Warning: Contains spoilers for Ichi the Witch chapter #1.With a slew of Shonen Jump manga either getting canceled or running their course, a new wave of serializations has begun, starting with Osamu Nishi and Shiro Usazaki’s Ichi the Witch. The series was d as a fantasy story set in a world where only women can use magic until Ichi, a man, suddenly finds himself with magical abilities, much to everyone’s surprise.

As exciting as it was to have Osamu Nishi from Iruma-Kun and Shiro Usazaki from Act-Age collaborating on a manga, Ichi the Witch was still treated cautiously before its release, both because of how often new manga fail and because of the clichéd nature of its premise. Following its debut, though, Ichi the Witch has quickly garnered praise from fans for its writing and artwork, and it’s already proving to be a groundbreaking story in all areas.

Shonen Jump’s New Manga Has A Groundbreaking Team Behind Its Production

Why Osamu Nishi & Shiro Usazaki Make A Great Team

The first part of why Ichi the Witch is such a groundbreaking new manga is the team behind its production. For starters, the writer Osamu Nishi is the creator of Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!, one of the biggest manga running outside of Shonen Jump that shows no sign of slowing down even after seven years. Nishi’s talent for intense battles and quirky and heartfelt writing have made Iruma-kun a major hit, so having her in Shonen Jump is a huge get for the magazine.

Ichi the Witch is also illustrated by Shiro Usazaki of Act-Age fame. Act-Age debuted in Shonen Jump in 2018, and by 2020, it was one of the biggest manga in the magazine and was on its way to becoming the next big hit, but it was abruptly canceled due to unfortunate circumstances surrounding the writer. Usazaki’s artwork was beloved for her excellent character designs, stellar ing, and overall high quality, and having her finally return to manga with a veteran like Osamu Nishi is great to see.

Also worth mentioning, of course, is the fact that the duo behind Ichi the Witch consists of two women. While the creators of some of the most popular manga in and out of Shonen Jump like Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, Reborn!, and Blue Box were all women, it’s rare for multiple women to collaborate on a story outside of groups like Clamp or Peach-Pit. Shonen Jump having an all-female creative team behind Ichi the Witch makes it a revolutionary series purely from conception, and that’s one of the biggest factors behind it receiving so much attention.

Ichi The Witch Paints A Vibrant Fantasy World From The Very Start

Shonen Jump's New Fantasy Manga Is Off To A Great Start

Ichi the Witch has a great creative team behind it, and that led to an excellent debut for the series. As a fantasy manga, Ichi the Witch naturally revolves around magic and magical creatures, and not only does it have a unique depiction of magic through its general usage, but through the idea of magic being something a person obtains by ing the trials of mysterious beings called Majiks. Ichi the Witch showcases excellent worldbuilding just from its first chapter.

Excellently going along with the worldbuilding for Ichi the Witch’s fantasy story is the artwork. In addition, Shiro Usazaki’s artwork perfectly complements the fantasy story through the designs of its world and characters, and that’s especially apparent in Ichi’s design after becoming a witch and the design of King Uroro. Fantasy stories often live and die by how interesting their characters and worlds look, and so far, Ichi the Witch more than succeeds in that regard.

Ichi The Witch Has The Perfect Hero For Its Story

Why Ichi The Witch's Protagonist Is So Good

Bringing Ichi the Witch’s story together is, of course, the protagonist, Ichi. As previously discussed, Ichi is a boy living in a world where only women can use magic, but rather than be someone forced to contend with that, Ichi, after being left for dead by his parents as a child, has grown up in the wilderness to become a master hunter and keeps to it both to protect others and because he loves the thrill of life-and-death battles, resulting in a protagonist who very much exists in contrast to the basic premise of the setting.

Not only does the contrast between Ichi’s character and the world he lives in emphasize the uniqueness of his character, but Ichi the Witch makes it a plot point that the protagonist is at odds with the world. His actions throw everyone off, most notably in how being a man let Ichi kill King Uroro and take his magic when women couldn’t kill him. The weirdness of Ichi’s character is played for drama and comedy, and that makes him a far better protagonist than he would have been had he been accustomed to the setting.

Shonen Jump’s New Fantasy Manga Avoids Some Very Tired Clichés

Ichi The Witch Already Avoids Major Pitfalls

Another important element of Ichi the Witch is how it handles some potential clichés, starting with the premise of only women being able to use magic. Stories where only one gender can use superpowers often fall into the cliché of the powerless gender being treated as inferior by the gender with powers, but Ichi the Witch never has the fact that only women can use magic define the setting; Ichi and other male characters get along fine with the female characters, and Desscaras doesn’t like Ichi because he stole her kill of King Uroro, not because he’s a man.

It also would have been easy to depict Ichi as an underdog for living in a world where it’s physically impossible for him to be as strong as everyone else, as is common in anime and manga. However, not only does Ichi’s upbringing prevent that sort of mindset, but he is quickly established as a powerful character through his hunting prowess and the incredible power of King Uroro’s magic. These elements and others might change over time, but at least for now, they do a lot to make the series feel fresh just from a single chapter.

Will Ichi The Witch Become Shonen Jump’s Next Big Hit?

A Promising Debut Does Not Guarantee A Bright Future

As much attention as the series might draw from Osamu Nishi and Shiro Usazaki’s appeal, mangaka who have one successful series don’t always succeed with their follow-up works, and with it still being too early to tell how the story will play out, it’s too soon to say that Ichi the Witch will become a hit.

That being said, with its great art, worldbuilding, and character writing, Ichi the Witch has plenty going for it, and with any luck, it will prove to be a great Weekly Shōnen Jump manga for years to come, perhaps helping in filling the void left by My Hero Academia and Jujutsu Kaisen.