I'm surprised I didn't come across this earlier, since stories about witches dealing with skeptical societies are my jam. It's an interesting one, to be sure- we've got an incredibly likeable main character who's equally relatable and mysterious, and I appreciate how the story doesn't pull its punches in establishing how hard it is for someone with no easily-marketable talents to survive in modern society.
Neko's battered, spunky optimism never feels fake or saccharine, and her small victories genuinely make you cheer. Minamine operates as a great foil to her, and though the dynamic is a pretty standard privileged captivity versus humble freedom setup, there's a spice to their interactions that feels quite genuine, especially since Minamine doesn't go maximum gay for Neko after one chapter and continues to be quite critical of her (though I hope this changes in the future). They remind me of Reimu and Marisa, if you gave each one of them the flaws of the other, and I'm definitely invested in their relationship, though this manga's absolute, uncompromising devotion to making every displayed romantic attraction heterosexual does crush my hopes for possible yuri, so this'll probably be around Ayakashiko in terms of gayness. I hope they at least let the subtext thrive, though.
The first ten chapters or so were kinda weird and almost made me drop the series, thanks to a lack of overall direction and some really tired ecchi humor- the Hey, what if your adorable pet was a sexual deviant secretly lusting over your every move trope should've really died a decade ago, and the whole Yuina's gonna be a hottie when she grows up line almost made me nope right out. Belial as a human is a bit less obnoxious, but still puts a bad taste in my mouth every time they roll in with the panty joke tidal wave. Some of the other characters, like Kiiki, also feel mildly underutilized, and I got the feeling that this was one of those series that'd sacrifice the depth of its main cast to focus on episodic characters.
Fortunately, the story grew more focused and streamlined from thereon out, and generally just better at using the problems of random passersby to evoke unseen sides of our leads. I really like the decision to give Neko a (relatively) stable gig and have her contend with the complicated practice of dealing with customers, especially in regards to the ethics of her magic and her dilemma between expressing her opinions and using her powers, because the introspection on a witch's role in the modern world is the best part of her character. With two-part episode structures and clear development from chapter to chapter, it finally feels like this story's found its footing and a good balance between its comedy and themes. I've got some high hopes for it moving forward.
last edited at Nov 26, 2020 2:56AM
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