Innocent W, Volume 1

First off this really isn't a manga for kids. The horror elements of this book are highly detailed which includes a display of a near-rape scene, disembowelment (spelling is questionable), beatings, and other such graphic deaths. The art is extremely good making these scene very real. That said, this manga has an interesting "and then there was one" set-up. It is not a highly original in plot, but the manga makes up for this with some interesting humor and plot twists. The story is set where a group of witches are being hunted down - usually by the people they have supposedly harmed or have been harmed by in the past. The group is made up of all girls except the main character, Makoto, who is male and leads the group. The joke here at the beginning is by one girl asking him if is a "man witch" to which Makoto replies "you don't have to make me sound gay!" Makoto is a little dopey at times and is set up to make the reader think he isn't dangerous. The girls can be a bit stupid, but this is remedied by Rinko who proves that manga girls are not all wimps in crisis. There is also the silent but deadly Mahiro who bears the nickname the woundless witch. These are the three that really carry the plot and are also pictured on the front cover. There are a lot of wiccan elements in the manga including well drawn Japanese sigils, or wiccan circles. There is the use spell casting, seeing and hearing the dead, channeling, and a mentioning to tarot card use. Overall, this was a "hey that looks interesting" manga I grabbed off the shelf at random. It turned out to be a fun read. Also, there are currently only three volumes - vol 2 is due out 1/10/06.