(Chibi Isis): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. I’m Chibi here with Nii-chan, and Shi-chan and welcome to the second part of our review of Studio Trigger’s Little Witch Academia.
(Nitsuj): Last time, we saw Akko get her first taste of success in the magic world after many failed attempts.
(Shizuku): This week we continue her rise to success as the second half starts to present more of a plot as well as a villain. Let’s not waste any more time and continue looking at Little Witch Academia.
Opening and Ending Theme
(Shizuku): We “Mind Conductor” by YURiKA as the opening for the second half. Truth be told, I actually did like this opening more than the first. While the first opening took it’s time to build up, this opening just comes out guns blazing to get you excited and it works here as this second half is all about excitement and plot progression. The first half was meant to establish the characters and the world their in, while the second half will be used to advance the plot and lead to an ending exciting finale.
(Nitsuj): The ending for the second half is “Toumei Na Tsubasa” by Yuiko Ohara. Didn’t really care for this song as much as the first ending. It’s not bad but just isn’t a good follow-up song. While the first song pulled me in, this one doesn’t. There seems to be a lack of direction and flow to this song.
Episodes 14-18
(Chibi Isis): The second half starts with Ursula deciding to tell Akko the truth about the Shiny Rod (Corbin: Okay I admit it. It’s non-dairy. *Shizuku spears Corbin* (Shizuku): You just don’t learn do you). As she decides this we see that students are still talking about Akko stealing the show last episode and being impressed by her. After this, Ursula calls Akko to her room to tell her the truth but she gets interrupted by another teacher. It turns out the faeries, the school’s labor force are on strike (darn, they learned their rights) and won’t get back to work unless they’re allowed to draw some magic from the academy’s Sorcerer’s stone which the teachers won’t allow it. Ursula gets tasked with the mission of going around and collecting energy from other Sorcerer’s stones leaving the academy in the middle of a strike where the faeries try to cut off the stone’s magic source to the students (Nitsuj: They can do that?). One of their panels gets knocked away and about to hit Akko but she gets saved by Croix a new teacher for the academy who combines magic with technology in order to create modern magic. Thanks to the strike things get worse at the academy for everyone. There’s no heating, good food, showers, and without the use of magic students are forced to memorize spells from textbooks. Akko finally has enough and decides to give the faeries a piece of her mind but winds up joining them instead (what do we want? (Nitsuj and Shizuku): More energy! (Chibi Isis): When do we want it? (Nitsuj and Shizuku): Right now). Now you might think Akko is being selfish and stupid but no, her reasons for siding with them are good ones (Nitsuj: Take it from me, if a union goes on strike it’s usually for a very good reason). We find out that faeries need the Sorcerer’s Stone magic even more than witches. It’s their power source, without it they’ll die. Up until this point they’ve been making due with what little magic they could draw from the stone but it’s not enough, they need more. Croix comes up with the idea that they use her new inventions the Sorcery Solution System (or SSS for short) to conserve more energy from the world’s magic source thus solving their problem (Shizuku: Oh great she’s a hippie. I knew there’s something about her I didn’t like. (Nitsuj): You still mad about that tree lawsuit you got from those environmentalists because you knocked down a tree on Arbor Day of all days? (Shizuku): It was a dead tree! I was gonna plant a new one but no~ they said they wanted the tree to stay up. How was I supposed to know the tree was a historical landmark? (Chibi Isis): Um, there was rope and a sign around it detailing the historical significance of the tree. (Shizuku): That could have been for any tree). The labor force is all for it but the teachers are determined to keep traditions alive and refuse to allow machinery in their academy (Nitsuj: Tradition, tradition, tradition. Look, I can respect you upholding the principles of the past. But if you keep letting the past control you, you’re gonna wind up losing your future). Later on, the stooges bribe a flame faerie to let them use the showers (Nitsuj: Traitor) but somebody doses him in water which pisses off the other faeries and they go on a rampage attacking the school and everyone in it (Corbin: Yes! Rise my brethren! Death to the witches *maniacal laugh*. (Nitsuj): You’re gonna let that slide? (Shizuku): As long as it’s nothing perverted, he’s in the clear. (Corbin): Give them a taste of your shiny rod! *Shizuku hits Corbin with an F5* (Shizuku): He tried folks. He tried). The teachers give in to the demands of the faeries (it’s either that or this anime turns into a hentai) and Akko and others try to remove the barriers blocking the stone but a faerie that’s really a machine shows up and attacks them. Akko gets thrown from the tower but gets saved by Croix who uses the SSS to stop the faeries, revive the fire faerie, and save the day. The strike ends and the SSS gets installed into the academy, thus entering the age of technology.
In episode 15 the academy has entered the age of technology and all the students love it except for Diana and the other teachers (Why? Croix’s thinking is right. While it’s true she’s up to no good her idea of combining magic with technology in order to limit the use of magic in the world is brilliant. Look at me, I’m practically the poster child of magic and science). Once Akko finds out that Croix was Shiny Chariot’s underclasswoman, she goes to ask her if she knows the whereabouts of Chariot (I’m pretty sure she does, it’s hard to miss her). She says no but if she had one of her belongings she could analyze it to possibly track her down. Akko suggests the Shiny Rod (Corbin: Oh hey mature women. I’m game *Shizuku hits Corbin with the Brainbuster*) and after school goes to Croix’s lab (Nitsuj: Which just screams villain. Give Chariot’s secret identity some credit, the show at least tried to fool us. Here, they couldn’t be more obvious than a lying politician) where Croix analyzes the rod (Corbin: It’s over 9000 baby *Shizuku hits Corbin with Everything is Evil*. (Shizuku): How does he recover so fast?) and figures out that the rod responds to emotional energy. She wants to get more data so she puts Akko to sleep so she can analyze her mind (if you don’t find much there don’t be surprise). While that’s going on Ursula (Nitsuj: Just call her Chariot) attempts to infiltrate Croix’s lab in order to save Akko. She takes out Croix’s stone faeries (Nitsuj: Damn, she look good in that skin-tight jumpsuit) but gets captured by Croix’s drones and bought to her where Chariot says that Croix is after the world reconstruction spell a powerful spell which has the power to shape the world, however, the spell was sealed years ago thanks to the decline of magic. The only way to unseal the spell is to breathe life into the 7 spells of the Shiny Rod (Corbin: Just say the 7 words I want to hear and it’s all yours ladies. The first 3 are: Let me su- *Shizuku hits Corbin with the clothesline from Hell*. (Shizuku): Followed by: just shut the hell up). Croix gives Akko back to Ursula and takes her leave with Ursula vowing to protect Akko no matter what. Akko wakes up in Ursula’s room where Ursula tells her everything about the world reconstruction spell and how to unseal it.
In episode 16 Akko gets to work trying to activate the remaining spells of the Shiny Rod (Corbin: Should I give you a hint? *Shizuku hits Corbin with the Rainmaker*) and finds out that she’s close to activating the next word but she’s lacking something to activate it (that could be anything). But that’ll have to wait as Akko and Sucy are going with Lotte to visit her hometown and spend time with her family. We get to meet Lotte’s parents who are nice folks and run a magic/kiosk shop which isn’t all that successful but gets by. While there the whole town gets infected with a disease known as the Greenman disease an incredibly rare disease that only happens once every 1000 years and requires the most absurd conditions to be met in order for it to occur (Shizuku: And apparently everyone in town met those conditions). The whole town gets infected with the disease and get turn into moss people where they’ll wither away and die unless they cure the disease in time. The antidote is fives items: snowflakes from a pine tree forest, berry leaves blown off by the wind, fresh droppings from a reindeer raised by a Laplander (Nitsuj: What the hell is that?), green panther cap, and a traditional medicine base made by a yeti (Shizuku: What is all of this. (Corbin): Something that pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know about). They manage to get the snowflakes, berry leaves, and panther cap but Lotte and Sucy also catch the Greenman disease and become moss people as well leaving Akko as their only hope (Nitsuj: They’re doomed). She manages to get the deer droppings and finds the yeti who keeps messing up on the medicine base due to having a slump but Akko encourages him which gives him the confidence to make the medicine base. She rushes back to the village and makes the antidote unlocking the fourth spell where the thing she lacked this whole time was patience (something I have. The others, I can’t say. (Nitsuj): I have it. (Shizuku): I don’t). With the antidote everyone returns back to normal and they return to the academy learning and soon forgetting the lesson of patience.
(Shizuku): In episode 17 Akko is on the hunt for the fifth word of the you-know-what (Nitsuj: Not gonna say it? (Shizuku): I will not give him the satisfaction of that setup) and joining her is Amanda. The fifth word is related to history and tradition and just before Ursula can give them a hint on where to look she gets called away on business. That’s when Croix comes in and tells them to look for the Holy Grail in Appleton Academy and they head out (what she failed to tell them is that Appleton is an all-male school and they hate witches. (Chibi-Isis): Sounds like a school rivalry). They go to the academy where we see Andrew is a student there and disguise themselves as a boy and mouse to infiltrate the academy (Nitsuj: I’ll give you one guess on who the mouse is). They infiltrate the academy but don’t find the grail and almost get busted by a student but saved by Andrew. We get another Akko and Andrew moment where they talk about deciding to live out their lives the way they want to live or doing what everyone expects you to do (Nitsuj: I expect you girls to do what I say and guard the system. (Chibi Isis): And we expect you not to be ecchi but we know that’s not going to happen). She asks Andrew for help in searching for the grail but he says no so she searches for it on her own and manages to find it (not as big as I thought it’d be, https://youtu.be/m3dZl3yfGpc?t=9s). Amanda gets captured by the school’s KKK club (Nitsuj: I feel really uncomfortable right now) and Akko tries to save her but gets captured herself (Chibi Isis: What was her plan again?). The two are found guilty of being witches and are sentenced to torture via iron maidens (why does a school have iron maidens? (Nitsuj): For. . .research). Andrew comes in to stop the unfair trial and demands that they settle this little dispute fair and square (you know I just realized something. Where’s all the teachers while all of this is going down?). They decide on a swordfight between Amanda and Louis (leader of the KKK club) where if Amanda wins they’ll be allowed to go freely with the grail. They have their fight where despite Louis cheating Amanda manages to win (scene here: https://youtu.be/0CncSUwIQro) but Louis being the sore loser that he is breaks the grail and unleashes Croix’s evil cubes which take over a suit of armor and latches itself on to Louis (Nitsuj: Wow, it’s like Venom from Spiderman) and attacks Amanda. After receiving her wand, Amanda manages to beat Louis a second time and the teachers demand an explanation into what’s going on (Chibi Isis: Oh now they show up). Andrew covers for them and Louis confesses that this titanic of crazy events was his fault and that he was saved by the witches. The girls get to leave peacefully but they didn’t find the fifth word. However, this episode has given us one thing to take away from it. We need more episodes starring Amanda (Nitsuj: Oh yeah. (Chibi Isis): Totally. (Nitsuj): I’m been saying that from the start).
We take a break from finding the 5th word in episode 18 (sure let’s put the whole restore magic to the world mission on hold. Whatever’s going on is way more important) and focus on Constanze one of Amanda’s roommates who never talks and is good at building stuff (Nitsuj: Well we had a good episode with Amanda so maybe they’re on to something by bringing in other characters). In the episode Constanze is participating in the Wild Hunt an event where hunters hunt down ghosts. After accidently crushing one of Constanze’s helper bots, Akko offers to help but she causes more trouble than help (it’s kind of her thing) and Constanze prefers to work alone. This however changes when Akko shows her worth and is able to get Constanze the stuff she needs for her magic battleship that she had trouble getting in the past. They manage to finish the battleship just in time for the hunt and show up amazing everybody. But Croix unleashes another one of her inventions which causes a panic and it’s up to Akko and Constanze to save the day. They reveal the battleship’s second form which is the Gurren Lagann reincarnated (Nitsuj: Oh that’s so cool. Scene here: https://youtu.be/zUEJVypt4QY). However, they run out of power after transforming (Chibi Isis: Row row supply the power) but the other hunters give them their magic power and they take out Croix’s invention with a powerful drill punch saving everyone. As thanks for helping her out, Constanze gives Akko a broom that automatically flies for her (it’s silly but it’s the thought that counts).
Episodes 19-22
Episode 19 focuses on Diana. Due to family issues Diana has decided to drop out of Luna Academy and return home in order to fulfill her role as head of the family. Akko, not liking this (that’s surprising I thought she’d be ecstatic about this. Like that time we tricked Seras into believing the Jack Bros. were moving out) goes after her and journeys to Wedinburgh to bring her back. She manages to hitch a ride with Andrew and his dad (Chibi Isis: Those two just can’t shake each other) who are also going to Wedinburgh to a meeting with Diana’s family. They arrive at her mansion where we see it’s not doing too well. We find out that Diana lost her parents at a young age thus Diana’s evil aunt Daryl was appointed the proxy head of the family where she did whatever she wanted and wasted money dwindling the family fortune. If Diana doesn’t take her place as the rightful head of the family the family will lose their remaining fortune and collapse (Nitsuj: And just like the McDucks it’ll take them years to reclaim their glory). At dinner we get to see how desperate and shameless Daryl is for money by offering to sell family antiques to Andrew and his dad who aren’t interested in anything she has (Nitsuj: Have you heard of the stock market or try business venturing?). Diana speaks out against this embarrassing behavior and vows to become the head of the family after tonight’s ritual.
The story of Diana continues in episode 20 as she enters her family’s shrine to perform the ritual that will make her the next head of the family. She enters the shrine alone but her Aunt Daryl is there and uses her snakes to tie her up so she can’t perform the ritual (Nitsuj: And just like that we got fuel for doujins. (Shizuku): Really, just from this one scene? (Nitsuj): Shizuku, with this image alone I’ve already got 2 doujin ideas in my head). Akko and Andrew (he stuck around? (Chibi Isis): I’m building ships and making them sail. Oh yeah, I know terms) overhear Daryl and her nieces talk about their dastardly deed so they rush to help Diana. Akko goes in alone where she fights off the snakes to save Diana but winds up getting bit herself and poisoned by the snakes so Diana winds up saving her instead (Diana always has to look good). Diana gives Akko proper medical treatment and she says there’s not enough time to perform the ritual and gives up. She talks to Akko about her family history such as how they used their healing magic to help people who were sick or during times of war and their family motto was to show affection for everyone around them without expecting anything in return. Akko is moved by Diana’s family history and tells Diana not to give up on saving her family as well as leaving Luna Nova. This history lesson causes the Shiny Rod to activate it’s fifth word (Corbin: You rang~? *Shizuku hits Corbin with the GTS*) which was about tradition and modern magic coming together (tradition and customs are important but they shouldn’t dictate the future for us. Instead, they should serve as a reminder of where we came from and what we strive to accomplish. As the future goes on technology will keep on advancing and instead of shunning it we should instead embrace it to better our goals and ourselves for tomorrow. (Nitsuj): Wow. . .that was actually profound Shizuku. (Chibi Isis): Yeah and so left field from you. (Shizuku): Yeah, I got that from a documentary I heard on TV. (Nitsuj): And suddenly the world makes sense again). Akko recites the fifth word and this summons Shiny Chariot’s broom complete with 3 brushes instead of one (Chibi Isis: Talk about flying in style) and they ride it to the ritual shrine where Daryl and her daughters are waiting for them but they fly past them and the evil family members suffer from calamity for disturbing the ritual by getting eaten by a tree (damn, nature is scary). Of course Diana saves them because they’re family and the allocated time to perform the ritual passes meaning Diana failed (for once in her life). Despite this upset she’s alright and the servants convince her to return to Luna Nova and continue her dream of reviving magic in the world. She returns to Luna Nova with Akko thanking her and everything.
(Nitsuj): Moving on to episode 21 Akko is on the hunt for the sixth word Lyonne. She goes into the library (Shizuku: What’s that? *Nitsuj and Chibi Isis blankly stare at Shizuku* I’m kidding, it’s that place where Mira goes to checkout books) trying to find clues on the meaning of the word but can’t find it. Croix comes in and tells her that Chariot found the meaning of the word by climbing Wagandea an ancient tree with immense power. Akko wants to climb it but Ursula says no because the tree is about to release pollen and if witches come into contact with it they’ll lose the ability to use magic. Despite warnings from her friends and allies, Akko gets convinced by Croix to climb the tree (did Akko just become stupider this episode? I mean I know she’s not the smartest person but even she should know this is dangerous if even Diana is warning her not to do it). Croix takes her to the tree and even tries to turn Akko against Ursula and it works (Chibi Isis: Asinine, that is what Akko is this episode). Akko begins climbing the tree herself and once Ursula catches wind of this she races to the tree and tries to stop her but Akko refuses to retreat and goes off on Ursula. Croix shows back up and finds Ursula and as they fight we find out that it was at Wagandea where Chariot received the Shiny Rod (Corbin: It may be from all the constant moves but I have no pun for this scene). Chariot and Croix both vowed to discover and unleash the magic resurrection spell and the Shiny Rod choose Chariot over Croix (Shizuku: It’s because she had red hair. Red hair is the mark of a great leader in Japan). Ursula and Croix fight where Croix stops, saying it’s too late as the pollen from atop the tree will pour down soon but Ursula refuses to give up and flies off to save Akko in the nick of time from the pollen. After getting saved Akko apologizes for acting like an idiot and not trusting Ursula and thanks her for everything which was the meaning behind Lyonne. This unlocks the sixth word and heals Ursula of all her wounds she sustained in her fight against Croix.
In episode 22 Ursula tells Akko the seventh word and says it’ll only activate when the time is right (hopefully that’s soon seeing as how we’ve only got 3 episodes left after this). Ursula also decides to tell Akko she’s Chariot but before she can Lotte, Sucy, and Diana come in with a message from Andrew (Chibi Isis: My ship is about to sail) who wants to meet up with Akko so he can return her hat she left behind in his car. Akko goes to meet Andrew who’s on his way to Parliament with his dad to discuss solutions between their country and another country who are about to go to war with each other over the last call from a soccer game (Shizuku: We should be shocked but have you seen Europe’s soccer games, they take soccer seriously over there. Them going to war over soccer would not be surprising). Akko soon sees one of those magic cubes she saw at Appleton and during the Wild Hunt and chases after it where it leads back to Croix who reveals that all this time she’s been converting the emotions of people into magic energy and has been enticing the crowd in order to get said energy (so all that techno babble was just BS. Real shame, it would have led to an interesting story between nature and science). Croix attacks Akko but she gets saved by Ursula who finally reveals herself to be Chariot (scene here: https://youtu.be/PecBcNjoXAI. (Chibi Isis): Oh thank God, we can finally end the charade). But Croix reveals that Chariot also has been dealing with some bad methods to get magic energy as well, using the dreams of people. That’s right, anybody who went to Chariot’s performances got their magic stolen and that includes Akko which would explain why she has trouble using magic properly and why she can’t ride like everyone else. Akko is so shocked by this she runs away crying with Chariot unsure of what to do or say.
In episode 23 we hear the backstory of Chariot. As a child she dreamed of one day using her magic to make people smile and attended magic school where just like Akko she was a klutz when it came to performing magic (two peas in a pod. (Chibi Isis): Sisters separated by generations). This however changed when she received the Shiny Rod (Corbin: She wanted the power and I could give it to her *Shizuku hits Corbin with Kamigoye*) and her skills got better as she continued to find the words to unlock the world reconstruction spell. Try as she might she never could unlock the final word and a guy in the entertainment industry saw her magic and made her a star. At first, everything was great, Chariot was having huge crowds come out to her shows but as time went on less and less people showed up saying her shows were becoming stale and boring (Shizuku: And when a performer can’t come up with new material than it’s time for them to leave the spotlight). Desperate to keep people smiling, Chariot went to Croix who taught Chariot how to use dream fuel spirit a new form of magic that Croix was studying. Thanks to dream fuel spirit Chariot’s magic level grew high and her shows were better than ever but what she didn’t know was that she was stealing the magic of everyone in the audience (https://youtu.be/6gmmUAqE7nQ?t=6s). Once Chariot found out about this she stopped using the dream fuel spirit and her shows became stale once again while Croix continued in her research to find ways to keep magic alive in the world. We return to the present where Akko has gone missing, Diana confronts Ursula knowing she’s Chariot, and being disappointed in her for not looking for Akko after everything she’s gone through. Diana and the others go out to search for Akko where Diana finds her and they talk. Diana confesses that she too was a fan of Chariot growing up and also lost her ability to use magic after going to one of Chariot’s shows but regained it (through hard work, dedication, and sweat. Mostly sweat). She gives Akko the premium Chariot card she’s been missing in her collection and as more of Akko’s friends come in she returns to normal. While that’s going on Chariot goes to confront Croix determined to stop her once and for all.
We pick up episode 24 where we left off in episode 23 with Chariot facing Croix (in a magic vs magic science kind of a deal). We see that Chariot is still affected by the pollen so she can’t fly (Shizuku: Not that she needs it) but that doesn’t stop her from jumping incredible heights (Chibi Isis: Looks like someone didn’t skip leg day. That, or she learned how to Jump Good) and using the freakin’ Force as she pulls out a lightsaber and even does the shadow clone jutsu (okay the next anime Trigger needs to make is My Little Ninja Academy or a Star Wars anime set in a Jedi academy). Despite her best efforts she isn’t able to beat Croix and her machines have absorbed enough anger and despair from the countries to activate the Noir Rod (just think the Shiny Rod only black. (Shizuku): Well that explains why it’s bigger. (Corbin): Hey! (Nitsuj): Oh snap). The Noir Rod absorbs all the magic in academy as well as the leylines and flies off with Croix to go and unlock the world changing magic spell by force. Chariot tries to stop her but gets captured and Croix breaks the seal and gets the wand that contains the world changing magic spell but all it does is do party tricks (huh? So, Chariot had it right this whole time). Croix as you would expect is mad about this but her anger will have to wait as the Noir Rod has absorbed too much anger and despair and is going berserk. It attacks Chariot and Croix and even eats Chariot but she gets saved by Akko and the others who were on their way back to academy using the leylines but when they disappeared they landed in the forest (Corbin: Ha! Bigger the size the bigger the target). Akko finally comes face to face with her hero Chariot and rather than be mad she instead thanks her for everything, says she’s going to continue being a witch so that she can make people smile, asks Chariot to remain as her teacher, and hugs her (Chibi Isis: That was nice). All the orbs within the rod begin to glow and Akko recites the last word which makes the wand from earlier appear where it combines with the Shiny Rod (Corbin: I don’t need no enhancers. *Shizuku hits Corbin with the Styles Clash* (Nitsuj): Did he remember not to tuck his chin? (Shizuku): God I hope so. *Shizuku goes to check up on Corbin to see if he’s okay* (Shizuku): He’s all good) and this completes the magic reconstruction wand where it breathes life into the dead forest (woah).
In the final episode, Croix’s inventions have absorbed way too much hatred in the world and are now out of control. They’ve taken control of a missile and have launched it in the hopes of spreading more hatred in the world and starting a war. In order to stop the missile Akko and her friends combine their brooms and launch themselves after it in the hopes of stopping it. Each witch uses up all their magic to give them a speed boost and then each one falls out of the sky until it’s just Akko and Diana (Shizuku: How the hell are they going to survive that fall?). Somehow their broom ride is getting broadcast all over the world and everyone begins cheering which gives them spirit fuel and they catch up to the missile and fight it (Chibi Isis: They are fighting a missile. This is so cool and so silly at the same time). Akko and Diana get knocked off the broom but they get saved by Shooting Star who makes a return. With Shooting Star they out ride the missile and destroy it in space (where they can breathe somehow) and Shiny Rod returns to the stars after fulfilling Akko’s wish which was creating a world where everyone can smile. After this we wrap up with Croix leaving to find a cure for Chariot and Akko finally flies a broom all by herself.
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj): Little Witch Academia is a fantastic watch from beginning to end. It’s hard to describe it, but there’s this since of nostalgia whenever you watch it. The whole anime just feels like something from the 90s. There’s this sense of creativity, writing, and storytelling that just pulls you in like other shows from the 90s. If this series had come out during the time of Samurai Jack and Avatar, it would been seen as a big game changer. The story is good and genuine, and I like how they expanded on the world and show us how magic is a dying art in favor of technology. In a way, this anime could be seen as social commentary about us moving away from past methods in favor of something more convenient. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Who knows? The anime doesn’t give us an answer but instead presents the idea and leaves it up to us to decide if this is for the better or not. Stuff like that is good as it’s a subjective subject and the anime incorporates the story well without it being forced down our throat.
(Chibi Isis): The characters are enjoyable and work off each other exceptionally well. Akko’s growth throughout the series is done well. While at her core she’s a good character who listens to her heart, she starts off as a somewhat annoying character who forcefully pulls others to go along with her plans and ideas and some of her lines can come across as corny but as the series progresses, she starts to grow and become a more well-rounded character. She has a goal and despite failure after failure she refuses to give up and call it quits. She keeps studying and training to reach her dream and as the series goes on you find yourself cheering for her and wanting her dreams to come true. Lotte is the typical nerdy down to earth girl who remains loyal to Akko. While she has her moments to shine her development is very minimum and gets pushed to the side in favor of Akko. Sucy was easily the best character in this show. From her appearance, to her VA, to her performance, everything about her is just great. She is that one strange friend you had in your life who you can’t get a beat on but at the same time you know that deep down they care about you and the bond they have with you. Even if they don’t act like it or show it.
(Shizuku): The rest of the characters are all great as well. Even though their development is minimum they each get their time to shine in an episode or two. The two stood out the most are Andrew and Diana. Andrew grew up not seeing any value in magic and as a result of this, he and Akko bump heads with each other resulting in some good interactions off the two. But as the series goes on Andrew does start to see the value of magic and as a result begins to respect Akko more and she in turn begins to respect him more. Even though he may not love magic as much as Akko, it’s great to see them meet down the middle. Next to Akko, Diana was probably the one character who got the most development. They could have her be the pompous high society witch who looks down on everyone around her but they don’t. Just like the boss said it’s very hard to hate this character as she works hard, doesn’t look down on others, and has a goal just like Akko. We see how she’s going through her own trials and tribulations just like Akko but does her best balance them all off and even Akko can’t help but respect her as the series goes on. By the end, the two come to see each other as friends and rivals who respect what the other one can do and wish each other nothing but the best.
(Chibi Isis): The animation is very stellar to look at. It’s expressive, energetic, and flows beautifully. It really does remind me of something from a Disney cartoon. Each character has a design that matches their personality perfectly. They don’t have to talk for you to get to know who they are, all you have to do is look at their designs, facial expressions, and you get an idea of who these characters are.
(Shizuku): The music is great too. The two openings were enjoyable in my opinion and the music for the anime was catchy, heartfelt, and conveyed the feelings of the scene and the characters within it. The action parts were also cool. Although I do wish we got to see more magic duels.
(Nitsuj): Now despite this anime being great there are a few problems that need to be addressed. The biggest one is that the anime can be a bit too convenient at times such as Akko finding the Shiny Rod in a forest, the world’s fastest broom being in a magic shop without any explanation and disappearing only to reappear later on, a pirate being the father of the academy’s headmistress, and other small contrived events that feel a bit forced for my taste. The other problems are the villain and climax. While Croix isn’t a bad character, I feel that as a villain she was pretty weak. Despite her actions her intent was good as she wanted to save her friend. She just went about it in the wrong way. The climax was also pretty weak. Compared the climax of other Trigger projects, this one doesn’t really get the blood bumping or have you on the edge of your seat like say Kill la Kill, Guren Lagann, or Medaka Box.
Final Score
(Chibi Isis): My final score for Little Witch Academia is a 8.5/10.
(Shizuku): I’m giving the anime an 8/10.
(Nitsuj): And I’m giving it a 7.5/10. This brings the grand total to 24/30 and if we average that out that brings our final score to a solid 8/10. With a must watch stamp of approval. This is easily one of my favorite animes to come from Trigger. It works well from an analytical perspective.
(Shizuku): It works well as a whole.
(Chibi Isis): And it works well from the perspective of a child and adult.
(Nitsuj): Definitely give this anime a watch if you haven’t checked it out yet.
(Chibi Isis): Hey Nii-chan do you think we’ll ever get more Little Witch Academia in the future?
(Nitsuj): Maybe. Both the writer and director said that they had a lot more they wanted to show, Trigger also said they be up for doing another season and with the way the season ended, there’s definitely a window for a second season.
(Shizuku): But until then all we can do is wait and re-watch the first season for our enjoyment. With that said, play us out Chibi.
(Chibi Isis): Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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