Full Review of Little Witch Academia

This is the full review of Little Witch Academia. Watch out for spoilers; you'll know when they're coming up as there will be text in green to warn you.

MY OVERALL RATING: 5/5

Little Witch Academia is an amazing anime. In my First Impressions review of this anime, which you can view here, I gave it a 4/5. Now that I have finished this gem, I give it a full 5/5. Let's go over why.

Upon viewing the first episode, I expected your average school life/slice of life anime with a bunch of cute girls making their way in the world with the power of love and friendship. Cliche stuff! However, while this was somewhat the case, it was not entirely the case. Little Witch Academia is a school life/slice of life anime yes, however, the way Netflix composed it makes it stand out against other anime of this genre (one such example that comes to mind it Okami-san, which seems to me like a basic school life/slice of life anime, though with a touch of humor). While many anime of this genre play out like a TV show with no hints or major cohesive plot throughout the entire thing, Little Witch Academia stands out by dropping foreshadowing and hints and having one giant cohesive plotline throughout BOTH seasons. Not just one season then switching to a different plot for the next season; BOTH SEASONS. This actually is an awesome thing to see in anime that isn't really mainstream. Even Sword Art Online switched it up a bit for when Kazuto and Asuna went into Alfheim Online after escaping Sword Art Online. In that anime, the first half was about getting out of a game that people were trapped in, but in the second half, once we get to see Alfheim Online, it switches gears to just rescuing Asuna really.

But Little Witch Academia kept up with Akko finding the seven words to unlock a powerful kind of magic that has been locked away: world-altering magic. There were episodes in the series that made you think that it was a stalling episode while the creators tried to come up with an actual plot-related episode (known as 'fillers'), but it turns out that little things end up relating to the whole plot. You don't realize this until after whenever an event involving the little thing happens. An example of this would be as follows: WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. In one of the episodes, there is a flying relay competition. Naturally, Akko can't fly, but demands that her little trio compete. Amanda, a girl from another trio of roommates, decides to steal an enchanted legendary broom that can fly as fast as a comet to compete with her trio. However, this broom was only able to be ridden by one person who is, by now, long gone. The broom was previously locked up in a magic shop under tight magical security as it now flys around freely unless kept under lock and magical key. Naturally, Amanda can't fly it as it continuously tries to buck her off. After Akko gets a hold of it before it decides to finally deal with it then get out of there, it isn't seen at all. In the final episode, many episodes later, it pops up again to save Akko and Diana from plummeting to a likely death after they are both forcibly dismounted from the broom they were on. Akko isn't riding it, of course, more so she's sitting on it while it flies itself, allowing Akko to be seated upon it as she likely earned the broom's respect. Think of it like breaking a wild horse.

Now you might be saying "But that broom doesn't relate to the entire plot at all!" You have a point, dear reader, as this event happens after Akko already gets the world-altering magic. However, this was just an example of how not a single one of these episodes was pointless filler and how there were small details that actually relate to the rest of the story in some way.

SPOILER FREE ZONE PAST THIS UNTIL THE NEXT WARNING.

Just watch the episodes regarding Akko finding the word that relates to tradition; while she's having her own regular adventures, there is the underlying tone of figuring out how to properly summon the word if you need to know that there are details that relate to the rest of the story somehow. Little Witch Academia focuses on its plot and story but in a way so the viewer isn't burnt out by all the serious stuff. This anime focuses in a way that entertains the person watching it. It is sitting here concocting plot devices and such right under your nose as your giggling at one of Akko's shenanigans or the episode dedicated to Sucy (which had a feeling of filler to it but it did serve the purpose of aiding Akko in getting the word she was pursuing at the time. There was an episode similar to this dedicated to Lotte). It's genius!

Now, there are some plot holes I would like to discuss. For one thing (minor spoilers) when Diana and Akko get knocked off their broom in the last episode, how did the comet broom know they were in trouble? Where was it? Where did it come from? It did seem a bit random to me and it might've felt less rushed of a rescue if it maybe had been featured in other episodes more and/or showed some sort of magical tie to those who have earned its respect. There are also other things that I felt could've been explained more; for example, the moon incident. The anime showed Shiny Chariot using a more powerful Shiny Arc shooting an arrow at the moon, permanently giving it a star shape on it. However, the anime didn't explain why or how she did this. It just kinda glazed over it like a tired college student reading the same paragraph over and over. I still don't understand it. I would likely have to go through the wiki dedicated to Little Witch Academia to figure it out (spoiler zone over).

So despite that, I still gave this a 5/5. The bump from a 4 to a 5 was mostly due in part to the way the anime took the genre of school life/slice of life and turned into an entertaining anime. The Irregular at Magic High School seemed to be trying to do this but it focused on way too many things and felt like I was reading a textbook about something I have very little understanding of. That anime tried to explain things but it didn't do it in a way that engaged the viewer or made them actually listen instead of just zoning out as one might do during a lecture. Little Witch Academia managed to do the explaining bits but drew them out and focused on keeping the viewer engaged. I stayed up for hours because I was so engaged with it.

Next up, I said that the execution of the genre was the most part of taking this gem to a 5. The other part of it was the visuals. Sure, it's not the most HD anime ever, but the visuals were beautiful and stunning, just as the visuals in Angel Beats! were. They fill you with that sense of joy and wonder, that feeling of amazement seeing such beautiful sights. The visuals made you want to be there seeing them for yourself instead of it being in a fictional land on a screen. There aren't many anime that can accomplish this feeling. Pokemon did a great job of this considering people have tried so hard to make it a real thing (with such things as Pokemon Go). While the execution of the anime helped bring this to a 5, the visuals definitely gave it a boost. While the anime definitely had the cliche flourishes of 'love and friendship conquer all' (especially around the end), it did this in a way that the viewer could enjoy. It wasn't majorly cheesy like one might feel like it is in an older anime such as Sailor Moon, but there's still that little bit of cheddar in there just letting you know that yes, they do pretty much conquer all (just go in a toxic Overwatch match; positivity tends to knock toxic people out of the park).

The music was beautiful, the execution and visuals were beautiful, and the characters all had something memorable about them. Even characters that didn't show up in the majority of the episodes were memorable! Lotte's mom and dad are memorable for one even though they're in ONE EPISODE. If someone came up to you after you hadn't seen the anime in a little while and asked you about Lotte's parents, you would know exactly who they were talking about. Just look at these two!

Her father is in the middle and her mother is in the lower right. Just based off their looks that someone asking you about them could just say "You remember Lotte's parents? The lumberjack dad and the hippie mom?" and you will know who they mean. Her father is a happy man with a large personality. The mother is small and quiet but still makes a mark. Even their neighbor is memorable for making the food they're eating and with her unique appearance (one that makes me think Professor Layton is somewhere nearby).

Seriously. She has a fish on her head. She barely says much the whole episode but you'll remember her. The two girls following Diana around being brats to Akko and her friends? You'll remember them even though they only show up for like four episodes because they annoy you. Diana's family? You'll know them: her stuck up aunt who has her own pair of undying followers (her twin daughters incidentally), the undying daughters who remind you of Diana's undying shadows, the maid who is desperate to get Diana to head the family since the aunt is selling their heirlooms, everyone. There aren't any forgettable characters if they play a part in the plot somehow, and most everyone except for regular townspeople and background characters plays a part in the plot. Look! You remember background people because of their lack of involvement! Greatness!

To conclude, this anime is a memorable one and one that I love now. It's got a great plot and awe-inspiring visuals. This is one I would recommend and insist on being watched. This anime gets a 5/5. I'll see you in the next review!

-J