It’s Magic: An Exclusive First Look at Burn the Witch
Tite Kubo
“The Big Three” is a phrase often used in the anime community, referring to the three landmark titles in manga – Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach. Over the years there has been much discussion over who the next big three titles will be, many claiming My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer to have taken Naruto and Bleach’s spot in the limelight, but just because these series have ended, doesn’t mean there isn’t more stories left to tell. In particular, Tite Kubo and the world he created with Bleach now lives on in an exciting new spinoff, Burn the Witch!
In the world of Bleach, Soul Reapers exist to rid the world of evil spirits that plague our world, unseen by normal human eyes. However, that’s just what goes on in Japan. In Burn the Witch, we get to see the Bleach universe as it exists in London, England. More specifically, in “Reverse London”, where Witches and Wizards operate to rid the world of troublesome Dragons who run rampant and are invisible to the human eye, much like the spirits the Soul Reapers live to exterminate.
Although “Dragons” sound straightforward, the term is used to describe any supernatural entity in Reverse London, and doesn’t strictly mean the traditional type of dragons. It should be mentioned that where Burn the Witch truly differs from its parent series Bleach is in its treatment of the enemy. Unlike the evil spirits, dragons and humans mostly coexist, with people using dragons for transportation, power, or even food. It presents a much more openly fantastical world as opposed to the harsher black and white way things are handled by Bleach.
Deer x Dragon Hybrid
Burn the Witch centers primarily on two Witches, Noel Niihashi (Left) and Ninny Spangcole (Right). Noel is a calm and collected Japanese woman who was born and raised in England. She is a no-nonsense Witch who does her duty to the best of her ability operating inside the law. For those of you familiar with the Kuudere (cool girl) trope in anime, Noel fits this to a tee.
Noel’s partner and superior, Ninny, is a hotheaded firecracker, reminiscent of Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion. She’s a pop star by day, and often clashes with Noel due to her own large ego. More often than not she falls into the angry side of the Tsundere (hot-and-cold girl) trope.
Following along with the two witches is Balgo (Left), a boy who’s been in contact with Dragons for so long (as well as bitten by one) that he is no longer classified as human, but rather Dragonclad – meaning he is essentially a magnet for other dangerous Dragons. Balgo has feelings for Noel, but expresses them in unhealthy, rather perverted ways. Noel responds with the typical anime response – physical assault and verbal threats. Due to the boy’s close relationship with dragons, his role in the story is constantly evolving, and as a result he may be the most interesting character in this initial volume.
Together, the three work together to protect the people of both London and Reverse London, and navigate the inner politics of the Witch and Wizard system. In fact, it turns out that not even Noel and Ninny know everything about the world that they live in.
Dragon Attacking Reverse London
The world of Burn the Witch is a rich and complex one, and I would say far more interesting than the world of Bleach, at least here at first blush. Because Dragons are so interwoven into society, it makes for a far more visually and politically interesting series than Bleach’s initial offerings, as that series began almost entirely grounded in reality. For instance, not only can humans not see Dragons, but if they do manage to come in contact with them, they can be subjected to huge fines or even capital punishments.
The ways in which Dragons supplement or substitute modern technology is really quite interesting, and keeps you reading just to continue to experience this world. The concept of Reverse London is also intriguing in and of itself, as anything that happens there will happen in the “real” London, like if a building is destroyed or someone is attacked. Additionally, the residents of London don’t believe that Reverse London exists, leading to some rude awakenings later. The manga delves heavily into just how this world works and it’s truly laid a great groundwork for whatever’s to come next. There’s a ton more to what goes on in the world of Burn the Witch, but I’d rather not spoil it here – after all, experiencing London and Reverse London is half the draw of the series!
Tite Kubo’s strengths as a mangaka (or manga author) are on full display here in Burn the Witch, with highly appealing character designs, fast and engaging action scenes, as well as some excellently crafted splash art throughout the pages of the first volume. Though its worth noting that this art is best appreciated in physical format, as digitally the artwork is often split in half, hampering the enjoyment and appreciation there. Kubo is a veteran in the manga industry, and it truly shows with his excellent artwork. Burn the Witch is a departure from his usual work, leaning more into comedy than Bleach or Zombiepowder (for those of you that remember that manga), but the manga still knows when to take things seriously and cut out the jokes. It’s a great balance of action and comedy that appeals to me personally more than Bleach did in its entire multi-year run.
Noel Niihashi
If I had to make any criticism against Burn the Witch, it’s that its two main characters Noel and Ninny feel rather underdeveloped by the end. As stated earlier, the world they live in, as well as Balgo, feel more fleshed out than the two characters that are supposed to be taking us on this journey. Noel and Ninny feel like little more than walking anime cliches that get us from set piece to set piece in Volume 1. However, this is an issue that can easily be rectified as the series continues on – as we spend more time with Ninny and Noel, we’ll undoubtedly grow to understand them more. To that point, Ninny does get some more development towards the end of Volume 1 with some personal character revelations, showing that the characters may not be as static as they seem.
With all that being said, ultimately, Burn the Witch drew me in with its creative world-building, beautiful character art and impeccably paced action scenes. For anyone who is a fan of Bleach, Little Witch Academia or fantasy stories as a whole, I believe you owe it to yourself to pick up Burn the Witch, Volume 1 when it drops in bookstores across America on October 19th, 2021 in a specially bound format. You can also read ahead digitally by going to VIZ.com.
These girls are some kind of magic.
