After two consecutive nominations at the Manga Taisho awards and being ranked #1 favorite manga among female readers in Japan, Tomato Soup‘s feminist epic “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” will finally get its first English language release, allowing readers from all over the world to marvel at its exotic visuals and intricate cultural references, backed up by the author’s genuine fascination for ancient history and science.
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In the 13th century, young yet strongly-willed Sitara is deported from her homeland and sold in Persia as a slave, where she becomes the servant of madame Fatima, widow to one of the greatest scholars in the Khwarazmian Empire. However, while Sitara becomes versed in astrology and the sacred texts, a new threat approaches: Eight years after her abduction, Sitara is once more enslaved by the Mongol invaders, who wipe out her mistress’s household and drag her to their capital in order to serve Sorghaghtani, royal consort of heir-to-the-throne Tului. Making the most out of this blessing in disguise, Sitara will try to sabotage the Mongols at the best of her abilities.
A fine art college graduate specializing in engraving, mangaka Tomato Soup is not new to “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” ‘s subject, as she has long been fascinated with Islamic art and culture, as well as with the history of Central Asia in general. Her first work to be serialized online, “The Delicious Adventures of Dampier” – available in Japanese only – centering on the exploits of the homonymous English explorer and pirate, denoted her attention to historical accuracy both in terms of setting and character design, with her old-fashioned cartoonish style becoming her distinctive feature.
And once more, “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” proves how ‘cartoonish’ is no synonym with ‘shabby’ nor ‘childish.’ For example, the robes worn by the characters testify for the painstaking research on the traditional clothing of the peoples depicted, whose small details can provide information regarding their rank and status. As per the backgrounds, an overall influence of Islamic décor can be inferred, while characters themselves owe much to Tezuka Osamu’s latest phase, with specific reference to his animated feature “A Thousand and One Nights” from 1969.
Tomato Soup’s otaku-like interest in ancient history is also evident in the many digressions and notes on scientific theories and customs from the period, making the domain of Greek astronomy and Mongol warfare accessible to the average reader. Indeed, while the vengeful intentions of Sitara represent the ignition that sets in motion her own parable of emancipation and self-affirmation, the quest for knowledge is the real protagonist of a “A Witch’s Life in Mongol.” The work of Muslim scholars who devoted themselves to interpreting the Quran and translating the corpus of Ancient Greece’s masters is contrasted with the brutal advance of the Mongols, which are yet not so brutal in that they also seek to bring back home the knowledge accumulated by Persian masters. Just as Sitara is spared in the capacity of a finely educated slave, it seems like the only thing allowing for the human race’s survival throughout the mutual killings and violence is the preservation of the words and discoveries of those who came before.
In doing so, “A Witch’s Life in Mongol” is a truly epic manga, with Sitara’s quest being one of the many heroic journeys that make up the monomyth of the indomitable human spirit, here in the most peculiar variant of a little girl whose mind will be her only weapon to fight – or, perhaps, to come to terms with? – a hostile civilization. And while an anime by studio Science Saru is apparently underway as of this month, English-speaking readers will have enough time to follow Sitara until the very end, in hopes that the animated series will live up to the expectations set by the original.
