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Witch Watch

Japanese manga series by Kenta Shinohara From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Witch Watch
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Witch Watch (Japanese: ウィッチウォッチ, Hepburn: Witchi Wotchi; stylized in all caps) is a Japanese fantasy and romantic comedy manga series written and illustrated by Kenta Shinohara. It has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since February 2021, with its chapters collected into twenty-two tankōbon volumes as of July 2025. By November 2022, the manga had over 1.1 million copies in circulation. An anime television series adaptation produced by Bibury Animation Studios premiered in April 2025.

Quick Facts ウィッチウォッチ (Witchi Wotchi), Genre ...
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Synopsis

The series focuses on Nico Wakatsuki, a teenage witch who, after completing her magical training, moves into a house with her childhood friend Morihito Otogi, a human-looking ogre. Due to their families' ancestral history, Morihito is to become Nico's familiar and protect her. Nico also hopes this will help them become a couple, as he is her longtime crush, though he does not reciprocate in the slightest. As the story progresses, Nico and Morihito find themselves forced to deal with the various supernatural and legendary beings they encounter while also trying to solve all the unpredictable problems Nico's magic causes in their daily lives.[3]

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Characters

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Otogi Household

Nico Wakatsuki (若月 ニコ, Wakatsuki Niko)
Voiced by: Rina Kawaguchi[4] (Japanese); Lily Ki[5] (English)
A first year high school student who is a "Witch of Thousand" (千の魔女, Sen no Majo), which lets her cast various spells. She often tries to help people with her magic, but usually does so without fully knowing the details or side effect of the spells. She is in love with her childhood friend Morihito, whom she affectionately calls "Moi" since as a child she was unable to correctly pronounce his name. She also struggles to reveal her feelings for him. Her mother Ibuki is the "Witch of Premonition" foreseen that a disaster will befall upon Nico; being a Witch of Thousand makes her a target for Warlocks. To prevent this, she lets Nico live with Morihito in the Otogi household and gather other familiars to protect her.
Morihito Otogi (乙木 守仁, Otogi Morihito)
Voiced by: Ryōta Suzuki,[4] Natsumi FujiwaraEp. 1 credits (young) (Japanese); Stephen Fu,[5] Heather GonzalezEp. 1 credits (young) (English)
An ogre with extreme physical strength due to practicing Ogre Qigong. His family is a familiar to Nico's family, who is also his childhood friend. He is very overprotective towards Nico but at the same does not reciprocate her feelings. While Morihito is a serious and responsible person, he is very fond of denims and other heavily detailed trivia items. He often acts like the mother in the household, nagging and scolding the residents for the sake of their own. It is later revealed in a note that Nico gave him in the past that she "will always be Morihito's friend" which works as a unintentional curse that makes Morihito only see Nico as a friend, thus making him unable to realize that he is also in love with her.
Kanshi Kazamatsuri (風祭 監志, Kazamatsuri Kanshi)
Voiced by: Kōhei Amasaki,[4] Yui TsukadaEp. 4 credits (young) (Japanese); Caleb Yen[5] (English)
A tengu who can control wind, he befriended Nico during her training. He is Nico's "crow familiar", and moves in with her and Morihito as he is also tasked with protecting her. Kanshi speaks in Kansai dialect and often acts as the straight man in the household. He is very socially active, but also is bad with money management and incredibly impulsive, which causes him to end up in humiliating situations when he tries to use magic to make easy money. When he first appeared, he tried to fight Morihito for Nico's attention, but eventually came to fully accept him and even tries to help them become a couple from time to time.
Keigo Magami (真神 圭護, Magami Keigo)
Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa[4] (Japanese); Kevin K. Gomez[5] (English)
A werewolf who transforms into another person, referred to as "Wolf" (ウルフ), when he sees anything that he recognizes as a crescent. Keigo is usually a quiet person, but becomes arrogant when showing off his knowledge of obscure culture. Wolf, however, is always arrogant and rude. Despite that, he is loyal to his friends. Keigo is a classmate of Nico and Morihito; He schemed on getting closer to them as part of his contract with a warlock. As a child, he was trained as a professional figure skater, but quit after his mother suffered an injury that left her bound to a wheelchair. After Nico cured his mom, Keigo decides to move in to protect Nico. Eventually, he starts to develop feelings for Nemu, although he himself does not realize this.
Miharu Kiryu (霧生 見晴, Kiryū Miharu)
Voiced by: Yūki Wakai[6] (Japanese); Anne Yatco (English)
A cute young man who comes from family of exorcists. He is also a vampire; Instead of human blood he feeds by absorbing people's life force or witch's magic power. Miharu is a third-year middle school student who is skilled with sword, which he hides in the parasol he always wears around. Although appearing polite and graceful, he has no filter and will say whatever is on his mind. Miharu moves in to the Otogi household to protect Nico and started to feeds himself with Morihito's energy (and later, Rui's), since ogres have more energy than normal human.
Ban ()
A dragon familiar Nico summoned after she was turned into a child. She's a avid drinker with a gambling problem, and a lazy slacker, but a protective and caring familiar. She has the power to change into a human form, and can change the temperature of her breath in order to produce flames or freezing vapor.

Witches

In the series, "witch" refers to people who have magical power. In modern days, they are descendants of people who immigrated to Japan to escape witch hunts. Witches generally believe in making good deeds for people, whereas those who misuse magic for their selfish gain are referred to as warlocks; they act as the main antagonist in the story who are after Nico's ability. The witches are capable of detecting a presence of warlocks from certain distance. While most witches are women, there are some male witches.

Nemu Miyao (宮尾 音夢, Miyao Nemu)
Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki[4] (Japanese); Cristina Vee[5] (English)
The "Shape-Shifting Witch" (変身の魔女, Henshin no Majo), whose family specializes in the magic form. Nemu lives in the town over from Nico's. She is capable of transforming into a black cat, but automatically reverts back when she sleeps. As she dreams of having a strong familiar (particular human; mainly for the servitude benefits it could provide), Nemu frequently comes to the Otogi household to recruit Morihito to be her familiar, but always fails because Morihito and the others to dote on her in her cat form; this in turn makes her fall asleep. She is always able to flee while the rest get distracted, leaving humiliated but otherwise intact. She ultimately approaches the group as a human to assist them against the warlock contracted with Keigo, leading her to become friendly with the household. Despite this, only Wolf knows of her secret. In exchange for his silence, Nemu must enable his transformation once a month. Nemu later starts developing feelings for both Keigo and Wolf.
Momo Kuramochi (倉持 桃, Kuramochi Momo)
A 19-year-old "Witch of Teleportation" (移動の魔女, Idou no Majo) who is capable to teleport anyone but at the cost of her body weight. She moves to Otogi's neighborhood to support Nico. She has a motherly personality and tends to spoil the residents in Otogi household.
Mii Tsuchiya (土屋 美依, Tsuchiya Mii)
A fifth year elementary student who is the "Witch of Summon" (召喚の魔女, Shoukan no Mojo). She is also a child actress. She has a genie familiar called Slump that follows her and acts as her servant. She is a well-meaning but spoiled girl. She respects Nico's mother after she helped her when her magic powers first awakened.

Asunaro Private High School

Yuri Makuwa (真桑 悠里, Makuwa Yūri)
Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu[7] (Japanese); Rosie Okumura[8] (English)
The homeroom teacher in Nico's class who is popular in the school for her "cool-beauty" personality. In reality, she is a closet otaku who is desperate to hide this side of her from her students. She and Kukumi become otaku friends through their shared favorite manga, Uron Mirage, where Yuri would later encourages Kukumi into creating her own manga.
Kara Minami (南 伽羅, Minami Kara)
Voiced by: Rie Takahashi[7] (Japanese); Erica Mendez[8] (English)
One of Nico's best friends in high school. She is incredibly friendly and always willing to make friends with people that are struggling socially, though she is often embarrassed about it afterwards. Thus, Kara is very welcoming about Nico's real identity. She is a priestess in training at her family's shrine. When playing around with one of Nico's spells, she accidentally creates a Shikigami familiar she nicknames "Shiki".
Kukumi Ureshino (嬉野 久々実, Ureshino Kukumi)
Voiced by: Konomi Kohara[7] (Japanese); Xanthe Huynh[8] (English)
Nico's other best friend in high school, nicknamed "Kuku". She used to be a shy otaku in middle school until Kara befriended her, breaking her out of her shell while still retaining her otaku hobby. She is also a fan artist with more than 10,000 followers on Chitter, one of whom is Yuri. Upon discovering this, they quickly become friends, much to Yuri's dismay.
Rui Fujiki (藤木 累, Fujiki Rui) / Jekyll (ジキル, Jikiru)
Voiced by: Yōhei Azakami[6]
The student council president of the middle school Miharu transferred to, before the two enrolled to Asunaro. A descendant to Dr. Jekyll, his body tends to gradually build up destructive impulses before it gets released on its own. After Miharu saved him from the thugs, Rui learned about Miharu's vampire identity and the two started sharing a mutual symbiotic relationship: Miharu would feed from Rui's energy, and Rui would be relieved of his destructive impulses. He has strong interest in non-human creatures.

Student Council

Tenryu Kiyomiya (清宮 天流, Kiyomiya Tenryū)
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka[7] (Japanese); Howard Wang[8] (English)
The student council president. He comes from a very traditional family, and hires students who act like stereotypical anime tropes, even though they are not qualified, forcing him to do all of the work. He has been trying to make Morihito joins the student council, as he thinks Morihito is the "cool, obedient fighting guy" trope. He also always has his hand on the lid of his hat and is actually able to take his hat off, but refuses to let it go. His younger sister is Suzuka Kiyomiya, Nico's classmate who is very clumsy.
Ibara Ibu (伊武 荊, Ibu Ibara)
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro[9] (Japanese); Laura PostEp. 10 credits (English)
The vice president alongside Yuzuru. Ibara leads the council in Tenryu's absence. Due to her appearance, Morihito initially thought that she was a promiscuous adult who illegally entered the school grounds. Her behavior resembles a mix between Takarazuka's otokoyaku and a mature older sister.
Yuzuru Kenmochi (剣持 弓弦, Kenmochi Yuzuru)
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama[9] (Japanese); Khoi DaoEp. 10 credits (English)
The other vice president who is always seen with eyes closed, looks suspicious, talks in a Kansai dialect, and only opens his eyes when he says "important stuff". He fits the anime and manga archetype of mysterious and devious characters, the over-obviousness of which constantly shocks Morihito and the others.
Syrup Amai (甘井 シロップ, Amai Shiroppu)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya[9] (Japanese); Kimoy LeeEp. 10 credits (English)
Student council's secretary. She dresses in Western-style lolita fashion and acts like a tsundere. She is Kuromitsu's older twin sister, who is also her translator. Despite their petit figure, both Syrup and Kuromitsu are high schoolers.
Kuromitsu Amai (甘井 黒蜜, Amai Kuromitsu) / Kuromitsu (クロミツ)
Voiced by: Misaki Kuno[9] (Japanese); Kimberley Anne CampbellEp. 10 credits (English)
The other student council's secretary. She dresses in Japanese-style horror fashion and acts like a kuudere. Kuromitsu always speaks in misleading evil poetry and has her older sister Syrup to translates for her. Her speech pattern leads Morihito into thinking she might be a witch disguised as a normal human, but in reality she really is just an ordinary girl.
Riro Takumi (工 理路, Takumi Riro)
Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka[9] (Japanese); Sarah NatochennyEp. 10 credits (English)
A short-figured first year high school boy who is the treasurer in the council. He is also a genius hacker who often hack into trivial things like Morihito's smartphone or the Shōnen Magazine editorial office.
Asuto Ishiba (石破 明日人, Ishiba Asuto) / Burst (バースト, Bāsuto)
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake[9] (Japanese); Mick LauerEp. 10 credits (English)
The student council spokesman whose appearance is big and muscular. He is also hot-blooded. Ironically, he is the most enthusiastic when it comes to his work in the student council.
Kyoki Saiko (西古 凶奇, Saiko Kyōki)
Voiced by: Jun Fukushima[9] (Japanese); Andrew RussellEp. 10 credits (English)
A student council member who is in charge of general affairs. He tends to lick knives and pretending to be a psychotic, but usually ends up cutting his own tongue.
Daiki Sakai Mk. II (酒井 大樹マークII, Sakai Daiki Māku II)
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa[9] (Japanese); Johnaton HaEp. 10 credits (English)
A boy who wears a cardboard mask and acts like a robot. He is also in charge of general affairs. Ironically, he is the only one who wears his school uniform properly in the student council.

Characters appearing in Uron Mirage

Uron Mirage (うろんミラージュ) is the in-universe fictional fantasy battle manga series by "Moko Utakata." It tells the story of group of young swordsmen who hunt monsters.[10] The setting, dialogue, and directions are all absurd but it attracts fans who are enthusiastic in analyzing the story as well pairing between its characters.[11] It is the favorite manga of Yuri Makuwa and Kukumi Ureshino.

  • Utsuro Akizuki (秋月 空, Akizuki Utsuro): Utsuro (Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (Japanese); Casey Mongillo (English))[12] is the rookie of Feint, a swordsmen group, whose catchphrase is "go in one go."
  • Oboro Namisaki (浪崎 朧, Namisaki Oboro): Oboro (Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Japanese); Kevin Andrew Rivera (English))[12] is the lone wolf of Feint. He is conscious of ranking and considers Utsuro as his rival.
  • Sagiri Kusama (草間 狭霧, Kusama Sagiri): Sagiri (Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English))[12] is a senior of Utsuro and Oboro who deliberately say cynical remarks in order to train them.
  • Zack Balan (ザック・バラン, Zakku Baran): Zack (Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Mick Lauer (English))[12] is a mysterious man wearing lion mask. One of most the powerful swordsman.
  • Fuwa (不破): Fuwa (Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (Japanese); Jake Eberle (English))[12] is the commander of Feint who always answers question vaguely, leading people to think if he's gonna commit a coup d'état (he is not).
  • Honoka Shirabushi (白藤 仄, Shirabushi Honoka): Honoka (Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese); Ariana Nicole George (English))[12] is Fuwa's secretary who always gets Fuwa's rude remarks, but remain unfazed.
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Production

Kenta Shinohara revealed that it takes five days to draw the characters in Witch Watch, while the storyboards take two and a half days.[13] In January 2023, Shinohara stated on Twitter that Witch Watch would probably be his last weekly serial. He explained that he is "physically unable" to do one, even if he wanted to.[14] The February 6, 2023 chapter of the manga began a crossover with Shinohara's previous Weekly Shōnen Jump series, Sket Dance.[15]

Media

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Manga

Witch Watch is written and illustrated by Kenta Shinohara.[16][17] The manga began its serialization in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 8, 2021.[18][19][20] Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on June 4, 2021.[21][22] As of July 4, 2025, twenty-two volumes have been released.[23]

Witch Watch has been licensed for simultaneous publication in North America as it is released in Japan, with its chapters being digitally launched by Viz Media on its Shonen Jump website. Shueisha also simulpublishes the series in English for free on the Manga Plus app and website.[24] Viz Media also publishes its volumes in digital format.[25]

Voice comic

In February 2022, a three-part video of "dubbed manga" were posted online.[26] In May 2022, another series of voice comic adaptations that highlights the comedic parts were posted. The characters are voiced by three voice actors: Mikako Komatsu, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, and Jun Fukushima.[27] Yumiri Hanamori joined the cast in August 2022.[28]

Another voice comic featuring the franchise's in-universe manga series, Uron Mirage, was also posted online in June 2022 as part of the celebration for the manga's volume 6 release. The voice comic features voice acting by Shōya Chiba, Ryōta Suzuki, Yūichirō Umehara, and Tomokazu Sugita.[29]

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in August 2024. It is produced by Bibury Animation Studios and directed by Hiroshi Ikehata [ja], with assistant direction by Masao Kawase, series composition by Deko Akao, characters designed by Haruko Iizuka [ja], and music composed by Yukari Hashimoto.[30][4] The series premiered on April 6, 2025, on the Nichi-5 [ja] programming block on all JNN affiliates, including MBS and TBS, and will run for two consecutive cours.[7] The first opening theme song is "Watch Me!", performed by Yoasobi,[31] while the first ending theme song is "Mahō wa Spice" (魔法はスパイス; lit. "Magic is Spice"), performed by Aooo [ja].[32] The second opening theme song is "Tokihanate!" (ときはなて!; lit. "Unleash!") by Hashimero,[33] while the second ending theme song is "Tsuki to Watashi no Kakurenbo" (月と私のかくれんぼ; lit. "Hide and Seek with the Moon") by Yutori [ja].[34]

The in-universe anime series Uron Mirage is featured in episode 14. Who-ya extended performed the opening theme "Bitter end", while ALI performed the ending theme "Flashback Syndrome".[35]

GKIDS acquired the license to the series in North America with Crunchyroll and Netflix streaming the series worldwide, alongside other platforms such as Hulu (United States), Animation Digital Network (several European territories) and Aniplus (South Korea). Tropics Entertainment licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[36][37] The anime's first three episodes were also screened in theaters outside of Japan under the title Witch Watch: Watch Party with screenings beginning March 13 in Asia and in North America on March 16 via GKIDS.[37]

Episodes

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Cultural impact and reception

Popularity and sales

In June 2021, Witch Watch was nominated for the seventh Next Manga Award in the Best Printed Manga category and placed tenth out of 50 nominees.[41][42][43] It was also nominated for the same award and placed second out of 50 nominees in 2022.[44][45] By November 2022, the first eight volumes of the manga had over 1.1 million copies in circulation.[46]

Critical response

Timothy Donohoo of Comic Book Resources compared Witch Watch to Kouji Miura's Blue Box and Shigure Tokita's Don't Blush, Sekime-san! due to both series having concepts and romantic aspects similar to Witch Watch's.[47]

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Notes

  1. Production staff information is taken from the ending credits of each episode.
  2. Deko Akao was erroneously credited as writer in the ending credits for episode 3.
  3. Hiroshi Ikehata was erroneously credited as storyboarder in the ending credits for episode 3.

References

Further reading

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