W.I.T.C.H.

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I may be a bit biased when it comes to W.I.T.C.H
The comic that was first produced in Italy, by Disney (made by Elisabetta Gnone) in 2001, 15 years ago as of now, was a great comic for both children and young teenagers, I myself was about to turn 16, and I have loved it from the moment I layed my eyes on the comic.

It is clear that the original Italian comic had influences from anime and manga, they even included cameos such as a Sailor Moon figure in one panel (Usagi and Naru also made cameos in the later tv-show.)

However, this is about the ... manga adaption.
It more or less follows the comic, the biggest different is the ART-style, and
Haruko IIda does an incredible job, with this manga.
I like how he made Luba even more cat-god-like in her appearence than she already was, very mch like the old Japanese folktales. She manages to make Lord Cedric even hotter than before, especially in the Halloween party, where he is dressed in an old Japanese getup (prince-like outfit I think or something)
Haruko IIda takes our characters that we love and transform them into something we love even moore, she istn't redesigning them per say, but what she does is something more...MAGICAL.

It is just a shame that she never got to continue with this manga, there are so many characters that I wish we could see her take on.

If you want to read it in english I suggest to head over to http://www.witch-o-holic.tk/ it's a great place to find goodies about WITCH.

I have never seen a single episode of the tv series nor have I read the original comic, so I have no nostalgic attachment to W.I.T.C.H. and therefore no bias. I know nothing of the franchise beyond what the manga has shown me.

The problem with making W.I.T.C.H. into manga is that while it might have been an attractive concept for western audience, in context of Japanese works it looks like just another generic magical girl title. Group of young girls that acquire magical powers we’ve seen this play out at least dozens of times. One unique thing to W.I.T.C.H. is how one of the girls ... doesn’t really have a power on her own but rather serves as a central piece connecting powers of others. This could have been interesting to explore more. Unfortunately, the manga was cancelled before the story even really started. Barely out of introduction arc just when it seemed like there might be some interesting plot development, the series just ends, discontinued, with absolutely no conclusion at all.

The art is serviceable. Which means that it works as a storytelling device and does not make the plot more confusing to follow, but it’s not exactly outstanding. There was no occasion when I stopped to look at a page just to appreciate how the art looks.

So, who is this manga for? As it stands, you’ll enjoy this only if you’re a fan of W.I.T.C.H., likely looking for some nostalgia trip. You might have enjoyed this if you were unfamiliar with magical girl genre so all of this would be new to you, or if you were literally a young girl, the intended audience, but thanks to the manga being cancelled so soon, you won’t be getting much enjoyment even if you fill those characteristics, as it’s just not worth to read a story that went nowhere.

To say this was a disappointing read would be an understatement...

Based on one of my favorite comics/cartoons growing up, i was hoping this manga adaptation would bring a fresh touch to some fond nostalgic memories, what i was left with was confusion at best, rage at worst

Boring doesn't even begin to encapsulate what was printed on these pages, the writing not only is tediously dragged out, but also feels completely disconected from the world the story is set in
Look, i get that this is a Shoujo, about teen girls, for teen girls, i can understand there's gonna be girl talk in it, "fashion, cute boys, ... i wanna look pretty" galore, but this is also a Mahou Shoujo, and as appealing as this incessant chatter is to most females, i'm pretty sure no one picks up a Mahou Shoujo manga for 90% chatter and 10% magic!

On to the next make it or break it for a manga, the art
Very inconsistent, there's some gorgeos panels, some of which are direct replicas of the OG comic but with a distinct manga style to them, the character designs however are off model more often than not, with their faces looking warped every other page looking like they're made of silly-putty, not to mention the disastrous look of Hay-Lin, who to "make her look asian" all that was done was shrink her eyes making them too small for her face rather than putting in the effort to change the shape of her eyes, yes, this was a lack of effort, effort the mangaka has proven herself capable of with the detail put in Cornelia's distinct eyes

But the biggest fallacy in this adaptation is how unrecognizable the lead, Will, is
Her personality in this is a complete 180 from herself, if not for her look you'd think this is a completely different character, perhaps she has a twin
Will is feisty, energetic, and yes, even quite awkward, but she's not the perennially nervouse "oh will i ever fit in here?" feels down at the sight of adversity type the manga portrays her as