Ikoku Nikki

Sep 19, 2025

iwafaicf

Recommended

To me, Ikoku Nikki is that piece of media, that is hard not to relate to. At many points it felt, as if those conversations - about your own self, feelings, yours or others, relationships, life aspirations and, well, life as it is - were not directed only towards characters, but to me as well. It's actually a pretty difficult task to put my love towards this manga into words, except for "I really loved it, and even cried a little at the end, so please go read it!"

On a more serious note though, as I said at the start of this review, this story ...

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Jan 2, 2021

undead_wanner

Recommended

Preliminary (34/56 chp)

This is my second time reading the manga: the first time was a spontanious and random action, as I found the cover art interesting and decided to give it a go; the second time, which is now, I decided to read it with the intention to give it a honest review.

[Might contain SPOILERS]

"I hated your mother from the bottom of my heart. And I hate the fact that those feelings aren't going to go away even with her dead, so whether you're related to her by blood or not, I don't think I could get any more emotionally attached to you as some random ...

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May 28, 2021

iced_lemon_tea

Recommended

Preliminary (38/56 chp)

Ikoku Nikki is by far the best, the most relatable real life growing up/ slice of life genre manga out there right now.

Characters: Every character has a strong personality, a reason why they are in the story, and the struggles and messages they are meant to convey to the reader. The network of relationships is nicely intertwined, and best of all - the characters have the subtlety and nuance you would find in people in real life, making them easily relatable. One wonders how Yamashita-sensei manages to integrate all of this into the minimalist conversations that happen, and why other mangakas are not doing the ...

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Mar 31, 2026

TheGOF

Recommended

"Love itself is an act of overcoming fear."

Having just finished the anime, I found the time to finish the manga too. If there is any justice in the world, Ikoku Nikki will get a full anime adaptation, but given the josei track record that is unlikely. At least we have the manga, and my goodness, it's perfect. At the moment I'll give it a 9/10, because I find it hard to give something 10/10 when I've only just finished it. 10/10 is something a piece of writing earns after I've thought about it for a long time, reflected, kept coming back. Ikoku Nikki has 10/10 ...

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Oct 25, 2025

Skylife46

Recommended

Preliminary (54/56 chp)

Journal With Witch is a coming of age story, which really does the genre well, it really emphasizes on the outlook that people can never truly understand others, and that's absolutely fine! The manga starts with a tone of melancholy but the message and experience offered like most coming of age stories is of experience and growth.

People still can empathize to the best of their ability and that's what Asa's and her aunt's relationship is. It's a scenario that placed two people who have completely different outlook on things, some of it could be attributed to the age difference but others are just the ...

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Jul 10, 2026

unlacking

Recommended

~ Preface ~
Ikoku Nikki is a coming-of-age story written in a such a manner that it requires a certain degree of emotional investment in order for one to be truly interacting with the work effectively. I first approached this manga with the mindset of merely consuming it, assuming that an effect can arise through such a passive act; nonetheless, I ended up at the cessation with tears dripping down my chin and a synchorized swell of confusion. The reread that led me to writing this review was done with critical thought in mind, which primed me to uncover the less obvious aspects (to the more ... oblivious) of this manga. It is fairly asserted that IN is a work of art worthy of the respect that comes in the form of your attention and appreciation. I strongly urge you to read the work first before getting through this review as well. I'll refrain from spoiling anything major past the synopsis, but you'd have a greater appreciation of what I have to say were you to first experience what I mean.

~ Review ~
There is an angst that every teenager must face as they transition into adulthood. It is the angst of becoming. To become is a terrifying act, as it implies leaving certain values behind and adopting new principles all while gradually converging into a new human being. For an inexperienced teenager, this is immeasurably frightening. Usually, parents accompany their children into adulthood by teaching them the act of "adulting". Knowing that, how petrifying, nightmarish, frightful, daunting, and disquieting would it be for a teenager to lose their parents right before this process? This is exactly what happens to our protagonist Asa, who loses hers in a car crash right at the end of junior high. As fate absurdly intertwines, Makio - the aunt that despises her sister who incidentally is the child's mother - out of an impulsive pity and perhaps martyrdom, adopts the young Asa into her life.

Asa, as a standalone character, represents the archetype of the energetic, extroverted teenage girl. She is, as I will quote from Makio, surprisingly gyaru-ish. On the other hand, we have Makio. Makio is reclusive, often radically reserved, all while being somewhat irresponsible and unorganized by societal standards. She gets absorbed into her work and disregards her surroundings until she's finished. You'd assume that she is unfit to take care of a child, and you'd be correct! Makio acts as more or less a mentor to Asa rather than a direct parent; and it would become apparent that she can often be thoughtful, despite her behavior, through her dialogues. She often leaves Asa to her own means and we never see her yell at the teenager for anything. This series focuses on how their antipodal personalities interact and how they manage to offer their concessions and come to agreement on how they should conduct themselves around each other. That does not render Asa's teenager aspect as impotent, though. She is still a moody child that has just faced the grief of losing her parents. Love cannot be the appropriate word to ascribe to their relationship, but an effortful coexistence. The most remarkable takeaway from their relationship, I think, is that unconditional love does not solve everything.
It's improperly inferred that the dynamics between this duo is the only significant relationship we get in this series. The side characters always contribute to the story and/or affect the main duo in some way. I could go deep into each of these characters but that would go against my promise of not spoiling the content, just know that no character in Ikoku Nikki is ever redundant. This is a powerful aspect too as it appeals to the existentialist sentiment of meaning - people affect other people nonetheless, nothing is ever truly isolated in this world. You could expect these relationships to be elegantly explored throughout IN, each of them leaving you with some kind of gift.

As things unfold, it becomes clear that this is not a manga about childcare. Ikoku Nikki is about... people. I do not think it can be put into a less general word as it shotguns into a myriad of topics including but not exclusive to grief, maturity, solidarity, solitude, trauma, relationships, being different, societal expectations, and compromises. IN is a series where the plot lies in its characters, as such it would be unfair to put a ruler on its ability to conceive great visual art (although it does not come short on this aspect for what it is whatsoever), its willingness to offer a satisfying plot or, as a whole, the orthodoxies often imposed on its genre, that of which being slice-of-life(?). The series feels so grounded and intimate that quite often it feels like reading someone's journal, hence "Journal with Witch". It's dramatic in a way that's antithetical to melodrama: the emotions and the externalization of such emotions are almost never emphasized for the sake of storytelling. Rather, herein demonstrates a kind of prudence when faced with the troubles of life; an admirable kind of prudence that is unseen in most dramatics, and in turn, most dramas. We get to explore Asa's processing of grief and maturation as well as Makio's cultivated solitude through the vast metaphor of the desert, and this is where we find the common criticisms for this series.

It's been a trend for me to observe people picking apart this series with the reasoning being it's ambiguity and ambivalence when it approaches its topics. It will be my thesis when I presumptuously claim that this "beating around the bush" is actually what it meant to do. Let's put on our thinking caps. Anybody who volunteers to raise their hand and offer a definite solution for any major problem of life is rightly berated as arrogant. Why is it, then, that a show could do the same and receive praise for its "powerful messaging"? Conversely, it should be inferred that a show in which humility and prudence are potently present is a rightful, non-arrogant show. And if you are clever enough, you may have noticed that such affirmation of a certain solution - humility and prudence as the show's main themes - is contradictory to the spirit of the show itself. I cannot avoid this for as long as I use words to communicate to you, just as Makio could never get through with her feelings when talking to Asa. Yet, I do anyways, not knowing where this will lead me, just as Makio takes Asa in despite her upbringing and jarring personality traits. Life may only advance as we live, and words are supplementary but helpful. The truth and the untruth does not matter in the witch's journal, the apprentice's journal, or your journal, what matters is we extend our arms and embrace life. That is, what I managed to cultivate from the deliberation prior to this review. As such, live.

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Aug 7, 2026

Aan1m

Recommended

Absolute masterpiece and masterclass in trauma healing and learning to accept yourself - reading this after experiencing the anime and wanting to get and complete the full story I had such a great experience- one of the rare times when I have read something and it has made me shed tears - genuinely when the slice of life moments kick in it is fantastic but not only that the emotional story beats and moments hit hard as a truck - one of the most soul touching and deep mangas I have read and the build up to Makio accepting and loving Asa was absolutely fantastic ...

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Nov 11, 2024

Erdogank

Mixed Feelings

Ikoku Nikki is in the josei demographic and shows a 2 year evolving relationship between a highschool girl and her enstranged aunt. The girl has lost her parents and the aunt decides to take her in and treat her like a human being, without babying her over the loss.

The 54 chapters ar all long 40+ chapters, and the plot progress is very slow, deliberate and dialouge heavy. This have some of the best dialogue I have read outside of Oyasumi Punpun and is for sure the strength of this manga. The characters and the plot is realistic and focussed around past/future, choices and relationship. ...

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Nov 30, 2023

highlighters_

Mixed Feelings

I honestly really liked this one in the beginning, but after a few chapters it fell off in my opinion. A lot of questions were being raised in the manga and not one of them were properly answered throughout the manga, like literally it lead to nothing and I could not give my own interpretations to the questions or the plot points. I was waiting for some closure to the story but I didn't receive a lot except for one plot point which was concluded properly but it was still a bit predictable as to where it would lead.

And personally, I find the reason ...

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Oct 2, 2021

ttmeng

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (40/56 chp)

Very boring. Reading a manga about a writer's life is hardly a walk in the park. It's as interesting as watching paint dry. Reading this manga feels like I'm reading a novel with well articulated dialogue articulated by forgettable characters that serve as mouthpieces for the author to discuss a myriad of topics.

Like reading a novel, there have been times where I find myself crying from the way the dialogue is written. It's extremely slow and at times boring and sluggish and yet, I find myself asking similar questions as Asa does as she copes with the loss of her parents.

"Did mom love me? ...

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