A Shonen Jump Comedy Series Proves Even Action Fans Should Read It

Shonen Jump's The Witch Watch has so far been primarily a comedy comic, but its latest chapter shows that it can also easily tell tragic tales.

Warning! Contains spoilers for Witch Watch Chpater 85!

Many Shonen Jump fans read the magazine just for its action series, but a comic comic shows it can get just as serious when needed. It's hardly the first time a comedy series has done this, and Hideaki Sorachi's epic Gintama perfectly balances the hilarious slices of life and epic battles from Shonen Jump all those years ago. But it's nice to see a newer series trying to emulate what makes Gintama a joy to read for comedy and action fans.

Witch Watch is a series by Kenta Shinohara about the misadventures of a young Witch Nico and her various magical bodyguards. While the series features occasional battles with magical enemies trying to kidnap Nico and use her powers, it's mostly a comedy of life. So typical fighting manga, like My Hero Academia or Jiu Jitsu Battle, usually have better fights due to their more serious nature. But the fight in the latest chapter of the manga might change that.

In Chapter 85, Niko's ogre bodyguard Mori is fighting his old friend Ran, who is revealed to be one of the warlocks trying to harm Niko. this chapter It also revealed Ran's life experience, which was astonishingly tragic. His mother, Uzu, was also a warlock, and her magical abilities allowed her to age much more slowly than those around her. After she and a band of other warlocks were defeated by an alliance of ogres and witches, she was imprisoned, wasting her incredible longevity. Here, she meets Ran's father, Morgari, an ogre who acts as her caretaker. Ran's parents formed a miserable relationship, and eventually Uzi asked Mogari to put her out of her misery and kill her in the only way she could die: by having a baby. The child is Ran, who has inherited his mother's curse and has largely lived in isolation after the death of his father, who always despised him for killing his mother. This explains his motivations well, and proves that Witch Watch can be taken seriously when the need arises.

Witch Watch Just Proved It Can Balance Action And Comedy

Ran's backstory is just as tragic, if not more so, than the character's backstory in the more serious combat comics. If this fight continues to explore his character and philosophy, it seems like it could be just as good as a more typical big fight action comics. This isn't surprising, as Shinohara seems to have taken a lot of inspiration from Gintama's author, even quoting him directly. If Witch Watch could pull off a serious arc like Gintama, action fans would love it.

However, even as Witch Watch's story begins to become more action-oriented, it remains a comedy comic at its core. As such, it will likely still feature some less serious storylines and moments interspersed with its darker plot. But even so, given that Witch Watch has proven itself capable of telling serious and tragic stories in its latest chapter, this is definitely a series that fans of the Shonen Jump fighting manga should check out.

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