65th Hunt: Libro

I knew I wasn’t ready when I read the title of this chapter. Nishi-sensei and Usazaki-sensei, did you really need to take our hearts and smash them on the ground like that? 😭 We found out that Dess was an orphan to start, and then her only family and entire clan got erased by World-Hater??? No wonder she always looks sad.

Her motivation to become the greatest witch is not only to live up to Libro and the Ikagura Clan’s expectations, but also to take revenge on World-Hater for what they did to the people who cherished her the most.

This page absolutely broke my heart. Desscaras has never made a face like this before. You can see the regret and guilt she’s built up in herself over the years. The survivor’s guilt must be insanely heavy. She said not one night goes by without her thinking about what she could have done if she started learning magic earlier. I wonder if anyone knows about this side of Desscaras.

On the other hand, I’m glad to get to know Libro a bit more. He was so adorable 🥹 And this moment reminded me of what Ichi said in chapter 4, so I had to do a side-by-side. Desscaras’ wistful look as Ichi said “magic is fun” has so much more meaning to it now 😭 It also makes so much sense why Dess decided to make Ichi her family so quickly, she relates to him, being someone who lost her family, and Ichi is like a proxy for Libro.

Put another tally on for the “times I wished I lived in Japan” counter lol. Love the collab cover Ichi and Kagurabachi has. There’s also going to be many advertisement campaigns going on irl that I wish I can see myself, but I guess I’ll wait to see photos online for 🥺

57th Hunt: Love and Hate

Baby Kizashi is so cute, I almost forget how twisted their mind is! I noticed the 999 on their chest, which gives me a theory. When they were introduced, the number on their chest said 315, and it stayed as 315 for a while, until Ichi used Inazuri on them in chapter 55 and became 314 after being revived. So the number is basically how many times Kizashi can still revive themselves?

This is my first time noticing the number change, it was done quite subtly. I thought it was some pun with numbers, like 315 -> sa-i-go -> saikyou (the strongest) but maybe that was a stretch. This chapter, we see the numbers go from 305 to 304, but Kizashi didn’t die and revive in between, so maybe it’s more like a timer, or the amount of energy needed to revive their cells? Either way, the team probably needs to get that number down to 0 to actually kill Kizashi!

Also, Uroichi looked so good this chapter. I love the Inazuri version of the outfit 😭 The fur coat and paw boots are too cute. Look at Uroro’s laughing face as they blast away. I know you’re evil, but I can excuse it when you look so adorable.

56th Hunt: Extra

Ichi might hate sitting still in a classroom, but at least Togeice’s lessons are sticking in his brain! This negotiation scene was interesting. Ichi cares about keeping the others alive, so that’s the first thing he brings up. It’s Uroro who brings up the time limit. I thought Uroro might try to take advantage of Ichi by taking over his body with no time limit. Maybe the human body isn’t able to take possession by a powerful majik like Uroro that might result in death or permanent injury. Also, what happens to the majiks a witch has captured if the witch dies???

Uroro makes quick work though. I thought it was interesting that Ichi’s body still reacted to Desscaras’ bloodlust, even though he’s unconscious. The final page with Ichi/Uroro and all the majiks Ichi had acquired so far was so cool! I can’t wait to see the King at work!

55th Hunt: Kneel

This chapter went by so fast 😭 The action was great though, and we got to see Ichi’s Uroro amplified Inazuri! Kizashi said they’re one of the seven majiks working directly for World-Hater Majik, and Im assuming Hitsugi is also one of the seven. That means there’s 5 more, along with however many fans of WHM there are, like Bakugami. One at a time… one at a time.

On the other hand, Kizashi is super strong! They were able to revive completely after Ichi’s spell. Desscaras telling the team to retreat is the right move, she doesn’t even expect to be able to kill Kizashi, just to buy time.

And this final page was WHOA 👀 King Uroro is here! The only instance of a majik possessing a witch we have seen is with Prophecy possessing Jikishirone. However, that doesn’t mean other majiks can’t do the same, especially a majik as powerful as Uroro. This reminds me of Iruma and his evil cycle version of himself from Iruma-kun 😆

ALSO LOOK AT THE COLOR PAGE AND THEIR PIRATE OUTFITS!!! Everybody looks so cute 🥹

53rd Hunt: A Heavy Blow

I’m glad to hear that Chronoweaver majik isn’t a human hater, I would hate to see Minerva apart from them. Looks like the team doesn’t need to acquire Chro, but maybe they can help out on acquiring the other majik causing all the ships to wreck.

I also really like Minerva! She seems very sweet, and if anyone were to have a child with a majik, it would probably be her. She seems very free-spirited, and you can tell she loves very deeply. Their nicknames for each other are so cute, and she’s even wearing matching fabrics with Chro, that’s adorable!

Yeah, sorry, Jikishirone (or perhaps I should say Prophecy), that slap was deserved. You don’t talk about getting rid of someone’s baby in their presence. Ichi’s little reaction to what Minerva said gave my heart a little squeeze. He never knew his parents, so to see someone love their child so much, even without seeing them, is so special.

Also here’s the majik that’s causing all the shipwrecks! Their design is so cool!!! I love that Usazaki-sensei incorporated more than just the octopus tentacles in their design. The eyes look like hair accessories, and the mantle is like a cape! Every new character is a wonder to behold.

52nd Hunt: Freeze

I wasn’t expecting the Time Majik to show up so soon, but I guess they need to defend their ghost ship 👀 Their design is pretty cool, the feathers on their head remind me of an owl (?) Is there a particular connection of owls or some other bird to time? The outfit they wear is also interesting, I like the paisley pattern on the top, but I can’t pinpoint a particular region or time period the silhouette is from.

Desscaras’ strategy of leaving a watch to see how much time was stopped is really great, and we have confirmed that this majik can stop time.

Also, this was unexpected! Now I have a few thoughts on why Chronoweaver Majik has stopped time for this ship. Perhaps they have already seen the future and saw that the pregnancy would result in tragedy, and decided that stopping time is the best option. Maybe neither of them know what their child would be like, so rather than finding out, she is ok with being pregnant forever? How long has she been 9 months pregnant??? How do majiks even reproduce????? I ended up with more questions than thoughts lol. This situation is very intriguing.

Also Speedray is my new favorite majik, they’re so cuuuuuuute 🥹❤️

51st Hunt: To a New Time!

When I saw the hoverboards, I thought it was getting pretty sci-fi. We do have a cyborg man on the team, so I’m not surprised that their transportation technology is pretty advanced, too. With that said, I’m glad they still addressed the broom, which is what we usually associate witches with. Ichi seems intrigued, I wonder if they found a broom for him to bring along.

The next arc is also set up and starting! Reading Iruma-kun, I know Nishi-sensei likes to have a little buffer between major arcs, but since Ichi the Witch is still relatively new, and the WSJ pacing is probably more cutthroat than WSC, the in-between chapters took up less time. I’m still glad we got some backstory for Kumugi, and maybe it will be incorporated into this arc.

It’s interesting that Jikishirone/Prophecy is coming along on this next hunt. Prophecy needs to decide whether to stay with the Witches Association or join World-Hater Majik. Plus, they’re hunting the Time Majik??? Anything involving time is sure to be crazy, I’m looking forward to the hunt already!

47th Hunt: Kumugi Harvest

Yes, Kumugi! You love your job!!! Say it loud and proud, and don’t let anyone take the role from you. Shirabedonna knew what she was doing when she had Kumugi be the record keeper, her analyses are never wrong 👀

I wonder what this outburst would do to Spica’s reputation. She’s constantly putting on a performance, but this one time her mask slipped because she couldn’t control her sister’s actions.

I saw some discussion on Reddit about Spica’s eye and what it would mean if she was never injured. In this case, she was injured, but eventually, surgery healed her, and now she can see just fine. I think this outcome is ok. Kumugi did cause a major incident that she is learning to take responsibility for and move on from, and it adds to Spica’s spiteful character for wearing the eyepatch even though her eye is fine.

Also, this line from Ichi was hilarious 😭 Good on Desscaras for teaching Ichi how to avoid sexual harassment. I doubt he even knows what having a type means. He just thinks it’s a magical chant lol.

ALSO CONGRATULATIONS ON ONE YEAR OF SERIALIZATION ICHI THE WITCH!!!

46th Hunt: Important Memories

Ichi’s emotional intelligence is always a pleasant element in this manga. The moment Spica showed up and Kumugi froze, he is taking notice. He hasn’t known Kumugi long, but he knows something is wrong in her reaction.

Kumugi’s backstory and her relationship with Spica is so sad. She used to be so bold, declaring that she can do magic better than Spica, and trying to hard to show everybody that Kumugi can be special too. After the accident, she let the guilt take over, and Spica’s condescension did not help. “I apologized countless times. She’d said its okay countless times. None of it mattered.” Kumugi knows that she will always owe a debt to Spica, and she doesn’t know how to say “no” to her.

But we are already seeing some growth. Kumugi has an objection! She loves working with Team Desscaras, with her friends, with her chosen family. You will not take this opportunity away from her Spica!