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Feb 13, 2024
Right off the bat I can say the one thing that prevents this arc from being an absolute 10 is the fact that after following all of our male Jojo protagonists the first and only female Jojo is the only one with daddy issues and was done in by a man. Why does being screwed over by a man have to be Jolyne’s starting point? Why does she have to have daddy issues when the other Jojos didn’t have those problems or they were never mentioned? The other Jojos seemed to have gotten along just fine, especially Joseph and Josuke. Giorno, who never knew his
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real father, was abused by his stepfather. But his motivation throughout the entire arc was to become the number one gangster to save his precious homeland from corruption. You see how men can have thrilling adventures without it being regarded as “fatherless behavior?” I can understand that her wanting to stay in the prison was because she cared for him and wanted to get his soul/Stand back (that was very thoughtful considering their relationship at that point), but again, it was because some no good asshole put her in there in the first place.
If you’ve made it this far in the series then you know that the Jojo clan consists of clever, noble, spunky, and daring heroes. And while they are put in perilous situations where they have to sacrifice themselves, it’s because they were fighting a dastardly villain, a Stand user. Outside of that, they were just normal everyday people with ambitions and self-preservation. What happened between Jolyne and her ex-boyfriend was horrendous, but I just can’t help but think that none of the male Jojos would have ever agreed to help someone cover up a murder. It feels like, “even if she is a Jojo, she’s still a woman. So we’ve gotta make her do stupid woman stuff.”
Honestly, I would have preferred it if she were just a delinquent on her own. But again, “fatherless behavior.” While Jolyne is pure of heart and good-natured you can’t help but feel as though her early behaviors before we met her was because she was convinced that her father never cared about her. Even in the second to last episode she said that she stole a car, for no reason, but knew that her father would come to her aid. I guess I would have just liked the last Jojo, the first female Jojo to be more “complete” and not have these internal hang-ups.
Now, the ending is quite unfair in that regard because the other Jojos had been given time to improve their skills, especially Joseph and Jotaro. Imagine if Harry Potter didn’t have years and years to improve himself and instead had to fight Voldemort, and Death Eaters, and dangerous creatures one after the other after the other. Also, the lack of knowledge and allies while going up against “Final Boss Plus Ultra Pucci” was VERY unfair. It reminds me of how the Yashahime trio went to go fight against Kirinmaru…and WON??? How is this possible?? Father Pucci’s convictions and fortitude were WAY, WAY, WAAAAAAY too strong for someone like Jolyne to fight on her own. As much as she had grown and developed her own resolve and Stand ability it just couldn’t and wouldn’t match up with the terror that was Maiden Heaven. The Mobius Strip to keep herself alive was genius and an amazing trick she unveiled. I found that to be very impressive. But she just didn’t have enough time or resources to keep leveling up.
I mean, Pucci had White Snake, then Green Baby + White Snake, then C-Moon the fully merged form of the two, and THEN Maiden Heaven as the ultimate form. She didn’t even get to have an upgrade like Golden Experience Requiem. I guess what I’m saying is that I wish that the final battle could have been an ACTUAL battle and not a one-sided beating. As I learned about the different Stand abilities that Joylne collected as allies I thought, “How in the world are these people going to be of any use in the final battles to come?”
They weren’t.
If you’ve gotten as far as Stone Ocean then you know that our characters often have the best Stand equipped for the job. No matter how diverse the Stand is or how clever their user is, there is some way for our heroes to overcome their predicament. Sometimes it takes tenacity and wit and other times it’s just that good ‘ol Joestar good luck. But that’s what’s missing from this last part. Jolyne’s bloodline luck was ultimately her downfall as Pucci referenced several times that it was because of the luck, the crossed fate of the Joestars, that Pucci was able to succeed. It’s like Araki “broke the rules” and instead of having the main character dig DEEP in her pockets for plot armor and main character insurance he let us know in the last few episodes, “Okay, time to be f**ing for real.”
And it’s like, NOW?? NOW is when you want to be realistic? Because as I aforementioned it would be incredibly outrageous if Jolyne and company were to use their mid-tier Stands to defeat the big boss, (it only makes sense that the anime ended the way that it did), but I just felt like it wasn’t fair to hand over one of the most inexperienced and ill-prepared protagonist like a lamb to the slaughter. Throughout watching the series, the levels and power scaling of our heroes versus their villains were on equal footing and the characters who died by the hands of the villains died at the “appropriate” times. When Foo Fighters died the “first” time it was appropriate as was the “second” time. There’s just a time when characters have their limits, but what plays with viewers/readers emotions is when there are times when someone has sustained INTENSE damage, times where you think, “How on earth are they alive, that was definitely a stab through the heart….” And yet afterwards they brush it off like, “Well that was something else, huh?” The only characters who seemed to have long-lasting effects are Joseph’s hand and Polnareff’s legs.
From watching the entire series we’re not really sure what constitutes a “fatal blow” but what people are able to walk away from. Even if Pucci hadn't killed off most of our group within five minutes did anyone really expect any of them to walk away? *Sigh* The ending was very appropriate for what was realistically a great way to end the Joestar storyline. My only issue with its ending was thinking that the generational luck that had lasted them for so long would somehow stay with them until the end. That being said, 8/10, I would definitely recommend.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 4, 2024
I thought Stardust Crusaders was my favorite Jojo arc, but it wasn’t until I watched Golden Wind that I was completely swayed! I can’t decide what I liked about it the most: the storyline? The characters and their motivations? The clever new stands and creative ways they’re used? I couldn’t get enough of it! I felt such a deep connection to these characters and how much they meant to each other. Their convictions were so strong and their desire to see things all the way through was so endearing to me. When the group succeeded I was happy for them, when they failed or suffered
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I felt so badly for them. The last time I wanted something so badly for a character was probably for Yuri on Yuri on Ice. The great desire and tenacity to see something through to the end is something that I admire in my anime characters. It doesn’t always need to be bloody and dramatic, but to see someone fight for a cause so noble really makes me swell with pride.
Pride was only one of the many emotions I felt in this arc. I was inspired, disgusted, angered, and torn apart. I cried so often and so deeply I had to get a hold of myself, especially when we started losing precious people. In certain anime, we can always assume that we’re going to lose some people along the way. But it’s just the way that it happens that tears me up inside. When you see the light go out in someone’s eyes and you hear their last thoughts. You want to reach through the screen and shake them. You don’t want it to be the end. And above all, you want good things for them. You don’t want their story to end or for them to die in vain or suffer needlessly. It really makes you think about your own life and wonder if there’s anything so great that you would put your life on the line or throw yourself into danger for.
That’s why I love the Jojo series. People who are brave and noble in spirit, people with conviction and resolve, tenacity and gumption. People that have stories to tell and full lives they wish to live, no matter how big or small. The show inspires you to want to live life out loud and make great friendships along the way. Friendships that are stretched by distance, but are always close at heart.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 4, 2024
Hmm, I think it was decent. I think it was a nice decent filler show that you watch between bigger shows. Or just a little bite sized nibble to wean you back into anime if you’ve been gone for a while. I enjoyed it, but I couldn’t help but feel as though I’d enjoy it more if I watched the 1990s version before it. You don’t HAVE to watch its predecessor, but the original had 42 episodes whereas this series only has 12. I can’t help but feel as though there’s a lot of useful backstory, specifically with the previous
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Akuma-kun. Imagine watching Boruto without watching Naruto, you know? Sure, they can include vague and cryptic allusions to the past, but you’d have to see and feel, you’d have to BE there, in order to get why certain things are so important and meaningful.
What I liked the most about this series is that it focuses on parents, specifically fathers. Good fathers, bad fathers, fathers just doing their best. I think we’ve become way too accustomed to absent parents or single mother homes that we don’t get to see how different variations of fatherhood also affect children. I really loved watching the duo solve mysteries and using those mysteries to implement them into their own lives. What does it mean to be a friend? Can you love your child too much? How can humans love and hate one another at the same time? So many complex human emotions being examined by demons while warding off evil.
Perhaps I’ll watch the original version or search high and low for the manga. In the meantime, give this anime a try. You might like it!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 21, 2023
I miss Hamon, or at least wish Hamon was alive and well in someone else besides Joseph Joestar. But all things have to change, I guess. I feel like we had to make the transition between Hamon and Stands because Hamon users were people (typically older) who dedicated their lives to the practice and mastery of the technique. Also, most Hamon users belonged to a higher order of some kind and didn’t necessarily want to harm anyone. So I believe that in order to increase our adversaries we had to give powers to the populace with unhinged mindsets where they
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would be prone to make trouble for our protagonists. Very impressed with the limitations of Stands, it reminds me of the same ones in Hunter X Hunter and My Hero Academia. There is a system in place where requirements for usage have to be met like distance, amounts of times used in 24 hours, or not being able to personally benefit from it yourself. (That’s a pretty big deal for this season’s Jojo)
I think the show didn’t really start kicking off for me until Kira was introduced. At first I believed that we didn’t need all those episodes before we met Kira, but each episode was necessary for not only his introduction but the way he’s able to carry out his plans. I think the structure is a bit off, I don’t like how certain characters are introduced. Like, Mikitaka. I feel like he’s a character of convenience and he makes things, I don’t want to say easy, but his entire “being” even for him being an alien is just something I don’t buy. There are pivotal characters and then there are “tool” characters. For example, Tamami with The Lock stand or Yuya’s Highway Star. It’s like, we need to encounter and “befriend” you now so we can utilize your ability later. The shounen “have lots of friends like a deck of cards to use them at our disposal” trope is a little destructive, I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it. But I do find it to be an interesting contrast to shojo magical girl anime where we utilize the power of 3-5 girls to get the job done, but in shounen series we need a plethora of abilities to defeat the big bad.
Does that speak to the derivativeness of shojo manga? That those characters are actually underdeveloped because female characters don’t “grow” until their powers do? I do admit that male characters make their power their own when they’ve personally evolved whereas female characters have to use “spiritual” power to increase the existing power they already have, although unless you’re the leader your power virtually stays the same….
ANYWAY, I love how the introduction of Mikitaka being used in Rohan’s house creates the situation where Rohan’s house begins to burn down which means that someone needs to come to his house to get the damages appraised which introduces Cheap Trick and is a callback to Reimi’s alley. More importantly, we see the development of how Koichi and Rohan’s friendship has developed off-screen. When Rohan refers to Koichi as his best friend and how the first person he thought to call was Koichi when he was in distress that showed small but real character development. Especially for a character that prefers to stay by himself.
I think my favorite episode was when Okuyasu “woke up”. That’s all I’ll say about that. It literally brought me to tears and I was just so glad for my own personal closure. I also loved when everyone came together to see off a well-loved character. (I don’t want to spoil the WHOLE thing)
The colors were magnificent, I don’t know if that’s a childish thing to comment on, but while I pouted for the change in artstyle from the previous seasons I did get acclimated to it very quickly and I enjoyed the high contrast sharp tones found in the characters, scenery, and “disco-teque” vibes of the opening and ending theme songs. The songs slapped by the way, I never skipped them, so good!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 21, 2023
Stardust Crusaders is my favorite season (to date). I think what I loved the most about this season was the introduction of Stands and how creative Stand users were with their abilities. We had to say goodbye to Hamon which made me sad and upset for the seasons to come. I feel like when a power is dependent on how well a person trains and exudes self-discipline, it’s better than a power that was just given to you and you have to learn how to wield it. Training, discipline, self-sacrifice, and adversity is good for the mind, body, and spirit. The characters had noble spirits,
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a real heart of a fighter. I felt this season was very similar to its previous ones and how these men had honor and respect for the people they fought beside. I also loved how, in order to extend the series, we explored not only the Rider Waite tarot but the Egyptian tarot as well.
My biggest gripe with the season was that, at times, it became repetitive. Repetitive in the way that the characters would commit some of the same follies back to back to back. You would think that after your teammate was ambushed because they were left alone for a while that any time after that you would immediately act when they don’t show up or answer their phones. They always gave one another the benefit of the doubt that, “Maybe they decided to sleep in” or “Maybe they decided to head out on their own and look for clues.”
NO! No they did not! They’re fighting for their lives and they're hoping and praying that you’ll use your common sense to check up on them! Also, just being dumb when it comes to any strange phenomenon. You know that a whole gang of people with strange abilities are after you. So why when something strange happens does it not occur to you that it is the evildoing of the people after you! *facepalm*
Despite all of that, I really enjoyed this season and how it sets up the magnificent lore for the seasons to come. Certain things that you wouldn’t think are a big deal, a one-off, or inconsequential to the plot end up meaning everything and I find this season to be absolutely bingeable.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 21, 2023
I’m so glad I decided to give this show an honest try. It took me quite a few times to get past the first episode but after getting used to the iconic artstyle and peculiar mannerisms of the characters, I found myself not being able to pull away. Now I’m in love with the artstyle and have so many favorite characters that I can’t believe I kept away for so long. I think it was the oversaturation of everyone watching it and the bombardment of memes that turned me off. Everywhere I looked it was, “IS THAT A JOJO REFERENCE?!” and I would
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go “hehehe…*sigh*...”. So after staying away long enough where everyone was busying themselves with later seasons I finally jumped on the bandwagon.
The best way I can describe watching this show is like a live-action Western superhero comic book. I loved how large and overly muscular the characters are, the way I remember they were drawn in the 2001 Justice League. It’s also like watching soap opera with how deep and emotional yet jovial and outright ridiculous it is. The way that certain concepts and emotions are explained, it’s so..different, I can’t explain it. I liked that I could care about the characters and their principles. I particularly enjoy how even when the fate of the world is at stake, the perception of having a “gentleman’s duel” always seems to color their battles.
My only complaint is that it’s chivalrous yet abusive towards women sometimes? An element that conflicts itself throughout most of the series, but it’s not terrible enough for a woman to stop watching. (At least in my opinion). I wouldn’t call it misogynistic, but there are times where I went “Ooh, don’t like that…” If the person is a villain then for me they get a pass because villains will harm anyone regardless of gender. But during some moments the characters we’re supposed to be rooting for may do something a little less than gentlemanly. It’s just like how I mentioned earlier about the characters and their warrior codes and honor systems. One second they’re all about upstanding values and the next there’s a bit of discrepancy. But without spoiling anything, our mains are placed in extremely perilous situations where they may need to go against their core values in order to get the job done.
The best way I can describe this show is an anime soap opera, totally one of its kind. You’ll never see what’s around the corner and if you enjoy Hunter X Hunter then you’ll love this too!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 5, 2023
I'll just come out and say that I didn't like how the show ended. At first I thought that the election was an interesting touch, but if the writers knew that this is where they were going to end up then maybe have some foreshadowing from previous seasons? Like, maybe we could have known that Haida's family was a political one and he was ostracized from the family because of his band's blunder. His family wouldn't have been such strangers in the very last season and it could have created more "fun tension" that Haida and Retsuko have "known" one
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another for quite some time, but both sets of parents have been none the wiser.
The storytelling and character relationships don't translate well to Western audiences, that much I can say for myself. There are times when there is too much of an uncomfortable silence or characters speak their true feelings in their heads instead of outwardly saying what they really feel. It's the opposite of Western media where characters tend to talk too much and end up misconstruing what they actually mean.
No matter the culture, a couple needs to understand one another as well as learn to solve their own problems in their own way. Every member in the office had some kind of hand in pushing Retsuko and Haida together, but they never actually came together and said, "Here's what we're gonna do"...it just reminds me of every book/show/movie where the guy eventually wears the woman down by being "the nice guy" with nothing to offer other than, "I like you." That's cute for children. That's cute for little crushes. That's not what gets you married. Speaking of...
5 seasons of will they, won't they just for a greyscale montage of an after-hours wedding ceremony? Unbeliveable...I had to rewind 3 times just to make sure I was seeing correctly. Characters that do this in anime always give me the heebie jeebies and I think it's for good reason. Those that get married "properly" get the big white dress, family blessings, and a beautiful wedding. Those that do it the "wrong" way always end up doing it impulsively where doom is sure to follow. This happened in CLANNAD where Tomoyo suddenly asks Nagisa to marry him or when Takumi took Nana to the after hours reception to sign some papers and give her a rinky dink ring. I feel like it's Japan's way of showing subtle disgrace where the characters appear to have a happy ending, but the feelings around it are never that of joy. It's usually rage, sadness, defeat, vengence, or most likely, fear.
What irritated me the most was towards the last or second to last episode where her "friends" were wondering if she was going to pull through for them and someone said something along the lines of "if enough people want her to do something, she'll do it." Which basically means, "if enough people peer pressure her into something, she'll fold." Is that the lasting impression that we want to see from our main character? That she's a people-pleasing pushover who hasn't learned to stand up for her own convictions? Is that why Haida and Retsuko deserve one another? Haida's recuperation and reintegration could have been a whole season by itself. Life needed to knock him on his behind before he became integrated back into society. To me, it wasn't that his girlfriend should come save him because "that's what a good girlfriend does", but he needs to learn how to save himself and understand what it means to persevere by ways of his countrymen. He and Shikibane could have learned so much from one other and he was on his way to rebuilding himself from scratch. But here comes Retsuko ready to save the day because she hates the idea of him sharing a sleeping space with another girl. (I mean, I wouldn't be satisfied with that either, but he could have shared a space with the other dude). It wasn't long before he was acting up and over staying his welcome at Retsuko's that he was back on his bullshit, lol.
The reason why the ending feels like a wash is because it just feels like after all this time we're still back at square one. Retsuko is still a disgruntled office worker albeit with a better relationship with her co-workers, she's still prone to high amounts of anxiety and peer pressure, and her love life just kind of imploded within itself, taking the easy route for the sake of a win. For that, it feels TOO much like real life because people apporach life like Retsuko and Haida everyday. Yikes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 2, 2022
So…I really don’t have any strong feelings towards this anime one way or another but as far as watchability goes I would still say it couldn’t hurt to put this on your list. Now, full disclaimer, when I was STRONGLY encouraged to watch this anime it was under that pressure that all anime-watchers get. You know what I’m talking about. When someone absolutely adores the show and they want you to absolutely adore it as well. I kept seeing it everywhere and most of the comments were so hyper and excited for the show’s return. I didn’t want to go into
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the show with incredibly high expectations, but I was still intrigued as to why it’s such a fan favorite.
Personally, I could have gone without seeing it. The entire joke of the show is a great big, “Will they, won’t they” taken to extremes. If you grind your teeth and clench your fists at this popular romance anime trope then this show definitely isn’t for you. To my understanding, there are 4 seasons of this program so take what you want out of that. I think it’s because most of us have seen this, all of this, before and it doesn’t really add anything new to the genre. Honestly, it gives me anxiety waiting for someone to slip up or waiting for someone to show genuine emotion and not manipulative tactics.
Now to be fair there were instances where I laughed heartily or where I wanted to rewind to see a character make a joke. It does have that special Japanese humor that you can’t find in any other form of entertainment. I certainly had favorite characters that I was rooting for or felt sorry for so I can say it’s likely that you’ll form an attachment to at least one of the characters as well. It’s important that you give these characters a chance. Our two characters in love come from completely different worlds and their backgrounds couldn’t be any more different. And while they’re both teenagers feeling very healthy feelings it’s those different backgrounds that prevent them from acting on them in a healthy manner. So the show requires a healthy amount of patience from its audience for these two contrasting characters.
Lastly, something that I think viewers should know is that this is the type of anime where there is a LOT of writing on the screen. If that isn’t a problem for you and you prefer to watch dubbed anime where you don’t have to look at the screen then don’t worry about it. But if you’re like me and you NEED to catch everything written out to get small references then you’ll be pausing the screen a lot which can add to your viewing time. It’s also a little harsh on the eyes because the subtitles are generated in that thick, white lettering that can be blaring to the optics.
Lastly, for real this time. if you watch the sub or dub you will get a different experience from your narrator. The sub narrator sounds like a general actually discussing the elements of war and tactics which is fitting because it IS called “Love is War”. However, the dubbed narrator sounds like a much younger person, your buddy jokingly watching it next to you. Do a YouTube search of Kaguya-sama narrator sub vs. dub and give yourself a taste to determine what kind of viewing experience you would like. I believe it makes a big difference.
Kaguya-sama: Love is War, season 1 isn’t something that you need to hurry up and run home to watch but I think, at most, it deserves a chance on your watchlist. For whenever you get around to it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 2, 2022
I loved this show! I’m not sure what other people were looking for when it came to the execution of this show, but I really enjoyed the prequel and how it gave us more insight into the world of Kakegurui. In regards to these “types” of programs I think it would benefit most people to go ahead and read the manga as opposed to watching the anime. It didn’t have as much as of the same eerie shock value that was in the first rendition we were exposed to and that might be the reason why it doesn’t score as high as expected. Our
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protagonist, Mary Saotome, is still shrewd and discerning, but in this prequel you see her as more cooperative, strategic, and adorably doubtful. Something happened between the events of Twin and KKG. Something that made her lose hope, her small belief in justice and humanity, and her complete integration of herself into the system. Someone pointed out to me that in KKG she was holding the flower hair clip that her cute blue-haired friend, Tsuzura, had in Twin. So something must have happened to her between that time to make her become angry and unhinged.
I have only seen the anime so I’m only making a guess here, but I remember a scene in KKG where the little lollipop loli (Runa) told Mary that if she doesn’t shape up then she’s going to receive a Life Plan. A Life Plan is when a student has taken on so much debt that the student council has to create a plan that does essentially bail you out, but you’ll be paying a grave personal price. Runa told Mary that she could be betrothed to some old, gross but insanely weather geezer that’s into little girls and could have her do all sorts of sordid things, but would absolutely wipe out her debt. The look on Mary’s face when she’s given the news is absolutely terrifying. She’s disgusted but at the same time horrified. What if Tsuzura got herself into so much debt that Mary couldn’t save her? What if Tsuzura had received that kind of fate so Runa reminding her was what made her so terrified? I have absolutely no idea so if this is truly what happens in the story, I’m sorry, my intention isn’t to spoil it for anyone.
What really amazes me about this series is all the components that come together to make the games difficult and calculating. It’s not enough to just know math but it helps to know music, literature, history, science, and more. You couldn’t win a scholarship to this as a normal person like in Ouran Host Club and think you’re going to be okay. I enjoy watching the thought processes of these students and how they use their smarts and cleverness (two different things) to outwit one another. I wish I could be as crafty and witty as the young women in this show. Listening to them unveil how they win their games is like hearing how a detective solved a mystery.
I encourage everyone to watch Kakegurui Twin and not to put so much pressure on it to be as “charged” as its predecessor. The mechanics of how the characters operate in Twin is because they are still operating under the status quo. Jabami’s involvement in KKG is likely more exciting because the status quo is attacked and the system is at risk of being destroyed. I’m looking forward to the second half of Twin (I wonder if they did that on purpose?) and I believe that by watching the series in chronological order instead of order of release more people can appreciate the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 22, 2022
Wandering Witch Elaina was my “take a break” anime. A “take a break” anime is that show that you watch between major shows (My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, etc). It looked way more mature than Ojamajo Doremi and the art style looked like I could take it more seriously than Little Witch Academia. I decided to give it a try and I can honestly say that I was glad I did!
Initially, I couldn’t tell what it was about Elaina and her story that I liked so much. Was it her personality? Ehh, it could leave much to be desired. Was
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it her magical skill? Hmm, nothing to really write home about (even though one of the prominent themes is her consistent entries of her travels, lol) Was it about how she interacted with the people she met? Honestly, she never really took to many of the people she met and, if anything, tried her best not to stay in one place for too long.
And that’s when I realized…that’s it…THAT’S what I like about Elaina! Watch any show where we follow a spritely, young adventurer and we see someone who interjects themselves into the problems of a person in need or a group in peril. The person uses their talents to solve the problem and the day is saved allowing our hero/ine to move onto the next town fulfilled that they helped someone in need. But that isn’t true of Elaina. That isn’t the case for our wandering witch at all.
“I’m just an ordinary traveler. Just an ordinary witch. Inexperienced…unable to do anything…” “If I realize…I feel like my days of traveling freely will be over.”
What she meant by the aforementioned quotes was that with the skills he developed and the path she chose as a witch she never painted herself as “the altruistic protagonist”. The protagonist who always lends a helping hand. The main character who puts themselves in harm's way to save others. The lead who can rally a group of people to save the day. She made it very clear with her actions that she was merely a passerby, an observer of the beauty and wickedness of humanity. And I think that’s what made her heart so heavy as the show progressed. She knew if she took a moment to realize that the people she interacted with were real human beings with real problems and woes then she could never go back to turning a blind eye and move on. To look back in her diary and ask herself, “Why didn’t you try to do something about that?”
It’s not often that we see a main character not have any major ambitions with the capacity to help many people…but just choose not to do so. Every time she meets someone new and gets intertwined in their affairs it does something to her. Even when she ends up having a good time, the voice in the back of her head is, “You have to remember not to stay so long next time. You’re just a passerby, just a traveler.”
I fell in love with the character that chose herself and what she wanted, something that is truly denied to most women. Women are socialized to be community driven and put the needs of others before themselves. I really enjoy the idea of women being more selfish and less conditioned to always be a helping hand. Even when other women and children are in need. I think of her situation like the Hunter exam in Hunter X Hunter. Everyone has to pass the same exam no matter what, but what you choose to do with it is completely up to you.
Wandering Witch Elaina is “that” show where it’s not going to resonate with most people, but for the people it does, it means a lot. We’ve all had a show like that. A show that really seems to touch a sensitive nerve or pluck on that particular heart string where we need validation or comfort. The show alludes to there being a second season and while the first one was rather choppy and scattered, I really hope to see how Elaina grows and her magic strengthens. Enjoy!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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