Radiant Vol 1 by Tony Valente

Seth is a young wizard apprentice who knows his life's calling is to fight Nemesis - large magical creatures that wreak havoc on humans and their towns.  And Seth is going to do this by harnessing the power of Fantasia!  Seth, like all wizards, is "infected" - meaning he has been touched by fantasia and it gives him powers but manifests physically. In addition to his tiny horns, Seth can also use Fantasia without special gear, unlike other wizards.  However, wizards and Nemesis are both hunted by The Inquisition, an organization that believes wizards are as unnatural as the beasties they fight against.  Because of this struggle, Seth determines to find the "home" of all Nemesis, a place referred to as "Radiant", so that he can eradicate them and stop this battle between humans, wizards, Nemesis, and The Inquisition.

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This story is fun, humorous, and adventurous.  Seth is an interesting main character in that he's not overpowered, and he's slightly-but-not-too-cocky.  The supporting cast is full of great characters with some fun infections.  My favorite is Mélie, a kind and bubbly witch whose infection results in "fits," where she becomes a violent, don't-take-no-crap-from-no-body witch.  The visual cue to this change is in the way Valente draws her eyes - a subtle but definitive cue to the reader.  Valente's art is indicative of classical manga styles, similar to Naruto and Bleach.  

VIZ rates this title for Teen, and I believe this is an appropriate rating.  There is some fantasy violence and some blood, and bodily-fluid jokes involving pee raining from the sky. 

Fun fact: Tony Valente was born in France, so this is actually not manga -- it's manfra.  But, we'll stick with manga for a tag for now.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability level: Grades 7-12

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Fantasy