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With "A Cat From Our World and the Forgotten Witch", Seven Seas is adding another series to its large catalog of cat titles. The series was published under the original title "Isekai Neko to Fukigen na Majo" in Shogakukan's Yawaraka Spirts magazine. The series is completed with a total of five volumes.
Mangaka Hiro Kashiwaba does not yet have many manga publications to her name, but has also worked as an assistant to Inio Asano on "Good Night, Punpun". "A Cat From Our World and the Forgotten Witch" is her first publication on the US market.
How was it?
Jeanne is a lonely old woman who lives in seclusion in a forest in a fantastic world. She, who once defeated the demon king with her witch powers, now lives in complete oblivion. Worse still, she is viewed with suspicion and contempt by all the villagers. One evening, two criminals break into her house to rob it. To get rid of them, the old woman summons a creature from another world. And this newly appeared creature does not fly or breathe fire, like her house dragon from before. It is a large, particularly cute cat, but it does what it wants!
"A Cat From Our World and the Forgotten Witch" starts off lightly and presents itself as a mixture of isekai and cat story. We are plunged into another world, but this time it is not a heroine or a human who is transported there, but an ordinary, large cat that appears huge in this world where everything is smaller. Of course, a comic discrepancy arises at the beginning when you see the giant cat moving around in what is often a confined space for it. The humor is heightened by the fact that the two characters have difficulty understanding each other, not only because the cat inevitably does cat things, but also because Jeanne has no idea how to deal with this creature that she has never seen before in her world and accordingly knows nothing about its peculiarities.
As the plot progresses, Hiro Kashiwaba's ambition to merge more than just the two major genres - cat manga and isekai - into a simple, humorous story becomes clear. It quickly becomes apparent that there is more to Jeanne's secluded life than meets the eye. The narrative is imbued with a touch of bitterness and melancholy, whether it's about Jeanne's fate or that of her peculiar cat.
The mangaka conveys the burden of loneliness and the painful consequences of prejudice and hatred through her life stories, taking a subtle approach. The cat's backstory before her summoning is also touching, and the two have all the makings of understanding each other. In the individual chapters, you delve deeper into Jeanne's everyday life, learning more about the cat's former life and the beginnings of their somewhat chaotic life together.
In the course of the plot, their individual stories are revealed through memories. In addition to the relationship between two people who have to adapt to each other, two people are portrayed who are bound together by severe loneliness. The cat's loneliness has only recently begun, while the witch's has lasted half a century. These two individuals have the chance to overcome their loneliness by gradually building a deep connection with each other.
Hiro Kashiwaba sets the tone of the story with a clear drawing style characterized by precise lines. The character designs are detailed and lively. Particular attention has been paid to the cat's facial expressions and gestures, which adds to the humorous moments in the manga in a loving way. The backgrounds are also carefully designed and lend depth to the world of the manga.
Seven Seas publishes the manga in paperback format, but unfortunately the first volume does not contain any color pages.
Conclusion
"A Cat From Our World and the Forgotten Witch" is definitely one of the manga that managed to surprise me. I went into the manga thinking I was going to get a light story that mixed the popular genres of cat manga and iseka titles in Japan into a humorous slice-of-life story. But Hiro Kashiwaba succeeds in creating a prelude with a lot of depth, balancing humor and melancholy and leaving you wanting more.
For me, a great insider tip among this year's first releases.
With the code LOSTINMANGA you can shop free of shipping costs for your first order of 30 euros or more. The code is valid for Germany and the entire EU.
