Thank you NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the digital ARC of “Eden of Witches: Vol. 1”! This was an intriguing start to a story of magic and balance with nature. Pili was likable protagonist and I enjoyed the design of the wolf familiar Oak. The first volume sets up the world, a main antagonist for Pili, and a new friend. I would recommend this book to young manga readers who are interested in magical worlds with strong connections to nature.

I appreciated the concept and world-building in this book. We follow Pili, a young witch, who is searching for Eden with her nature spirit/plant/wolf Oak. In this world plants and vegetation are dying and only witches can save it. Oak believes that humans are not to be trusted, while Pili is definitely more open to exploring the potential. Their journey exposes them to themes of both dark and light, from a witch burning to friendship with a young boy. The art and magic system are incredibly detailed and vivid and the pacing overall was quite fast and action packed. I enjoyed this read and the introduction to this world. One complaint actually has to do with the text, at times I was really struggling to read some of the text, but perhaps that can be traced back to this being an ARC, let's hope so. Overall this story was a whimsical blend of fantasy and dystopian themes and I look forward to reading more in the series.

The world has become a barren wasteland in which plants only grow at the behest of witches who can hear nature's song. Pili is a young witch apprentice watches her master get murdered in front of her and inexplicably wakes up a wolf/nature spirit named Oak. Together they must try to find Eden before the forces of the king find them.

Eden of Witches was an intriguing first volume. The art was vivid and detailed and the magic system is fascinating. Fans of Princess Mononoke, Shuna's Journey, Ancient Magus Bride would probably find this right up their alley. For a first volume, the pacing seems a bit off and the villain waaay overdone. I'm still looking forward to volume two.

Thought this book was absolutely amazing and the artwork is just stunning. It reminds me a little of The Girl From the Other Side, can’t wait to read the next volume!

Loved this! Cute, fast-paced, action-packed series starter that felt more complete than most first volumes of manga series. The art seems promising, but it's hard to say for sure given how pixelated the arc was - that also made some of the text a little difficult to read. Can't wait to see what Oak looks like in the final version! And looking forward to more adventures with Pili and Oak!

This manga presented an interesting world of few plants and animals. I will likely read the next volume, but the image quality of this was very poor.

Unfortunately I just couldn't get into this story. The artwork style was definitely not to my taste, so that probably didn't help matters.

I was excited for this one, but as a personal preference the animation style wasn't for me. I can understand the authors illustrations, and adds a special effect to the series. However this style wasn't for me. I will be curious as the volume come along the improvement of this style, as it could grow on me.

this manga blends christian ideas with Pagan myth. The book is about a young witch, Pili, searching for Eden with her cranky plant/wolf named Oak. Oak believes that all humans can not be trusted. Pili on the other hand is learning that the world is not so black and white. On her journey she has seen the darker side of humans, witnessing a witch burning, and the brighter side, befriending a young boy who helps her after her leg gets hurt. This series seems like its gearing up to explore some deep philosophical question about human nature and whether or not we can live in harmony with mother nature. The Manga does a good job of presenting these topics in an easy to understand way.

In a world where the vegetation is dying, only witches can make the world grow. Pili, a young-witch apprentice, ventures into the wider world to look for help and brings the wrath of civilization down on her home.

Although the concept of this was interesting, the art style was not to my taste. The art in the ARC was very pixelated, so I'm not sure if that's indicative to the final product. As always, your mileage may vary.

I really enjoyed this Manga. The storyline was good and you related to Pili and her struggles. I liked that it was fantasy, but also felt a little dystopian. Already looking forward to reading number 2 when it comes out.

I loved how it was a seemingly cozy story with dramatic scenes of violence mixed in. This made the brutality unexpected and more jarring for greater impact.

I liked the story and will probably love the released art. I would have liked to see more depth and character development in the first installment, however.

**The blurring of words and pixelating of art as a copyrighting method does it make it hard to properly read and review the book**

Beautiful art, but I will say that the digital download was very pixelated, making it hard to fully appreciate the illustration style. There wasn't quite as much character development as I would have liked, but enough to still feel for Pili and the difficult position she finds herself in. The plot did start off with quite a gut punch, and I'm curious to see how it continues to develop/who else Pili can connect to. As the description says, this story is a good fit for for fans of Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, or Shuna's Journey.

A really wild start to a new series! A young witch, Pili, goes on a quest through her bleak and violent world. While the volume got violent and dark at times, it never feels overwhelming. The excitement, adventure and great main character makes me intrigued to see where this goes next.

"Humans destroy nature because they don't speak its language" feels a little too real for a fantasy setting, but it also works very well for this story about witches who are taught, not born. The creature designs are fantastic, and the idea of plants protecting and saving animals from human depredations is an angle I haven't seen often; there's a real <i>Somali and the Forest Spirit</i> sensibility to this, mixed with a bit of <i>Witch Hat Atelier</i>. I'm curious to see where it goes, because I suspect that Pili's metaphorical journey is just getting started.

I liked the concept but struggled with the lack of color in the art. I wish it would have stayed in full color beyond the very beginning. The design of the wolf was awesome. I feel like the characters lacked depth so far but maybe that is remedied as it goes further. I think this would be a great one for younger manga readers.

What a great new series! The characters, world, and art were all magical. It felt like a Ghibli movie with similar themes of humans vs nature. This book is the start of an epic journey that I would love to continue reading. Pili the main character has such potential to grow and I look forward to seeing it. The only negative was the art style. This may just be because I read it digitally on a small screen but the pixelated art style was hard to read sometimes. An enjoyable start to a series!

Thought this was a cool manga! I wished I had the second volume right now! It had a cool atmosphere to the world. I loved Pili as a character and can't wait to see her growth as she progresses through the story and hopefully gets to Eden. I could see this as a movie as well!

This was cute, but I don't think manga is for me as I struggled with the illustrations' lack of colour.

In terms of the story, vol. 1 does a good job of setting up the story and the world which was developed but not overly complicated for the format.

If you do like manga then this is a really promising start to a new series!

Thank you to NetGally and Abrams ComicArts for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I like the concept! It's a really cool take on witches. I will definitely read the next book in the series when it comes out, I can see it being interesting.