Anime is still saved
(This review contains
spoilers!)
While Little Witch has been almost entirely episodic up till now, there
have been several interesting subplots running that are surely leading to something
later on in the show. The most obvious of these is the fact that witches are
disappearing and magic is draining from the world, but the far more interesting
storyline thus far in my opinion is Akko’s relationship with Shiny Chariot as
her idol, as well as her unknowing relationship with the real Chariot in
Professor Ursula.
Despite Ursula hiding her true
identity from her biggest fan, I love that the two of them have already struck
up a relationship with each other. It would’ve been so easy to have Chariot be
an end goal for Akko, find out what happened to her and make her start doing
shows again. Here, she’s already friends with Chariot and just doesn’t know it
yet. There’s no way this series is going to end without Akko finding out the
truth (Ursula herself promises it at the end of the episode) and I really hope
the reveal is handled well.
I can easily say without hyperbole that this is the best
episode of Little Witch yet. Not only
does it further the plot in a way no episode before it has done, but the
animation and music were mind-blowingly good this week. Focusing the episode on
Akko and her still underperforming in her magic worked incredibly well, having
her leave the episode a stronger character than when she entered it.
Having failed another magical lesson with Ursula, Akko finds
herself wishing to meet with Chariot herself to learn about how she became an
entertainer. This leads her in search of the Blue Moon Cave, a cavern that
appears only during, you guessed it, a blue moon. Inside the cave there is a
spirit that can answer almost any question, so long as you can find her. Akko
discovers the cave, and begins her quest.
Being a much more serious episode than any of the others, the
animation and music went through an extreme tonal shift this week. The normal
bright pinks and greens took the episode off, replaced by a very blue backdrop.
There were some gorgeously lit and animated shots this week, really adding to
the darker atmosphere. The music also took a break from the traditional
European-style fanfare so closely associated with the series, giving us more
atmospheric music that matched the feeling of exploring a moonlit cave. As much
as I love the Little Witch Academia theme
and the variations on it, having it mostly out of this episode really added to
the more alien tone it had overall.
Diana had a very small subplot this week, but it definitely is
one that’ll be significant in the rest of the show. She paid a visit to the Little Witch equivalent to Harry Potter’s Restricted Section, finding
an ancient tome about the original nine witches who founded Luna Nova. These
witches created nine magical words that could fight off any evil, and with this
episode Akko has already learned two of them. In a vision towards the end of
the episode we saw some red and black drawings that looked pretty darn
sinister, so I assume the rest of the show will be dedicated to learning the
rest of the words before Little Witch
Voldemort shows up.
This episode was a huge departure from the norm for Little Witch Academia, and while I’ve
been adoring the show despite its episodic nature, I love that we’re finally
kickstarting the actual plot. Akko’s relationship with both the real and
fantasy Chariot were explored amazingly well this week, and the storyline about
vanishing witches just gets more and more interesting. Nearly every week Little Witch Academia pulls a new trick
out from its sleeve, and I can’t wait to see what it’s going to do next.
FINAL SCORE
10/10
Legendary
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