Anime is saved (again)
(This
review contains spoilers!)
Just a heads-up, since this series isn’t
being simulcast as most other anime are, the scheduling for these reviews may
be a little wonky as the episodes might not come out at a consistent pace. Honestly,
I’m just grateful we can access them now instead of in 3 months thanks to the
magic of the Internet and fanmade subtitles.
Little Witch Academia has been a
mainstay Studio Trigger property for a very long time now, despite never
getting a TV anime to call its own. Between the original animation and the
movie, while this franchise doesn’t have many installments, what it has always
boasted are amazing visuals, delightful characters, and one of the best
soundtracks in all of anime.
So it’s only fitting that upon finally
making its long-awaited arrival to the TV anime scene, Little Witch Academia
proves it still has everything that made the other installments great, plus a
few new tricks up its sleeve.
This first episode serves as a prequel
to the other Little Witch Academia installments, seeing main character Akko
make her first arrival at magical school Luna Nova Academy. Akko is different
from the other girls as she is the first student ever to not be born into a
wizarding family. Instead, she was inspired to enrol after viewing a magic show
as a young girl as done by a witch who, to Akko’s dismay, has little to no
respect in the witch community. Along the way, she meets Lotte, a shy but
talented witch, and Sucy, a weird girl with a fondness for potions and poisons.
Together they go on an adventure filled with action and danger, battling
monsters and casting spells all the while trying to make it to school on time.
Everything about this show can be
summed up in 1 word: magical. The animation has Studio Trigger’s trademark
style of more Western-inspired character design, and the exaggerated way all
the characters’ bodies and faces move is just fantastic. This perfectly matches
the whimsical tone of the series that feels more like if Harry Potter met a
Disney movie than a standard fantasy anime.
But a show is nothing without plot or
characters, and fortunately, Little Witch Academia doesn’t disappoint. While this
story is very simple, I really like that. It’s not trying to be this big, grand
epic opening to a series, nor is it trying to live up to the rest of the
franchise. All this episode is concerned with is getting the girls to school,
and what would be the most insanely dangerous and fun to watch way to get them
there. The characters are the same delightful ones fans remember from the past,
and seeing how they met is both hilarious and fantastic. I’ve heard rumours
that this will be a 20+ episode show, and I honestly can’t wait to spend more
time with these fantastic characters and see what adventures they’ll get into.
My one very minor nitpick with the
episode is that there’s one crucial part that kind of stomps on the toes of the
original short. For the sake of spoilers I won’t go into detail, but let’s just
say that one of the major plot points from the original Little Witch Academia
kind of gets introduced early, despite it being discovered in the short. At
this point I’m not entirely sure whether this is a sequel or a reboot of sorts
to the franchise, but if it’s the former it does feel a tad out of place.
But that’s just a small thing that
felt kind of odd, and that’s only because I love this series so much. If you’re
either a newcomer to Little Witch Academia or a longtime fan, this episode
feels like returning home after being away for a while. This is a great sign
for things to come, as Studio Trigger has cast their magic spell over anime once again.
FINAL SCORE
9/10
Amazing
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