183. The Witch of Artemis, Vol. 1

The Witch of Artemis, Vol.1 by Yui Hara (Canada) - (US)
The Witch of Artemis


Pages: 192
Ages: 13+
Finished: Sept. 6, 2010
First Published: Aug. 31, 2010
Publisher: Tokyopop
Genre: YA, manga, fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5

First sentence:

The World is divided in two.

Acquired: Received a review copy from Harper Collins Canada.

Reason for Reading: The pure fantasy plot intrigued me. Sounded like something I typically would like.

And like it, I did. I sat down and read this through in one sitting. The story was cute and fun with mysterious lurking in the air. Kazuki's father has died and now it is just him and his older brother at home and life seems to be nothing but chore after chore. But Kazuki remembers fondly back to when his father used to talk about Artemis, the other part of the world that was out there somewhere. He was determined to get there someday and he would take Kauki with him, but then he died. Now Kazuki's brother will hear none of his father's nonsense through Kazuki but that doesn't stop him daydreaming. One thing after another happens and he is landed in Artemis and attached to the Phantom Witch of Artemis who is obliged to do good will for others. On the other hand he runs into a tall, dark mysterious woman who is kind but puts a curse on him.

The plot here isn't overly deep or compelling. It has potential but in this first book the surface has just been scratched. Kazuki is a follower with no real distinguishing characteristics that make him stand out. The Witch of Artemis is rude, impatient and continually loosing her temper when others are wasting her time. Kazuki helps the Witch on one of her deeds when they meet a married couple in the woods where the man has had a curse put upon him so that he will not remember who is wife is. He is an artist and paints all day, while the wife is sad and has given up on trying to make him remember her. Onto the scene occasionally comes a mysterious, tall, dark woman who also has magical powers but she only uses them to put curses on people, strange thing is she is very friendly and we get a glimpse that she does not live alone but has an enigmatic man living in the mansion with her.

The story was fun, but not very deep. It is going to take book 2 for me to decide if I will continue on with the series. If some more character development comes along and further explanations as to what is going on I may continue to read.