Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia gives us an adorably traumatic history lesson in the first two episodes of its streaming debut. All starring a young Persian girl named Sitara who starts out this story set in 13th century Persia already traumatized, and the trauma conga line just keeps on going. It makes for a rivetingly dark historical drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat, all in spite of the cognitive dissonance produced by how adorable its overall art style is.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 1-2: Details in Brief
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 1 “All That Is in the Heavens and All That Is in the Earth” and Ep. 2 “The Roses That Bloom in Safar” are the first two episodes of this historical drama anime series. Said anime series is the anime adaptation of the manga A Witch’s Life in Mongol by Tomato Soup.
Science SARU (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Star Wars: Visions “Akakiri” and “T0-B1“, Dandadan) is the animation studio behind this anime. Naoko Yamada is the chief director for this anime, with Abel Góngora as the co-director, Kanichi Katou as the writer, and Kōshirō Hino as the composer for the music we hear in this anime.
Speaking of the music: the opening theme song of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is “Stella” by Sekai no Owari. Meanwhile, “Hoshi” by QUEEN BEE is the ending theme song.
Synopsis
Since we are covering two episodes of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia in this review, here’s the official synopsis for both episodes below:
Ep. 1 “All That Is in the Heavens and All That Is in the Earth”:
Sitara, a young slave girl, is sold to a family of scholars, where she begins her journey of knowledge.
Ep. 2 “The Roses That Bloom in Safar”:
As nomads sack the city of Tun, Fatima and Sitara hide in the basement and wait for the others to return.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 1-2: The Good
Also since we are reviewing two episodes of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia today, we will split this section of review into two parts, starting with:
Ep. 1 “All That Is in the Heavens and All That Is in the Earth”
Ep. 1 “All That Is in the Heavens and All That Is in the Earth” starts us off by introducing us to the ancient Persian city of Tus through the eyes of a very young Sitara (voiced by Akira Sekine). It sets the stage for the rest of this episode as the narrative explores the daily life of the inhabitants of the city, with a particular focus on scholar Fatima (voiced by Houko Kuwashima) and her family and household. It essentially becomes a heartwarming found family story, with Sitara essentially joining the household as an adopted daughter despite her official status as a slave for the family. It’s quite adorable…right up until the closing minutes of this episode, where it turns into a tragedy and drama, but that’s for later.
All while this episode delivers some stunning visuals in the form of Tus itself. The anime treats us to a city of sandstone and soarding spires, all drawn in a Studio Ghibli-esque style that is somehow both cartoonish and artistic at the same time. Science SARU really succeeds in delivering a unique aesthetic style for the city that’s reminiscent of the jaw-dropping vistas in open world games like Assassin’s Creed. Complete with the cries of a local muezzin calling all the faithful to prayer providing the perfect musical accompaniment to the whole scene.
Speaking of which, Kōshirō Hino has done a wonderful job with the music of this episode. The various drums, string instruments, and wind instruments all collaborate to bring us into the world of 13th century Persia, even if you just close your eyes and chill out to the tunes.
Ep. 2 “The Roses That Bloom in Safar”
Ep. 2 “The Roses That Bloom in Safar” is where the story of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia goes from a nice, fluffy, and historical slice of life story into a tragic drama. History buffs will readily recall the reason why even before the Mongol soldiers actually show up in this episode. The 13th century is the period in which Genghis Khan is busy forming the Mongol Empire, and this episode quite graphically shows the consequences for the people they conquered. Right down to an entire city being razed to the ground and its inhabitants slaughtered down to the women, children, and even pets; and all for the death of a single Mongol officer.
Kudos to Tomato Soup for the historical accuracy of this plotline. The Mongols practiced a pretty strict carrot and stick approach to their warfare. If you totally and completely surrendered without a fight, you more or less got away intact. If you resist, even just slightly, they would slaughter pretty much everyone except for skilled craftsmen and burn your city to the ground. All this happens right in this episode, shown in brutal detail despite how cute the art style looks. Honestly, that contrast gives us some amazing cognitive dissonance that keeps us on the edge of our seats. All with little actual depictions of violence, but what few we get is pretty nightmarish enough to give us secondhand trauma.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Ep. 1-2: The Bad
If you like bloody action, well, you do get it in Ep. 2 “The Roses That Bloom in Safar”. However, it’s not the bloody action of two shonen characters trying to bash in each other’s face. It’s the bloody action of Mongol soldiers brutally slaughtering people for even the slightest of offences. It’s historically realistic bloody action, but a very one-sided sort of action. If you want an equal fight, you might want to look elsewhere.
Aside from that, I have a complaint about Crunchyroll’s official synopsis for Ep. 2 “The Roses That Bloom in Safar”. On multiple occasions within Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, Sitara’s hometown is explicitly stated to be Tus. You know, like the actual ancient Persian city of Tus with its own Wikipedia article? Yeah, whoever wrote that synopsis misspelled it as “Tun”. It’s a bit of an embarrassing typo, especially since Tus has that aforementioned Wikipedia article. Hopefully, Crunchyroll corrects that soon.
Anime Recommendations
If you want even more bloody action than what we already get in Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, TRIGUN STARGAZE, and/or Daemons of the Shadow Realm. However, if you want something more like the cuteness and the drama in this anime, then you might also like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, Journal with Witch, and/or Witch Hat Atelier.
What did you think of this two-episode premiere of Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia? Tell us your historical thoughts in the comments section below.
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