A believing heart is your magic
(This review contains
spoilers!)
I’ve always maintained that Little Witch Academia’s biggest strength
is its ensemble cast. While Akko has always been the main focus, characters
like Lotte, Sucy, Diana, Amanda’s crew and Ursula really add to the world of
this show and make it feel truly magical. The sad thing is that since the
second cour has began quite a few of these characters have been shifted
considerably to the sidelines in favour of more development for Akko, most
notably Lotte and Sucy. This episode brought them all back out of the woodwork
as we begin the climax of the season.
This episode also treated us to
Chariot’s complete backstory, something that’s been a long time coming. After
last week’s mother of a twist, the time has come to see where this character
came from and how she got to the point where she was stealing others magic. As
many predicted, the rift between Croix and Chariot came from how the former’s
displeasure at watching the latter use the Shiny Rod as a tool for cheap magic
shows. When her search for the words stalled at the last one and her shows were
declining in popularity, it was Croix who suggested she harnessed the dream
magic, which she used at the show Akko and Diana attended among others. The
final straw came once Chariot refused to use the dream magic anymore and, in a
final effort to wow the crowd, shot an arrow into the moon, creating the star
shape we see in it in every episode. At this the Shiny Rod deemed her unworthy and
she went into hiding, setting up the creation of her Ursula persona.
I think it was kind of obvious that
Chariot was going to turn out to be sympathetic in the end and Croix was going
to be the mastermind behind it all (just look at the designs on the two of them
and tell me which one screams evil and which one doesn’t). Despite this, I love
the story behind the two of them. It adds a lot of depth to both characters,
especially seeing the parallels between them and their modern-day variants in
Akko and Diana.
Speaking of Diana, she took what would’ve
been a fantastic episode on its own and elevated it to new heights. I love what
the writers have done with her character ever since the second cour started, as
she turned from an aristocrat who went literally nose-to-nose with Akko over
the Luna Nova staff’s rights to the one who convinced her to return to the
school. The conversation the two of them had about their relationships with
Shiny Chariot, magic and the expectations the world has for them could’ve gone
on for hours and I wouldn’t have minded. These characters have developed so
much in just a few episodes, and I love to see them together.
Lotte and Sucy also had a pretty big
part to play this episode (finally!), and it’s so nice to see them actually
doing stuff again after their prolonged absence. Seeing Sucy, arguably the most
one note character in the main cast, actually feeling concern for Akko and
having her be the one to bring the Shiny Rod at the end instead of Lotte or
Diana is a great utilization of her. I also love how she searched the bridge
where she first met Akko in Episode 1 in hopes she’d find her there. It’s
little touches like that that really make this show so magical.
We’ve already gotten a glimpse of what’s
coming next week, and from the looks of things it’s going to be Chariot vs.
Croix Round 2. Considering this is such a cutesy show I’m pretty sure both
ladies are making it out alive, but considering this is Studio Trigger we’re talking
about anything’s game.
But that’s for next time. This episode
was just plain delightful, and it really showed how far we’ve come in our Luna
Nova adventure. The Chariot flashbacks were gorgeously animated and had a lot
of great cute and emotional moments, and in contrast the talk between Akko and
Diana was just plain heartwarming. Seeing all the major player finally back in
action was also a delight, and I love how Sucy finally got a few sympathetic
moments here and there. While I hate to see this season coming to a close, if
we can get more stuff like this we’re in for one magical ending.
FINAL SCORE
10/10
Legendary
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