Starting with a misunderstanding, The Witch and the Knight Will Survive Volume 1 throws you in on the cusp of a turning point in Agredios’s life. It highlights how rumors and scapegoating can lead to harm and a need for atonement. While the action is riveting, the interactions between the motley crew, united through circumstance, stand out more. With threats looming, The Witch and the Knight Will Survive Volume 1 crafts an emotional connection to the characters before future mayhem occurs.
With story by Dai Chikamoto and art by Gonbe Shinkawa, the manga starts on the outskirts of a rural town. Translated by John Thomas Neal with lettering by Muhammad Arbash Mughal and serialized in English by Yen Press, Agredios returns home with a pheasant, excited to show his mother and father. He realizes something’s amiss as their house is oddly quiet. Upon discovering his parents and everyone else dead, he finds letters his father wrote for him and his sister, Griamelda. There are no injuries, but it’s clear whatever ravaged the town didn’t instantly kill them.
The Witch and the Knight Will Survive Volume 1 Shows How Easily Gossip Causes Harm
Agredios reads his father’s letter about the witch moving and the “grave wind” and faults the witch in the forest for the townfolks’ deaths. It highlights how people take information as fact when it comes from someone with authority or someone trusted. So Agredios’s response when he encounters the witch in the woods is to try and kill her. The fact that she doesn’t die easily leads him to grow as a character because of the guilt. Not to mention, she thinks her name is Ganancetia because of what he said to her, though she later shortens it to Cetia.
Strangers Become Family
Another highlight of The Witch and the Knight Will Survive Volume 1 is the emphasis on community and family. Although Agredios lost his parents, he finds two kids who survived, and newcomers arrive desperate for protection from a beast, a giant bee. Agredios doesn’t get much time to grieve because, as the Margrave—town leader—after his father’s death, it’s his responsibility to rebuild. The kids’, Percia, Perla, and Uhla, personalities stand out. Persia and Perla complement each other. Alongside his sister, Griamelda, they all work to get food. But there’s still time for ecchi moments and laughs, like when Agredios grimaces as he eats food Cetia spelled.
Looming Threat Might Be People
The Witch and the Knight Will Survive Volume 1 cements readers affection for its colorful crew by beginning with a tragedy and then hope reborn. The manga is not all lighthearted fun, as the battle against the bee is a challenge, and there is still the wind that massacred the town. On top of that, the Capital, which Agredios and Griamelda worry might abandon refugees, is harming towns. Their motivation could stem from stopping a spread, but Agredios and the rest will have danger on two fronts. The Witch and the Knight Will Survive Volume 1 is a solid opening for a series with explosive action in a world of witches and monsters.
