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The War of Greedy Witches

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The War of Greedy Witches
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Tomoe Gozen (left) and Elizabeth Báthory (right)
魔女大戦 32人の異才の魔女は殺し合う
(Majo Taisen: 32-nin no Isai no Majo wa Koroshiau)
Genre
Manga
Written byHomura Kawamoto
Illustrated byMakoto Shiozuka
Published byCoamix
English publisher
MagazineMonthly Comic Zenon
DemographicSeinen
Original runOctober 24, 2020 – present
Volumes11
icon Anime and manga portal

The War of Greedy Witches (Japanese: 魔女大戦 32人の異才の魔女は殺し合う, Hepburn: Majo Taisen: 32-nin no Isai no Majo wa Koroshiau) is a Japanese manga series written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Makoto Shiozuka. It has been serialized in Coamix's Monthly Comic Zenon since October 2020.

Plot

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Just as Jeanne D'Arc is tried for heresy and burned at the stake, she is rescued by the demons Lilith and Lilum and taken to the court of the demon queen Agrat bat Mahlat. 31 other famous women from across history were similarly rescued from the time of their deaths, restored to their physical prime if they were old or ill, and gathered. Agrat calls them Witches and explains that they can all manifest magical abilities by focusing on their greed, desires, and regrets. She commands them to enter a tournament called Walpurgis to take turns fighting to the death in an arena for her amusement and offers to grant a wish to the survivor, but warns that if they die, their soul will cease to exist. The audience of the arena is made of both demons and people from their lives. Jeanne had blindly followed orders her whole life and never wanted anything before, so she struggles to understand what her desire is.

Characters

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Witches

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A group of thirty two women that have been selected by Agrat Bat Mahlat to participate in Walpurgis and go against each other in order to fulfill their greatest desire.

Jeanne D'Arc (ジャンヌ・ダルク, Jannu Daruku)
A female knight from France and one of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. Her title is "Nothing Witch", and her desire is "Abnegation". Originally wielding a sword which broke in her fight with Wu Zetian, her weapons are two cross-shaped bladed shields that can be ignited. Her magic increases her power by resonating with her opponent's desire.
Tomoe Gozen (巴御前, Tomoe Gozen)
A witch invited to the Walpurgis with the title of "Mighty Witch", her desire is "Justice". She was an onna-musha from the late Heian period of Japanese history, serving under Minamoto no Yoshinaka during the Genpei War and was a part of the conflict that led to the first shogunate. Her weapons are a massive naginata and bow. Her magic lets her increase the destructive power of her attacks and reshape her weapons to make them stronger.
Elizabeth Bathory (エリザベート・バートリー, Erizabēto Bātorī)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis, holding the title of "Blood Witch", and her desire being "Torment". Elizabeth is a noblewoman and serial killer, sometimes being referred to as a "real-life vampire", due to the belief that she drank and bathed in the blood of her victims. Her weapon is a polearm with a spiked collar on the end. Her magic allows her to conjure up and telekinetically control torture devices. She was killed by Tomoe Gozen in the first match.
Wu Zetian (武則天, Busokuten)
A witch invited to the Walpurgis and the first female emperor of China. Titled the "Supremacy Witch", her desire is the "Heavens". Her weapon is a spear with a stone bludgeon attached to the other end. Her magic allows her to control wind. She is killed by Jeanne D'Arc in the second match.
Cleopatra (クレオパトラ, Kureopatora)
Queen of Egypt and one of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She held the title of "Love Witch", and her desire was for "True Love". Her weapon is a sword. Her magic allows her wishes to come true, but it only works on herself or people or objects she is in physical contact with and she must verbally state her wish. She is killed by Himeko in the third match.
Himiko (卑弥呼)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She holds the title of "Demon Witch", and her desire is "Attention". Her former name was Yogi and she took the title of "Himeko" after murdering the original priestess out of revenge for the death of her parents. Her weapons are daggers and a horn that can be launched. Her magic allows her to manifest her lies into reality, but it doesn't work if her victim sees through the lie.
Mata Hari (マタ・ハリ)
One of the Witches invited to the Walpurgis, holding the title of "Secret Witch", Her desire is currently unknown. She is the leader of a group called The Witch's Hammer which plans to somehow usurp the Walpurgis. Her weapon is a rope dart which she was able to kill Mary Read with without revealing what her magic was. After the fifth match, she invited Himiko to join The Witch's Hammer, but was refused.
Mary Read (メアリ・リード, Meari Rīdo)
A British pirate and one of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis, she holds the title of "Sea Witch", and her desire is the "Oceans". After being betrayed by Anne Bonny, she constantly hallucinates that Anne is still by her side. Her weapons are two anchors attached to chains. Her magic allows her to convert the battlefield to an ocean, summon her ship, and control its loaded cannons. She is killed by Mata Hari in the fourth match.
Marie Antoinette (マリー・アントワネット, Marī Antowanetto)
The Queen of France and a witch invited to the Walpurgis. Titled "Pure Witch", her desire is to "Control". Her weapon is a massive scythe. Her magic lets her control her shadow and conjure from it copies of things she had feared like guillotines, hammers, and dogs. She is killed by Catherine the Great in the fifth match.
Catherine the Great (エカチェリーナII世, Ekacherīna Ni-sei)
An empress from Russia and one of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. Her title is "Will Witch", and her desire is to "Subjugate". Her magic allows her to switch between different modes to adapt to the situation. One mode is armed with a sword and enhances her speed, one mode is armed with a shotgun and enhances her vision, and one mode wears horseshoe-shaped gauntlets and boots and enhances her strength.
Marie Curie (マリ ･ キュリー, Mari Kyurī)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She holds the title of "Reason Witch", and her desire is to seek the "Truth". Her weapons are two pistols with bayonets. Her magic allows her to predict the future by analyzing different possibilities. She is killed by Huang Yueying in the sixth match.
Huang Yueying (黄月英, Kōgetsuei)
The wife of Zhuge Liang from the Three Kingdoms, and one of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She holds the title of "Knowledge Witch", her desire is to gain more "Knowledge". Her weapons are two swords and a suit of high tech armor. Her magic allows her to disassemble the armor and telekinetically control each piece and weapon.
Yaoya Oshichi (八百屋お七,)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She holds the title of "Flame Witch" and her desire is "Passion". She is a member of The Witch's Hammer. Her weapon is a Matoi. Her magic allows her to control flames.
Orihime (織姫)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She holds the title of "Star Witch" and her desire is "Love". She is not the legendary Orihime from the folk tale Tanabata, but instead a regular modern-day idol singer who's using the name to impersonate the real one. She is psychotic and kidnapped 104 men, intending to make it 365 in a grim parody of Tanabata before being arrested. Her weapon is a massive chakram. Her magic allows her to surround the battlefield with a starry sky, with floating rocks as the stars, and to manipulate gravity for herself and whatever she touches. She is killed by Yaoya Oshichi in the seventh match.
Bonnie Parker (ボニー・パーカー)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She is titled the "Robbery Witch" and her desire is to "Usurp". In the 20th century, she and her husband Clyde Barrow were known for being one of the greatest thieves, fugitives and robbers in the United States. She turned to crime after her friend Talissa was murdered by a corrupt official. Her weapons are pistols, Tommy guns, and a crate full of weapons. Her magic conjures a phantasmal hand that can steal items from locked rooms and call them to her hands, enhancing them in the process, which she can use to retrieve the weapons in the crate.
Mona Lisa (モナ・リザ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She is titled the "Painting Witch" and her desire is "Immortalization". She is the woman depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the same name, and has the peculiarity of having different faces depending on the person who sees her. She claims da Vinci's painting depicts her true appearance. Her weapon is a kitchen knife. Her magic lets her conjure illusions that are more effective and feel solid the more the victim believes they are real. She is killed by Bonnie Parker in the eighth match. Before she dies, she whispers her true name into Bonnie's ear, who commented it was a beautiful name.
Agatha Christie (アガサ・クリスティ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She is titled the "Mystery Witch" and her desire is currently unknown. Seemingly murdered before the ninth match, it is revealed that she faked her own death in order to investigate the motivations behind the Walpurgis, enlisting the demon servant assigned to guard her, Lilia, to help in her investigations.
Isabeau Cheyne (イザボー・シェイネ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She is titled the "Evil Witch" and her desire is currently unknown. Her powers and abilities have yet to be revealed as she did not fight against Agatha Christie in the ninth match, but won by default after her opponent seemed to have been murdered.
Anna Pavlova (アンナ・パヴロワ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She is titled the "Dance Witch" and her desire is "Improvement". Her weapons are metal ballet shoes. Her magic lets her turn the battlefield to nighttime with a full moon, emulating the setting of The Dying Swan, then make her victims experience any pain she feels when she captivates them with her dancing.
Yim Wing-Chun (嚴詠春, Gen'eishun)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis. She holds the title of the "Martial Arts Witch" and her desire is "To Be Stronger". She is a member of The Witch's Hammer. Her weapons are metal gauntlets. She claims to not know how to use magic and is uninterested in it as she prefers to fight using only Wing Chun.
Lakshmibai (ラクシュミーバイ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Sasaki Rui (佐々木類)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko (リュドミラ・パブリチェンコ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Yang Guifei (楊貴妃)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Charlotte Corday (シャーロット・コーデイ)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Amelia Earhart (アメリア・イアハート)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Maria Anna Mozart (マリア・アンナ・モーツァルト)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Komatsuhime (小松姫)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Zenobia (ゼノビア)
A witch invited to the Walpurgis, titled the "War Witch", her desire is currently unknown. She is a member of The Witch's Hammer.
La Voisin (ラ・ヴォワザン)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.
Florence Nightingale (フローレンス・ナイチンゲール)
One of the Witches invited to participate in the Walpurgis.

Demons

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Agrat Bat Mahlat (アグラット・バット・マハラト, Aguratto Batto Maharato)
The queen of the demons and the host of the Walpurgis tournament. She had held the Walpurgis tournament many times in the past and aims to use the energy gathered from the fights to resurrect her seven deceased daughters.
Lilith (リリス, Ririsu)
A demon serving the Queen of Demons Agrat Bat Mahlat. She and Lilim were responsible in handing the invites to the Witches and transporting them to Agrat.
Lilim (リリム, Ririmu)
A demon serving the Queen of Demons Agrat Bat Mahlat. She and Lilith were responsible in handing the invites to the Witches and transporting them to Agrat.
Lilitu (リリートゥ, Rirītu)
The commenter of Walpurgis.
Bubel (ブベル, Buberu)
The Demon of Healing who works in the infirmary of the Walpurgis tournament.
Lilia (リリア, Riria)
A demon servant whom Agatha Christie ropes into helping her investigation.

Other characters

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Marsh (マーシュ, Marshu)
A maid in the service of Elizabeth Bathory's family. Bathory accidentally killed her while playing with a knife, leading to her psychosis.
Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, Shikōtei)
The first emperor of China.
Li Tian (李天, Ri Ten)
A close friend to Wu Zetian, after she moved into his village. After he was beaten to death by bullying elitists, this led to Zetian aspiring to reach the top so that no one could hurt her again.
Former Himiko (卑弥呼)
The previous priestess and founder of the village where Yogi and her family lived. She was a charlatan who ordered Yogi's father sacrificed and Yogi and her mother exiled, claiming it would bring rain and bountiful harvests. When Yogi's mother died, Yogi sneaked into her compound and killed her in revenge, then convinced the people that she was her successor.
Anne Bonny (アン・ボニー, An bonī)
The best friend of Mary Read, before she betrayed her.
Maria Theresa (マリア・テレジア, Maria Terejia)
The ruler of the Habsburg dominions, she was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Transylvania, and more. She is the mother of the witch Marie Antoinette.

Publication

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Written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Makoto Shiozuka, The War of Greedy Witches started in Coamix's Monthly Comic Zenon on October 24, 2020.[2][3] Coamix has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on June 18, 2021.[4] As of November 20, 2024, eleven volumes have been released.[5]

The manga has been published digitally in English by Coamix and Imagineer's MangaHot app since December 2022.[6] In June 2024, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English publication beginning in November the same year.[7]

The manga has also been licensed in France by Pika Édition.[8]

Volumes

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No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 June 18, 2021[9]978-4-86720-242-5November 19, 2024[10]979-8-85540-108-0
2 September 18, 2021[11]978-4-86720-264-7April 22, 2025[12]979-8-85540-142-4
3 December 20, 2021[13]978-4-86720-287-6——
4 June 20, 2022[14]978-4-86720-392-7——
5 October 20, 2022[15]978-4-86720-431-3——
6 February 20, 2023[16]978-4-86720-467-2——
7 July 20, 2023[17]978-4-86720-525-9——
8 November 20, 2023[18]978-4-86720-588-4——
9 March 19, 2024[19]978-4-86720-628-7——
10 July 20, 2024[20]978-4-86720-669-0——
11 November 20, 2024[5]978-4-86720-704-8——

Reception

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By July 2023, the manga had over 1 million copies in circulation.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b 魔女大戦 32人の異才の魔女は殺し合う. Mangapedia [ja] (in Japanese). Voyage Group. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Mateo, Alex (September 30, 2020). "Kakegurui Writer Homura Kawamoto Launches New Manga With Artist Makoto Shiozuka". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  3. ^ 「賭ケグルイ」の河本ほむら原作、魔女たちの殺し合い描く新連載「魔女大戦」. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 24, 2020. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  4. ^ 巴御前VSエリザベート・バートリー！女性偉人32人がデスマッチ「魔女大戦」1巻. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 18, 2021. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b 【11月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  6. ^ Hazra, Adriana (January 1, 2023). "Coamix's MangaHot Publishes The War of Greedy Witches, Shigahime Manga in English". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Mateo, Alex (June 14, 2024). "Yen Press Licenses Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring, Brunhild the Dragonslayer, More Manga/Novels". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "Pika nous présente le manga Witches' War". Manga News. September 2, 2022. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  9. ^ 【6月18日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 18, 2021. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "The War of Greedy Witches, Vol. 1: Thirty-Two of the Wickedest Women Duel to the Death". Yen Press. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  11. ^ 【9月18日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 18, 2021. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "The War of Greedy Witches, Vol. 2". Yen Press. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  13. ^ 【12月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 20, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  14. ^ 【6月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. June 20, 2022. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  15. ^ 【10月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. October 20, 2022. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  16. ^ 【2月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. February 20, 2023. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  17. ^ 【7月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 20, 2023. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  18. ^ 【11月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 20, 2023. Archived from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  19. ^ 【3月19日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. March 19, 2024. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  20. ^ 【7月20日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 20, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  21. ^ 「魔女大戦」7巻初回版は、「終ワル」アジチカ描き下ろし卑弥呼×釈迦カード封入. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 20, 2023. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.

Further reading

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