Little Witch Academia was an anime that I was wanting to watch for a while now. It’s a rather unfortunate thing that I had to wait so long just to see one cour of the series on Netflix and have to wait even more to see the rest of it. The two ovas that were crowd funded beforehand and animated by Studio Trigger were such an incredibly fun watch. In fact, in my mind they are the best thing that Studio Trigger has produced at the moment. Space Patrol Luluco ranks number two for me. Hearing that the Little Witch Academia show that was announced was going to have two cours was an announcement that I was extremely excited to hear. I wish Netflix released the show weekly or even by the cour, but because it didn’t, this post is merely a first reaction kind of post, not a review. A full review may appear later on.
The best part of this series is the creativity behind it all. The world of Little Witch Academia is filled with so much magical and imagination, that I can help by being engrossed by it. I don’t mind episodic shows in general, but the fact that I could see something as exciting or completely new every episode made this show feel even more appealing. A forest that has creators in it behind normal understanding, a dragon that uses modern economics instead of holding gold like the olden days, a book series that has been going on for hundreds of years and have hundreds of volumes, or even a deep look into a character’s mind. I never know what is on the other side of that hill until we get to it. All while developing more ideas, themes, and these characters that are becoming more and more relatable. I heard that Little Witch Academia’s story get more pronounced in the second half, but that’s not something that I need. This world of endless imagination and characters and story progressing through an episodic route is enough for me.
Technology and magic is a major theme spread throughout the series so far. Where the world is, magic is barely holding on to its existence while technology is flourishing. This is why that dragon I mentioned is using modern computers to gain more wealth or why Luna Nova is having financial problems or even why magic can only be used around an item like the sorcerer’s stone these days. It’s almost like our modern science is taking away the magic and the imagination of the world, which is what I am sure is what the series is trying to say. This is something that I am glad that Little Witch Academia is taking this concept more seriously than just mentioning it. Getting more magic back into the world is a major plot point. Seeing nobles that only meet up with witches to see what they have to offer the world is something that happens too, which makes the world feel more fleshed out.
Where the show falls flat for a little bit is the main character herself, Akko. Her character can be described easily as “try hard with no talent”. She has a seemingly infinite amount of enthusiasm, but has no talent at all. She constantly wants things that are beyond her reach, but doesn’t have the ability to actually do them. This is something that can be seen changing as the series progresses, but I still think she is the least interesting character in the series. If anything, she is still just the plot vehicle to move the story around because literally everyone else is more interesting than her. Even Diana, the Malfoy of the series who is Mrs. Perfect, has a lot of layers to her character that makes her interesting. I can’t ask that of everyone, but our main character who is pushing the series forever should be like that at least.
So at this moment, Little Witch Academia is far from perfect, but it is extremely entertaining. Having an arch is not any sort of basis of quality when it comes to anime, but since it is episodic, LWA is sometimes hit or miss. There could be a great episode followed by something that is just passable, and that’s alright with me. I didn’t walk into this series expecting it to be high art, I walked in wanting to be entertained by magic and something that played around with the formula that Harry Potter provided. I got all that. If the second half provides even more thought and quality, then great. I’m in. Studio Trigger, let’s see what you can do.
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