Wicked Spot - Volume 1

From the "wicked" mind of manga artist Sal Jiang (creator of AYAKA Is in LOVE with HIROKO!) comes Wicked Spot, a new queer and flirty supernatural romance.

At first blush, the art is bright and creepy and gorgeous. I immediately fell in love with influencer witch Sadako and her unwitting human companion Hanako; the latter especially interested me. I've read plenty of enemies-to-lovers and monster-hunters-turned-monster-lovers before — and don't get me wrong, Wicked Spot is absolutely one of those — but a healthy dose of horror tropes and some genuinely inspired designs make the characters come alive on the page.

What caught me off guard at first is that Hanako (the human) gets a much meatier introduction than her witchy muse. This isn't necessarily a complaint — it's not an enemies-to-lovers without establishing that they're enemies, after all — but the worldbuilding of witches and Sadako's history gets neatly swept under the rug to make room for Hanako's more interesting (and plot-relevant) human backstory.

It creates an interesting dynamic between the main characters. Sadako is assumed to be the protagonist, but her motives are comparatively shallow. I would have liked to see her interests as a fashion influencer or her life spent alone in the woods fleshed out just a little bit more, or for Hanako to take up the protagonist role. Instead, the two women end up circling around each other in a way that eats up most of this first volume before it has a chance to fire on all cylinders.

I liked Wicked Spot, and I expect you will too. The first volume comes recommended — and I am happily waiting for the second volume to see the moment where the story (and the relationship) start to really take off.