Justin: Magiket has provided much chaos yet also much excitement, as magic has been used in a myriad of ways that have delighted many who participate as creators and those who arrive as attendants. Of course, the long-standing goal never changed for Mika: she wants to find a way back to her own world, and this is the perfect way to do it. But well, it’s gonna be hard to pull off the event when no one can actually do magic.
Yep, one day all of a sudden, humans could no longer use magic. Everyone is in an uproar as no one understood why this was happening — until old man Wadley reveals it’s possible the fey fairies have done this. With them being so far away though, it would be tough to go there and find out — until Mika’s dragon friend, who has also been affected by this since no one can ship books to his place, shows up. With a new mode of transport and a dragon that wants its books, Mika and Wadley venture to the fairies forest. Little did Mika know that she would be prepared to inform someone of great importance that following the guidelines makes everything so much easier!
While we did have one more addition to the cast — a ghost who encourages resting at night and bleeds a lot and who’s resided in one place ends up mistaking Mika for her former mistress, which ends with her being a new staffer at Protagonist Press for better or worse — and Mika getting stuck in an awful board game, the majority of this volume is all about the eventual return of Mika to her original world. It somehow starts with everyone losing the ability to use magic, which is when the old man Wadley appears and mentions this happened in the past where the Fairy King wielded a sword and used it to erase the use of magic in the world. Back then the accusation was humans were abducting fey’s for experiments and that prompted that Fairy King to seal the use of magic. This time a new accusation from them is here, and somehow, it involves Magiket.
Let’s just say the reasoning is too hilarious, so I can only add that sometimes, maybe it’s best to have plans in place when someone this powerful can do something like this — especially when they do it for reasons that involve them making their own mistakes!
But this encounter leads to the reveal that Wadley is one of the grand sages, a powerful wizard who eventually discovers Mika has the Tome of Hope. What was great about this is how the concept of heroes and their use in history doesn’t always have to be a powerful summoned person slaying the Demon Lord or great evil. Instead it’s someone that brings great change. That’s a much more enjoyable spin on the whole hero slaying evil thing, which is one of the many reasons A Witch’s Printing Office has been super fun.
But now that they know this, the time for one final Magiket as the way for Mika to return is here! One final time for everyone to work as hard as they can, some realizing this is Mika’s last time and others having much fun at the event! Surely nothing will go wrong as they execute the spell to send her back home right? Well, in a way it did work…but maybe someone got a lesson on what happens when you have another otherworlder in a fantasy world…
A Witch’s Printing Office has been a crazy, magical ride since it’s first volume and it’s sad that it’s over. But many illuminating facts have been revealed, and alongside the enjoyable artwork, it’ll be a series I’ll certainly miss. Goodbye Mika and Protagonist Press, it’s been a blast! Now make sure you sign all your papers properly!…Speaking about someone who failed to do this and caused maximum chaos because of their mistake!
Justin’s rating: 4 out of 5
Helen: A Witch’s Printing Office is a series that could’ve gone on far longer if it wanted to, writer Mochinchi clearly had even more mishaps on the back burner that Mika could’ve fallen into (like the chapter where she’s been transported into a game book, an isekai within an isekai!) but I’m never a fan of series dragging themselves out longer than they should and am very happy to see everything nicely concluded in this sixth volume.
It is a bit funny to look at the real world events surrounding the end of this series publication; in volume 5 Mochinchi talked about the upcoming Comiket that would never came to pass and the series’ original magazine also went on hiatus, struggles that I’m sure Mika would have empathized with! It’s a testament to how universal some human experiences are for readers like me, who’ve never been to Comiket (or any convention of that scale); all of these fantasy workplace struggles come off as both relatable and deeply hilarious, especially if you’ve spent any time working in customer service. Misinterpreting actions, forms not being correctly filled out, and internet, I mean magic, services being down are a pain no matter which world you’re in!
Of course, now that we’re at the final volume, there are some side characters and places I wish we had seen one more time (like the girl who was following in her mother’s footsteps at Magiket, or more hijinks with the big publishers I mean the guilds), but overall I am pleased at how the cast (central and supporting) never grew to be so big that I was confused whenever someone reappeared. The series definitely feels like a fantasy RPG in that regard, where the NPCs all have their own plots and stories going on in the background but you the protagonist are only involved in some of them. Mika’s role in this world has certainly been a pivotal one, and with the increased spread of spells brought about by Magiket you could argue that her influence on the world is even greater than that of the previous hero’s. But that was never the goal for Mika, she just wanted to be un-isekai’d!
A Witch’s Printing Office is over but I’m sure that the adventures will continue for Mika just like how Magiket (and Comiket) will go on for years to come as well. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for other series by this writer and artist, I don’t think either of them will be able to capture the magic twice but that’s the appeal of books and stories after all, you never know what you will find!
Helen’s rating: 4 out of 5