What does one do when they feel unloved? Unappreciated? Terrified? Frightened? How about when you’re a girl with an ailment living in the slums? With parents that don’t like you?
Well, you might get something like the Diary of Ellen.
To be more clear, the Diary of Ellen is telling the story of Ellen prior to the eventual birth of The Witch’s House. That happens to be a freeware horror puzzle game created by fummy, and this prequel is drawn by Yuna Kagesaki. If you’ve read her works like Chibi Vampire and the short lived (In the US) Aion, letting you know early her art is far more violent here!
See, pretty early on Ellen explains she’s a sickly child. She can’t walk right, has gashes over her face and legs, and doctors don’t know why. And as they’re poor in a time where getting paid is hard, her family can’t take care of her well. Ellen’s only solace was knowing that she didn’t need much in her life, except the love of her mother. Well, that’s until her mother leaves after Ellen chose to leave the house to bury a dead cat.
Let’s just say this leaves Ellen in a fragile state, and one where she could no longer come back from.
Yen Press publishing something like The Witch’s House isn’t surprising. They’re localizing works like Angels of Death, Forbidden Scrollery, and Corpse Party, each based off games and a passionate fan base. However, they’re currently releasing this in chapters. It’s coming out the same day and date as Japan in Dragon Age magazine. I dunno if they will be collected in volumes, but after reading the first chapter, I’d prefer it happen.
It’s a pretty heavy story. It’s clear life where Ellen is at is terrible. Adding to it is her numerous ailments, which means she can’t be like the other kids her age. The only sense of hope for her is having her mother love her, but there are problems with that. First, her mother’s struggling to love Ellen. Second, her father more than likely hates her. Her father loves her mother way more than he would ever love Ellen, which leaves Ellen unsure of how to act. But in trying to please her mother, she breaks down when her mother does leave the house.
And, as it turns out, that was the start of her becoming a witch.
Ok, her burying the cat is when she began the path of becoming a witch. You know what they say about black cats and witches….or is that something else? Anyways, Kagesaki has drawn some action before, but, and this might be because it’s been since 2011, 2012 since I last read her work, but holy crap is The Witch’s House violent. There’s a scene in this manga where you can actually see the knife pierce through someone’s chin and through the tongue. There’s even a scene with copious amounts of blood drenched all over someone. It’s not quite Goblin Slayer level, but it’s maybe a tier below that.
I dunno if it’s gonna stay this way, but I am curious to see how Ellen takes this opportunity to become a witch. Does she enjoy it? Can she deal with everyone (probably) eventually coming after her? Lots of questions, but there’s still a ways to go.
So, yes, the first chapter’s solid. But it’d be better if this could be sold as a volume.