Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Let’s talk about Studio Trigger, they’re one of the best studios in Japan today. Over the years, the studio has redefined what anime is, what it should be, and what it can be, by giving us animes that are outside the norm, take risk, and present something new. Sometimes these ideas work and sometimes they fail, but in the end, you can’t deny that you’re interested in seeing their work and the first work that they showed off to the world was Little Witch Academia. Written by Masahiko Otsuka and directed by Yoshinari, Little Witch Academia originally got started all the way back in 2013 where it made its debut as a short film for Anime Mirai a yearly animation festival where up and comers as well as veterans in the industry come to show off their work. Out of the 2013 Anime Mirai festival the two projects that stood out the most was Death Parade and of course Little Witch Academia. Death Parade became popular because of its storytelling, setting, and philosophical/psychological view on the afterlife while Little Witch Academia became popular because of its amazing animation style, creativity, and that it was a female version of Harry Potter. So in 2013, Studio Trigger started working on a second film but wanted to extend its initial run time so they launched a kickstarter to fund the second film which reached it’s goal within 5 hours. The second film came out in 2015 which got a lot of praise from all audiences and finally in 2016 it was announced that Trigger was working on a full anime series which debuted in 2017 and today I’m here to review it. Now you’re probably wondering don’t the AI girls usually do a review at the beginning of March? Well Seras was going to review Kakegurui but with the second season starting at the beginning of the year we had to move her review up and she said she had nothing else she wanted to review so she passed over the AI review, and since no one else has anything planned I get to take over this week-
(Chibi Isis): Not so fast Nii-chan! I was originally supposed to review Kakegurui with Seras and since Seras has nothing to review that means the AI review goes to me.
(Nitsuj): Well this is true Chibi. By default, the review should go to you. However, the contract states that 2 AI girls must conduct the review and I highly doubt you can find someone on such short notice interested in reviewing a Studio Trigger anime.
(Shizuku): Did somebody say Studio Trigger?
(Nitsuj): Oh crap.
(Shizuku): You guys are going to review a Studio Trigger anime and you didn’t invite me? What’s up with that?
(Chibi Isis): Yep, Little Witch Academia. You in?
(Shizuku): Hell yeah! Let’s do this!
(Nitsuj): Alright. Let’s take a look at Studio Trigger’s first work. This is Little Witch Academia.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Chibi Isis): The opening is “Shiny Ray” by YURiKA. I really did like this opening. The song is enchanting, magical, and fits perfectly with the series. YURiKA sounds great and exciting throughout the song as she invites on this magical journey of witches, magic, and following your dreams.
(Shizuku): “Hoshi wo Todoreba” by Yuiko Ohara is our ending. Normally, I don’t like these slow moving songs but this one managed to win me over. I don’t know, despite the fact that it sounds relaxing there’s this hint of adventure and excitement in it. It’s as if the anime is sad that it had to end so soon but they give you hope that they’ll be back next week to tell you more.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): The anime opens up with a magic show being done by a witch named Shiny Chariot where apparently in this world witches are a normal thing (Chibi Isis: It’s like a Miyazaki film. Bizarre is normal and normal is bizarre). In the audience, we see a young girl named Atsuko aka Akko voiced by Megumi Han (Five from Terror in Resonance) blown away by her performance (Shizuku: Which is freakin’ awesome, I’ll give her that) and decides that when she gets older she’ll become a witch herself just like Shiny Chariot. We fast forward into the future where Akko is now in high school and has been accepted to the magical school of Luna Nova (which I hear is in the same conference as Hogwarts), however, she has no idea how to get there. She tries looking for a bus stop but has no luck until she looks at her map and discovers that the bus stop is on a hill top by a tree that looks like a big gate. When she reaches the gate she finds out that it’s not a bus stop but instead a magic highway that takes them to Luna Nova and the only way to use the highway is to have a broom and our main character doesn’t have a broom and can’t use magic at all because she has no witch blood in her veins. Almost ready to give up, another witch named Lotte voiced by Fumiko Orikasa (Momoi from Kuroko’s Basketball) offers to give Akko a lift but Akko brings salt with her into the highway which is bad and the two along with an emo witch named Sucy voiced by Michiyo Murase get thrown from the highway and wind up in the forbidden Arcturus Forest (sounds pleasant). Once there Sucy uses them as a sacrifice to lure out a cockatrice to steal its feather. Sucy manages to get the feather and Akko and Lotte manage to escape from the cockatrice where Lotte hurts her knee. Not wanting leave to Sucy to die (Shizuku: Although she does deserve it) Akko pulls herself and Lotte up and her determination and spirit bring forth the shiny rod (too easy. Corbin. (Corbin): I got a shiny rod as well. And mine shoots out more than just magic). Akko manages to distract the cockatrice and lure it into a vine trap giving the girls a chance to escape but the cockatrice comes after them destroying their broom. As they begin to fall to their doom (Chibi Isis: They survived the first fall, what makes this fall any different?) Akko uses the shiny rod (Corbin: Alright, we got a taker already. (Shizuku): That’s two, one more and you’re out) and opens a highway portal to the academy where all three of them arrive in time for the ceremony and become roommates.
In episode 2 we focus on Akko’s first day at school. We see that one of the teachers named Ursula takes an interest in Akko and offers to tutor her in magic (God knows she needs the extra lessons). We do see that Shiny Chariot isn’t well respected in the magic community and hasn’t been seen in 10 years (Chibi Isis: It’s a magic act, roll with it). We get to meet Diana a snotty high society girl (Shizuku: Who may or may not come from an inbred family) and her annoying entourage who talk bad about Shiny Chariot and therefore insult Akko who tries to show off the Shiny Rod’s power (Corbin: Hey, all you had to do was ask. *Shizuku hits Corbin with a pop-up powerbomb* (Shizuku): Was it worth it? (Corbin): Yes) but it doesn’t work (Corbin: I get nervous under pressure. *Shizuku picks him back up and hits him with another pop-up powerbomb* (Nitsuj): For God’s sake Corbin, show some restraint). After this debacle (Chibi Isis: Debacle? What are we in Canada?), the teachers are investigating the magic tree which seems to be dying for some odd reason. Diana tries to use her family’s healing magic on it but it doesn’t work and the tree starts going on a rampage (day one folks. Day damn one). It gets revealed that the tree has been infected with chrysalises, parasites that are eating away at the tree’s magic energy and Diana just gave them a huge power boost (Shizuku: Noble lineage my ass. Magic hillbilly). Diana begins destroying them but Akko stops her taking a magic blast to the back saying they’re papilliodya chrysalises which are butterflies that emerge once every 120 years and bring hope to the hearts of those who see them. After her explanation, the Shiny Rod begins to grow (*Shizuku hits Corbin again with the End of Days* (Corbin): I didn’t even say anything this time. (Shizuku): You were thinking it. (Corbin): True) and Akko recites the papilliodya spell (what’s the magic word for prat? (Shizuku): Don’t start with me boss, I’ll powerbomb you through that table) which gives birth to hundreds of papilliodyas which take flight for everyone to see and Diana is given credit for it since Akko and the others left but at least Diana leaves not wanting to take credit for something she didn’t do so points for her on that end.
In episode 3 Akko is learning how to fly a broom in time for the school’s broom relay race (Chibi: Ohh~, I wonder if this school has a quidditch club?). The problem is of course she can’t fly at all yet despite this signs herself and her friends up for the relay race anyway (you know, Akko’s being very selfish this episode). The day of the race comes where Sucy realizing there’s no way they can win straight up decides to play dirty (Shizuku: I’m starting to see Sucy as the best character). She puts a spell on everyone’s broom at the start of the race to hold them up and then tricks a girl to eat a trail of donuts (Shizuku: That girl plays to win). When it’s finally Akko’s turn, she uses a potion on her broom which makes it jump like a frog (the rules say to ride the broom, they didn’t say how you had to ride it). Diana eventually catches up to her as does the renegade broom known as Shooting Star a broom with a mind of its own and said to be the fastest broom in the world however its wild, it tosses everyone who ever rides it off (Corbin: Just like the shiny rod. *Shizuku picks up Corbin and does the curb stomp* Ahhhhh~! So uncalled for). Another witch named Amanda who wanted to use the broom to win the race stole it from a magic shop (Chibi Isis: Which looks like Hot Topic if they actually sold gothic merchandise) and tried to ride it but it escaped and now it’s loose on the relay. Akko wanting to tame it rides the broom where it takes her for a ride around the world (Chibi Isis: So I’m guessing she lost? (Shizuku): That’s a good assumption). Akko eventually gets thrown off but she doesn’t give up and shoots herself out of a canon landing on the broom she originally had and riding it in the race. Her and Diana are head to head for the finish line where it looks like Akko is going to win but she falls off the broom and Diana gets the win instead. Also, here’s some broom dancing (scene here: https://youtu.be/TGpCOEkQiMM. (Corbin): Well, that re-ignited my fetish for legs *Shizuku grabs Corbin and hits him with a bladerunner. (Nitsuj): Breathe with the Queen of Bareknuckles. New era, coming soon).
Episode 4 starts off with Lotte chatting with someone on this world’s version of Myspace (who the hell uses MySpace anymore? Didn’t they die out a long time ago?) about a book event going on in the city for the book called Night Fall where the book is this world’s version of Twilight (okay, tag in, this episode is pressing all the wrong buttons with me *Chibi Isis tags in*)
(Chibi Isis): So in the episode Lotte wants to go to the book event as not only will the book be releasing its 365th volume (Nitsuj: Christ~, it’s even longer than Twilight, DBZ, One Piece, and Detective Conan) but the author Annabel will be making a public appearance who is a witch and has been writing the series for 120 years (Shizuku: Amazingly, that’s how long everyone predicts it’ll take One Piece to end. (Nitsuj): Yep, and it’s a journey I intend to see to the end). But Lotte can’t go to the event thanks to Akko who snuck into the cafeteria and stole a tart (https://youtu.be/TM_6tgVJb_o) and as punishment she, Akko, and Sucy have to unpack a food truck and take remedial classes in the afternoon (must have been one good tart). Akko feeling bad decides to make it up to Lotte and the three decide to sneak off to the city skipping their remedial lessons and everything. After unpacking the food truck, they hitch a ride inside and arrive in the city where everyone is excited for the book dressing up as characters and everything from the series (it’s quite the sight. (Nitsuj): It’s a horror show). Once they go inside Lotte enters a trivia contest where the winner gets a prize from Annabel who is a child (Shizuku: Well that’s just illogical). Lotte wins the contest and receives a fountain pen from the author who tells her that she’s now the author of Night Fall. Apparently, the original author passes her work down to another and they did the same to another author and so forth (well that explains why the series has been going on for so long. (Shizuku): As well as the inconsistencies and mundane writing. (Corbin): No, it was always like that *chuckles* ohh~, it hurts to laugh). So now Lotte has to become the author or her favorite story will have to come to an end. Annabel vanishes but Lotte, Akko, and Sucy go looking for her because Lotte doesn’t want to be the author of her favorite story (Shizuku: Why? (Nitsuj): Because she can never love the series more then the author. I love One Piece but as much as I love One Piece I know that I could never love it as much as Oda). They have no luck at finding Annabel so they talk to the faery within the fountain pen that belonged to the first Annabel which Lotte has the power to do. They talk to the faery and find out that the current Annabel isn’t confident in her abilities seeing as how the current volumes are getting a lot of backlash (Corbin: Again, it was always like that). They manage to find her where Lotte convinces her to keep on writing and ignore the haters (Nitsuj: Story of my blogs right there). They head back to the academy where they get in trouble for leaving and have to clean out the troll tub (eww~, they just had a soccer game too).
Episodes 5-8
Episode 5 starts off with Akko and Amanda arguing with each other on who the biggest dunce is (Nitsuj: Also, major props for the Powerpuff Girls reference at the beginning). They get in trouble and get assigned cleaning where they witness a bunch of dragons stealing the Sorcerer’s Stone the source of the academy’s magic (the age of princess stealing is over. They’re all about magic stealing now). Akko wants to go after them but Diana tells her to stop rushing off without thinking and forcing others to help her (Shizuku: Hey she’s pointing out the main flaw with Akko). She also calls out Amanda, calling her a slacker with no ambitions or desires who causes trouble for everyone else (Nitsuj: Man, Diana is savage this episode). Not taking this lying down, Akko and Amanda gather their friends and go after the dragons (you’re doing exactly what Diana just called you out on. What is wrong with you?). They find the dragons and fight them where Akko makes the discovery that they’re mechanical (Nitsuj: Not a bad idea for a security system). The girls get caught and taken under the ruins where Akko tries to fight the beast holding them but fails (what was your plan again?). We see that the beast holding them is a dragon named Fafnir who is the original owner of the Sorcerer’s Stone. It turns out the academy is in debt and owes Fafnir a large sum of cash which they haven’t paid back in years because magic is a dying art (Nitsuj: Of course, it’s all about technology baby) so he took the stone as a warning telling them to pay up. The headmistress comes in with some useless junk hoping that’ll please him (Shizuku: Man, you guys are cheap) but he wants cash and nothing else. He plans to repossess the academy and sell it off but Diana comes in and reveals the contract which says that the academy doesn’t owe him no interest at all. The contract is written out in dragonese so he took advantage of that in order to get more money (Corbin: Hey! That’s how we got out of our third mortgage on the house. (Nitsuj): You took out a third mortgage on your house? (Corbin): Long story. Dad was drunk). The contract between them becomes invalid and they get to keep the academy all thanks to Diana (Shizuku: Is there anything this girl can’t do?).
In episode 6 the Earl of Hanbridge is coming with his son Andrew (who is handsome and has eyes that you get lost in. (Nitsuj): He looks like a junior executive from Wall Street). The academy is hosting a welcoming party and everyone is invited except for Akko who is confined to her room and to practice her metamorphosis magic. She keeps failing and starts to lose confidence wondering if she really has magic powers. Hoping to get answers, she decides to search for the Fountain of Polaris which is conveniently located in the north section of the academy and has the power to bestow the power of the stars unto the witch with hidden radiance (Shizuku: Well we’ve seen what one star can do in Super Mario Bros. Imagine having that power 24/7). As she prepares to do this Diana gives Andrew and his friend a tour of the school where we see Andrew and Diana are childhood acquaintances and Andrew isn’t too fond of magic calling it a lost art that has no place in the world (Corbin: Keep saying that as I drop a snowman on you, you slicked hair bastard). He manages to run into Akko where he expresses his disinterest in magic and Akko accidently gives him donkey ears and a tail (Nitsuj: You’ve got some interesting fetishes there Akko). Hoping to fix this they both continue to the Fountain of Polaris where they reach it but get chased by a giant polar bear (you should have bought some cola). The bear chases them around until they get saved by Ursula unknowingly and arrive at the fountain where Akko asks for the powers of the stars (Shizuku: Sorry, but the stars are in another castle) but instead sees images of a young Shiny Chariot who was quite similar to Akko. She too struggled at first but through hard work, perseverance, and never giving up she managed to become a great witch. The fountain then transports them outside because Akko isn’t ready yet and after seeing all those images of Shiny Chariot she realizes this. Ursula shows back up to remove the animal ears from Andrew and he promises to keep what happened today a secret.
(Shizuku): Episode 7 is a riot. It’s exam time and Akko is determined to get good grades but she keeps messing up on them and is told that if she fails her final exam she’ll be expelled from the academy. Her final exam is magic philosophy which is taught by a fish (Corbin: Oh that’s nothing. My theology teacher was a praying mantis. Professor Han, good man. A shame he got stepped on during my junior year. Respect). To make things worse, Akko doesn’t understand fish so she has no idea what’s going to be on the test (well you’re screwed). She tries to suck up to the fish by giving her mineral water which seems to have a negative effect on her and Akko accidently flushes her professor down the drain (Nitsuj: So not only did she attempt to kill her professor but she flushed her down the drain. Forget expulsion, she’s going to jail). Akko, Lotte, and Sucy head into the sewers to find the fish where they transform into fish (Chibi Isis: Except for Akko who transformed into a merman) and come across a fish whose been separated from his family. Akko not wanting to abandon the little fella decides to help him and they find the family captured in the net of a poacher (scene here: https://youtu.be/777J5UO3cpY). Akko saves them using her magic but one can’t escape so Akko heads up topside to give the poacher a good scare and save the fish. They return to the academy where the other professors find out about their little adventure where the fish isn’t angry at Akko. She’s very grateful that she got to go out and swim in a lake and she gives her an A for using her magic to help others. But one of the professors still wants to expel Akko for her embarrassing behavior but Ursula gives her an ear full. Not only that but it turns out the fish were endangered species and someone got a picture of the whole event and made a story out of it meaning Akko is a hero (now if you wanna go ahead and expel the girl who just gave your academy good publicity, go ahead and look like an idiot. But if you want to expel that girl because you’re comparing her to other girls and only value grades and talent over hard work and determination, go ahead and still look like an idiot only bigger). In the end Akko is allowed to stay however she does get punished for trying to cheat.
We get another funny episode for episode 8 (and here’s a game I like to play with this episode. Count all the references). It starts off with Sucy creating a potion in a lab outfit which looks oddly familiar (Nitsuj: Oh~, Dexter’s Laboratory). The potion that she’s created will unlock her latent magic powers but she wants to test it out first. She tries to get a sleeping Akko to take it but once she realizes that if the potion works it’ll make Akko the greatest witch ever which according to Sucy would be boring (I agree). So she takes it herself and falls into a deep sleep that no one can wake her from (Chibi Isis: Sleeping Beauty) and mushrooms begin growing throughout the room which will soon spread all over the academy unless Sucy wakes up. In order to save her Lotte casts a spell on Akko which sends her directly into Sucy’s mind which is filled with mushrooms (Nitsuj: Wow, the Mushroom Kingdom is a lot emptier than I thought). Once there Akko runs into Sucy’s good and bad consciences who agree to take her to the real Sucy (after promising to carry Sucy’s books for one month) and we see they’re both pretty evil and twisted. On their way to the mushroom tower containing the real Sucy they meet all kinds of Sucys such as the slothful Sucy, greedy, transformer (Nitsuj: Transformers) and Jedi (Chibi Isis): Star Wars). She does manage to come across a good Sucy but the Sucy police arrest her and take her to a court of law where all the kind Sucys that have just sprouted go to be executed (these guys are making the McCarthy trails look fair). Akko speaks out against this unfair trial and also gets the death sentence where the executioner is pyramid head (Nitsuj: Silent Hill). Akko escapes and frees the other Sucys allowing them to run off freely (that won’t be good). They finally hitch a ride to the mushroom tower but take a detour to watch some of Sucy’s memories where she views Akko as a goofy character from a black and white cartoon (Chibi Isis: That makes sense. Also, Mickey Mouse. First episode. Steamboat Willie. Released in 1928. Directed by Walt Disney himself and Ub Iwerks) but at the same time values her friendship with Akko. One of the Sucy’s that Akko saved goes crazy and transforms into a monster (Chibi Isis: Akira) combining with all the other Sucys Akko let go. It turns out that killing off little parts of yourself is actually normal, if you didn’t than you pretty much go crazy or wind up being a pervert (Nitsuj: Yeah, that actually makes sense. The Sucy that Akko sees is only one part of what makes Sucy whole). This new Sucy is taking over Sucy’s mind and soon will become the new Sucy unless Akko can stop her. Akko makes it to the tower where thanks to old lady Sucy she finds the real Sucy in room 666 (Nitsuj: Almost any horror/ religious movie out there. Take your pick) and manages to wake her up returning to reality only earlier in the morning where we’re left wondering just how much of this episode was real and how much of it was a dream.
Episodes 9-13
Nothing much to say about episode 9. Akko accidently brings back a pirate from the dead and it goes on a rampage in a nearby town (Nitsuj: With Sucy giving zero you-know-whats throughout the episode). The pirate is looking for a man who left his family a long time ago only to remember that the man he’s looking for has been himself the whole time. We find out that he’s actually the father of the headmistress of the academy and as Akko’s spell starts to wear off, the pirate and the headmistress are given a few minutes to talk to each other and catch-up with the pirate being proud of his daughter and everything (Chibi Isis: It’s a touching scene).
In episode 10 Diana returns (I was wondering where she’s been these last few episodes) with her two stooges whose names are Hannah and Barbara (Nitsuj: A possible shoutout to Hannah Barbara?) and is going to a party honoring Andrew. After being made fun of not getting an invitation to the party (Chibi Isis: Yeah what gives? They survived a polar bear attack together) Akko decides to sneak into the party with Lotta and Sucy. After acquiring some magic dresses, they sneak into the party where they get spotted by Andrew who asks them politely to leave (Chibi Isis: And it was awkward for everybody). Sucy unleashes a love bee which causes people to fall in love with the person they see after getting stung (you know bees die after they sting, right? (Nitsuj): No, they only die if they lose their stinger which more times than not happens when they sting people). Once that bee is unleashed all hilarity breaks out. Andrew falls for Akko as does Diana (Corbin: Wow, Akko can do the vertical drop, the scissors dance, or the horizontal bop. If not all. (Shizuku): And you can do the power wha. (Corbin): The power whaaaaaaaaaa~ *Shizuku does a reverse hurricanrana on Corbin*! Oh I get it now. Ohhhhh~). Lotte also gets lucky with Andrew’s friend who falls for her (Chibi Isis: Aren’t you going to say something Nii-chan? (Nitsuj): I would, but after what just happened, I’m too afraid. (Shizuku): Smart man). The only way to break the spell is to kill the bee so Akko runs throughout the mansion searching for it where she runs into Andrew and his dad talking about witches. You see Andrew’s dad thinks witches are outdated and have no place in the world today, so he wants Andrew to cut ties with them. We also see that Andrew is controlled by his dad and has no say in what he’s allowed to do (he’s not even allowed to play the piano). After their talk, Akko comes in and calls him a spineless boy for not doing the things he wants to and runs after the bee. Once inside Akko continues hunting the bee getting everyone’s attention but Andrew covers for her and shows that he can play the piano. He plays Flight of the Bumblebee (Nitsuj: Fitting) and at the end Akko manages to kill the bee and returns everyone to normal (Chibi Isis: Well that was fun, who’s up for dancing?). So, did anything good come from this little prank? Well Andrew’s friend Frank takes an interest in Lotte so for you Lotte fans out there this can be considered a win in your book.
(Nitsuj): In episode 11 Akko begins to doubt herself and wonders if she can still continue trying to be a witch (you’ve come this far, why stop now?). Akko believes that if she met Shiny Chariot and got a few encouraging words from her she’d be alright, so she asks Ursula about Chariot’s disappearance hoping to get a clue of her whereabouts (Shizuku: Try putting Ursula in front of a mirror and removing her glasses. (Chibi Isis): Is it that obvious? (Nitsuj): It’s very obvious). Ursula isn’t much help so Akko does the next best thing and decides to enter the Blue Moon Abyss a place that appears on the night of the blue moon and speak with an all-knowing spirit. While that’s going on, Diana looks into the history about the 9 olde witches who were sealed away centuries ago. The only way to break the seal is by reciting the 7 magic words while holding the staff that bears the seven stars. Back with Akko, she enters the Blue Moon Abyss with the Shiny Rod (Corbin: It is dangerous to go alone *Shizuku does the code breaker on Corbin*. (Nitsuj): Corbin I’m begging you! Show some restraint! (Corbin): Ne-never) and reaches the center where she gets confronted by the spirit who offers to turn Akko into a witch like Shiny Chariot in exchange for her past memories (we also want one arm, leg, and the body of one of your relatives. We will supply you with a suit of armor to transmute their soul to). Akko refuses the deal of the spirit saying she’ll make her dreams come true through her own efforts and she awakens a new power in the Shiny Rod (Corbin: Careful, you might get frostbite *Shizuku picks up Corbin and performs Destino on Corbin*. (Nitsuj): A Destino? Nice. (Shizuku): You’re not the only who can be tranquilo. Scene here: https://youtu.be/8JNWztTNnx8). Akko uses this new power to force the spirit away and passes out where she gets picked up by Ursula and we see that the spirit is actually a professor of the academy named Woodward who says Akko will play a huge role in restoring magic to the world.
In episode 12 the academy is getting ready for the Samhain festival (they’re obviously making stuff up. (Chibi Isis): Who cares. Free food) where the most outstanding witch will be named the Moonlit Witch (so Diana basically). Diana gets put in charge of the committee planning the festival and once all of Akko’s friends say Diana will most likely be named the Moonlit Witch (she is literally the alligator among the crocodiles) Akko gets jealous and runs out of her room where she walks in front of a mirror that turns her into Diana. At first she tries to play pranks on other students and make Diana look bad but she quickly sees all the responsibilities, pressure, and talent Diana has to deal with every day (Shizuku: Yeah as much as I hate to say it, I can’t bring myself to hate the girl. She’s talented but she doesn’t rub it in anyone’s face or belittle anyone around her. She really gives you no reason to hate her. If anything she gives you all the reasons to like her). Akko turns back to normal and after a confrontation with Diana she becomes dejected realizing that when compared to Diana she is nothing. That night, while sulking, Ursula comes by and encourages her to stop comparing herself to others and do what only she can do. Ursula than leaves and the Shiny Rod begins to glow (Corbin: Head towards the light *Shizuku hits Corbin with a jumping piledriver*. (Shizuku): I know a lot of wrestling moves. Keep running your damn mouth) and it leads her back to the Fountain of Polaris which shows her a vision of Chariot through the perspective of her friend. We see that Chariot wasn’t really all that concerned with getting rewards or being recognized, she just wanted to use her magic to bring joy to people. Akko learns a new spell and realizes what she can do to make the festival great.
In episode 13 the festival is only three weeks away and Akko wants to try something different. In the festival our trio of witches will be the sacrifices of Vajarois the wailing spirit who lost its friends so every year it shows up at the festival and swallows people whole leaving them stuck in slime (https://youtu.be/ExTsNqw76FM). Akko wants to instead use her metamorphosis magic to cheer Vajarois up but Sucy and Lotte say they should just follow tradition (Shizuku: Well it took them a while but after 12 episodes they’re finally putting their foot down when it comes to Akko). Akko spends most of her time trying to perfect her metamorphosis magic which inspires Lotte and Sucy to go along with her plan and help her out (Chibi Isis: And just like that the blind shall lead the blind). While Akko is practicing we see Ursula look up the history of Vajarois and find out it used to be a princess that was cursed to live long after she died and she’s apparently looking for something in the academy known as a vestige (and nobody thought to look into her story before why?). On the day of the festival witches from all over the world gather to watch the students where they aren’t impressed with their magic skills (Chibi Isis: It’s an insult to magic. I could do a better job than these guys, watch. *Chibi Isis performs a magic spell and summons a cyber tiger in the room* See, and this is me just playing around). The academy’s only saving grace is Diana’s portion of the festival where she summons a water spirit (in what I have to admit is a very impressive scene). Finally, it’s time for Vajarois to appear and Akko has perfected her metamorphosis magic. She puts on a grand show transforming into a mouse, Dumbo, an Angry Bird (Shizuku: That’s still popular?), a hippo, and other stuff. Everyone seems to be enjoying the show and getting a good laugh out of it but Vajarois still cries. Back with Ursula she finds the vestige only to find out it’s a seed of sorrow which Vajarois ate so as not to forget her friends (there’s this thing called cameras, use them). The only way to stop her from crying is to pull the seed out so the trio get swallowed by the spirit, find the seed, and use the Shiny Rod to pull it out (Corbin: I’m used to putting stuff in but I’ll give it a try and pull it out. *Shizuku picks up Corbin and hits him with Dirty Deeds*). After they pull the seed out, Vajarois transforms into Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time (first Disney, Angry Bird, and now Adventure Time. This anime is like a treasure trove of western references) and takes her leave. Akko receives a round of applause from everyone and off in the distance we see a mysterious figure collecting something.
Well this seems like a good spot to take a break. Let’s re-convene next week to cover the second half of this anime.
(Chibi Isis): Okay.
(Shizuku): Cool.
(Corbin): Sounds good. Could you drag me to my house? Too hurt to move.
*Shizuku picks up Corbin, goes to the window, opens the window and border tosses Corbin into his house*
(Corbin): Ahhhhhhh~!
*Corbin crashes through a table in the living room*
(Corbin): Thank you.
(Nitsuj): Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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