#kafna of the wind

[balu8]

Magus of the Library #6

by Mitsu Izumi

Kodansha

"I hardly recognized you under all those new wrinkles."

[kierrasreads]

Magus of the Library, Volumes 3&4, by Mitsu Izumi Review

Plot

Volume 3: Group Admission

Theo has completed the first part of the grueling exam to become a kafna, but he's not in the clear yet—there are two more trials he must face. Even if he makes it through the second test, an intense face-to-face oral examination, the last challenge is a practical demonstration of his abilities as a librarian. Theo has been studying his whole life for this moment, but there's one kind of test that no amount of studying could have prepared him for: a group project.

Volume 4: A Student Among Masters

Theo has returned to Aftzaak, the magisterial City of Books. Passing the exams to become a kafna was hard enough. Now he has to compete against his fellow trainees—fighters and geniuses one and all—to prove that he has what it takes to achieve his dreams and ascend to the Central Library's elite. Under the watchful eyes of his wise seniors and teachers, including his youthful mentor Sedona, Theo begins to awaken to the sublime fate and impossible challenges that history has prepared for him…

Discussion

I love, love, love this series and I highly recommend that you give this series a try! This series is a love letter to bibliophiles and the fact that libraries are so, so important to society.

The art is gorgeous and the diversity of characters is perfect- each character is distinctive. The world and culture building in this series are absolutely phenomenal (you can definitely tell that the series drew heavy inspiration from the Middle East- the writing in the books reminded me of Arabic. Plus, the clothes, setting, and languages used in the book).

I can't wait to see Theo really grow into his role as kafna. I think he's going to get into the top of the 12 offices available. I also think that he's going to get training on how to use his manna- whether from "Granny" or Sedona (maybe she'll be the villain? Volume 4 left us on a cliffhanger!).

Rating

5/5

[toshodai]

"Kafna" → "Kahuna" Translation Changes

As pointed out on the subreddit, the printed editions of Volumes 1 and 2 have received some updates to their covers: "kafna" in Sophie Schwimm's "Kafna of the Wind" has been changed to "kahuna." This means the new title of the story Magus is """based upon""" is now "Kahuna of the Wind."

Both covers also had their framing shifted ever so slightly to the right to better center on Theo and Sedona.

There's some linguistic discrepancy between English and Japanese that might be behind this adjustment, but it's simple enough that the webmaster can explain it despite their limited knowledge.

For the unaware, "kahuna" is the Hawaiian word for a priest or magician or shaman, or an expert in any sort of profession—though in western pop culture you'll likely find it used to refer to a male leader (i.e. "big kahuna"). English's complexity caused by its knack for lifting from other languages allows for a one-to-one pronunciation of the word: ka·hu·na, no problem.

However, Japanese's more limited syllabary, while matching most of kahuna with か and な (ka and na), lacks a sound for "hu." The character ふ is generally substituted as "hu" or "fu", but neither serve as one-to-one matches, as neither "hu" or "fu" are sounds that exist in Japanese. Despite all this, Japanese "kahuna" sounds close enough to the actual thing, being transliterated as かふな, approximately ka·fu·na, which is close to the "kafna" we've all etched into our heads while reading Magus.

But, Japanese also has another phenomenon called devoicing, where some vowel sounds are dropped or made silent when pronounced in certain common circumstances. So that か·ふ·な, when spoken quickly and less formally, loses the "u" sound of the ふ and sounds much closer to kafna, which is likely why the title for Central Librarian workers was initially translated as such!

There is a way to make the orginal かふな sound closer to kahuna every time: by pronouncing the ふ as a long vowel, かふーな. The lengthier emphasis on the ふ gives the speaker enough time to vocalize the "u," and thus, more sound closer to the original "kahuna."

So, now that this discrepancy has been addressed, what might this mean for Magus of the Library going forward? The correction not appearing in digital editions nor new printings spotted on bookstore shelves yet aside, the webmaster surmises Aftzaak's libraries will continue to be called "kafna" to keep the fantastical feel, while Sophie's story will be titled the new "Kahuna of the Wind" whenever it finally appears in the manga.

[booksandwords]

Magus of the Library, Vol. 4 by Mitsu Izumi. Translated by Stephen Kohler

Read time: <1 Day Rating: 5/5

The quote: Libraries amassers of memory galleries dedicated to history's thread and monuments to all life across time.

I finally got my hands on this volume of Magus of the Library, I was so excited when I saw that it was being transferred from the previous reader. This volume gets serious and by the end, everything changes. Essentially, no one is what you think. It's an intriguing ending that I guess I didn't see coming but I should have. The plot of this volume is fairly simple it is Theo trying to find his place in the system he is now in. And realising what he has to do excel and work in the library. The art is still lovely and the plot moves along and a decent place. It does start with a seemingly unrelated side story in which we meet the rather funny Kaz Blak. I'm not going to say while I like him that would ruin the fun. One thing that I do see in it is a great explanation of one underrated aspect of librarianship.

As with the previous volume the intervals between the chapters are all linked. They introduce Theo's classmates. These people, primarily women, are introduced in groups. These groups are done under titles The Banded Few, The Seaborn Souls, The Power of Smile, The Unyielding Majesty, The Harried Handlers, The Ends of the Spectrum, The Markedly Conspicuous and The Guiding Hands. Theo is in the The Banded Few with the only other two male trainees. Each one of these pages has a picture of the trainee and a brief rundown of them. The basic traits of them I mean. It will be very useful later I think. While the characters are distinct on the page, at least individual enough, there are a lot of them and their traits are going to be important.

Among these classmates are some familiar faces and plenty of new ones. I'm so happy that Alv is back. I really like him. He is so easily underestimated and I like his attitude. There is one classmate we haven't met yet "The 27th trainee of this incoming class. A girl yet to bet revealed for reasons that will eventually become clear." I can't think of any obvious reasons why we wouldn't have met her yet. Reasons that she would remain hidden. There is one very, very familiar name among the trainees and it wasn't until I was writing this review that I remembered why. The name is Sophie Schwimm, at 35 and she is the oldest of the trainees. The reason the name is familiar... Sophie Schwimm wrote Kafna of the Wind, the text Magnus of the Library is based on. That is just really interesting to me, this is lore within lore. Sophie survives the trials, training and exams being faced by the class now. I think it gives an idea of where she ends up after graduation too, either Archives or Personnel. I Sophie, I like her attitude and what she represents. Libraries are often a second career for their staff.

[kaye-scheidsblogs]

Magus of the Library Review

Magus of the Library as stated on the cover, but not yet confirmed to be a real thing, is based of the novel "Kafna of the Wind" By Sophie Schwimm. It is a fantasy manga set in a world heavily influenced by middle eastern culture and history. The story follows....actually it might be best to expand on this world before the story since half the story based on this highly detailed fantasy world in the first place. Here we have a world in which the written text is highly revered, but by no means limited to the high-class society. In the words of one of the most prominent in-world figures, "To protect a text is to protect the world itself." This world is full of magic, but has a very modern feel for how the written text is presented. And it is in Aftzaak, the City of Books, in which a library that is aid to hold a copy of every book in the world stands. The library is staffed by Kafna, who work to preserve the texts, and seek out other texts in the world at large. It is not in this city that we start the story, but in fact in the faraway small village of Amun. One where a young boy, bullied for his looks and economic status, finds the joy of books.

Magus of the Library draws readers in, in much the same that every manga does at first: through it's art. Mitsu Izumi's artwork is appropriately detailed for the fantasy setting and drop dead gorgeous. Unlike a lot of fantasy story's art, I find that Izumi's style is very grounded instead of floaty and ethereal. It makes Magus of the Library's world seem more like a real place. In other words, the art itself is pulling double duty as the medium for telling the story and for world building. Izumi tends to the details of the world, fleshing out the objects, places and people, such that it becomes the easiest thing to read volume after volume of the manga.

But of course, we've all heard at some point that the art of work isn't everything. Nay, it is the story and characters that truly matter. And Magus of the Library is just as well-written as it is drawn. First off, this is very much a plot-driven work. Since it has an intricate word complete with several cultures, languages, and races. There is geo-politics, magic, and a library that makes this world go round. As such, one could reasonably expect its main characters, Theo Fumis, to be the type of hero that is pulled into the action with not much introspective character development. While I would say that there is some of the classic Hero's Journey taking place here, Theo is far from a complicit character. In fact, the beginning of his story is almost a subversion of the so-called "Call to Action."

Theo is a half-blood "elf" and is constantly bullied and discriminated against in his home village. He hates his life, he hates himself, and he hates how he makes life harder for his sister, Tifa. The only times he feels happy is when he has a book in hand and is reading about adventures of heroes that save children like him. Theo wants nothing more than for a hero to whisk him away from this world that only makes him feel terrible and go on an amazing adventure. This, almost happens when a group of Kafna come to his little town to investigate one particular book called a Grimoire. The Kafna, Sedona, treats little Theo with the only kindness he's ever experienced that didn't come from his sister. She's a magi with powers and knowledge and in Theo's eyes, his hero. Theo asks her why she won't take him with her? When will his hero finally come? Sedona replies that his hero won't come now or ever. Because this is his story, and only he can be his own hero. Theo takes Sedona's words and the kindness she gave him to heart, and is inspired to become a Kafna. Theo's motivations are born from a mix of internal love for books and the actions of a role model who gave him the push to overcome the adversity he faced. But as the story goes on, it becomes clear that the discrimination of the village isn't the only challenge he will face.

I am a bit biased here because I adore fantasy stories like this. A vast world and a young character with wide-eyed optimism grows and develops as he explores more of the world and meets more people. It's a story not unlike Witch Hat Atelier and Kemono no Souja Erin. So it won't surprise you when I sing praises unto Magus of the Library to no end. The atmosphere that Mitsu Izumi creates with their art, story, and characters combined is absolutely mesmerizing. I'm not sure why there's that line on the front cover that says this manga was based off a novel when I cannot find that novel anywhere in existence. Seeing that made me want to read ahead in the novel, but it's clear that I'll have to wait for the volume 4 release. Even with just 3 volumes though, Magus of the Library has shown that it has an epic story to tell that will definitely be worth sticking around to find out more.

Bookwalker has all 3 volumes and will be putting out any future volumes as well if you want to read it! (And as far as I can tell Bookwalker is the place with the most translated chapters/volumes). https://global.bookwalker.jp/de60fb5c31-2bba-4017-bdeb-76c9dfc3311a/

[thegeekshow]

November 2019 Comics And Manga Blowout - 4-Panel Vol. 2, Issue 59

As we head into the end of 2019 we’ve got just enough time to cram in a few more comics, so this week it’s time for another of our semi-regular dives into the big pile of comics.

So what did we fish up this week? There’s the first volume of the manga adaptation of Bakemonogatari by Nisio Isin with art by Oh! Great, Our Encounters With Evil: Adventures of Professor J. T. Meinhardt and His…

[recentanimenews]

Magus of the Library, Vol. 1

By Mitsu Izumi, “based on Kafna of the Wind by Sophie Schwimm”. Released in Japan as “Toshokan no Daimajutsushi” by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine good! Afternoon. Released in North America by Kodansha Comics. Translated by Stephen Kohler.

This one surprised me. The premise was promising, but the artist has previously done 7th Garden, which was OK but didn’t wow me. To my surprise, this ended up being one of the most gorgeous manga I’ve read all year – the fact that Kodansha released both this and Witch Hat Atelier within a few months of each other shows we are in a golden age of pretty manga. The characters looks cute, the ‘dream sequences are fun, and best of all, there’s attention paid to the books. Which is good, as this is a manga for book lovers first and foremost. Despite the fact that the first volume serves as a prologue to the series proper (we get a “Several years later” timeskip0 at the end), this is a great introduction to the adventures of Theo, a young boy who loves to read more than anything, and can often be found hiding out in the local library. Which I’m sure a lot of this manga’s readers will find very familiar – certainly I did that as a kid.

Despite what the cover may imply, Theo has not had the best life so far. He’s poor (which means the head librarian doesn’t let him read books there), and his pointed ears mean that he’s bullied by the other kids. His older sister works four jobs to get enough money to send him to school, and he has one friend – ironically, the daughter of the librarian. His one pleasure is sneaking into the library to read books, which cam take him places he’s never even dreamed of. But his life is upended when a group of librarians come to town looking for a book. This being a manga, these are BADASS librarians, and they impress Theo with their love and knowledge of books. Unfortunately, all the books may soon be in danger, as the librarian accidentally lets loose a book with a fire spirit in it. Can the books be saved? Can Theo turn his life around?

As I noted, the librarians in this volume are very cool. There’s their leader Anzu, who is the “outwardly serene and sweet but terrifying when angry’ sort I always love. Blunt Nanako is there to tell the librarians how they’re doing their jobs wrong, and how to properly preserve books. Pipiri is a fairy who also seems to be the ‘cheerleader’ of the group, and also the oldest, though she looks young. And then there is Sedona, who just loves books, and bonds quickly with Theo. Sedona also notices that Theo has a few odd things about him – in addition to the pointed ears (which his sister does not have), he can apparently tame savage wolves. An intriguing young boy.

An intriguing series, too. We see Theo at the end of the volume, now a teenager, leaving his town behind and trying to become a librarian. Like the best series, I want to read what comes next.

By: Sean Gaffney

[kierrasreads]

Magus of the Library: Volume 5 by Mitsu Izumi Review

Plot

Theo has passed the exam to become a kafna and has begun his apprenticeship in the great library of Aftzaak. Kind and talented, Theo is friendly to everyone. Yet, one of his classmates, Aya Guunjoh, regards him as her enemy, for reasons unbeknownst to all but her. Will Theo’s love of books and innate genius be enough for him to overcome this challenge?

Discussion

I loved getting a glimpse of the kafna training! Would I want to subject myself to it? Probably not, but it's interesting to see the "behind the scenes" of the book world- I wonder if that's how book binding and repair actually works. I suppose I'll have to research it for myself!

Medina...girl, what is wrong with you?! She needs a serious reality check...the way she looked at Theo like he truly was filthy...I was ready to throw hands. I love Aya's character development, that first hug was absolutely adorable!

Cynthea definitely has my attention- will she actually become the magus? How does Theo fit into all this? I guess I'll have to keep reading to find out!

Rating

5/5