Burn the Witch (manga)
Japanese manga series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burn the Witch (stylized as BURN ☩HE WITCH) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. It was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump as a one-shot chapter in July 2018. A serialized continuation of the one-shot is being published in the same magazine with a seasonal release schedule. The four-chapter first season was published from August to September 2020. A second season of the manga has been announced. The series' title comes from a 2016 song by the English band Radiohead.[2][3]
| Burn the Witch | |
First tankōbon volume, featuring Ninny Spangcole | |
| Genre | Action, fantasy[1] |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| One-shot | |
| Written by | Tite Kubo |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump |
| English magazine | |
| Published | July 14, 2018 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Tite Kubo |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher |
|
| Imprint | Jump Comics |
| Magazine | Weekly Shōnen Jump |
| Original run | August 24, 2020 – present |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Anime film | |
| Directed by | Tatsuro Kawano |
| Written by | Ryomura Chinatsu |
| Music by | Keiji Inai |
| Studio | Studio Colorido |
| Licensed by |
|
| Released | October 2, 2020 |
| Runtime | 63 minutes |
| Anime television film | |
| Burn the Witch #0.8 | |
| Directed by | Tatsuro Kawano |
| Written by | Taku Kishimoto |
| Music by | Hiroaki Tsutsumi |
| Studio | Studio Colorido |
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Original network | TV Tokyo |
| Released | December 30, 2023 |
| Runtime | 29 minutes |
An anime film produced by Studio Colorido premiered in October 2020. A television film adaptation of the prologue chapter, Burn the Witch #0.8, premiered in December 2023.
Synopsis
Characters
- Ninny Spangcole (ニニー・スパンコール, Ninī Supankōru)
- Voiced by: Asami Tano[5] (Japanese); Olivia Hack[6] (English)
- Noel Niihashi (新橋 のえる, Niihashi Noeru)
- Voiced by: Yuina Yamada[5] (Japanese); Allegra Clark[6] (English)
- Macy Baljure (メイシー・バルジャー, Meishī Barujā)
- Voiced by: Saori Hayami[5] (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker[7] (English)
- Balgo Parks (バルゴ・パークス, Barugo Pākusu)
- Voiced by: Shimba Tsuchiya[8] (Japanese); Griffin Burns[6] (English)
- Bruno Bangnyfe (ブルーノ・バングナイフ, Burūno Bangunaifu)
- Voiced by: Chikahiro Kobayashi[9] (Japanese); Sean Chiplock[6] (English)
- Billy Banx Jr. (ビリー・バンクス Jr., Birī Bankusu Junia)
- Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata[8] (Japanese); Xander Mobus[10] (English)
- Osushi-chan (オスシちゃん)
- Voiced by: Rie Hikisaka[8]
- Wolfgang Slashhaut (ウルフギャング・スラッシュハウト, Urufugyangu Surasshuhauto)
- Voiced by: Mugihito[9] (Japanese); Kyle Hebert (English)
- Sullivan Squire (サリバン・スクワイア, Sariban Sukuwaia)
- Voiced by: Haruka Shimizu[9] (Japanese); Kira Buckland (English)
- Roy B. Dipper (ロイ・B・ディッパー, Roi B Dippā)
- Voiced by: Miou Tanaka[9] (Japanese); Zeno Robinson[11] (English)
- Shelby (セルビー, Serubī)
- Voiced by: Subaru Kimura[12]
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Tite Kubo, Burn the Witch started as a 62-page one-shot published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump on July 14, 2018.[13] In March 2020, it was announced that a miniseries would be published in Weekly Shōnen Jump as a companion to the also announced film.[14][15] Burn the Witch's "first season" is a continuation of the one-shot chapter and ran in Weekly Shōnen Jump for four weeks, from August 24 to September 14, 2020.[16][17][18] A "second season" was announced with the release of the first season's final chapter.[18][19][20] Shueisha published the series' first season in a 260-page tankōbon volume that included the one-shot chapter on October 2, 2020.[21][18]
Viz Media published the one-chapter in Weekly Shonen Jump on July 16, 2018.[22] Viz Media simultaneously released the English-language version of the series.[23] In February 2021, Viz Media announced that they would release the first volume of Burn the Witch in English.[24] It was published on October 19, 2021.[25]
| No. | Title | Original release date | English release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover | October 2, 2020[26] 978-4-08-882428-4 | October 19, 2021[25] 978-1-9747-2359-1 | |
| ||||
Anime
In March 2020, it was announced that the series would receive an anime film adaptation by Studio Colorido, directed by Tatsuro Kawano.[27] The film is distributed by Shochiku and premiered on October 2, 2020, in Japan.[28][29] The theme song for the film is "Blowing", performed by Nil.[30][31] The film also streamed in other territories outside Asia, with a different version from the Japanese theatrical release.[8] Crunchyroll streamed the film in a three-episode format on October 1, 2020.[32][33] Viz Media released the series on home video on October 18, 2022.[34][35] In Southeast Asia and South Asia, Muse Communication has licensed the film and released it on YouTube.[36]
In September 2023, it was announced that the prologue chapter, "Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover", would receive an anime adaptation.[37] It premiered on TV Tokyo and worldwide on December 30, 2023.[12][38][a] It was streamed by Crunchyroll.[40]
Other media
In October 2020, the series collaborated with the mobile game Bleach: Brave Souls, featuring Ninny and Noel as playable characters. Brave Souls x Burn the Witch collaboration merchandise was also given out to 150 random people who interacted with the game's Twitter account.[41] A year later, a second round of the collaboration debuted, introducing Bruno Bangnyfe as a new character, with the previous two returning; it was followed by a third round.[42] The series had a crossover event with Oasis' mobile game Bleach: Immortal Soul in May 2022, featuring Ninny and Noel as characters.[43][44]
Reception
Burn the Witch's first volume sold 86,066 print copies in its first week and 68,810 print copies in its second week.[45][46]
Skyler Allen of The Fandom Post wrote that despite lacking the same "spark" as Bleach's beginning, the Burn the Witch one-shot is still enjoyable and has plenty of potential for growth in a full serialization, but too much time is spent on its setup to work as a standalone story. He had strong praise for Kubo's art and memorable character designs, but criticized the one-shot as "unfocused" for ideas that did not get properly fleshed out.[47]