Back to saving anime
(This review contains
spoilers!)
Last week was a bit of a
disappointment in that it turned out Little
Witch’s first real lackluster episode. Fortunately, this episode is a complete
recovery for the show, turning out one of the best episodes we’ve seen since…like,
two weeks ago.
A few episodes ago there were some
pretty prominent posters on the wall advertising the “Wild Hunt”. The Hunt
itself if on this week, and it’s sort of like a magic sporting event. Whichever
witch or wizard (for the first time ever we saw male magic-users!) catch the
most ghosts wins…something. They didn’t really make it clear what the rules
were, but that’s okay because most of the episode wasn’t focused on it.
Instead, this episode was about
Constanze. After last week’s Amanda episode turned out to be a bit of a snooze,
I was kind of concerned we were going to see the same here. Constanze is a very
fun character, yes, but I had my doubts she could carry an episode all by
herself.
I’m glad to be proven wrong, because
this episode was a complete delight, and it’s mostly thanks to Akko’s
interactions with her mute co-star. After breaking one of Constanze’s robots,
Akko stumbles upon her secret lab where she learns that Cons is preparing to
participate in the final round of the Wild Hunt, complete with a giant airship
similar to the one she built way back in Enchanted
Parade. Akko decides to try and help, but things go…well, the way they
usually go when she’s involved.
Eventually once she finally does help
with something, Cons signs on Akko to be her partner for the Hunt, and the two
of them build the ultimate airship. But of course things start to go wrong, as
Croix swarms the Hunt with her cube robots, this time creating a giant bird.
Cons and Akko then unleash their secret weapon: a giant mech suit…that
promptly runs out of magical power.
I love how Little Witch Academia parodies anime in the same way that Trigger’s
own Kill la Kill did. Having them do
a super over-the-top transformation sequence with their mech and then have it
promptly run out of battery because of that is absolutely hilarious. Of course
the Wild Hunt wizards help them recharge and they beat the giant bird in the
most anime way possible, which makes it all even better.
The episode ends with Ursula
confronting Croix about her plans, but we still know nothing about what her
true intentions are. I actually really hope that everyone’s right about next
week being the start of the climax, because having a villain existing for no
real reason is starting to get kind of frustrating. Much better is the last
scene between Akko and Constanze, where Akko finally gets to ride a broom! Er,
sort of. But still, it ends on what might be the cutest frame of animation in
the history of time, so that’s nice.
This was a true return to form for Little Witch Academia, and was well
worth the extra day of waiting I had to spend to see it. Constanze was able to
hold the entire episode by herself, creating one of the most wonderful episodes
since the last wonderful episode. The mech scene especially was absolutely
brilliant, being both a homage and parody of classic mecha anime. Trigger keeps
setting the bar higher and higher with this show, and they somehow keep topping
it all the time.
FINAL SCORE
9/10
Amazing
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