The Good Witch of the West
#6753.75 adjusted 3.93 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 8 books Status Complete 1997–2003 Reading commitment High Noriko Ogiwara Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
The Good Witch of the West (Nishi no Yoki Majo) is a series of Japanese fantasy novels by Noriko Ogiwara, published by Chuokoron-sha from 1997 to 2003. Filiel Dee, a fifteen-year-old girl from a remote village in the kingdom of Astrea, learns that a necklace given to her by her childhood friend Rune is the missing royal talisman, which makes her a candidate to be the next queen. Five main novels follow her, Rune, the knight Eusys and the queen candidate Adeil, and three side-story novels fill in earlier and parallel events. Manga and anime adaptations followed later. The novels were reissued by Kadokawa in 2013 to 2015, and the series is complete at eight volumes.
Epic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (8 works) counts toward ranking
The Good Witch of the West Noriko Ogiwara
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | セラフィールドの少女 | 1997 | 1 | core | 3.77 (52 ratings) |
 | 秘密の花園 | 1997 | 2 | core | 3.76 (29 ratings) |
 | 薔薇の名前 | 1998 | 3 | core | 3.00 (2 ratings) |
 | 世界のかなたの森 | 1998 | 4 | core | N/A |
 | 闇の左手 | 1999 | 5 | core | N/A |
 | 金の糸紡げば; A side-story novel set in the same world as the main series. | 2000 | 6 | core | N/A |
 | 銀の鳥 プラチナの鳥; A side-story novel set in the same world as the main series. | 2000 | 7 | core | N/A |
 | 真昼の星迷走; A side-story novel set in the same world as the main series. | 2003 | 8 | core | N/A |
Eight Japanese fantasy novels about Filiel Dee and the choice of the next queen of Astrea, five main volumes and three side stories.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Good Witch of the West? The Good Witch of the West's Core Canon is 8 books.
- What is the reading order for The Good Witch of the West? Publication order, starting with セラフィールドの少女. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Good Witch of the West finished? Complete (1997–2003).
- How much reading does The Good Witch of the West take? High reading commitment (estimated from 8 Core Canon books).
- How is The Good Witch of the West ranked? #675 in this site's official ranking, based on 83 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #675?
Ranked #675 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.75 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (83 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.00 to 3.77.
- 0.14 behind #674, House of Dusk.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
5 Core Canon books here don't have a recorded rating yet and aren't counted above: “世界のかなたの森” (awaiting ordinary reader-rating data collection. It will be folded back into this universe's ranking once its rating is recorded.); “闇の左手” (awaiting ordinary reader-rating data collection. It will be folded back into this universe's ranking once its rating is recorded.); “金の糸紡げば” (awaiting ordinary reader-rating data collection. It will be folded back into this universe's ranking once its rating is recorded.); “銀の鳥 プラチナの鳥” (awaiting ordinary reader-rating data collection. It will be folded back into this universe's ranking once its rating is recorded.); “真昼の星迷走” (awaiting ordinary reader-rating data collection. It will be folded back into this universe's ranking once its rating is recorded.).
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 8 books · Complete · 83 ratings · Ranks #675 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (8 Core Canon books)
- セラフィールドの少女 (1997)
- 秘密の花園 (1997)
- 世界のかなたの森 (1998)
- 薔薇の名前 (1998)
- 闇の左手 (1999)
- 金の糸紡げば (2000)
- 銀の鳥 プラチナの鳥 (2000)
- 真昼の星迷走 (2003)
Documented internal/story order
- セラフィールドの少女 (1997)
- 秘密の花園 (1997)
- 薔薇の名前 (1998)
- 世界のかなたの森 (1998)
- 闇の左手 (1999)
- 金の糸紡げば (2000)
- 銀の鳥 プラチナの鳥 (2000)
- 真昼の星迷走 (2003)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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- Throne of Glass Romantasy / Epic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.43
- A Saga das Pedras Mágicas Epic fantasy / Romantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.15
- The Obernewtyn Chronicles Epic fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.07
- L'ultimo elfo Epic fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.05
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.75 across 83 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. 5 additional Core Canon books haven't been rated yet, so they aren't counted here. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 28 universes; Greyhawk gains three novels; 2 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: The Good Witch of the West Tier 2
- Japanese Wikipedia: 西の善き魔女 Tier 2
- Kadokawa: volume 1 Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Noriko Ogiwara Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = the five main novels and three side-story novels of The Good Witch of the West, from セラフィールドの少女 (1997) to 真昼の星迷走 (2003).