A Witch's Life in Mongol (Japanese: 天幕のジャードゥーガル, Hepburn: Tenmaku no Jādūgaru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tomato Soup. It began serialization on Akita Shoten's Souffle website in September 2021. As of August 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected into four volumes.
Plot
In the 13th century, in the city of Tus, Fatima was sold as a slave to a family of scholars, and although she initially tried to run away, they taught her the importance of knowledge and she ended up working and studying in their home.
After the heir to the family left for Nishapur to further his studies, the Mongols invaded Tus. Fatima was captured by Tolui's army and her master was killed while protecting her. After being taken to Mongolia, Fatima begins to think about taking revenge on the Mongols.
Production
Tomato Soup originally had Töregene Khatun as the protagonist, though she felt that Fatima would be better to represent the size of the Mongol Empire. She also felt Fatima would be more interesting to write.[2] Regarding the illustrations, Tomato Soup felt that medieval manuscripts tend to have "unrealistic" styles, so she tried to imitate that style.[2]
Publication
Written and illustrated by Tomato Soup, the series began serialization on Akita Shoten's Souffle website on September 25, 2021.[3] As of August 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected into four tankōbon volumes.[4]
Yuka Furukawa of Da Vinci praised the setting and characters, particularly the villains, which Furukawa felt were realistic.[1] Kazushi Shimada of Real Sound praised the story, particularly recommending it to fans of Hitoshi Iwaaki's Historie and Uoto's Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.[9]
The series was nominated for the 16th Manga Taishō in 2023.[10] It was also nominated for the 17th Manga Taishō in 2024.[11] In the 2023 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook's list of the top manga for female readers, the series ranked first.[12] In the 2024 edition's list, the series ranked 11th.[13]
