The second volume of Ichi The Witch came out recently, and I was really looking forward to it. But my excitement stems from the hope that it would be better than the first volume. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked the first volume, and you can read my review here. But I just thought it left a lot to be desired. There were minimal character introductions outside of Ichi and Desscaras, much of the worldbuilding was yet to be explained, and there weren’t any real stakes yet.
It was still a very interesting story, but I’m happy to say that each aspect was way better in the second volume. Of course, there was emphasis on Ichi since he’s the protagonist, but this these chapters really dived into other characters. Kumugi for example was present throughout the entire volume and there were more chances to see what she’s like since she joined the party later in the first volume.
Halfway through the volume, Togeice is introduced as the only witch who seems to rival Desscaras, and she immediately became my favorite character. I love her design and attitude, and she perfectly balanced out the chaos of the main trio. We also get to see more of the other witches like Moneygold. The focus of the first few chapters was to set up Ichi and introduce him to the wider world, so the progression of characters was rather slow at the start.
As for the worldbuilding aspect, we learn so much more in this volume. In the first volume, we learn that each Majik has a trial that a witch must pass to acquire them. The first was that someone who was male must defeat them, and the second was a simple hunt. That’s honestly pretty simple stuff, but this volume dives deeper into what trials are like. We learn that there can be a wide range of possible tasks and that some of them can get pretty wild.
I personally love this idea for two reasons. The first is that it means the group can’t always rely on Ichi’s hunting ability. He was able to do that with the first Majik of the volume, but it means that they will have to take a varied approach to each Majik they go after. It also allows for some great humor, because now I’m thinking that there can be some really silly trials down the road. Beyond the trials, this volume also shows us a lot more about the Majiks in general and about the Witches Association.
Lastly, the stakes are through the roof. The big baddie of the first volume was King Uroro and Ichi defeats him right at the start. Then the rest of the volume is about Ichi exploring the wider world and fighting lesser Majik’s. That changes in this volume when Ichi goes up against a real threat, and that really got me invested.
If you read the first volume and didn’t care too much for it, you’re going to want to try the second one to see if it’s to your liking. This volume got me really excited for the rest of the series and I can’t wait to see what comes next for Ichi and co.