Witch of Artemis Vol. 1 (Manga)
Publisher: Tokyopop
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Price: $10.99
Creator: Yui Hara
Format: 192 pgs.; Black & White
ISBN: 978-1-4278-1554-5
Age Rating: Teen
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Kazuki constantly daydreams about Artemis, the fantastical world that his father told him about when he was a boy, then one day he meets two strangely dressed girls who come from there.  One seems nice but places a 'death curse' upon him and the other, the Grand Witch Marie, is as mean as a snake but saves his life by whisking him off to Artemis.

Once Kazuki arrives there he discovers he's been stranded on a medieval-like world that's inhabited by magic users.  Initially Marie wants nothing to do with him but grudgingly allows him to tag along as she very reluctantly helps people with her magic, like an artist whose memories of his wife have been magically erased.

The Witch of Artemis does have a couple of points of interest, one a surlier than usual heroine in Marie and two, a remarkably passive 'hero' in Kazuki.  Just about everyone he meets on Artemis is actively unpleasant to him, which you would think would make the experience of traveling there something of a letdown for him.  But you sure couldn't tell it from his stock bland reaction to everything that happens to him.

Other than that though there really isn't anything new to be found in this standard by the numbers ordinary boy travels to a different world fantasy manga, but then, it's done professionally enough this shouldn't bother the genre's many fans.

-- Steve Bennett: Writer and Retail Services Consultant