This is a journey I've been meaning to embark on for a few years. I think I started rereading my old W.I.T.C.H. comics back when I still lived in Florida, but they were one of the things that didn't survive the hurricane. I was happy when I discovered the current graphic novel line, which finally brings the entire series to English. I only just started buying them in sets of whatever number gets me the entire story arc. I hope to have all 22 that are out right now pretty soon and do reviews for each arc.
W.I.T.C.H. and Winx Club were the two major "girl" properties in the early 2000s. Disney Fairies came along a bit later and man, did I love all three of these. At one point, I believe I was running Livejournal communities for each one, as well as writing fanfic solo and as a group effort.
A lot of people were either Team Winx or Team W.I.T.C.H. but I loved them both. Winx was definitely more accessible in the US though. I didn't get to see much of the W.I.T.C.H. show and I had to import the comics for ages. I also go many, many more dolls of the Winx cast, though I do have both Disney Store and Italian W.I.T.C.H. dolls and love them all.
So what is W.I.T.C.H.? Well, it should be pretty clear that it's a magical girl series. The magical girl element and the fact that the core team is made up of five girls are literally the only similarities between W.I.T.C.H. and Winx. And Winx did away with that beginning with Season 2's addition of Aisha/Layla.
The girls of W.I.T.C.H. are the Guardians of Kandrakar, which is like a mythical place that maintains order in the universe. Each girl is given a variety of random powers that it's kind of hard to keep track of as well as one main power. A lot of them have the same powers, like invisibility, shapeshifting, and the ability to create a duplicate called an astral drop.
The name W.I.T.C.H. derives from the girls' first initials, not from any association with witches. They don't consider themselves witches at all, though there are jokes and I think it's Hay Lin who most frequently refers to the group by that term.
Will Vandom (the redhead) is the holder of the Heart of Kandrakar. She's the team leader and basically the heart of their group. She'll summon the Heart for transformation time, but the girls can each transform any time they want to. Will was the first one to master invisibility, though her primary random power is...the ability to communicate with electronic devices. It's incredibly specific and definitely the most random of their skills. Will is an interesting character, but she's very turbulent. She's just moved to Heatherfield and fights constantly with her single mother. Though honestly, her mom picks most of those fights. I hate their bickering and want to shake them both and make them communicate properly. Will is loveable, but she's not my favorite in this arc. I'd say she's loveable but not the easiest to love.
Irma Lair is the comic relief. She's the curvy brunette. The four guardians who aren't will each have an elemental power and Irma's is water. She doesn't have a clear random power, although she does seem able to control oral quizzes in school. She'll think about the one thing she knows and the teacher will ask her about that when called on. I can't remember if this power grows into anything else later, but it's basically light mind control. Irma doesn't get much time to shine in the first story arc. She's pretty much just shown as the comic relief.
Taranee Cook is the bespectacled black girl. She's only slightly less new to Heatherfield than Will. Her power is fire and her random power is telepathy. Taranee is a character I tend to vacillate on. Sometimes I like her, but sometimes she can be a bit of a coward, especially early in the series. I think she judges people too quickly, too. She doesn't have a horrible showing in the first arc, but I still feel we don't get to know her very well.
Cornelia Hale is the well to do, willowy blonde. I assume her family has money anyway because they live in the nicest place. Cornelia's element is earth and like it, she's very grounded. She's rational to the point of coming across as cold. Cornelia is also telekinetic, though I think they all are to some degree. I'm kind of blanking on this now. But it's definitely one of Cornelia's strong suits. Cornelia gets the best showing in this first arc, I think. She's the one that remains hopeful that her best friend Elyon is still in there and she hasn't completely turned into an enemy. She's logical but also holds on to her hope, which makes me like her a lot. She can be skeptical, too, which is part of her logical side, though she tends to let it out in more negative ways. It's safe to say she's the bitchy one, but I love her for it. She's also got a great range to her powers and uses them very well. I used to get annoyed with Flora from Winx for always using vines when Cornelia was controlling the entire ground and boulders and every earth thing imaginable.
Hay Lin is the adorable Chinese girl. I love her big ears. Hay is an artist and she's obsessed with aliens. She comes across as a little flighty, which fits her power of air. She has an odd random ability, which is to hear memories connected to certain objects. Hay Lin is her full name, which she's frequently called by, instead of just Hay. But she's also called Hay and Hay-Hay. She's my second fave after Cornelia, because she's a sweet, goofy character and I loved her Four Dragons story.
One thing I loved about this is that all the girls aren't the same age. Will, Cornelia and Elyon are 14, while Taranee, Irma and Hay are 13. That's different than your typical magical girl set up.
So there's your main cast. There are parents, siblings, teachers, antagonists, and love interests all over the place, too. The most interesting pairing is Cornelia and Caleb, who I'll get into more in another story arc.
The first story arc is about the guardians' discovery of their powers and them trying to figure out their purpose while also trying to close portals that keep appearing between their world and another called Metamoor.
Elyon, Cornelia's best friend, is shown with the girls at the beginning, but then she disappears and joins the bad guys. This first arc is actually hers more than any of the guardians'. It tells how she's the rightful ruler of the city of Meridien in Metamoor and she was hidden on Earth to protect her from her evil older brother Phobos. Elyon spends several issues being a villain only to turn back to the side of good with a lot of help from Cornelia. They win the day in the end and Elyon takes her place as queen even though she's only 14.
The action jumps all over the place with random tasks, like sidequests almost, and problems in their daily lives. I think the storyline stays pretty tight though. Some of the plotlines feel like filler, but then typically they end up having a part in the main narrative. W.I.T.C.H. tends to be a bit more mature-feeling than a lot of other magical girl stuff and I've always enjoyed that.
I feel like I'm rambling at this point and it's almost 3, so I'm going to wrap up and save future commentary for the next arcs.
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