In a world where sorcery is real, witches were persecuted for years by frightened humans until the eighteenth century. In a bid to survive, witches pledged themselves to the rulers of their countries, and in time, all countries would come to have their own witches working in the shadows. Now in the present day, when the strength of a witch determines the strength of her country, humanity seeks stronger and stronger witches, even establishing a school to train aspiring witches— all while oblivious to the seeds of resentment and revenge that lives on in the heart of every single witch.
At Sternenlichtl, the school where witches learn their craft, Alice Keating is the brightest girl in her year and descendent of the school's founder. Her world is turned upside down when she is assigned to be the tutor to Mari Muguruma, a strange girl who seems out of place among the other witches. As the two grow closer, they also begin to learn the secrets of their respective worlds.
A Witch's Love at the End of the World is a three volume yuri fantasy manga by Kujira. It is licensed in English by Yen Press.
A Witch's Tropes at the End of the World:
- Asleep in Class: This is how Mari is introduced. Madam Dolly wakes her up by casting a spell that makes her own book bop her on the head.
- Burn the Witch!: The opening Exposition Dump shows witches being killed this way in witch hunts. So far, the only named character to die in a witch hunt so far, Iris, was actually killed after an unspecified torture.
- A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 8 is all about Madam Dolly's past, specifically her relationship with a human girl named Iris whose death motivated her to join in Alice Kyteler's plans.
- Flying Broomstick: Among other lessons at Sternenlichtl, the girls are shown learning how to ride flying brooms.
- Gratuitous German: German pops up a lot in this series. Spells are said in German, and Sternenlichtl (which seems to be a corruption of sternenlicht, "starlight") is referred to as a hexenschule, literally a "witch school."
- The Lost Lenore: The motivation driving Madam Dolly to work with Alice Kyteler to take revenge on humanity is the hope of resurrecting her love, a woman named Iris.
- Mugged for Disguise: Invoked, when Alice mentions they'll need the same uniforms two human girls are wearing in order to blend in, Mari panics, assuming she means they need to steal their clothes. Alice instead simply uses a spell to make their clothes look like the uniforms.
- Muggle–Mage Romance: It turns out that Mari's mother fell in love with a human man, causing her to lose her ability to use magic. She was actually content to live as a human, until Mari's magic manifested and drew the attention of the other witches.
- Once More, with Clarity: The first volume opens with a flashback to a young Alice being told by her grandmother that she must "never fall." Later in the book, that same flashback is repeated, with the change that the reader hears the entirety of what she actually said: that Alice must never fall in love.
- Painting the Medium: The dialogue of the demon formerly known as Alice Kyteler is in a different font than the rest of the characters and uses speech bubbles with a dark, spiky border.
- Those Two Girls: Connie and the unnamed blond girl, the two girls who hang out with Miriam.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Mari, who is initially written off by her classmates as useless, turns out to have the potential to not only perform resurrection magic, one of the most advanced magics there is, but has enough innate magical power to not suffer any recoil upon using it.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: As it turns out, witches are able to feel love and are somewhat aware of what it is— but all witches end up having their ability to love snuffed out when they're born, otherwise they will eventually lose their ability to use magic. Alice isn't sure what to make of it when Mari starts crying when she explains this to her.
- When She Smiles: Mari is shocked by how much more approachable Alice looks when she smiles.
- Witch Hunt: After previously coexisting peacefully with humans for years, witches were persecuted and hunted down in witch hunts during the seventeenth century out of fear. Iris died in one such witch hunt.
- Wizarding School: The story takes place at Sternenlichtl, which is described as a hexenschule— literally a "witch school."
- Wizards Live Longer: While not outright said, this is hinted at: a flashback shows Dolly living during the time of witch hunts, making her at least three hundred years old.
