Kitsune Windsor is the Fox Spirit that creates magic. I interviewed her on my blog, and she generously gave me her book to edit. It turns out, much like Kitsune herself, the book is magical fun.
The Book
Foxy and Wolfy Vol. 1
Created and Written by Kitsune Windsor
Script by Kitsune Windsor, N.S. Kane, and Anthony Zicari
Cover by: Inma R.
Artists: Mitsu and Ana Kris
Colorists: Sinung Satrio, Madison Taylor, and Chiwa
Publisher: Kickstarter
Foxy and Wolfy feels very much like an old school shojo manga. Chapter one opens up with Misaki (Foxy) Kimura being accepted into a magical school after discovering her spirit key. Misaki has a lot of similar qualities to certain magical girls you may have seen in the past (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon anyone?) with a few interesting wrinkles. For starters, Misaki has muscular dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair, yet despite that, there is a purity of heart to her that is simply adorable, but beyond adorable, she is far from helpless. She is an alpha mage with some amazing abilities.
While getting ready for school, her teacher Mr. Edward sends her to the top floor where she is ambushed by three guys possessed by demon spirits. She puts up a mighty fight but is soon overwhelmed. She is rescued by the incredibly resilient Amaya Bellerose, who Misaki calls “Wolfy”. The two develop a very fast friendship and by chapter two become inseparable.
The early chapters in the manga establish a relationship between Misty, Wolfy, and quite a few of the rest of the colorful cast. A lot of world-building is established early on, and it’s very bright and cheerful. My only criticism of the whole volume is simply that I feel that maybe more tension could be developed a little more so earlier on with the central conflict of the story. Windsor does an amazing job with her characters and does a fantastic job making everyone distinct and lovable in their own way. I can’t fault this approach. All stories come down to the characters you build with them, and each character is their own.
When the tension does hit, it doesn’t pull up at all. Chapter 6 is the end of the childhood innocence of the first part of the book, as the demons attack the school. It’s an intense battle, and all the kids get hammered. You get your first true glimpse of the enemies of the series and even though they lose the battle, they take their pound of flesh…and students.
Chapter 7 the series jumps ahead a few years. Mr. Edward, the teacher in Chapter one is found murdered by demons, and Foxy and Wolfy are determined to find their killer. They find a fox named Rafiki who leads them to meet Roza, who informs them of their first assignment.
The series in this part is much more adult, and hits a maturity not just in dealing with evil, but rather, the tone is more mature as if Kitsune herself matured as a writer writing this. It shows great range to have a book that feels both childlike that a juvenile could read, versus the more adult presentation the later chapters present.
I have to mention the art here and I haven’t yet. The art is gorgeous all the way through. The early parts of the book are so bright and colorful and wondrous. The coloring team did an amazing job with the tone of the book. I cannot stress how important this is to the feel presented here. The pencils are big, and the world feels like something you’d see in a familiar setting like Sailor Moon or Ramna 1/2, but it’s unique and wondrous, and something that only this team could put together. Everyone here – Mistu, Anna Chris, Sinung Satrio, Madison Taylor, and Chiwa did a remarkable job bringing this vision to life.
This is a great manga for anyone that’s a fan of books like Spice and Wolf, Mage and Demon Queen, any magical girl style series, and someone that shows that it’s not the body that makes the strength of spirit, but rather the people carry themselves like heroes no matter what. I love the message, diversity, and concept. This is a winner guys. And it’s available right now at foxyandwolfy.tokyo. It’s worth the money. Check it out.
The Business
Due to her unique situation, I wasn’t able to interview Kitsune on the podcast, but I did have an amazing interview with her. We even sounded like pirates…well…she did. I’m not sure about me. Click the link to read it if you like.
Just Joshing the Podcast is becoming more. Just Joshing the talk show. Starting the end of November with episode 451 the podcast will be streamed on twitch and youtube Monday through Friday. I have an amazing lineup of guests coming up. I hope you guys check it out.
You can subscribe to my youtube channel, or you can support me on my Patreon. More cool things are in store and I’m excited about it.
Speaking of my podcast, my guest right now is the great Mark Leslie Lefebvre. You can listen to it here…
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