Print Review: Hibiki’s Magic volumes 1-2

Review Hibiki’s Magic volumes 1-2Written by WarpshadowRating good/ very good

In a world of cute manga and anime to read and watch Hibiki’s magic is a bit of a middle of the road title but has enough substance behind it to make it worth reading.

Hibiki is a young girl with little in the way of magical talent and even less in the way of self confidence. Yet as the assisstant to the great wizard Shirotsuki those who practice magic regard her as something of a celebrity and is given the responsibility of teaching magic in the academy of Kamisaid. Yet even with Hibiki’s weak points she tries to make her way in a world were magic can cause incredible sadness as easily as it can grant one’s heart’s desire.

The first undeniable attributes of Hibiki’s magic is that the manga is very cute which hammered home from cover to cover in not only the character designs but in several cases the dialogue as well. Behind all this cuteness is a collection of stories that is also rather melancholic in tone. The combination of the two elements may seem a bit odd but I found that they complement each other. The first volume is more of a setup introducing the main cast and the second volume (and suspect the third when it is released) are a collection of single chapter stories. The lessons taught in the stories are generally moralistic but hardly thought provoking. I recommend Hibiki’s magic although with some hesitation as it doesn’t really push any of the major fan buttons other than being cute and there is plenty of manga titles that can do that.