stokes.helga - 2017-07-07 21:03:00

The main character is really unbearable to me but the side characters help support the show enough that I can move past that and watch it anyways, however, I feel like “Little Witch Akko” is a more accurate title, really. To me, the inner conflict between the main antagonist and the character professor Ursula is much more interesting than Akko’s conflicts, and I actually would have preferred a series that focused on those two. It is one of those frustrating moments where there is a more interesting potential series within a series. Akko feels like a very generic protagonist and is among the breed I don’t personally enjoy.

The show starts off slow with a bit of a “monster of the week” formula, except more along the lines of “Akko’s mistake of the week.” It’s very episodic in nature until about half way through, when an actual plot line begins and Akko’s personal goals and relationships with the other characters begins to develop into something pretty interesting.

A large sum of the conflict in the show is initially all the fault of the main character, so it’s kind of hard to empathize with what’s going on when it’s Akko’s fault for messing up in some way, though sometimes it is another character’s fault. There are also some parts of the plot that feel very forced. A large conflict is technology vs magic, and I can’t quite tell where exactly they were going with it, but in my opinion if magic did exist I don’t think technology would kill it. A smart phone can’t make you fly, and surgery is quite a bit more cumbersome than a witch doctor mixing up a potion to fix your problem, so I have a feeling the inner societal conflict wouldn’t happen at all, so it’s quite irritating to see this constantly be a point of conflict when really it’s very unrealistic and unnecessary. A bit of forced “people creating conflict for no real reason because we can’t think of anything better.”

Sometimes characters would act like a sort of “mean girls” archetype solely to make things harder for Akko for no real reason, and it was the same type of immature writing I’m irritated by in most shows that take place in a school of some sort. It feels like these bully characters are simply there to make Akko seem like a better person and make her easier to sympathize with when they really had no reason to hate her from the get go, especially since the main girl of the bully group didn’t seem to be into bullying Akko herself. I did like that Diana did not follow the norm of the “rival girl” and was actually legitimately talented and had no real interest in making Akko’s life harder, but the side bullies were annoying.

The main character’s primary goal also isn’t very admirable, and is actually initially very selfish but is continuously buried with the show forcing down your throat that Akko is actually selfless. Her main goal is to meet the idol she loves and she frequently makes very selfish decisions to attempt to achieve this, and it’s very frustrating. This, again, makes her very difficult to empathize with, and at times in the series I found myself praying the next episode would not be about her, and would instead focus on a side character. I also feel relationships with other characters were developed far more off screen than on screen, as friendships seemed to run very deep when to me, the characters have only ever been irritated with Akko and she’s never really done too much to make herself particularly likable at the point that the side characters seem to love her and have a great friendship with her. I would have loved to see more friend development between the three main girls.

No real complaints regarding the animation, I liked the designs of the girls and the animation was very beautiful at points. One of the better animated series. Worth noting both openings are sort of lame and the EDs are better.

The world’s treatment of magic feels very silly and illogical, but the actual world of magic that has been built here is one of my favorites and it all feels very organic within that world. All of the magic rules and designs feel pretty cohesive with one another and world building is a huge task, so I think they did a pretty decent job. I’m also a fan of a lot of the architecture featured and the mix between old-age villages and new-age technology is fascinating.

To sum it up, I would recommend this series to people and I do like it, it was just a very similar experience to madoka magica for me. I couldn’t stand the main character and felt no reason to empathize and care about her for most of the series, which killed the mood a lot of the time and made it typical to drag myself through it. It was above average to me, but when you don’t have anything else to do it’s a cute show. 6/10 from me.

elinor.jones - 2017-07-03 17:08:19

9,5/10

mante.scarlett - 2017-07-02 01:55:41

Animation: Lively and fluid, though you can certainly tell when you get to an episode where the animation isn’t quite up to the standard set in prior episodes. Character designs are pretty good as well. Only complaint I have is the background art, as it feels pretty static and flat. I understand that this is because the prior background artist did not return for this series.
Story and Characters: This anime kinda lives or dies by how much you can tolerate or enjoy Akko. She is the majority of the show, so if you can’t stand her, it will probably sink the show for you. I liked her well enough and could really relate to her struggle. The other side characters are really solid, especially Diana. Unfortunately the story kinda suffers at times, as some things are dragged out a little to long and the introduction of a major plot line can lead to some hits and misses for the series as it has to make sure that plot line advances. Overall though, Characters are great and the story is still good in spite of its flaws. The ending is pretty damn good as well.
Miscellaneous: I dug some of the soundtrack. The openings and endings worked well enough though I can take or leave the second opening.
Overall: The first Studio Trigger show I’ve ever genuinely loved rather than merely liked or enjoyed. I recommend this show if Akko doesn’t make you want to turn the screen off.

juanita.sanford - 2017-06-28 13:29:32

El único shojo que no tiene temas de romance que buenisimo.

antoinette.hoppe - 2017-06-27 09:18:53

The animation is fucking amazing

cassandra.hammes - 2017-06-26 02:52:51

ngu

welch.micaela - 2017-05-23 02:28:27

This show should be renamed to “Akko, please don’t fuck shit up…”

Nonetheless, still an enjoyable show!

dillan50 - 2017-03-14 17:20:34

I never watched the two movies that this anime was based on, so I was going in blind. Initially, I thought I wasn’t going to like this or this was going to have to slow of pace for me. But, after two episodes I got hooked while Akko at first was a little bit too much as I continue to watch this anime, I fall more in love with Akko’s character each time. I also really like the supporting cast, While this anime isn’t the most action packed or filled with a deep plot Little witch academia still has a lot to offer. Actually, one of the few anime of 2017 I actually keep up with.

edwin.grant - 2017-01-18 03:00:44

Little Witch Academia was announced as a television series for Netflix a few months ago. The series began running on January 8, 2017 in Japan and will be streaming on Netflix. Little Witch Academia will feature 25 episodes, will be directed by Yoh Yoshinari, and animated by Studio Trigger. LWA the series is based on the two short films that were previously released, Little Witch Academia (2013) and Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade (2015).

The first episode of the series, A New Beginning, retells the beginning of the original movie. Atsuko “Akko” Kagari, is a non-magical girl, she is inspired by Shiny Chariot’s performance to become a witch. She decides to enroll at Luna Nova Magical Academy, where Shiny Chariot went to study. She is mocked by other students due to her lack of magical abilities. Atsuko gets a magical broom ride to the school from new student Lotte Yanson.

However, after falling off the broom and colliding with Sucy Manbavaran, Atsuko and Lotte land into the forbidden Arcturus Forest. While in the forest, Sucy, decides to take advantage and lure a cockatrice for it’s poisonous feathers. She uses Lotte and Atsuko as bait, once she pucks the feather from the cockatrice, it turns it attention towards her. Atsuko locates the shiny Chariot’s wand, the Shiny Rod, as the cockatrice continues to pursue them, one of the teachers from Luna Nova, Ursula arrive.

She tells Atsuko the magic words necessary to use the Shiny Rod and they teleport to Luna Nova. Atsuko, Lotte and Sucy learn that they will be roommates for the next three years. LWA continues to be a very enjoyable series, balancing the magical action with humor. While the animation isn’t as great as the movies, the decline in quality is minor. I’m excited for this series.