Ichi the Witch

• Genre — Fantasy • Ja Kanji — 魔男のイチ • Ja Romaji — Madan no Ichi

• Type — manga • Author — Osamu Nishi • Illustrator — Shiro Usazaki • Publisher — Shueisha • Imprint — Jump Comics • Magazine — Weekly Shōnen Jump • First — September 9, 2024 • Volumes — 9

• Portal — yes Ichi the Witch is a Japanese manga series written by Osamu Nishi and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki. It began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine in September 2024.

The series takes place in a world where monsters composed of magic called Majiks exist. Specialized hunters called Witches can obtain magic from them after performing a trial, but it is thought only women can become witches. A young boy called Ichi, who lives in Druid Mountain and hunts for a living, defeats a Majik, and ends up being the first male witch.

• Ichi • Kikunosuke Toya (voiced comic) • Ichi is a feral hunter raised on Druid Mountain after being abandoned as a child. He learns survival through hunting, first self-taught, then trained by a traveler named Minakata. During Uroro and Desscaras' battle, he intervenes, passing Uroro's trial due to a gender-based exemption, gaining Uroro's power and becoming history's first male witch. Desscaras recruits him to help collect Majiks, forming a group opposing the human-hating Majiks. Prophecy marks him as the messiah who will stop the World-Hater Majik at the cost of his life. Tricked into a binding blood oath with Desscaras, their fates become intertwined. A skilled hunter, Ichi follows a "death-for-death" code—only killing for food or protection—and instinctively senses bloodlust. • Desukarasu • Yū Kobayashi (voiced comic) • Desscaras, the Abyssal Witch, is renowned as the most powerful witch in the world and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association. When cornered by Uroro—whose trial restricts women from harming his heart—she is saved by Ichi, who gains Uroro's power. She recruits Ichi as her assistant to monitor Uroro and aid in hunting other Majiks. Together with Kumugi, they form Team Desscaras, opposing Majiks that harm humans. A confident, assertive prodigy, Desscaras initially works alone, earning a reputation for being difficult. Beneath her pride, she cares deeply for her peers and grows attached to Ichi, who reminds her of her late brother, Libro, killed by the World-Hater Majik. Seeking vengeance, she binds Ichi to a mentor-pupil blood oath, linking their lives. With countless Majiks at her command, she stands among the few capable of facing the World-Hater Majik equally. • Kumugi Hāvesuto • Misaki Watada (PV) • Kumugi, a Witch Cadet of the Mantinel Witches Association, and a member of the Witches' Research Club, is assigned to observe and document Ichi's actions for her master, Shirabedonna, later joining Team Desscaras. When she was a child, she caused an accident during a magic training that injured the right-eye of her older sister, Spica. Her guilt led Kumugi to listen to Spica's bidding for years, resulting in her lacking self-confidence and unable to go against her sister. She specializes in workaday spells and prefers research over combat. Initially intimidated by Ichi's boldness, she grows fond of him after he values her kindness—a rare gesture in her life. Though timid, her dedication to her role and gradual bond with the team highlight her quiet resilience. Her friendship with Ichi also encouraged her to finally stand up to Spica. • Gokuraku Kagami • Infamously known as Gokuraku the Brutalizer, he is a young man who is on the list of the witches' association's official dangerous persons list and a notorious criminal in the land of Kagami for repeatedly attempting to kill slumbering Majik Bakugami. His true identity is the prince of Kagami country. He wishes to become a witch to acquire Bakugami, and so he challenges and beats up any Majik he encounters. True to his title, he brutally beat up the Majik he encountered repeatedly to clear their trials, but due to not having any magic power, he's unable to acquire them even though he fulfilled the conditions to clear them. He formed an alliance with Ichi to acquire Bakugami, taking the trial together with Ichi by enduring the accumulated grief in the latter's place. He succeeded in clearing the trial, allowing Ichi to acquire Bakugami. He then officially joins Ichi's group as a special adjunct of magic item crafter.

• Manēgōrudo • Miki Maruyama (voiced comic) • The Aureate Witch and the president of the Mantinel Witches Association, making her Desscaras's superior. • Shirabedonna • The Analytic Witch, one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association and the club supervisor of the Witches' Research Club as well as Kumugi's master. She is one of the most intelligent witches in the association, to the point that the whole witches of the association agreed with the result of her analysis without question. She's the one who vouched for Ichi after his demonstration test, allowing him to be approved into the association as a witch. • Chikutoge Togeaisu • The Silver Snow Witch and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association, specializes in ice magic and ranks among the most naturally gifted witches, having acquired 17 Majiks. At just 11 years old, she and Desscaras became the youngest in Mantinel history to achieve Full Witch status. A dedicated workaholic and perfectionist, she strictly enforces discipline to uphold the Witches Association's reputation, frequently clashing with the rule-breaking Desscaras. Though stern, she genuinely cares for her fellow witches, believing proper appearances foster dignity. This approach earns her students' respect. Despite her competence, she suffers from remarkably poor direction sense, often walking opposite her intended destination. • Jikishirone • The Oracle Witch and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association who is capable of seeing the future in the form of a prophecy. She is originally a girl who had been comatose for a decade until she was forced to clear the trial of Mirsam, the Prophecy Majik, causing her to be possessed by the Majik and her consciousness residing in the Magic Circle, with the Prophecy Majik - Mirsam, completely taking over her body and her identity. She forms a close bond with Mirsam, even giving her the nickname Sammy. She encourages her to try having faith in people so their shared dream of humans and Majiks coexisting peacefully will one day coming true. • Amodoro Ribboncandy • The bullet witch and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association, who wields a "Giga Machine Gun" minigun. At one point, she got controlled by Fujimine's poison, causing her to betray the Association that allowed Hitsugi to infiltrate the HQ, and then directly attacked the HQ in attempt to kill Ichi. She was defeated through Ichi, Gokuraku, Minakata, and Zayero's teamwork, and was arrested. Her vast magical reserves mean she has never run out of ammunition during a battle. • Otogiri Utsuné • The cacophonous witch and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association. • Furanken Deshūshī • The voracious witch and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association. • Torikaputo • The villainous witch and one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association. She calls her self a "grande dame", wearing a purple dress, holding a cigar and silver parasol. She once had a close relationship with Fujimine, signing a Master-Pupil Blood Contract that connects their lives together. Because of this, Tricaputo was hidden away by the Association until she was forced to reveal herself when Fujimine attacked the Association. Her black Majik, Maiden, has the power to detoxify Fujimine's poison through the Majik's kiss.

• Love Joe • A Senior Witch Cadet captain and the head of Wands and Tools department of the association. Her department is the one responsible in handling the witches' equipment and Magic Stones. She was the one who confirmed Gokuraku's skill in magic item crafting, allowing him to become part of Team Desscaras as a Magic Item Crafter. • Dekora Furiru • A Senior Witch Cadet captain and the head of Fashion department of the association. Her section is the one responsible in designing and making the witches' uniform. • Supika Hāvesuto • Kumugi's older sister, who is two years her elder; she is a Senior Witch Cadet captain and the Section 1 Chief of the Mantinel Witches' Association Department of Inspections. When Kumugi failed as a child to cast a spell which would light a lightbulb, the bulb exploded, injuring Spica's right-eye. Spica then took advantage of Kumugi's guilt to make her do anything she told her to while secretly hiding the fact that she already had a magical surgery that healed her right-eye, only continuing to wear eyepatch to make herself look cool. She became interested in Ichi and tried to replace Kumugi's position in the team, but this was thwarted by Kumugi's objection and Ichi's rejection.

The Magikeepers are a group of men who combat human criminals who abuse magic, focusing on especially heinous crimes committed by witches. They are not witches, but have weapons that affect Majiks. The government organized them to serve as a check to the power of the Manitel Witches' Association; regular magic criminals are handled by the police, but the Magikeepers are in charge of capturing dangerous criminals. Magikeeper weapons are called sacred treasures, each made from magic power-draining Shaka wood. • Chun • Commissioner of the Magikeepers. He strictly adheres to the tradition of Magikeepers only handling magic users, refusing to involve the Magikeepers in the battle against World-Hater Majik, insisting that it's the Witches responsibility to fight against Majiks. He became interested in Ichi and wishes to recruit him into Magikeepers for his skills. In the past, he once got controlled by Fujimine, resulting in him killing his Magikeeper friends. As the result, Chun holds deep-seethed hatred and grudge against the witch, vowing to kill her. • Higarashi • Higarashi is one of Magikeepers who accompanies Chun on his visit to the Mantinel Association. Along with his partner, Boxster, he first met Ichi when they apprehended a Desscaras impostor. He has a short stature compared to his partner and has a sweet tooth. He wields twin shortswords that's capable of cutting and containing Majiks. • Bokusutā • Boxster is one of Magikeepers who accompanies Chun on his visit to the Mantinel Association and Higarashi's partner. He is taller than Higarashi, resulting in the latter making him carry him due to his longer legs makes him faster at running. He is narcissist and vain, priding his good looks and expresses jealousy over anyone who's more popular than him. He wields a nine-section chain whip. Despite his preference for the nickname "Star", he is called "Boxie" by all who know him. • Zayero • Zayero is one of Magikeepers who accompanies Chun on his meeting with Moneygold. He wields a chakram. • Takeomi Minakata • Minakata is Ichi's laconic mentor who taught him hunting ten years before the story. He is one of Magikeepers who accompanies Chun on his meeting with Moneygold, which led to his reunion with Ichi, and is a recent recruit, only serving as a Magikeeper for three months, motivated not by the prospect of revenge on Fujimine but rather the chance to reunite with Ichi. He quickly formed a rivalry with Desscaras over who's the better mentor for Ichi. The Minakata family treasure is the sacred pillar.

• Kingu Uroro • Yoshihito Sasaki (voiced comic) • Uroro, the King Majik, is among the most dangerous Majiks due to his hatred of humanity. Found dormant in Druid Mountain by Ichi, his trial required stopping his heart—impossible for witches due to a thousand-year restriction preventing women from harming it. Ichi pierced Uroro's heart during his battle with Desscaras, becoming the first male witch to acquire him. Unlike typical Majiks that turn to magic stones, Uroro persists as a sentient blob that emerges from Ichi's body, constantly attempting to manipulate him into fatal conflicts. By forming a pact with Ichi, he is capable of temporarily taking over Ichi's body to fight in his place. Known scientifically as the Ultra-Amplification Majik, his power maximizes spell potency but renders the witch unconscious for three days after each use. • Mirusamu • The prophecy Majik, nicknamed Sammy by Jikishirone, who possesses Jikishirone's body and willingly cooperates with the Association. As she fully possesses Jikishirone's body, she takes on her identity as one of the highest-ranking members of the Mantinel Witches Association. True to her name, she's capable of seeing the future in the form of a prophecy, giving Jikishirone the title Oracle Witch. She prophesized's World-Hater Majik's demise at Ichi's hand at the cost of Ichi's life. Though cooperative with the witches and dreams of the world where humans and Majiks can coexist peacefully, she's cynical in trusting anyone be it humans or even her fellow Majiks. The only person she genuinely cares for is Jikishirone, whom she forms a close bond with. Witnessing the strong genuine love between Minerva and Chrono convinced her that the future that she and Jikishirone envisioned can come true, leading her to reject World-Hater's invitation and decided to side with Ichi. • Inazuri • Setsuo Itō (voiced comic) • Classified as Thunder Fox Magic, he is a lightning Majik and the second Majik acquired by Ichi. He has the appearance of a large fox with five tails constantly surrounded by sparks of lightning around his body. His acquisition trial requires someone to steal his heart jewel that is on his neck, without being struck by any of his lightning. Ichi easily acquired him after using a trap that he usually used to neutralize a fox. • Uruwashi • Classified as Ice Shark Magic, she is an ice Majik and the third Majik acquired by Ichi. She has the appearance of a shark wearing a diadem. She terrorized a village in Thazanwood, freezing the villagers into her personal ice sculpture. Her acquisition trial requires someone to make her look fabulous, which Ichi succeeded by cutting up her body and then decorated it like a sashimi. • Mashiruvein • Classified as Fungus Mushroom Magic, it is a mushroom Majik that caused havoc in the forest close to town of Hoitaka. Though it does not resent humans, it was classified as human-hater for making giant mushrooms appeared and spread spores that will overwhelm the town if it is left alone. As the result, it became the target for Team Desscaras and Team Togeice in their showdown. Its acquisition trial requires someone to cut its stem and harvest it while it is running away. Togeice acquired it after Ichi got distracted by the appearance of World-Hater Majik. • Ariadone • Classified as Cage Spider Magic, this is a spider-like Majik who builds strong cages with its silk to imprison its prey until it is ready to eat them. Its trial involves destroying the cage and cutting off the horn on its head. It became Gokuraku's target and suffered torture under Gokuraku's repeated failed attempt to acquire it until Ichi fulfilled the trial instead. • Bakujamu • Bakjam, commonly called Bakugami, is known as the Joyous Sorrow Majik. Bakjam absorbs human sadness only to later return it in overwhelming waves that drive victims to despair. Masquerading as a benevolent deity in tapir form, he gained worship after relieving Princess Richia's sadness—an act that spread through Kagami and led to the country's renaming as Bakugami. While revered as a god, he secretly admires the World-Hater as a true deity of destruction. For ten years he has stored collective sorrow, planning to unleash it to devastate the nation. His trial requires a chosen challenger to withstand this accumulated grief. Gokuraku succeeded in clearing the trial, resulting in Ichi acquiring Bakjam. • Time Manipulation Magic • Nicknamed simply as Chrono by Kizashi and Sou-chan by Minerva, is an epic-class Majik capable of manipulating time, specifically able to freeze time within bubbles. Initially mistaken as a human-hater Majik, it's revealed that he is married to Minerva, a human woman, who is pregnant with their child. He bears no animosity towards humans, but also has no interest in them with Minerva being the sole exception. He's very protective of Minerva and the child she carries, even if he grows weaker as the child gradually absorbing his power. During Kizashi's attempt to kill Minerva, Chrono overused his power to rewind time to before Minerva's death and then fast-forwarded time to awaken Ichi, resulting in his death. Before his demise, he named his and Minerva's child Madoka. • Toxiterror • A Majik that voluntarily asked for help from the Mantinel Witches Association to mitigate the danger of their naturally-occurring poisons which corrode everything they touched. They were placed in a special enclosure and bonded with the witches over many years until one, Fujimine, betrayed the Association and acquired the Toxiterror Majik, killing dozens of witches and three Magikeepers in the process. Their magic allows Fujimine to manipulate people's memories into making them believe her as their most precious person through its poison, and heal fatal injuries. • Muscat • The Ribboncandy family's Majik that has been allied for generations. As part of tradition, they give a gun to the daughters commensurate with their magical powers and abilities.

• Hansekai no Mahō • Classified as God Majik, they are an S-tier Majik with the ability to carve out and warp chunks of the world, including even Majik. They are the Mantinel Witch's Association's greatest enemy. Fujimine nicknames him "Haytee". 15 years before the story, they appeared and warped out two towns he covered in their barrier, killing every living beings inside, including Desscaras' younger brother, Libro. They reappeared in the town of Hoitaka to warp it, but this is thwarted by Ichi, Desscaras, and Togeice. They took an immediate interest in Ichi after he fearlessly expressed his desire to hunt and injured the Majik. They have a history with Uroro, the latter is so wary of them that he spent years laying low to avoid getting detected by him. Jikishirone prophesized that World-Hater Majik will eventually destroyed the world, but this can be prevented by Ichi, who will acquire them at the cost of his life. His ja staff, named "Cynosura", is one of the only weapons capable of warping magic and destroying Majiks. • Hitsugi • Hitsugi is the Rebellion Magic who is one of the Seven Stars working directly under World-Hater. He infiltrates the association by disguising himself as a waiter during Ichi's debutante party to deliver a message from World-Hater to Jikishirone. He bears resentment for humanity, believing that they are corrupting and enslaving Majiks, and so work together with World-Hater, believing his master will annihilate humanity and free all Majiks. During Team Desscaras' mission on Chronostasis, he was acquired by Desscaras. He has the ability to reflect a magic by exposing them to the eyes on his tongue and also reanimating corpses as zombies. In his true form, he has a head of a human, a body of a lion and a tail of a fish. His trial requires a witch to kill 10,000 lives. • Kizashi • A temperamental human-hater "Octobomb" Majik who can manipulate ocean currents and has the appearance of a giant, anthropomorphic octopus. He is responsible for sinking more than 300 ships, killing many humans who crosses the ocean he's residing. He enjoys playing with Chrono, who is the only one strong enough to withstand his attacks. After he learned that Chrono bears a child with a human woman and got weaker as the result, he decides to kill the unborn child so he can continue to play with him. Following Chrono's death, Kizashi felt guilty and let Desscaras acquired him. He is one of the Seven Stars in service to the World-Hater, and his trial requires the witch to kill him repeatedly until the number on his chest is reduced to 0. He has the ability to split off seven "brother" legs, each of which has a specialty: Speedy, Muscles, Gloomy, Stretch, Teeny, Chonk, and Puu. • Fujimine • The Vanquisher Witch, a wanted criminal who had killed many people regardless of gender or age, resulting the Magikeeper to mark her for execution. Decades before the story, Fujimine revolted against the Association and acquired the Toxiterror Majik that allows her to manipulate people's memories with its poison and heal fatal injuries. Despite being a human, she's collaborating with World-Hater, attacking the Association's HQ by controlling Amadoro and her family members to kill Ichi, but this was thwarted by Tricaputo and Desscaras' combined efforts. She used to have a close relationship with Tricaputo, signing Mentor-Pupil Blood Contract that connects their lives. • Hakari • The Disintegration Majik who hates humans, especially witches; they are a humanoid Majik with large bullhorns on their head. They have a history with Fujimine, whom they claim fears them despite her wanting to acquire Hakari, and they resent her the most. They can disintegrate anything trapped between their hands. To satisfy their trial, a witch must find three fragments of their magic stone hidden inside their castle and rejoin them. • Mayoi • A Majik comrade of Hakari who wears a long, hooded robe and a Noh mask with multiple eye holes. They have the ability to create a portal that can move people to a place of their choosing. Together with Hakari, they live in a walking castle powered by the magic of human girls that they abducted. • Sukemaru • The invisibility Majik working under Hakari who aspires to be one of the Seven Stars. True to their name, they can make not only themselves, but also others invisible with their ability. Unfortunately, this ability doesn't work on Ichi whose sharp instinct able to detect their hostile presence.

Author Osamu Nishi stated in an interview that in Japanese majo is used only for woman witches, and she found it interesting that there is no equivalent word for male witches. At first, she wanted to write a manga about a boy who dreams of becoming a witch and a knight who protects witches. However, she later thought that a story set in a world where magic exists as living beings would be more interesting. To make Ichi appear as a more unusual character in the story, Nishi portrayed him as a boy who is only interested in hunting. She decided to start the story with the "final boss" and chose King Uroro to be the first magic that Ichi captures. For the first scene in which Uroro appears, she was inspired by Howl's Moving Castle. The idea of adding a crown to Uroro came from Shiro Usazaki. In the initial design of World-Hater Majik, the character was created as a smiling and kind-looking boy. However, Usazaki decided to depict him as someone who does not smile. When creating Desscaras, Nishi only asked Usazaki to use a "sad emoji and black hair", and the character's design was completed during an initial meeting that lasted five hours. Nishi also paid special attention to ensuring that the magics in the story were portrayed as neither enemies nor allies, believing that otherwise the readers would become bored.

Written by Osamu Nishi and illustrated by Shiro Usazaki, the series began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump on September 9, 2024. It is Usazaki's first major work since her previous work, Act-Age, was canceled due to its writer's arrest. The first tankōbon volume was released on January 4, 2025. As of July 3, 2026, nine volumes have been released. Viz Media and Manga Plus are publishing the series in English simultaneously with its Japanese release.

These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume. They were originally serialized in Japanese in issues of Weekly Shōnen Jump.