Hibiki’s Magic, Vol. 1
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer: Jun Maeda
Artist: Rei Idumi

236 (224) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. US edition January 2007.
Translation: Alexis Kirsch
Adaptation: James S. Rich
Copy Editor: Stephanie Duchin
Layout & Lettering: Bowen Park
Production Artist: Michael Paolilli
Cover Layout: James Lee
Editor: Carol Fox
Publisher’s Rating: Teen, Ages 13+

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Premise: Hibiki (she of the title) as the only research assistant of Master Shirotsuki is immediately offered a job at the Kamisaid Magic Academy– but she’s just a kid, and while everyone assumes she learned much from Shirotsuki…

(may contain spoilers)
Synopsis:

Here’s the fallout from the first chapter: Shirotsuki, doing research into immortality, is interrupted at a crucial stage in his latest magic experiment by some ruffians who were looking to loot his home. Things go wrong, and the place goes up in flames; but part of the experiment is successful and Shirotsuki’s soul now resides in a small squirrel-like rodent. Hibiki still has her master’s emotional support, but for all practical purposes is on her own.

She and the squirrel-mage (who can’t talk, for which this reader is thankful) make their way to the capital, where Hibiki sets about looking for work. She doesn’t have to look for long, and in fact work comes looking for her. The Director of the Kamisaid Magic Academy has sent people out to find Hibiki, since she is the only assistant of the noted (and presumed dead) Master Shirotsuki.

The twist is that she’s just a kid, and while everyone assumes otherwise, she can’t really do magic. She’ll even admit this on several occasions; when asked specific questions she just says, “I don’t know.” Director Asuma is a bit of an odd character, so maybe he just doesn’t mind.

She spends a short time as a member of the research faculty (which doesn’t work out) before being transferred to a teaching post. This leads to a confrontation with a jaded student who doesn’t believe in the value of magic anymore.

Hibiki accepts a challenge (magic vs. technology, in the form of a gun) and manages to win with a little timely help from her rodent-master. While she gets rebuked for duelling students, the incident proves her worth as a teacher, in her own unconventional way, and it seems that Hibiki won’t be fired anytime soon.

And we’re only halfway through the book.

The following three chapters deal with the creation of Homunculi, artificial beings once used as weapons on the battlefield. Hibiki meets a mage doing research in the field in an effort to replace a lost child. She just wants to help, so she gives it a try. The result is that a cute child mage (again with help from the squirrel) manages to produce an even smaller, cuter homunculus… with a humorous personality twist…

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Review:

If I were reading an all-text treatment of this story, without benefit of visuals or any note of Hibiki’s age, I’d guess she was 12 or 13. Maybe a shade younger. Looking at art in the book (which doesn’t mention an age) I might go with 8 or 9, but it’s so hard to tell with a manga style that makes it hard to pin an age on anyone.

If you can get past the fact that someone wants to hire an 8 year old to work on the faculty of a magic school just because her old master was such a big name in the business, well, the rest of the book is going to be fun. If you happen to like cute (as in, Sanrio style cute) then you’re even better off.

In this case, judge the book by the cover: There she is. If you want to read more about Hibiki then you will be treated to a light but surprisingly thoughtful comedy that deals more with what people feel, and healing the pain of souls, than of magic on it’s own.

If Hibiki instead induces a diabetic coma because she’s just too sweet for your tastes, you’ll likely be able to tell that from the art style displayed on the cover. (Hibiki isn’t even the worst example of the oh-so-cute style that I’ve encountered: there is the aptly named Sugar, a Snow Fairy which is in it’s 3rd manga volume and runs 26 episodes on DVD. Just in case you need a reference)

Hibiki is going to be a fun read for most manga fans, but won’t appeal to all. While I’m only giving the title 2 marks out of 5, if you like über-cute characters or were a fan of harry-potterish magic fantasy then you might mentally add a point or two.