Warning: This article contains spoilers from the WITCHRIV manga! 2025 has been a rocky year for Shonen Jump, with consecutive cancellations as sales and viewership keep dropping off the charts. Launched in 2014, Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ is a famous digital platform that features some of the most renowned manga series, including Dandadan, Spy x Family, Kaiju No. 8, and many more. As the most famous demographic across the globe, Shonen by far has the toughest competition in the industry, so it’s no doubt that Shonen Jump+ gets to serialize the most promising series. Of course, this also means that many manga with great potential fail to pull a large audience for any number of reasons.
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Shonen series are many and varied, from fantasies to sports and modern thrillers to battle action, and more. In the case of action fantasies, when done right, they have the potential to stand toe to toe with major mainstream series. Shueisha keeps publishing several series across the year, but the latest major hit the publisher has seen is Weekly Shonen Jump’s Ichi the Witch. The manga is still ongoing and continues to rise through the charts, while another witch manga is quietly gathering a fan following. One of the newest Shonen Jump+ series, WITCTRIV by Hakuri, gathered a bunch of positive reviews after the release of its opening chapter, and the series has what it takes to be another big hit.
What Is the Plot of WITCHRIV?
The story is set in a world where magic and its users are feared by ordinary citizens, which makes it impossible for humans and mages to get along. Ever since she was a child, Nona has heard her mother advise her to continue pretending to be an ordinary girl since mages keep getting persecuted by the Bureau of Magic Surveillance. Even the slightest doubt by humans results in mages losing their lives simply for existing.
Unfortunately, while mages are targeted for using even the simplest spells, they do so out of necessity since not using magic for a long time can severely impact their health. However, Nona didn’t heed her mother’s advice and ended up helping her friend Lovi to restore her broken glasses so the latter wouldn’t be scolded. However, a single lapse in judgment results in Lovi getting captured by the Bureau and outing her friend’s secret. While Lovi and her family faced brutal deaths, Nona barely escaped the scene after her mother came to the rescue and used her unimaginable powers to flee.
Unfortunately, another tragedy strikes as the mother and daughter are on the run, and the truth about the Bureau and their horrifying plan comes to light. She plays right into the hands of the Bureau and must find a way to escape. As the story continues, we follow Nona’s journey of perseverance and resilience as she continues to search for her mother in a world that’s simply waiting to bring her down.
WITCHRIV Continues to Surprise With Each Chapter
The manga has released four chapters so far, and it’s currently available on the official app of Manga Plus. The overall concept isn’t particularly unique in the anime and manga world, but the execution has been incredible so far. The story is set in a world where coexistence seems impossible, and the more powerful group is being subdued by a corrupt government that only pretends to care about the citizens. It also highlights the imperfections of the protagonist in the first chapter, who is simply desperate for friends after being forced to hide her true self.
She learns about the cruelty of the world the hard way and embarks on a journey to reunite with her mother. The story is still taking shape, so there’s no guarantee how it will progress from here on out since we have yet to learn more about the worldbuilding. A series with a powerful female protagonist has every reason to attract an audience, and Nona’s upcoming character development as a result of her brutal journey is something to look forward to.
Although the first few chapters have been incredible, Shonen Jump+, which has several more series than WSJ, is a lot more aggressive with cancellations as well. While WITCHRIV has the potential to become even more popular, it will continue to be under the radar for the next few months at least, until the volume is released.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
