The end of April is almost here, which means it’s time for another manga giveaway! With thanks to Kodansha Comics, this month you will all have a chance to win a copy of Miki Yoshikawa’s Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 1. (I unintentionally ended up with two copies, so my gain is also your gain!) As always, the giveaway is open worldwide.
What with the recent releases of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Maria the Virgin Witch, and Witchcraft Works, it seems as though manga featuring witches are becoming increasingly prevalent in English. And that’s not even to mention all of the series that don’t actually have the word “witch” in the title. Now, despite it’s cover and title, after only one volume Yamada-kun doesn’t seem to necessarily have anything to do with witches, but I’ve been assured by others that they are indeed a part of the series.
As with vampires, I don’t have a particular interest in witches, though that’s certainly not going to stop me from reading a manga. (Interestingly, but perhaps unsurprisingly, vampires appear to be more prevalent in manga intended for women while witches appear to be more prevalent in manga intended for men.) I have no idea why witches seem to have become so popular recently, but they’ve actually been around in manga for a while.
One of my favorite witch manga is the sadly out-of-print Sugar Sugar Rune. Berserk, another favorite series of mine, also features a young witch as a main character in its recent story arc. The two series are drastically different from each other, though; just because a manga has a witch in it doesn’t mean it will be like any of the others!
So, you may be wondering, how can you win the first volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Volume 1?
1) In the comments below, tell me about your favorite witch from manga. (If you don’t have one, or have never read a manga about a witch, you can simply mention that instead.)
2) If you’re on Twitter, you can earn a bonus entry by tweeting, or retweeting, about the contest. Make sure to include a link to this post and @PhoenixTerran (that’s me).
And there you have it! Each person can earn up to two entries for this giveaway and has one week to submit comments. If you have trouble with the form, or if you would prefer, entries can also be sent to me via email at phoenixterran(at)gmail(dot)com. I will then post the comments here in your name. The giveaway winner will be randomly selected and announced on May 6, 2015. Good luck!
VERY IMPORTANT: Include some way that I can contact you. This can be an e-mail address in the comment form, a link to your website, Twitter username, or whatever. If I can’t figure out how to get a hold of you and you win, I’ll just draw another name.
Contest winner announced–Manga Giveaway: Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Giveaway Winner
1) Sugar Sugar Rune would have to be one of my favorite manga featuring witches, too! But Ultra Maniac is also pretty cute, and is a little more modern feeling.
2) RTed your tweet on my twitter! :D
Yay! Thanks for having another contest!
1) I’ll go ahead and say it’s Shiraishi from Yamada-kun! Her powers aren’t normally witch-like, but I love the contrast between her serious and sweet sides.
2) Retweeting!
I don’t have a lot of them to work with, but my favorite is probably Maria from Maria The Virgin Witch. She’s idealistic, brave, and yet so hopelessly naïve.
Chocolat from Sugar Sugar Rune would be second, but that’s mostly because I’m still working on collecting that one and as such haven’t read the whole series.
Hmmm, let’s mention Witch Hunter/Witch Buster. Witches aren’t the heroes here though, it seems like most of the recent ones, they’ve been heroes.
Magic User’s Club is a great anime with witches in training. In a high school club with their arch-nemsis being the manga club, but it’s oh so awesome and it’s Junichi Sato.
Also, I’m trying to determine the difference between just mages and witches, I think it’s just by what they call themselves…
…. my first impulse was Anthy Himemiya from Utena! She is the RoseBride prize in the duels, but she is also The Witch in the story of the prince….because if she can’t be a princess in his life, then she will take on the world’s hate as the witch
but for a real proper “witch”, gonna hafta go with the original..err.. first I’ve encountered when first getting into manga: Karla The Grey Witch from Record of Lodoss Wars
tweet tweet: https://twitter.com/persoconchii/status/593441873219452929
1.) I don’t really read that much manga about witches so I’ll go with either Odagiri Nene or Noa Takigawa of Yamada and the seven witches :)
2.)https://twitter.com/Gazerock_yumii/status/593447833652502529
I have 2 favourite manga about witches. One is Ultra Maniac. I really liked how the author modernised magic (with the pocket PC type thing). I also really like Witchcraft Works, as it’s refreshing to see the girl protecting the boy for once.
1) I have not read that many Mangas about witches, but from Yamajo, my favorite is Shiraishi. She is a great character that I am sure people will grow to love as more materials are covered in the Anime.
2) Retweeted from my Twitter account.
I’d have to say Medusa from Soul Eater. She’s such a great villain, and her powers are so unique.
1. I’ve been thinking recently that there aren’t enough manga about witches honestly, or at least series where the character truly is a witch and not just a generic magic user/doctor, plus everyone has already been mentioning my favorites. So, going on a technicality I’ll say Yuko the “space-time witch” from xxxHolic since I always liked that series and her.
2. Ta-da https://twitter.com/WanderinDreamr/status/593939792095801344
If “magic users” count, I’ll put a special mention in for characters from some out of print series I loved as a kid: Yume and Nami from Someday’s Dreamers. Adventure stories are nice, but Dreamers was a slice-of-life romance with just a teensy touch of magic used to grant people’s wishes that really appealed to me as I was growing up. I can’t think of anything else quite like it.
1. Hermione Granger……wait…ehm:)
For me it’s also Yuuko from xxxHolic (and other Clamp series…we know how much they love their crossovers). I have hard time to get attached to female characters but i really do adore Yuuko. She is a great character.
2. retweeted you @busha69
1. I’ll have to go with Helen up there and say Yuko from xxxHolic too! She’s one of CLAMP’s best characters, I think.
2. Yay! https://twitter.com/manjiorin/status/594889834046558208
I have never read a witch manga but I feel like it would be a great experience reading one
I don’t remember that many witches in manga but the one I like better is Dorothy from Mär (Märchen awakens romance). I found her interesting because she is so nice to the main character but is sometimes harsh and darker. And a female character that can fight.
I’ve already read Yamada-kun, so you don’t need to enter me in the contest, but I wanted to mention my favorite manga witch: Majoko from The Big Adventures of Majoko. It’s a children’s manga about a mischievous young witch who befriends a human girl named Nina, and the adventures that they have together in the magical world. It’s really funny, cute, and sweet without being too saccharine-sweet.
I also love Chocolat from Sugar Sugar Rune.