Shonen Jump’s Ichi the Witch Is Getting an Animated Manga in the New Year

One of Shonen Jump‘s latest releases, Ichi the Witch by Osamu Nishi and Shiro Usazaki, has been off to an incredible start, earning itself a decent audience around the globe for its passionate take on high fantasy, gorgeous art, and genuinely interesting story. Ichi the Witch takes place in a world where monsters called Majiks are hunted by Witches – magically inclined women who earn their powers through potent rituals. The lead protagonist of the series, Ichi, hunts for a living and takes down a Majik on his own, which leads him to become the first-ever male Witch.

To kick off 2025, Weekly Shonen Jump will be releasing official “animated manga” videos on their official YouTube channel during the second week of January. The animated shorts will feature a complete voice cast with Kikunosuke Toya (Denji from Chainsaw Man, Toshifumi Mita from 2.5 Dimensional Seduction) playing Ichi and Yuu Kobayashi (Thistle from Delicious in Dungeon, Sasha Braus in Attack on Titan) as the Death Crow. The animated shorts will have three episodes, with Episode 1 on January 4 at 8:00 PM JST, Episode 2 on January 5 at 8:00 PM JST, and Episode 3 on January 6 at 8:30 JST.

As of writing, Ichi the Witch has released fifteen chapters and is still going strong in the face of Shonen Jump‘s cutthroat atmosphere that often forces new series into premature endings due to abrupt cancellations. It’s been a huge step for Shiro Usazaki, the artist for the series. Her previous work in Shonen Jump, Act-Age, was considered one of the magazine’s strongest new entries before the writer, Tatsuya Matsuki, was arrested, leading to the series being pulled from the magazine almost immediately after. Considering the concern fans had for Usazaki following Act-Age‘s cancellation, it’s been incredible to see the artist finally find her place in the magazine.

[RELATED: Act-Age Artist Releases Ichi the Witch, Shonen Jump’s Best New Series]

Ichi the Witch Is a Refreshing Shonen Adventure That’s Perfect For Next-Gen Manga Readers

While Weekly Shonen Jump is in a rough spot following the endings to both My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen in 2024, the budding new era of Shueisha’s biggest magazine is looking more promising than ever, and Ichi the Witch will be a staple going into 2025 for manga readers from around the world. The manga perfectly blends high fantasy with shonen action, complete with gorgeous paneling that’s hard to find in a series that releases week-to-week.

Ichi the Witch doesn’t force itself to be edgy in the same way as Jujutsu Kaisen or Chainsaw Man, but also isn’t afraid to let itself get dark with its action sequences and world-building. The series is truly something special, and hopefully, the animated shorts will put fresh eyes on what very well could be Shonen Jump‘s next big hit.

H/T Oricon US