Loading AI tools
Manga series by Jun Maeda From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hibiki's Magic (ヒビキのマホウ, Hibiki no Mahō), subtitled a continental chronicle in the original version, is a Japanese manga series written by Jun Maeda and illustrated by Rei Izumi. The story centers on a young girl named Hibiki who is the apprentice to a very skilled wizard named Shirotsuki. Hibiki does not have much skill with magic, and the only thing she is really good at is making tea. After an accident where her teacher nearly dies, Hibiki comes to stay at a famous magic academy and works as a teacher herself.
| Hibiki's Magic | |
 Cover of volume 1 of Hibiki's Magic, published by Tokyopop, showing Hibiki. | |
| ヒビキのマホウ (Hibiki no Mahō) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, Fantasy |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Jun Maeda |
| Illustrated by | Rei Izumi |
| Published by | Kadokawa Shoten |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Shōnen Ace (former) Comp Ace |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | August 2004 – May 2016 |
| Volumes | 6 |
Hibiki's Magic started serialization in the August 2004 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace, but later transferred to Kadokawa's Comp Ace in November 2005, and concluded in the May 2016 issue. Tokyopop licensed the series in North America, and released the first two volumes in 2007. The manga is described by Anime News Network as having an "inspirational tone" with a very cute style of storytelling. IGN Comics describes the manga as a "solid story that breaks out of that cuteness mold."
Hibiki's Magic revolves around the title character Hibiki, a lonely young girl under the wing of a skilled wizard named Shirotsuki. At the story's onset, Hibiki is living with Shirotsuki and is in training as an assistant to learn the art of magic. Shirotsuki, whom Hibiki refers to as "Master", is searching for the key to immortality. He is a renowned expert at the craft known as Magic Circles, which draws its power from the art of elaborate circles that enact various enchantments. Even though Shirotsuki invites Hibiki to learn what he knows, she is unskilled in magic and rarely succeeds in anything she does. In spite of repeatedly failing, she keeps trying with her teacher's encouragement.
Shirotsuki's research is interrupted when a group of men break into his house during an experiment. Shirotsuki's soul becomes trapped inside a squirrel-like creature called a gusk, and his real body is lost in a fire that results from his magical protection wards; Hibiki and the gusk barely escape alive. With nowhere else to go, Hibiki takes up residence in the nearby capital city Kamigusk. Hibiki is surprised that Shirotsuki's reputation precedes him, and she is taken to the local Kamisaid Magic Academy where she is given the position of professor. Hibiki's attempts to convince the administration of her shortcomings meet with failure. Hibiki is forced to learn to cope with being a professor in the most famous magic school in the country and meets many new people that help her along the way.
Hibiki meets a hard-to-handle student named Ahito who hates magic, and while he and Hibiki are eventually able to become friends, Ahito continues to hate magic. With the help of her master, Hibiki creates a homunculus in the form of a young girl which names herself Shiraasan. While she is hard to keep in line, Hibiki and Shiraasan share a close relationship. Hibiki meets a cursed girl named Nazuna Shireiyu, and Hibiki tries to help alleviate her curse, and in doing so becomes her friend. Nazuna turns out to be the granddaughter of the king of the land where Hibiki's Magic takes place.
In the world of Hibiki's Magic, in order to gain magic one must make a sacrifice. It can be a physical sacrifice, such as Ahito experiencing pain, or a mental sacrifice, such as Shirotsuki losing his memories. Hibiki tries to help by making the sacrifices a little more bearable.
The manga series Hibiki's Magic is written by Jun Maeda and illustrated by Rei Izumi.[7] As stated at the back of the first volume, Maeda first conceived Hibiki's Magic as a short story he wrote as a student, and the story contains an unspecified theme that he has carried through a lot of stories since. In 2003, he wanted to collaborate with Izumi, one of his favorite artists, and remembered his earlier concept that would become Hibiki's Magic. After Izumi drew some early character designs for Hibiki, Maeda wanted to continue the story and start a manga with Izumi as the artist.[8]
The manga premiered in the August 2004 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Shōnen Ace.[9] It was later transferred to Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace magazine on November 26, 2005.[10] Hibiki's Magic went on hiatus after the release of Comp Ace volume 15 on May 26, 2007,[11] during which only three chapters were released: the first in Comp Ace's August 2008 issue,[12] next as a bonus chapter in the September 2008 issue of Comp Ace,[13] and finally in a special edition of the magazine's July 2011 issue titled Key Station.[14] The manga resumed regular publication with the April 2013 issue of Comp Ace,[15] and concluded with the May 2016 issue.[16] Kadokawa Shoten published six tankōbon volumes from August 10, 2005 to February 25, 2017.[7][17]
At the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con, Tokyopop announced that it had acquired Hibiki's Magic for distribution in English in North America.[18] Tokyopop released the first volume on January 9, 2007,[19] followed by the second volume on September 11, 2007.[20] Viz Media re-released the two volumes published by Tokyopop digitally starting in October 2015.[21] Kadokawa Media licensed the series in Chinese.[22]
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | North American release date | North American ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 10, 2005[7] | 978-4-04713-713-4 | January 9, 2007[19] | 978-1-59816-766-5 | |
| |||||
| 2 | December 26, 2006[23] | 978-4-04713-866-7 | September 11, 2007[20] | 978-1-42780-458-7 | |
| |||||
| 3 | February 26, 2014[24] | 978-4-04120-827-4 | — | — | |
| |||||
| 4 | February 26, 2015[25] | 978-4-04-102548-2 | — | — | |
| 5 | February 25, 2017[26] | 978-4-04-105227-3 | — | — | |
| 6 | February 25, 2017[17] | 978-4-04-105228-0 | — | — | |
Anime News Network's (ANN) review of the first volume states that "Hibiki's Magic...focus[es] on the ways that magic effects the everyday lives of its users. The personal focus is welcome, but the book is a little too compressed and rushed to evoke exactly the emotional response that it desires."[27] While at the same time describing the first volume as having an "inspirational tone", the review ends by saying, "Don't come to Hibiki's Magic expecting a life-changing re-examination of magic. It's a heavy dose of pure cuteness for those who like their sweet-and-sour drama with lots of cheese."[27] The first volume of Hibiki's Magic was featured in ANN's Right Turn Only column in January 2007, where Carlo Santos compares the series to "Someday's Dreamers with more guts and heart," which portrays magicians as similar to normal people with "weaknesses and all" as opposed to "other tales of magic [which] focus on how cool and different magicians are [compared to normal people]." Visually, the series is described as being too similar to "every other fantasy series" and even cites similarities with "Hogwarts' magic robes and school logo."[28] IGN Comics' review said, "This book ought to be fairly popular for its intended age group....Make no mistake, this book is cute in every sense of the word...but at the same time it's a solid story that breaks out of that cuteness mold."[29]
In a review at Comic Book Bin, the reviewer Leroy Douresseaux praised Jun Maeda for crafting a "gentle, yet highly engaging story about deep friendship and strong love and devotion." Douresseaux also cited Rei Izumi's art as "cute" and how her "visuals are also emotionally potent."[30] In a review at Mania, Michelle Ramonetti follows with other reviewers, citing the series as "deceptively cute", but also describing it as "often funny, but mostly bittersweet--and a real tear-jerker." The manga's theme is thought to be related to "finding hope in times of pain and grief."[31] In the online appendix to Manga: The Complete Guide, Jason Thompson cites Hibiki's Magic as "a cross between Someday's Dreamers and Atelier Marie and Elie," though describes it as being "less optimistic than Someday's Dreamers." Thompson goes on to pan the manga as a "dull moe title" with "crude, generic art."[32]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
