The Fall 2024 Manga Guide

Eden of Witches

What's It About? 

When a young witch is forced from her home by humankind, can she awaken her powers and find a way to save her home? People and nature are at odds in this epic Ghibli-esque fantasy manga from debut author Yumeji.

In a world devastated by humankind and forsaken by plants and animals, only witches have the power to communicate with nature.

A long time ago, plants and animals lived in harmony . . . until humankind came to power and, unable to coexist with nature, destroyed and exploited both flora and fauna without a second thought. Now the world has become a barren wasteland. But witches have the power to speak to nature. Blamed for the extinction of plant life, and feared by humanity for their powers, they hide away from the rest of humanity in secret lairs bursting with greenery.

Pili, a young witch-apprentice, has set out on the roads accompanied by the wolf Oak. However, she is not accustomed to the world outside and traveling long distances. Her fatigue quickly takes its toll, and she ends up injuring herself by tumbling down a rocky slope! Fortunately, a boy named Bowei finds Pili and takes her home to nurse her back to health.

However, the arrival of the unfamiliar young lady arouses suspicion among other villagers, who quickly discern her true nature as a witch. And all captured witches share the fate of execution!

Eden of Witches is a magical and lushly illustrated coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä, and Witch Hat Atelier, brought expertly to life by rising star manga artist Yumeji. It will sweep readers away into a fairy tale where witches and their familiars are the last keepers of the natural world.

Eden of Witches has a story and art by Yumeji, with English translation by Jessie Auliery. This volume was lettered by Thomas. Published by Abrams ComicArts' Kana imprint (November 12, 2024).

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Falling somewhere in between Witch Hat Atelier and Somali and the Forest Spirit, Eden of Witches takes place in a fantasy world where humans don't have a great track record. According to the tale's lore, the advent of humans destroyed the careful balance of nature, because humans couldn't speak the languages of the plants and animals. To protect the beasts, the plants, known as “amurds,” wrapped the animals up in their leafy embrace and spirited them away, leaving humans to fend for themselves as best they could. And, in time, a different type of human appeared who could speak the language of the amurds: witches.

Pili is one, and she's also a good case for witches not being an entirely different sort of human, but instead ones open to learning the skills needed to communicate with the natural world. When we meet her, she's struggling to hear the amurds' voices under the guidance of Toura, her grandmotherly guardian. Toura found Pili as a child and raised her, implying that witches aren't genetically any different from anyone else, which feels like the single most important implication in the volume. It's “regular” humans' hatred and anger that makes them destroy witches or hold them captive for study rather than just asking to be taught plant lore. Giant vine-wrapped wolves who sprout from seeds aside, this sometimes doesn't feel all that much like a fantasy story at all.

That's even more true when you look at the villains. Zakum is the main one, a scientist who tricks Pili into letting him into the glen when she lives with Toura and pillages everything he can. He'd also like to capture Pili, but she manages to evade him with the help of Oak, the aforementioned vine-wolf. Pili sets out on a journey to find the eponymous Eden of Witches, and that's where the story begins to lean into the idea that witches are taught, not born, although her new friend Bo may have some witchy heritage if you think about it. Still, the story's main thrust is that Pili can do as Toura did and teach others to respect amurds and maybe not strip the natural world of its treasures for selfish reasons. This is where that combination I mentioned at the start comes in – Pili's a bit of a Coco in her admiration for the natural magic of the world, while her journey with Oak is like Somali's with her golem.

Although my review copy wasn't perfect, making it hard to fully appreciate the art, there are still a lot of elements that are well done there. Oak's design, with horn-like branches and tiny leaves all over his body, is beautiful, and there's a lot of detail in the backgrounds and outfits. The translation reads smoothly and there's plenty of color art to open the volume. It's a nice entry into the witchy fantasy genre, and I do see myself returning to see where it goes.

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Kevin Cormack
Rating:

What's immediately striking from the very first page of Eden of Witches is how gorgeous the detailed, organic line work is. Comparisons with Witch Hat Atelier are warranted, and the sumptuous art quickly establishes this as something quite special. Set in a troubled medieval world, the characters dress in Himalayan-esque clothing and the region Pili makes her home is surrounded by mountains. The secret lush green enclave she shares with her master is unfortunately destroyed by creepy bald state biologist Zakum, who accuses witches of hoarding plant life for their benefit, rather than sharing with mankind.

While Zakum first appears to be an obsessed scientist, he devolves into a cackling villain later, which worries me about the future of the story. I'm also unsure about how in a world seeming almost completely devoid of plant life, the human race isn't extinct – what do people – and animals – eat? Perhaps this question will be addressed later.

Rescued from Zakum by Oak, the magical plant-wolf, Pili flees across the desolate landscape in search of the mythical Eden. The scene where Oak emerges from a plant pot is insanely detailed and striking in its composition. During her journey, Pili befriends a boy of similar age, and they have a short but somewhat predictable adventure in the environs of his village. I suspect the structure of the manga going forth may be fairly episodic, in a traditional adventure/quest-like format, which is fine as I love those kinds of stories.

Aside from minor concerns about the antagonist and the relatively simplistic storytelling, I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful fantasy manga and look forward to following the delightful Pili's progress in future volumes.

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