Have you ever felt outdated? Have you ever felt like you were constantly being compared to those more marketable than you? This is an existential crisis that most of us go through in this world of social media and instant gratification. Let's not get ahead of ourselves; this isn't a commentary or breakdown about how it can be hard to keep up in a world that sees you as outdated. Instead, that idea consistently exists in the background as we follow characters who feel out of place as witches in the modern age.

Witch Life in a Micro Room is a story about Madge, who moves to the big city to make it big using her magic as a witch. Unfortunately, the way that she goes about using magic is not as flashy or innovative as a lot of other people do. Without a lot of popularity or a high witching rank, she is forced to take minimal jobs and share an apartment with another fellow witch who actively tries not to stand out for her reasons. As someone who works in entertainment, I have encountered many people precisely like these two. I must commend the book for communicating the rather relatable stubbornness they both present. Bonus points for that stubbornness stemming from rather mundane yet understandable fears like insecurity or fear over a loss of identity.

The friendship between Madge and Lilika is believable and heartwarming. These two characters are not asking for much, just enough money to live in a larger place and eat good food each day. Living a simple, mundane life in this economy? Pretty unrealistic, right? I'm kidding, but I do legitimately like this more down-to-earth approach. The presentation isn't flashy or in your face. The magic portrayed is straightforward and almost rudimentary. While that makes some scenes rather visually boring, it does serve the story in the sense that our characters are ironically trying to live a comfortable yet mundane lifestyle with rather mundane methods.

It's a story about discovering that even though innovation will keep getting stronger with each passing day, there is still a place for simple and methodical approaches to a craft. Older forms of magic still exist; they just aren't used as much. Ironically, the book uses magic as a means of communicating that message, but it is analogous to other aspects of life, such as technological advancements or making a living as an entertainer. And I don't think those analogies are accidental. The story doesn't want to scream in your face because that's not the tone Witch Life in a Micro Room is going for.

You can have an overall comfy and laid-back tone while communicating a real yet upsetting message. Seeing these two slowly come out of their shells to accomplish seemingly mundane tasks in their world is more comforting than if they just made it big by saving the world. It establishes that little victories are just as if not more important than the grand scale adventure. At the end of every chapter, we see their lives slowly becoming more and more comfortable. The food they eat after a hard day's work gets larger, and they can indulge in themselves more without doing anything crazy. It is such a cute yet tangible means of measuring success. While I don't necessarily think this would work for a series that lasts over a hundred chapters, seeing that incrementing success was satisfying in its own way.

Witch Life in a Micro Room is about standing out while not standing out. It's a story that effectively combines the slice-of-life, fantasy, and underdog genres in a digestible package for most people. It lures you in with a cute yet unassuming presentation but hooks you with a relatable backdrop. While it comes off as something that you read to pass the time, you'll be smiling from beginning to end while you do so.