait until the next volume.

My 9 yr old granddaughter is absolutely hooked on these books! She is speeding through them lightning fast. The storyline and the art has just so enthralled her like nothing I’ve seen before. She even took it camping and ignored her friend the entire time! I’m glad these exist for this age group.

Originally I was upset it seemed the cover was wrong, but then it dawned on me it is supposed to be that way. So, just a heads up for any other parent who isn’t familiar with Manga, the book’s are sometimes read from back to front. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The art is gorgeous. the series is amazing. They use the show a little but it's also new and original stories. I highly recommend giving it a read. It came in perfect condition.

Let's be honest with one another for a moment: there's nothing quite like a magical girl! And in all the years and vast titles that populate the magical girl genre, I don't know if I've ever quite encountered anything like "Little Witch Academia". Someone might despair this as nonsense, as the series feels heavily influenced by Harry Potter, and indeed I've seen that parallel drawn several times by now. (To be fair, Harry Potter parallels very strongly with "The Worst Witch", a television series that originally aired on BBC before Rowling began writing "Philosopher's Stone", and those ardent Potterheads ready to cry plagiarism against Trigger Studios for "ripping off" their precious Hogwarts should take into account that Rowling herself faced lawsuits for her work being far too similar to "The Worst Witch". So there's some food for thought: Luna Nova Academy for Witches isn't the first magical school in media we've seen, and it likely won't be the last either.) But here's the critical thing that separates "Little Witch Academia" from both Harry Potter and other magical girl series in the magical girl genre: our protagonist Atsuko "Akko" Kagari can't do magic. Akko doesn't come from a witch family and cannot perform even the simplest of magical feats, but that's not going to stop her from attending Luna Nova Academy in England, for it is the alma mater of her witch idol, Shiny Chariot! Now here is where I must make the obligatory Netflix plug and stress it: you should not start reading this manga if you have not watched the anime. There is a 20 minute short stand-alone episode and a short movie called "The Magic Parade" for "Little Witch Academia" that acted as promo animations to get a greenlight for the main series (neither of these is necessarily canon to the main series itself, but they're worth a watch) and then the main series itself, which is two seasons long. Please watch the main anime series before you start this manga. Please watch the main anime series before you start this manga. Please watch the main anime series before you start this manga. The events in this manga are not exact to what is in the anime series episodes, and references events in those episodes. There is a story about the shooting star broom in the manga that references the anime episodes, but is not in the anime itself. There is a volleyball match that doesn't take place in the anime. Please, please, please, I am begging you, watch the anime before you start reading the manga. Otherwise, you will end up incredibly confused. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this first volume, and was pleasantly surprised by the additional new stories that were included. I suppose my only major complaint was that this volume feels very short and I wish we didn't have to wait for the release of the next one.

As described and delivered on time

et le manga est vraiment super. Je n'avais plus acheter de manga depuis 5-6 ans mais j’achèterais la suite de celui-ci avec plaisir

Sem palavras para descrever, apenas meu mangá favorito.

Excellent manga

The package came before the expected date, I bought because I heard that getting the first volume of these mangas was really difficult and I didn’t want to risk this being sold out. The book came in perfect conditions, it’s a nice and light read, there certain differences with the anime but they’re really minimal, of course the story is a bit rushed compared to the anime since there’s only 3 volumes of these series but it’s enjoyable nevertheless