Wacky Races
(This review contains
spoilers!)
Well, this certainly was an episode and
a half. If you doubted at any point that Little
Witch Academia wouldn’t live up to previous installments or be able to stand
on its own, this is the episode that will prove you wrong. Everything from the
worldbuilding to the humour to the visuals was completely on point this week.
It’s well documented that Akko is
unable to fly a broom, but this episode focused on it in a way nothing ever has
before. With a broom baton pass race coming up, Akko becomes determined to win
and have her picture hung up alongside Shiny Chariot’s in the trophy cabinet of
previous winners. The only problem is, of course, she can’t fly a broom to save
her life.
This episode reintroduces several
themes from the previous LWA shorts
we haven’t seen in this series, such as the Sorcerer’s Stone and the magical
radius it produces, as well as the delinquent trio of Amanda, Constance and
Jasminka from Enchanted Parade. This
episode also shows off some all new bits of the world, including the Shooting
Star, the fastest broom in existence. Studio Trigger has always done a great
job at making their worlds truly come to life, including the epic over-the-top
school of Kill la Kill and the galaxy
of planets from Space Patrol Luluco. Despite
that I’ve gotta say that this might just be their best work yet. Thanks to the
backstory and creativity of this world, alongside the fantastic animation and
background work, the world of Little
Witch Academia jumps off the screen like nothing before it.
The best part of the episode is without
a doubt the entire finale. The broom race itself takes up a good chunk of the
episode, and with good reason. Prior to this, we followed Akko and Lotte to
visit a magical item store in town, where Akko discovered the legendary broom known
as Shooting Star, a broom that can supposedly fly forever. She wants to use it
to fly in the race, but the storekeeper warns her it’s too dangerous. Out of
options, she turns to Sucy for help, resulting in a laugh out loud sequence
where Akko is truly put through the wringer to try and get her broom off the
ground.
Then comes the race itself, and I’ll
be completely honest in saying I was invested in every moment. Despite knowing
that story-wise it was very likely Akko wasn’t going to win the race, I was on
the edge of my seat the whole time, and with good reason, because not a second
was wasted in making the race seem to move at breakneck pace.
Sucy used her potions to give her team
an advantage, growing spores that tied the opposition’s brooms to the ground
and giving Akko a potion that gave her broom the ability to hop like a frog.
Their lead didn’t last long however, as Amanda stole the Shooting Star for
herself, only for it to escape her grasp and land in the hands of Akko.
My one gripe with the episode is that
things do kind of fly off the rails once Akko gets the Shooting Star. As the
broom sort of has a will of its own, it flies her literally around the world
before landing her back in the race at Luna Nova. Amanda tries to catch up with
her, but is disqualified as Jasminka gave her a donut instead of the ring
required to win the race. Then, just before the end, Akko loses control of the
broom and Diana is crowned victor. It’s a bit of a crazy end and I am a little
disappointed by Amanda kind of getting removed from the story (it would’ve made
more sense to have her be the one to make Akko lose control of the broom, to be
honest), but honestly it caps off this insane storyline well. As strange as it
seems, I’m actually glad Akko didn’t win the race. She’s had 2 major successes
so far, and to have her first major setback be broom-related will likely move
her character forwards.
This episode was fantastic on so many
levels. I loved that we got even more worldbuilding around this magical school,
with the introduction of the town outside Luna Nova and the Shooting Star
broom. I loved the humour provided by Sucy, and Akko’s infectious determination
is delightful as always. And, of course, the broom race truly showed that we’ve
come to love the main trio over the course of just a few episodes and already
want them to succeed, even when the odds are against them. This episode set the
bar for what this series will be in the future, so I can only wish them good
luck in surpassing it.
FINAL SCORE
10/10
Legendary
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