Shonen Jump has been struggling to find a new hit following the grand finales of some of the magazine’s heaviest hitters in 2024, but it finally seems as though Shueisha has found a front-runner with Ichi the Witch, a collaborative work created by Shiro Usazaki and Osamu Nishi. The manga is filled with everything a high fantasy fan could want from a series while still carrying enough universal charm to draw in a general audience. The series follows Ichi, a young man who hunts for a living in the Druid Mountains. After defeating a Majik – a beast hunted by Witches in order to obtain magical powers – Ichi becomes the first ever male witch.
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Given the manga’s opening premise, it should come as no surprise that the writer was heavily influenced by Cardcaptors – also known as Cardcaptor Sakura by English-speaking anime and manga fans, but, in an interview with MANGA Plus, Osamu Nishi also revealed that she was inspired by Pokémon after being a longtime fan of the franchise’s unique focus on collecting beasts and building an individual bond with them over time.
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Nishi stated in the interview that both franchises were inspirational to her while growing up, and said that they directly influenced how Majiks operate in the world of Ichi the Witch, explaining: “Both series brought me a lot of enjoyment during my childhood. I thought it would be interesting to portray Magiks – and therefore magic – as both enemies for the main character, Ichi, to hunt, and as reliable partners to him after he has successfully hunted them.”
Ichi the Witch’s Fantastical World Wears Its Heart On Its Sleeve
It’s clear from the interview with the creative duo behind Ichi the Witch that the pair have a deep love for the story they’re working on and are passionate about continuing it for more than just being successful in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. Nishi stated in the interview that, when it comes to trying to earn new readers, she and Usazaki work hard to create chapters that have something that’s interesting for anyone who picks up their work, whether they be a longtime reader or someone picking up the story in the middle.
Usazaki’s comments from the MANGA Plus interview are just as passionate. When asked about what inspired her when drawing specific characters or designing Majiks in the story, she stated: “I try to keep the core motif for each Magik in mind and draw them in such a way that immediately conveys the necessary information to the reader… Magiks are living, speaking creatures, so I also try to make sure their designs won’t inhibit how alive they feel when they’re moving.” Her deeply insightful approach to designing these omnipotent, magical beasts proves that she’s deeply invested in the world that she and Nishi are developing as Ichi the Witch is progressing, something that has undeniably led the series to become a massive success in Shonen Jump.
