Unless it's a cut off interrupted sentence Hana's last speech bubble before being zonked has a proofreading error that slipped through:
"You've been following me all the after..." I assume this was meant to be "after all".

Unless it's a cut off interrupted sentence Hana's last speech bubble before being zonked has a proofreading error that slipped through:
"You've been following me all the after..." I assume this was meant to be "after all".

all afternoon probably

With her looks, there's 99% chance the "black" witch is actually of Brazilian origin.

Well yeah she could be Afro-brazilian, which is still black, no need to put it in quotations

Japan has a large immigrant population from Brazil, a lot of them being halfs. And conversely, the largest amount of
Japanese people living outside Japan are in Brazil.

Perhaps, and perhaps she could just be half-Black american or just fully Black, idk it's just a comic about witches and spirits, I'm not sure accuracy is what sal Jiang is going for here

She is super strong and apparently doesn’t have charm that works on people. Or she’d have it easier in life than she has. She might either be half or simply the variety witches is broader than the one we know for sure seen.

I see a few possibilities:

1. Her mom is a witch and her dad is a human so she's a half-witch with half as many powers. This would imply that full witches are born some other way (since men can't be witches). Maybe witches can have kids with each other or maybe they summon a baby out a magic ritual or they just sort of spontaneously appear or something (I would guess the first one).

2. Her mom is a witch and her dad is a human but witch-ness is a dominant trait so she is a witch and half-witches don't exist.

3. Both her parents were human but witch-ness is a recessive trait so both parents were surprised by her being a witch. Or she just happened to have the witch gene as a mutation. This explanation doesn't explain why we never see her mom, whereas in the other two scenarios we can assume she left because her husband found out she's a witch.

In scenario 2 or 3 we're still left with the question of why she can't do the things Sadako can. A likely explanation would be that being a witch works kind of like in Harry Potter, where it's an inherited trait but you still need to train to be able to use your powers properly. It could also be that witches are born with different powers available to them. In that case, we could say that Sadako specializes in manipulating people's brains (mind controlling, memory wiping, perception alteration, invisibility) while Hanako specializes in physical strength (telekinesis?). This wouldn't explain some of the other things Sadako has done, like flying, telekinesis, and whatever was killing the people who entered her old house (Usually in a setting where everyone gets a unique power set like that they're quite specialized and don't overlap, but it could also be that every witch just has a random selection of spells she can cast or that some powers are universal to all witches but others aren't.)

Personally, I lean towards the idea that Sadako is a full witch who just hasn't studied how to be one. Maybe learning to do magic and appreciate her powers will help her to accept herself as a witch?

Also, big thank you to the translators! I'm already extremely invested.

I'm vaguely convinced it might be the exact opposite to the witch theories: she could be the descendant of some sort of witch-hunter. There surely must be some sort of special humans, otherwise how on earth does anyone in a medieval society "burn a witch"? Why would witches be scared of humans? They can go invisible, fly away, manipulate memories ... no, logic tells me there's some sort of "special humans" around.

... of course, this being based on world building logic, weeell. It's a bit flimsy with a series like this. But still. ^^

Unless it's a cut off interrupted sentence Hana's last speech bubble before being zonked has a proofreading error that slipped through:
"You've been following me all the after..." I assume this was meant to be "after all".

all afternoon probably

Still doesn't fix the glaring problem of that "the" in the middle.

Edit: you were correct, had a look back at the chapter to check and it's been fixed.

last edited at Nov 11, 2024 6:30AM

[...] Sadako specializes in manipulating people's brains (mind controlling, memory wiping, perception alteration, invisibility)

It should be noted that the other two were also supposed to be invisible, so this ability is definitely not unique to Sadako.

I find @Pyoro's idea about Hanako being a witch-hunter descendant intriguing. She is already "hunting down" a witch and there would also be the irony of her having been called a witch all her life while being kind of the opposite. We still know too little about witches and how they are born, though, so it's hard to guess.

On another note, how is Sadako so cute (and scary)? I didn't expect it when starting this, since I don't find the author's style to be particularly cute, but her excited face is just sooo cute. And her little witchy teeth, gotta love those.

black girl in my yuri manga!!!

sadako is so adorable lol. head empty, girl just wants attention. it's definitely a testament to the quality of the mangaka's skill that her very unique worldview is portrayed so strongly, meanwhile the world around her is a lot more grounded and mature--it's not easy to juggle two things at once like that, but it has a really great effect in moments like the one where she doesn't really get a lot of the hate comments. the story itself isn't lighthearted and dismissive of them, it feels almost unsparing, meanwhile they don't register with her and it doesn't impact the trajectory of her story--at least for now, because that disconnect builds a tension between the two of them. you feel like the story could shift tone quite easily if she snags on the attitude of the world around her. super interesting.

it's really interesting to get a better sense of what's going on in this work with the background of having read a lot of sal jiang's other stuff. she does really seem to like hateromance, doesn't she? i really like it when authors have like, A Thing they do that they're clearly very invested in and have thought out from a bunch of different angles, like yes, please deliver me the next iteration of your thesis on why it's exciting when women are super into each other and resent each other at the same time, im here to learn. this is a really different take on her normal, very real-world adult style, too, so i'm really interested to see a different take on her favored theme here.

I can’t believe Sadako used Obfuscate 4: Vanish from the Minds Eye

"DAMN WITCH I'LL EXPOSE YOU AND YOUR FAKE MAGIC"
I didn't know I was reading Yuri Umineko.

I can’t believe Sadako used Obfuscate 4: Vanish from the Minds Eye

I understood that reference.

I can’t believe Sadako used Obfuscate 4: Vanish from the Minds Eye

I understood that reference.

Likewise. Been a while since I played any of that.

This manga is just beautiful to look at like it's such an artistic treat.

Shitty friend continues to be shitty. I feel so bad for Hana, especially having been in kind of a similar situation myself until recently.

Their first in-person meeting was absolutely excellent! Also, I wish I had fangs like that, goddamn. Sadako continues to be stunning.

Hyped to see how things go next chapter. Daring rescue incoming, or are we due for some explanation of the bigger picture?

Nooooo! I can't wait for the next chapter /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
This chapter's ending sure was exciting!

I bet our MC witch is a lot more powerful than these other witches. Maybe not, but it would be fun if they vastly over estimated their ability to handle her lol

Nooooo! I can't wait for the next chapter /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
This chapter's ending sure was exciting!

I'm going to need 20 more chapters ASAP

They keep calling her a witch and she's clearly an oni, it's no wonder she's so pissed off.

god the art is consistently gorgeous but the last few pages especially, wow. i need more of thisssss i hope it has a good long run. i'll definitely be purchasing it if/when it gets officially localized.

I mean ultimately I don't think that these two women are on opposite sides from Sadako. It's just that Sadako just came down from the mountains after several hundred years and doesnt know what the hell is going on lol

there she is! ooh she's really cute

she's a full on 7 course meal from a 3 star michelin restaurants

god the art is consistently gorgeous but the last few pages especially, wow. i need more of thisssss i hope it has a good long run. i'll definitely be purchasing it if/when it gets officially localized.

Black & White got an English printing at least, so there's hope

god the art is consistently gorgeous but the last few pages especially, wow. i need more of thisssss i hope it has a good long run. i'll definitely be purchasing it if/when it gets officially localized.

Black & White got an English printing at least, so there's hope

I genuinely believe this will be as successful as Black & White and even get an English-printed version. The story and concept are truly unique, and the art style is exceptional. :D

Is it just me or it's getting got in here

Sal Jiang's art style is top tier, but so is their composition. This entire chapter is basically just three people talking to each other, in an empty room, while a fourth person watches from outside, they're constantly varying their panel layout and the way characters are positioned "on the screen" so it feels really dynamic.

What I'm saying is, I love everything about this.

Also, a few observations and thoughts from this chapter:

First, there's an interesting contrast going on between the two antagonist witches. The white one is really expressive and often smug, while the black one seems to mostly just be nonplussed and a little bit unhappy. I wonder if she has a different perspective on what's going on and she's mostly just following her friend's lead, for now.

Hanako saw Sadako float through her closed window last chapter. She even managed to grab Sadako's shoe before before bonking her head into the glass, so she already had proof that A) Sadako was actually there, B) the window was definitely closed, and C) Sadako was no longer on the same side of the window. Why did it take the new witch healing from a headbutt for her to realize that these people, who keep calling themselves witches, are actually witches and magic is real? You'd think phasing through solid matter, several stories up, would be a lot more convincing than shrugging off a blow that she herself would have been fine with.

From the start, it seemed like Sadako was abandoned in the mountains a REALLY long time ago and simply told to avoid human society. She doesn't seem to really understand much about humans or how her abilities interact with them, to the point where people where keeling over as soon as they met her and she neither neither understood that they were dying nor that it wasn't normal and that she was probably the cause of it. Conversely, the two new witches seem to have been living in human society for a while and have a good grasp on how things work. More importantly, they also seem to be aware of, and a part of, a larger magical society. This raises the questions about why Sadako seems to have no clue about other witches and if there's some fundamental difference between them. They said "we've been in hiding for hundreds of years", but a part of me is wondering if the "we" in question is "witches in general", and not them specifically, making Sadako significantly older, and potentially more powerful, than anyone they've dealt with on a regular basis.

On page 7 Sadako can't hear the conversation, but starting on page 11 her reactions make it seem like she can hear Hanako's monologue. I wonder if that's the case, and she's making connections between their parallel forms of loneliness, or if it's an intentional misdirection on the author's part and she's just reacting to body language and the sudden violence.

Finally, while it's not strictly about this chapter, I just realized that Hanako must hate Halloween. Going by anime, witches seem to be a perennial favorite costume and if she perceives any mention of witches as a direct and personal insult ... well. A lot of cute girls dressing up as witches probably doesn't help.

Sal Jiang's art style is top tier, but so is their composition. This entire chapter is basically just three people talking to each other, in an empty room, while a fourth person watches from outside, they're constantly varying their panel layout and the way characters are positioned "on the screen" so it feels really dynamic.

What I'm saying is, I love everything about this.

Also, a few observations and thoughts from this chapter:

First, there's an interesting contrast going on between the two antagonist witches. The white one is really expressive and often smug, while the black one seems to mostly just be nonplussed and a little bit unhappy. I wonder if she has a different perspective on what's going on and she's mostly just following her friend's lead, for now.

Hanako saw Sadako float through her closed window last chapter. She even managed to grab Sadako's shoe before before bonking her head into the glass, so she already had proof that A) Sadako was actually there, B) the window was definitely closed, and C) Sadako was no longer on the same side of the window. Why did it take the new witch healing from a headbutt for her to realize that these people, who keep calling themselves witches, are actually witches and magic is real? You'd think phasing through solid matter, several stories up, would be a lot more convincing than shrugging off a blow that she herself would have been fine with.

From the start, it seemed like Sadako was abandoned in the mountains a REALLY long time ago and simply told to avoid human society. She doesn't seem to really understand much about humans or how her abilities interact with them, to the point where people where keeling over as soon as they met her and she neither neither understood that they were dying nor that it wasn't normal and that she was probably the cause of it. Conversely, the two new witches seem to have been living in human society for a while and have a good grasp on how things work. More importantly, they also seem to be aware of, and a part of, a larger magical society. This raises the questions about why Sadako seems to have no clue about other witches and if there's some fundamental difference between them. They said "we've been in hiding for hundreds of years", but a part of me is wondering if the "we" in question is "witches in general", and not them specifically, making Sadako significantly older, and potentially more powerful, than anyone they've dealt with on a regular basis.

On page 7 Sadako can't hear the conversation, but starting on page 11 her reactions make it seem like she can hear Hanako's monologue. I wonder if that's the case, and she's making connections between their parallel forms of loneliness, or if it's an intentional misdirection on the author's part and she's just reacting to body language and the sudden violence.

Finally, while it's not strictly about this chapter, I just realized that Hanako must hate Halloween. Going by anime, witches seem to be a perennial favorite costume and if she perceives any mention of witches as a direct and personal insult ... well. A lot of cute girls dressing up as witches probably doesn't help.