Little Witch Academia

Much like the creator of this little gold nugget, I'll be keeping this review short, but sweet.

Aside from Ryo, which I can't seem to find anywhere (if you happen to know a site, a link would be very helpful), I've seen all of the Anime Mirai 2013 films. All 4 are about half-an-hour long, so they're pretty concise with their story. Death Billiards is pretty good, but it feels a bit pretentious, shoving a little philosophical question down your throat but not really making you think that much. Arve Rezzle feels like the pilot to a full series, and as such offers very little closure, ... but it has some nice ideas, even if those are undermined slightly by some rather half-baked characterisation and poorly executed exposition.

I'm giving my little mini reviews to the other episodes simply to give my review of Little Witch Academia some context. As someone with a rather cold demeanour, and who typically enjoys a dark thriller or gore-heavy action series, it may come across as somewhat surprising when I say that LWA is my favourite of the three. It's almost Disney-esque, with genuinely loveable and quirky characters, a strong and functional, if not particularly complex, story and a completely uplifting tone. The humour is solid and hits you enough to make even the most stoic individual smile a bit. The animation is brilliant, with the art differing just enough from the conventions of the Japanese style to make me completely fall in love with it. Voice-acting is probably my primary gripe, but it's not so bad that it distracts from the episode. It's fun, and reminds me of why I need to be less tolerant of those angsty action-thrillers like Arve Rezzle that seem to make up the meat of today's anime industry.

LWA is like Shrek. Far from being childish, this little gem is fun for everyone (though it doesn't share Shrek's gleeful love for sexual innuendo). Even if, like me, you've grown into an emotionally-jaded, highly critical badass, you may just find that Little Witch Academia has enough substance and upbeat tone to penetrate your doughy cynicism and really cheer you up.

I would genuinely rather they made a full series of this than Arve Rezzle.

Little Witch Academia is a standout anime, even though so far there is only one part and it is about 25 minutes long at this stage I would definitely consider this a masterpiece.

Instead of writing an essay about this i'm going to create a list of Positives and Negatives, I know when you're just looking to see if an anime is worth watching you usually don't want to read all that much.

Positives

- A short story which leaves room for expansion yet ties up the major loose ends and sticks to a three act structure incredibly well.
- The characters are all very different from each other, ... none are stereotypical archetypes and each are likeable in their own way.
- The soundtrack is not something I noticed too much, but it was enough to create the correct atmosphere for the scenario's.
- The animation, I feel like this really needs to be stressed, by god the animation is amazing, everything is so smooth I think this might be the smoothest and most consistent animation i've ever seen.

Negatives
- Hard to think of many.
- The soundtrack wasn't extremely memorable, hardly much of a negative.


Like I said, it's very difficult for me personally to find faults in Little Witch Academia, I would recommend this to almost anyone and am certainly looking forward to the future of this project.

"Trigger saved anime." This is a phrase the anime community got to read a lot alongside Kill la Kill's airing until a little while. I'd go this far and say that Trigger DID save anime. But it had nothing to do with Kill la Kill. Read here why!

Actually, Little Witch Academia caught me by surprise. I didn't know Studio Trigger had something like that in stock and after I found out about this little gem I almost instantly decided to download it and oh boy was that a fine decision.

Reminder: This review will be spoiler free and I will refrain from going too deep into ... happenings and just summarize it really, really quickly. We have the main heroine Akko Kagari. As a child she was attending a magic show featuring the witch Shiny Chariot who has become an idol for Akko. Even though she is not born into a magic family she attends the name giving magic school and is friends with Sucy and Lotte.

Let's split up this review into the five categories as usual:

Story (7/10):

There really isn't much I can say about a one episode anime with 25 minutes without coming up with a summary or spoilers. So let's just say that Little Witch Academia features a coherent plot. It features a look in the past of the main character and her motivations, parts of the everyday life at the academy and the interactions between multiple different characters. It's just one episode but felt concluded and not rushed by any means.

Art (7/10):

Since it has been Studio Trigger working on this it has this certain touch you instantly get out of it if you have watched Kill la Kill before. In general the backgrounds are very nice to look at, the animation is fluid, lightning looks gorgeous and the character models are full of variety in looks and facial animations. There is nothing to complain about here.

Sound (8/10):

As it is a single episode anime yet I would have never thought so much effort has been pumped into the soundtrack. It was outstanding and had a broad variety of different tunes to set the mood. I really loved that it consisted mostly of orchestral music. It just fitted so well.
Another part worth mentioning in the "Sound"-category is the voice acting. Trigger got really, really talented people on board for Little Witch Academia and it was a pure pleasure listening to them.

Character (8/10):

For a one-piece show they had a pretty adorable and varying cast reaching from the arrogant but talented witch with her two friends and the goofy main character as well as her sidekicks which would be a clumsy glasses girl and the superficially more introverted girl with the not-so-obvious but kickass abilities. All in all a very good cast of likeable characters.

Enjoyment (9/10):

I can't remember when it was the last time 25 minutes felt that short. It was over in almost an instant and had no dull moments. It was funny, suspenseful and full of quality. Pure entertainment!

Verdict (8/10*):

A very good anime. It is nice to see that projects like Little Witch Academia are such a success (600.000 clicks on YouTube according to Trigger). Also the second episode has been an insane hit on Kickstarter, fulfilling the 150.000$ mark in just one day. I can't wait for more.
It was fun all along. You shouldn't miss out on this enchanting tale! It's worth your very time and appreciation.

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*) Score is not an average

I just want to rate this special as a 10 to applaud the young animators on a job well done!
Your story goes like this a typical magical girl has aimed to become like her idol "Chariot" and this connects to the minds of our youth because you know we hold lots of dreams, ambitions, and imagination. So this special takes that and creates the opportunity to take this dream head on. Bits of comedy and adventure with a hint of wonder, i mean its about magical girls ;] The characters are all unique. Including the art, oh man the ART. The scenery if fabulous and ... as for the character designs...gorgeous. I'd also like to add that the style changes from cartoon-y to normal to detailed in their faces to match the situation such as embarrassment or laughter. The main ones have different facial features so you can easily recognize them not only by their hair color. The music matched very well. Especially at parts that needed suspense ^^ I really enjoyed this special and it will go down as one of my favorites for now :>

Typical magical girl, so why now give this special a try? The special effects are pretty dramatic ^^

Trigger does it again.

Yes, and what I mean by that is is achieving entertainment. Honestly, coming into this series, I didn't expect too much. After all, it involved young amateur anime producers who wishes to get their hands on the experience of making an anime. However, after watching these 26 minutes of awesomeness, I got the feeling that Trigger will pull more exciting stuff out of their hats.

Little Witch Academia details of a single 26 minute episode that is seemingly based off a setting taken place in a form of Magical Academy. The title of the series is what you get - an academy about ... little witches. The series stars Kagari who plays the role of the main female protagonist. Along with her at the academy are other students. Based on her role, Kagari seems to be a lazy student. Additionally, she seems to be naive as her character and is usually deceived in various forms of witchcraft and wizardry. To make matters worse, she is ridiculed by an elite witch (Diana) in front of her peers. Still, we can see that she has a dream, one which she wants to make into a reality.

Following dreams isn't easy though especially with her skills...

Among other things, the episode adapts the fantasy/magic theme well. There's the magical academy, the various tests that students must endure to become elite witches, and the magical spells. Even the way the character dresses seems to reflect this with black wardrobes and magical hats with that special wand to complete the package. The various creatures and critters also adds a nice feeling of magical touch. They have little resemblance to humans but instead are portrayed as the threat to the academy's students.

That of course requires the students' abilities and magical skills to survival. As such, the students uses the knowledge they learned from their classes and employs them directly. Speaking of which, that spells out the action of the series. Personally, I find the action presented to be a bit cheesy. Seemingly, spells fired and crafted gives off sparks of that magical feel. The usage of broomsticks also fits the trope of witches and the way they travel among the skies. Then, there's the deal again with Kagari...

She just wants to be part of the spotlight whenever she can. Whether it's in the face of danger or humiliation, she faces them directly. Despite her lack of magical skills, Kagari can be seen as a determined and daring. Her friends also shares similar personalities and often rushes to action in the face of danger. Among other things, the episode seems to adapt some tropes from the Harry Potter franchise. The theme of a main character rushing into the face of danger, witchcraft, dragons, and magical stone are all there.

"Believe in magic" because it's all magical.

The animation of this episode was a bit cheesy from my perspective. It felt like watching a cartoon but does reflect well on the whole magical theme. The academy's basement along with the wardrobes gives off that feeling in which the girls really are witches. The soundtrack was a bit mediocre. Surprisingly enough, the voice acting was pleasant. All the characters played their roles even if it required a bit of teamwork.

Overall, this episode was a fun delight for me. Don't watch it out of seriousness because if you do, it might end up with a different result. However, out of entertainment and respect for Trigger, this episode was quite enjoyable for me. Sadly, it's only 26 minutes that I hope will transit into greatness. By that, I mean a full length 1, 2, or hell 3-core series. It's not a waste of time to watch this honestly though; only 26 minutes. That's about 1560 seconds of your life.

Young Animator Training Project/Anime Mirai short reviews: Part 10/12

Little Witch Academia has had a bit of underground hype building for it because it’s by the newly formed Studio Trigger, Hiroyuki Imaishi’s studio he formed after he left Gainax. Little Witch Academia really amplifies the Saturday morning cartoon feel their previous works had with its bouncy animation style and cartoony visuals. The plot feeds into this too, being basically an animated version of the early Harry Potter books. This was particularly apparent during the broom flying lesson scene. I did get a laugh from Draco Malfoy being recast as a posh stuck-up ojou-sama because it allowed ... me to imagine Malfoy doing the ojou-sama laugh where he puts the back of his hand against his chin and goes “ooooohhh hoh hoh hoh hoh~!”

The whole thing is very colourful and joyous with a real childlike energy to it. The animation and artwork is bloody great, and feed into this bouncy energy it all has. If I feel like being nitpicky, it’s very shallow. The attempts at having a larger theme about believing in yourself are not well worked in at all, particularly since there’s a better theme there about childish wonder that they didn’t tap into as well as I think they could have. If I were to compare it to the other YATP, it doesn’t have quite the same IMPACTO~! as Wasurenagumo because the story is so rote. But for what it’s trying to achieve in being this energetic Saturday morning cartoon, it does that perfectly.

Verdict: Watch

Fabricating a world in a mere 26 minutes is no easy task, and that task is made even more difficult when you are challenged with adding characters and plot-line to the fabricated world.

While not perfect, Little Witch Academia accomplishes the aforementioned task quite stunningly, and is more than worth the 26 minutes of your time.

The story of Little Witch Academia is definitely not the highlight of the show. You follow a young witch named Akko as she attends Witch Academy to try to become more like her hero, Shining Chariot, a flashy stage magician that most witches look down on. It is relatively ... simple and could have been very interesting if given time to develop. Due to time constraints, however; the story is not given the necessary time to develop. It does its job of giving the world a structure and nothing more.

This also goes for the characters. Its surprising that in such a short time they can be so enjoyable and even seem to have underlying depth to them. Sadly, they are not given the needed time to develop in only one 26 minute episode.

But that is okay!

What the show lacks in plot and in overall character development is made up for by the fact that the art and sound are absolutely stunning.

The art itself has a certain air about it that a western animation would have. It could put many leading anime to shame, and that is what the competition was all about! In 1080p(and even 720p) the show has extremely fluid and enjoyable animation to the point where it makes the characters seem quirky and interesting. The animation is made even more impressive when you thing about the crew of young animators that put it together.

The sound is also extremely incredible. It has a great soundtrack. A really great soundtrack, but what really makes the sound stand out is how well it fits with the animation. Sound effect were used alongside the animation to produce quite an alluring experience over all. The voice actors also did an immaculate job at giving the characters the proper quirky vibe needed for the show.

Needless to say I enjoyed all 26 minutes of Little Witch Academia. I am really blown away by what these young animators did in a 26 minute time frame, and I'd recommend the show to anyone.
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Story - 6
Art - 10
Sound - 9
Characters - 7
Enjoyment - 8

Overall - 8

An enchanting short series that exploded in popularity for good reason.

As always, my reviews are spoiler free.

Little Witch Academia was created by a small team at Studio Trigger under Japan's Young Animator Training Project. In only 26 minutes, it told a story that was able to captivate an audience large enough to donate over $625,000 to create a sequel.

Story - 7/10

It is very difficult to tell a compelling story in 26 minutes. One could argue against that by saying that there are thousands of single episode arcs that tell a good story. LWA differs from these greatly, however. In these 26 minutes, it is able ... to introduce a cast of characters, a setting, and a solid plot, whereas most episodes already have the cast and setting established.

LWA's story is simple yet charming; Akko sees a witch perform at public event, and aspires to become like her. One time skip later, she and her friends are attending a magical academy studying to become witches. In these 26 minutes, they face rivals and monsters, form friendships, and even throw in a bit of comedy.

Of course, the story is not especially deep, but it is tremendously done for how short a period of time it is.

Animation - 9/10

LWA has some of the best animation of any series, let alone a short made by a small studio. It has a beautiful color pallet, superb character design with great detail and shading, and stunning backgrounds that totally immerse the viewer in the setting. On top of this, LWA has nearly perfect fluid animation (best appreciated with 24/120hz playback or SVP).

Sound - 7/10

LWA has a very strong voice cast, but has little opportunity to prove itself with a soundtrack. However, the few tracks that are included do well. I will be very interested in seeing a larger soundtrack upon the release of LWA2.

Characters - 6/10

With the allotted time, a full cast is introduced, each with their own personalities and quirks. While many are close to cookie-cutter stereotypes (Akko being the ambitious underdog type, Diana the talented and stuck up perfect girl, etc), we get a few interesting characters such as the gloomy looking yet mischievous Sucy. Her potions are a source of comedy and defense.

It was quite the cast for such a short time, with some 12 episode series having less interesting characters.

Enjoyment - 9/10

Any anime fan should devote a few minutes of their day to see this light-hearted short by Trigger. The fact that it was able to inspire fans to fly past the target monetary goal should be reason enough for you to give this show a chance.

In short, you get nearly all the fun of a half-cour series in just 26 minutes. It can be found for legal streaming all over the internet, so you have no excuse not to watch it 30 seconds from now.

Other Thoughts

Not much to say here. I'm looking forward to LWA2 and Kill la Kill, with the hopes that Trigger can prove themselves to be a strong force in the anime market.

Ah, witchcraft. Under the right hands, such magic can truly shine...

No pun intended.

*SOME SPOILERS FOR LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA*

Remember childhood? That time where any sort of magic can truly take your breath, spray some magic dust onto it, and shove it back into your mouth for you to feel the excitement? Well, this movie/special wants to remind you. Magicians, sorcerers, and witches were often some of the coolest things ever for a kid, aside from dragons, and whatever gaming console and favorite video game they might have. Also, this IS a family friendly feature, so invite the family for a magical adventure, and who knows? You ... may even find a piece of innocent childhood you once lost, if only for a brief moment. So, did this movie enchant, or did it fall off its broom? Let's find out, shall we?

STORY: 7/10

Many years ago, a little girl was enchanted with amazement watching a magical performance by a pretty witch named Shining Chariot. Now, that same girl, named Akko, along with two friends, try to become good witches at the Little Witch Academia. After their semi rival, Diana, accidentally breaks an unknown seal, it is up to Akko to take down the evil dragon that was once sealed, and save the day!

Ok, let's get this out of the way. This short film is VERY straight forward and base. Hell, if it botched up anything, the already 6.5 would drop. Premise and theatrics aside, almost nothing you've seen here hasn't been done a thousand times over by other films of its young 6-11 year old demographic. It's just a girl and two quirky friends getting antagonized by some stuck up snooty girl, having a mentor who just so happens to be a figure from the past, and saving the day with the power of (insert Aesop here). It dosen't try to be more than a kids film, and it does a good job at that and not leaving any plot holes, even if the story is very basic. What helps it is the humor and the little nods to other things like dungeon crawlers, that and the final act is still really good at escalating tension and scale, and the dragon actually has the "don't attack it's mouth with powerful attacks or else it gets stronger" deal, and yes, there is a mcguffin, but it DOES leave a more ambiguous ending instead of the generic "congrats girl, you saved the day and now everyone likes you, even the snooty girl" thing.


CHARACTERS: 6/10

Again, nothing you haven't seen already, but they are still fine characters none the less. Basically 6 material, but stil done decently. There's the energetic rising hero protagonist Akko, her two supportive and quirky best friends, Diana aka the rival snooty girl, albeit what's special about her is that she actually takes responsibility for her stupid actions and try to fix this and do so humbly, and there's Ursula the professor, who is really just a retired Shining Chariot. The actual presentation of the characters, once again, makes them just a tad more interesting and flavorful than most of their archetype brethren, but even still, nothing particularly noteworthy or groundbreaking.

ART: 9/10

This is where the movie really shines, again, no pun intended. Studio Trigger was formed by ex Ginax employees, and as such, they've really taken notes from the likes of Gurren Lagann, so bombastic and flashy animation is kinda their thing, and this short film only helps that notion. Many scenes have some impressive witchcraft, and even cooler fireworks. The action scenes look like if Gurren Lagann used magic rather than mechs, and that is definitely a complement. Everything is fluid and fast paced, so, it wind be hard to be drawn in by the flashy witchcraft in this short film. The character designs on nice as well, especially the moments where we get a close up on Akko's amazed eye as it reflects the light of the fireworks.

SOUND: 7/10

The music is nothing too special. Decent orchestral pieces that fit the situations but aren't really memorable. Also, no OP or ED. For the dub... It's sorta mixed. Some performances could've been better and more assertive, and others are just fine. Nothing extraordinary about the dub though. It's decent.

ENJOYMENT: 8/10

Once again, I must reiterate, the magic used in this movie, and the bombastic animation throughout, really sell this short movie to us, as we can marvel at the fast-paced and vibrant magic, and put up with the fact that aside from that, this movie is rather straight forward. It's definitely fun movie, and it really makes magic look cool, and that's just what it needed to do.

OVERALL: 7/10. RAW SCORE: 69/100

This is definitely a family movie, and I recommend spending the 26 minutes it uses in order to have a bit of magic fun with the family, even though this is still not much different than an average kids film, however, the magic and humor can definitely help you forgive that. Well, with that said, I bid you adieu.

How I found out about this anime is a little bit of a funny story... Well not really, a guy posted a gif on funnyjunk of Suushy turning her gaze and I liked the look of the art style so I asked for the source. Anyway, what is LWA? We'll it's a little indie film (well it's called a movie even though it's only about half an hour long) to train people new to the animation job in Japan, and it was good enough that people wanted a series made. Oh, did I mention this shit was made by studio trigger? You know they made ... some good stuff like Gurran Laggen... Doesn't ring a bell?... Well how about INFERNO MOTHERFUCKING COP! Yeah, that alone is reason to watch this. But enough of speaking of the greatest anime ever created, on the this anime!:

Story 7/10: The story of LWA is a fairly simple one to be honest (but considering it's only a single episode I suppose it has to be). And aspiring young witch, Akko, joins an academy of witches to emulate her hero, Shining Chariot, a performance artist witch who most "real" witches look down upon but who taught Akko to follow her dreams. Like I said, pretty simple. Oh and toss in an ancient dragon in there because we need an epic final battle. Yeah, the story is fairly decent and for the most part well executed, but not without it's flaws. For the most part the plot seems a bit shallow in actual execution due to how short it is: Girl see's her personal hero preform, time skip, girl is in witch academy, someone puts down her hero, she gets made, few quirky bits, big epic dragon fight, more quirk and big epic ending. Honestly if we had more time to expand upon this it would have been much better but as of now it just comes off a little shallow. Not bad, just shallow.

Art 10/10: As you may have read above it was a single small gif with barely any movement that made me watch LWA and I will still say it was my favourite part of the show. The animation was wonderfully fluid that it put many things to shame (then again in this industry that's not a very hard thing to do. Have you seen Infinite stratos and the like, I mean Jesus fucking Christ). But the main point is the art style, good god that wonderful art style. I mean you can debate whether you liked it or not but you can't deny that it was refreshing unique compared to about 98% of the stuff in this form of media. The far more cartoon-y look giving the whole thing a more... Disney feel. Actually that's a pretty apt comparison as much of this show feels like a short disney film, the story, the art style, and the...

Sound 7/10: Yes the music feels very disney and it even has the exaggerated western kids cartoon sound effects like the big popping noise when someone pulled their (apparently skull-less) head out of a helmet with a thin neck brace. All of this really helps contribute to the overall feel of the show, quirky, cartoon-y fun for the whole family. Until the elitist mature anime pricks come along and demand a pregnant woman has her fetus forcefully- No! Bad mdude! We're talking about wholesome cartoon-y fun! Think happy thoughts. Lalalala, so happy and upbeat!

Character 8/10: What quirky upbeat disney-esh show wouldn't be complete without an equally quirky cast of totally non-child mutilating characters? Well we have plenty. We got Akko, the very bad witch who's trying to emulate her hero. Lotte, the voice of reason. And Suushy, the kinda goth girl who seems to carry several horrible mutilating poisons on her at all times... God damn it, quirky fun! Oh and Diana, the series antagonist who despite being bit of an arrogant bitch is genuinely a good person. I want to put special mention to that last character, this is how you're supposed to have us like an antagonist people, give her plenty of redeeming qualities early in, not have the being a baby mutilating cunt since day one and then about ten seconds before the end do a "oh, I was only doing _______ because *insert traumatic past experiences here*" this is why I hated Vi from the night angel series, you do everything you can to make us hate her and then expect us to start liking her after a few pet the dogs moments after we already firmly hate her? Anyway yeah, the characters are fun and quirky despite not really doing much in terms of development, what did you want? It's only half an hour.

Enjoyment 9/10: This is not a gory anime with a bunch of bullshit philosophical rants that every elitist prick for a ten mile radius clambers around and starts telling everyone it's the greatest thing in existence because it's "deep and mature." This is a fun for all ages quirky little show for fun, and that's fine, you don't have to kill like seven thousand people by pulling their heart out of their nostrils and then whine about the sanctity of human life to be entertaining and don't let anyone tell you otherwise because the people who crusade that only gory super serious anime is the only good anime probably haven't showered in years. If you go into it fully expecting a somewhat childish but fun to watch show you'll be sure to thoroughly enjoy it. And if you can't enjoy anything that you think children can also watch without being scarred for life than go jerk of to some gore porn or something.

Overall 8/10: Taking all the previous scores, adding them together, not actually doing that because I'm too lazy to get an actual average, and then picking a random number that seems about right considering the other scores we come to a very respectable 8/10. It's only 26 minutes and it's fun to watch, what more do you want? If you basically hate anything cartoon-y (despite the fact that anime are cartoons, just Japanese cartoons, deal with it) that is somewhat childishly fun and quirky then avoid this thing like it's a plague that's only symptom is making anyone infect by it crack a smile every now and again you gloomy sod. If you actual have a face that isn't so hard it'll crack if you don't scowl for three seconds than consider giving it a chance.

Cute and visually pleasing. That's my first impression of this anime.

So, the main character is some fusion of Twilight Sparkle and Sabrina, set in a Harry Potter-esque world (even the Sorcerer's Stone is mentioned). There is also a fair share of action, as well as some comedy. All that packed in 26 minutes.

The other characters are also interesting, especially Sucy. The overall atmosphere is nice.

The story is simple but very effective. It's fast-paced (well, they did have only 26 minutes to tell everything they wanted), almost every scene is important and relevant to the story, and the climax is just epic. If you like this ... witch-in-training stuff, you might want to check this one out.

Actually, I think the biggest problem is that I'm not a fan of this witch stuff myself, otherwise I would've probably liked this even more. Even so, I still found it amusing. The art is just wonderful and the story/setting makes this worth watching.

I find this review hard to start. It's difficult to come up with a tagline that'll grab attention but also let me have more to say later on.

If it sounds like I don't have much to say, that's because nearly the only thing that comes to my mind is that Little Witch Academia is fun. Good, plain, clean, for the whole family fun. It sure isn't overwhelmingly deep, it doesn't break new ground, nor does it set a new bar for production value. But regardless of this, it still remains one of the best things you can watch.

It isn't too long, only about the length ... of your average anime episode, and not something you'd think of watching since it's not overwhelmingly popular or necessarily critically acclaimed. It's the last item that you haven't tried on the menu because given the hit or miss quality of the other items, you're not sure if it's worth spending your money on.

Let me tell you, if time is money, then Little Witch Academia gives you plenty of bang for your buck.

If I haven't said anything that makes you consider watching this, think of the nostalgia watching your favorite childhood movie gives you, or when you watch something that makes you happy just because. That's what Little Witch Academia did for me, and I hope it does the same for you.

If you ever find yourself with a free half hour on a lazy afternoon, give this a whirl. I promise that it won't disappoint.

After finishing the Little Witch Academia ( TV ) version. I felt happy, joyous, and grateful. However, something was missing..The feeling of "real" closure. When I finished the TV version, I did not watch the other two because I thought that it was pretty much the same and it'd be a waste of time. But I was wrong. After finishing the two movies, I finally feel fulfilled as if the heavy thoughts of guilt from not actually finishing all the anime has to offer inside my mind have been lifted.

If you watch this after the TV show then you'll probably think that its very ... good like me right now despite the fact that its not as good as the TV show itself. Still. This series is fucking amazing and I enjoy every single moment of it.

If you want to watch Little Witch Academia then you should follow this watching order :

1 ) Little Witch Academia ( TV )

2 ) Little Witch Movie 1

3 ) Little Witch Movie 2

I think this order is better than the original one since we'll get the full experience from the TV version without getting any spoilers from the movie. Then, after finishing the TV you can go to the two movies and watch them to feel better.

Little Witch Academia is an amazing show. Fuck them haters, most of them haven't even actually watched the show. Ahh, I'm glad I found this hidden gem. Never thought that an anime that looks like a cartoon would be this damn good.

A refreshingly innocent and simplistic experience that provides you with fluid visuals and a memorable narrative. However, with a 26 minute runtime, Little Witch Academia is short lived, which in turn causes the characters and main conflict to feel a little underdeveloped. Still, a good short film to watch if you're feeling down.

In 2013, a Japanese governmental program known as “Young Animator Training Project” raised money to fund four animated short films for release during that year. One of these was Little Witch Academia, a twenty-six minute film from Studio Trigger, then an upstart company founded by former members of Studio Gainax.

The beginning shows a little girl sitting with an audience in front of an outdoor concert stage underneath the starry night sky. What’s everyone gathered here for? To watch a show, and sure enough, a performer appears; a witch known as Shiny Chariot. Her magic dazzles the audience, none more so than the little girl in ... the audience, who is astonished beyond description. Flash forward several years later, and we now see that girl, Akko, as a student at Luna Nova, a school for teaching young girls on how to become proper witches. However, Akko is not very studious; she can’t even fly on a broomstick properly. What sort of witch can’t do that!? Then again, unlike the other students, Akko doesn’t come from a family of magicians. But that’s not her only problem; her idol, Shiny Chariot, is considered a childish fraud by the witch community, which only angers and frustrates Akko even more. She is not alone, for she does have two friends, Lotte, and Sucy, who act as her support. One day, during a training exercise, the three of them are working together when a crisis occurs, one threatening the entire school, and by happenstance, Akko is the only one who can save the day. Can she succeed, even despite her lack of ability?

Despite being only 26 minutes in length, Little Witch Academia manages to flesh out quite a bit in that timeframe. We see how some of the magic works, we get an idea of what the characters are like, and there’s a clear beginning, middle, and end. Its length is its strength and weakness. Since LWA isn’t very long, it never drags on. Every scene serves a purpose. On the other hand, while LWA does a fine job with its setting and characters, it’s not overly “deep”. At first glance, it looks like a Harry Potter knockoff, and LWA is more family-friendly than certain “mature” anime franchises. Those who skip out are missing out on another distinguishing feature: its animation.

Simply put, LWA is one of the best-looking works of animation I’ve ever seen. And I have seen a LOT of animated film throughout my life. Thanks to governmental funding, Trigger was able to produce an anime more visually pleasing than nearly everything else coming from Japan. The character designs are all unique, without re-using faces and hairstyles, everything is fully animated, the coloring and lighting is majestic, the backgrounds are lush, and not once could I spot any gaffes anywhere. I would even say LWA looks better than some of Ghibli’s movies. But the budget doesn’t stop there; the music is a full orchestra composed by Michiru Oshima, the same composer for the older Fullmetal Alchemist anime, and just like in FMA, her music here is outstanding. There aren’t a large number of tracks, but what’s here is truly beautiful, especially in the first scene with Shiny Chariot. The voice acting is also well done. Most of the VAs I don’t know by name, (Besides Megumi Han, but I only know her from Hunter X Hunter) but again, everyone sounds spot-on. Nothing feels rushed in any aspect of this film.

When I first saw LWA, it -immediately- took me back to my childhood. I grew up in the 1990s, the decade of Disney, and the renaissance of animation in general. I saw a lot of cartoons back then, some better than others, but the ones I love truly mesmerized me in the same way Shiny Chariot mesmerized the young and impressionable Akko. When I was done, I wanted more. Sometime after the release of LWA, Trigger started a Kickstarter to fund a sequel. The Kickstarter was a big success, and there will be a 40-minute follow-up coming out soon. Trigger has even stated that if LWA 2 is successful, they will continue on, and I hope they do. They have created something truly wonderful, something that deserves a sequel. LWA is a work of passion, not something created by a business committee to appeal to whatever is “hot” right now, for this is something meant to be timeless. This is a setting I hope gets expanded upon, because it deserves it. For now, the first film is an exceptional introduction.

I mean,
it looks good.
Like really good.

But the characters are flat and annoying, the plot barren, the world is derivative and uninspired

I managed to stay awake through it all, somehow. But thats not really praise. It feels like a pilot for an actual show (which it basically is) but if this pilot was shown to me I can't honestly say I'd green light it.

Sure there is quite a few cute scenes and the characters clearly have some decent dynamics worked out, maybe the comedy is lost in translation.

Then again everyone else likes it so maybe I'm just a weird outlier? I really don't have a lot ... to say.

Are you sure that was half an hour because that felt like a feature film

The general idea of the story goes by quickly: a childhood memory sparks the protagonist's dreams of becoming a witch, but she's rather clumsy and is falling behind. The characters are all very distinct and likeable. The story, while progressing quickly, draws you in; every scene is significant, and that's what they did right. At the climax of the story I almost teared up because the buildup was done so well, it's exciting, action-packed and funny.

Knowing that it was a 'young animators' project I paid a lot of attention to ... the animation, and I was extremely satisfied. I would say the animation was very active; the characters are very expressive and the movement is very clean. The colours are great too, especially when they cast spells. I didn't catch any of those 'animation smears', if you know what I mean. The animation was probably perfect.

Overall, if you watch it without knowing anything about it you wouldn't know that they were done by 'young animators', I'd say they pretty much reach quality anime levels (or even higher, compared to certain ones)

Definitely a ''watch this'' movie!!!
Witch themed anime are rare and quit welcome from the most of the audience so it really ''does the job''!
It's vrey light without lacking action of ''feels''!
The animation and direction are great and make the movie 10 times more interesting!
It will make your day!

"Little Witch Academia" is simply wonderful. It is a short, heart-warming "if you believe in yourself, you can do anything" sort of story. The art style is very creative and original, and the animation is very good and feels lively. The characters are memorable, the designs are memorable, and the music that goes with it is great. The main thing about this that sucks is that, once it's over, it leaves you wanting more! It really deserves to have it's own series, or atleast a full length movie. Overall, it is DEFINITELY worth watching, no matter what genre you mainly focus on, as long as ... you aren't only into one genre and don't watch anything else(Unless that genre is magical girl or wizards/witches type anime, in which case, this is still your genre).

Good clean brainless fun. There are much worse ways to spend a half hour. The spunky protagonist yearning to emulate her heroine and show up the arrogant rival naturally succeeds in doing so by the end of the episode, no surprise there. But it does so in a quick-paced clean nifty style: a Western-inflected animation style, with affectionate homages to _Harry Potter_ & Bruegel's Tower of Babel & Disney's _Sleeping Beauty_. Who could be against that?