A Witch's Printing Office, Volume 1: 11/19/20

A Witch's Printing Office, Volume 1 by Mochinchi is an isekai with an unusual focus. Rather than the main character finding themselves in another world and becoming the big damn hero, this one starts a printing press and a Magic Market, inspired by the Comic Cons she was so found of in her previous life.

Mika Kamiya died on the way home from a Comic Con and now in this new world where magic is real and an every day thing, she's found a new niche, a publisher of magic tomes. When she realizes there is a demand for an organized place to buy spells and spell books, she takes what she knows about comic conventions and applies it to making the Magic Market.

Except, the manga doesn't start that way. Instead, it opens with a more typical scene. There's a village beset by monsters. They're invading and trampling everything. The gag is, that they're just passing through, as oversized familiars to stand in line for their wizard, witch, or mage masters.

Twenty years ago I worked for a marketing department for a tech firm business. One of our big jobs was the planning, organizing, and running of two annual conventions. The types of problems Mika and her employees have mirror the ones we had. I found the situational mashup of an alternate world, magic and magic users, and the logistics of running a convention, hilarious.

The second volume was released in translation this April. I have it on hand and will be reading it soon.

Five stars

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