A large part of why I liked to watch anime and read manga is the escapism it provides. I’m often too much in my own head about romantic relationships and it is something I do not actively want to be a part of due to how much impact it would have on the rest of my life. I’m already glad I’m getting by somehow. I don’t fight monsters, I don’t own a farm and I certainly haven’t started my own village and become a demon lord ruling over swathes of monsters. None of these things are available to me in real life, which is why it is so nice to live vicariously through these characters and feel inspired by the stories that people tell about them. But sometimes a story comes along that does end up hitting close to home. A single person in their 30s who loves writing, holes up in her room all day, doesn’t pick up the phone when a number calls that she doesn’t recognize and is all around unapologetically abrasive? That feels so personal it’s almost targeted. Today, let’s tackle the uncomfortable and dig deep into our own flaws as we journey through the beautiful tale of Journal with Witch.
Based on a manga by Yamashita Tomoko, Journal with Witch tells the story of Makio Kodai and Asa Takumi. Makio is an author and spends most of her days alone, trying to hit her deadlines. Introverted as she may be, she does have a small group of friends as well as an ex-partner she still meets with regularly. One day, her sister and her sister’s husband die in a traffic accident. They leave behind a teenage daughter, who is suddenly without anywhere to go. Appalled by the way her niece is treated, Makio promises to take care of Asa, despite very strongly disliking her late sister. Asa agrees and the two start living together.
Makio’s sudden outburst was very out of character on the surface as she’s known to be introverted and quiet, but her sense of justice is stronger than that of most people and the gal all of these “adults” had at treating a teenage girl so poorly was something she couldn’t let slide. Reality hits the next day when she recognizes that she doesn’t have the means, skills or social bandwidth to raise a teenager. Adding on top of this, Asa is understandably struggling with her own feelings about the matter, having just lost both of her parents and now living with the far less strict and borderline antisocial Makio is a lot to take in. Drawing from her experience as an author, Makio recommends her niece to keep a journal about her daily life, feelings or whatever else she feels like writing.
Alongside our main two characters, we have several recurring characters with their own subplots. Kasamachi is Makio’s ex boyfriend that clearly still has feelings for her but knows he should respect her space too. He regularly helps the two out in the beginning. Emiri is Asa’s close friend who is struggling with her sexuality throughout the early episodes of the show, eventually figuring out how to be more comfortable with herself. We also get several flashbacks of Asa’s parents and her late father is the most emotionally dead character I’ve ever seen in a story. Finally, we have two stories happening at the school where Asa is trying to find her own path and joins the school band while a friend of hers struggles with the realization that a scandal at a university reveals a larger problem with sexism in the educational system.
Mixing all of these stories together creates the feeling of a living, breathing world where people are real, honest and tangible. Makio in particular really strikes a chord with me as many of the thoughts, feelings and habits she shows off during this anime hit close to home. A quickly depleting social battery, the constant masking outside of her home, the holing up in her room writing her stories, and even the way she treats Asa felt almost personal to me. As many of you might know, I’ve been a teacher for a few years now and although I’m both confident in how I teach yet also know I still have a lot to learn and grow compared to some of my more experienced colleagues, when I see the way Makio treats children so earnestly and doesn’t diminish their problems feels a lot like the way I like to treat my students. As much as there is a level of authority that comes with teaching, it is incredibly valuable for children to feel heard and seen, and to be taken seriously. Think back about your own childhood, who are the people you remember? For me it’s the people who told me I was capable and could do the things I wanted to do, but also those who listened to my problems as if they were more serious than they were. Asa and her friend Emiri experience this treatment by Makio first hand and it ends up helping them out tremendously.
With a main character that is almost certainly somewhere on the autism spectrum and the painful subject of dealing with loss, this show can be quite confronting at times. As much as I think this is the best written show I’ve seen in years, I would not be quick to rewatch it due to how strongly it affected me. In some ways it reminded me of my favorite anime; Sangatsu no Lion, in how raw and confrontational it was. It doesn’t mince its words and doesn’t treat the viewer with any care. The world is the way it is and we just have to find joy and beauty in what we have. Out of all the shows I’ve watched in the past year, this is probably one that will stay with me for many years to come. Here’s to hoping there’s a sequel or the manga gets published in English. Make sure you also give a listen to the opening and ending theme, as both are very fitting for the story, and feel like a warm hug that is sorely needed before and after some of the episodes. Thanks for reading!
Normally I would input images from the show – and I still will do so later on – but my totally legal anime watching website is not cooperating today.
Opal Kaharis 