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Mages and wizards and witches, oh my!




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Manganime00



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:37 pm Reply with quote
Hey there, just a regular forum wondering if there are any good mage/wizard/witch mangas out there.

Magic academies are cool, magic in fantasy worlds are cool, etc.

However! I do not like mangas like Negima (too fanservice-y for no goddamn reason and tad bit stupid) or Zero no Tsukaima (same problem). In fact, if you can find the ones without massive amounts of retarded fanservice, that would be fantastic.

I'm in for something that's either deep, philosophical, or emotional or perhaps a really good romp.

Please and thank you. Very Happy

Also, for reference, I love Fullmetal Alchemist (who doesn't?). And Mirai Nikki, some gore is not bad.
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marie-antoinette



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 4136
Location: Ottawa, Canada
PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:40 pm Reply with quote
Sugar Sugar Rune is a very fun take on witches that ends up being deeper than you'd initially suspect. It's magical girl witches who have to collect human hearts to decide who gets to become queen.
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Manganime00



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:45 pm Reply with quote
marie-antoinette wrote:
Sugar Sugar Rune is a very fun take on witches that ends up being deeper than you'd initially suspect. It's magical girl witches who have to collect human hearts to decide who gets to become queen.


Woaaahhh, the art is...uh, quite something...very...so many things crammed into one page, oh my eyes. Does the art subdue itself any time soon?

I should have mentioned I don't like shoujo.

Thank you anyway.
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Tamaria



Joined: 21 Oct 2007
Posts: 1512
Location: De Achterhoek
PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 3:26 am Reply with quote
I wanted to say The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, since it has a very original way of handling magic, but it's shoujo and it's rather cute. The story revolves around one particular kind of magic and that's the magic of using the colours of one's surroundings. For instance, one of the things students at the academy learn to dye fabrics using the colours of very expensive tropical birds. It's a down to earth kind of magic world and I kinda like that.

Uhm... what else... I guess Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and xxxHolic count? It's CLAMP, so it can be kind of fanservicy in a different kind of way...
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Kelly



Joined: 17 Nov 2003
Posts: 868
Location: New York City
PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 2:00 pm Reply with quote
Tamaria wrote:
Uhm... what else... I guess Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and xxxHolic count? It's CLAMP, so it can be kind of fanservicy in a different kind of way...


Agreed that the Tsubasa/Holic franchise is probably close to what you might want, Manganime00. One of Tsubasa's primary heroes as well as it's main villain are both powerful wizards, and both series are heavily influenced by the witch Yuko. The only caveat is that they make references to previous CLAMP series (especially Cardcaptor Sakura), so you might not get some references if you aren't at least partly familiar with CLAMP's previous works.

Also, as far as the anime versions go, it looks at this point like we're not going to get the second half of Holic in Region 1, and in any event neither series followed through to the manga conclusions as is the case with many manga-based anime - so be aware that you're not going to get the whole story in the anime before you commit.
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Manganime00



Joined: 11 Dec 2006
Posts: 57
PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:25 pm Reply with quote
I've read xxxholic a long time ago. It was pretty decent. I'm not too interested in Tsubasa. I'll take a look at The Palette.
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Mits



Joined: 13 Oct 2011
Posts: 54
PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:52 pm Reply with quote
I’m very sure that the most famous wizard in Japanese legend will be Abe no Seimei. So, I recommend ‘Onmyoji’ series. This is originally a series of novels written by Baku Yumemakura, and manga version was written by Reiko Okano. Also, two live-action movies have been made starring Mansai Nomura, a famous Kyogen actor, as Abe no Seimei.

According to Amazon, Onmyoji manga were not translated to English officially, though French versions will be available.
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Saffire



Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 1256
Location: Iowa, USA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:03 am Reply with quote
Check out Slayers and Record of Lodoss War, as long as being older (~15 years or so) doesn't bother you.
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ZepysGirl



Joined: 14 Jun 2010
Posts: 470
Location: NY, NY
PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:29 am Reply with quote
I think you might like Blue Exorcist? Some of them use magic, I think, though I don't know if any of the students are "wizards".

Ah, but Bastard!! is also pretty fun. It's got a D&D-feel to it.
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Spotlesseden



Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: earth
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:38 am Reply with quote
I don't know, not many manga with your normal magic and mage.
maybe try
Shingeki no Kyojin
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
Hoshi no Samidare
Silver Diamond
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6233
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:52 am Reply with quote
Definitely Fairy Tail. From what you're looking for, this manga would be way up your alley. Sure there's occasional fanservice, but it's nothing blatant.
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ridiculus



Joined: 16 Jul 2010
Posts: 72
PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:16 am Reply with quote
Off the top of my head (and without some obvious shonen-oriented titles):

- Ran to haiiro no sekai
- Dorohedoro
- Majo (Witches)

Astaroth, by Mineo Maya, but it can't be found in English, I think.

Onmyoji manga hasn't been translated into English, too, officially or unofficially.
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Ferian



Joined: 10 Feb 2009
Posts: 162
PostPosted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 8:50 am Reply with quote
Zetsuen no Tempest - not your usual mages but magic is there. It meets the criteria of deep and philosophical perfectly, and had quite some emotional impact on me when I read it. It also has one of the strongest (character-wise) protagonists I know. However, it has a downside of not being licensed outside Japan. This recommendation is also subject to change as I've only read what's available in English, which is 11 chapters.

Annarasumanara - a rather unique work. Also short (3 volumes, 27 chapters). Fits the "emotional" descriptor well. Not saying much not to spoil anything.

Legend of the Legendary Heroes - this story of sword and sorcery starts slow but gets awesome later on. The manga's art doesn't appeal much to me, though.

Ciel - Uh-oh. Don't have much to say, actually. Whereas I'm a fan of Zetsuen, I haven't gotten into this manga far yet. But it has a magic academy! And is seriously good (else I wouldn't be recommending it).
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