A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom Volumes 1 and 2 Review

An 18-year-old girl who became a shut-in wishes for the world to disappear. One day, when she finds the courage to go back to school, she’s killed by a truck. However, it’s not her final death. She awakens as Sena, a new-born girl in a fantasy world.

Here she needs to grow up and get used to life in this magic world. In fact, the kingdom where Sena now lives is inhabited both by people who can and cannot use magic. Sena can, but unfortunately her magic is not the known spirits magic that people use. She can only cast two spells—’explode’ and ‘perish’. Living again as a shut-in in a house in the forest with her mother, things start to change little by little. After her mother dies, she’s alone and the only person who keeps her company is a peddler that comes by once in a while to trade items. On her 18th birthday, though, the peddler doesn’t show up, but in his stead, a young boy comes over—Keith.

Keith opens a new door for Sena to explore the world. She has never left the area around her house since she moved there, and when she discovers that Keith is actually a prince from the kingdom she lives in, her journey begins. Keith seems to be attracted to Sena for whatever reason, and when one of the dragons governing the world in which they live kidnaps Sena, he’ll do whatever he can to save her. But Sena is learning that she doesn’t need to be saved. She can do the saving herself, and while she does that, she can learn the truth about her powers.

But the truth might bring her more trouble than anything else. Her powers are so rare and powerful that they can change the power balance of their world. And of course, there are people who want those powers for themselves.

I devoured these two volumes one right after the other. I got so into the story, that I couldn’t help but feel sadness for what Sena went through and cheer for her when she learnt to stand up for herself. Sena is a shy girl and always has been, even in her past life. Due to not being able to say what she truly wanted, people started to shun her, and she decided that she didn’t want to leave her house anymore. In this reincarnation, something similar happened. Because her powers are so different from everyone else’s, she’s been misjudged and the house in the forest has become her solace.

Keith is a prince. But he hasn’t always been one. When the king needed him, he called for him, but as not a legitimate heir, so he’s been mistreated by his family. The chance encounter with Sena though brings more opportunities for him. He seems to have a connection with her, and although a couple of years younger than Sena, he starts behaving like her mother. He nags, cooks and takes care of her. When she disappears, he’s the first to be on his way to find her. I wonder what will happen in the future now that the truth about Sena’s  powers has been revealed. People will come for Sena, even Keith’s family. I hope he’ll choose her over them.

This is a typical isekai story in the shojo genre. Both main characters are in their teens and there is a high chance they’ll fall in love. You can see it from how they act with each other and the choices that they have made so far. Some elements of this manga are quite cliché: how Sena dies in ‘our’ world by getting hit by a truck, being the chosen heroine in the fantasy world and having one of the kingdom’s princes by her side. Nonetheless, that’s the standard formula for isekai, and I enjoyed Keith and Sena’s story so far.

A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom is written by Tail Yuzuhara and illustrated by Sora. The English edition is published by Yen Press with a translation by Timothy Gifford. Volume 3 is slated for release in January 2024.