Junketsu no Maria

"This was back in the days when the battle against England was still ongoing. There was a witch living on the village who hated wars. That witch would not curse people nor do evil deeds...but instead use her powers to put a stop to the fighting. Her name was Maria. She held the same name as the Blessed Virgin... and was herself a virgin, too."

An outstanding anime which can be compared to the old but never getting old classics, Junketsu no Maria is an anime that has great expectations yet it makes use of it's own medium for good. The combination of historical, ecchi, comedy, ... and fantasy is often used during the 90s, but what will we get these days? Definitely something better!

Virginity is a sacred or a word that must be used with caution, especially for the church. Junketsu no Maria or Maria the Virgin Witch is very honest to itself, it knows where it stands and does a great job in using it's limited resources for the best package it can offer. Set in Medieval times, the story is about Maria, a witch living in the forest who hates wars(wars were held at that era for gold), and her adventures in stopping and interfering in wars using her own magic. The story can be quite misleading though, for her magic will vanish if her virginity is lost. Why? Because this is her punishment for stopping wars and to maintain balance in the world without the use of magic and something like the "natural law" of the world.

The art is standard, nothing bad about it and it's quality just above average and at time it can be so-so. But I'll say it's quite good because s really sets the visuals to become old but still has the good quality and sets the mood like what we see on old times. Character designs were simple yet kinda weird, backgrounds were pretty because of the little details and the right use of magical effects are good. I won't say the art is bad, but it gets the job done right.

Character section is the most important part in this anime, for these are the elements that carry and support this show. We have the main character Maria, and she has the right characteristics to become a great lead. She's cute, entertaining, and I think she's a rare kind of girl. We can't see a main character like that these days. Supporting characters such as Artemis, Priapus, Ezekiel, Viv, Galfa, Lord Michael, Le Comte, Joseph, and other side characters are also important for plot progression as they are related to Maria. Their actions are justified by their motivations and this has no melodrama for dramatic scenes, characters have heart and real personalities. I don't think any of them are annoying, but they still have flaws, which, can be remedied by sufficient amounts of character developments(which, the anime has already applied). Speaking of, character development in this anime is slow and unnoticable, but in the end we will realized how much they changed.

The opening "Philosophy of Dear World" by ZAQ is just an average upbeat song, and it emphasizes the Magical and Fantasy genres of the anime. The ending song "Ailes" by TRUE is just calm and sweet, it portrays the medieval theme of the show. I must give a high recognition for the voice actress of Maria, her voice fits well with Maria's personality and her expressions are really topnotch. Sound effects are decent and they have various sets of soundtracks being played. One thing I also noticed is that even the slightest little sound is detailed, which can give more life to the scene and give impact to the viewers.

These kinds of shows are not appealing at first, but it's really enjoyable and have it's own merits to stand on its own and has a lot of potential to become a more promising tragedy-fantasy series. It's unsatisfying though, because the series is really short but it can have more episodes to flesh out the characters more with its current state. I won't say it's rushed, more of it has just the right pacing. Totally underrated in my opinion, this series is a total delicious treat for plot-driven stories lovers.

A LITTLE WARNING : The plot may lead people to become atheists and may change their views on the church because of blasphemous scenes and dialogues. Sex jokes and explicit scenes are also present(although very little), but become an open-minded person and see the moral lesson inside its core.

Story - 8
Art - 8
Sound - 8
Character - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Overall - 9

JUNKETSU NO MARIA: recommendation

So I just got around to finishing “Junektsu no Maria” Or “Maria the virgin witch” which aired this winter season 2015. And I really have nothing to complain about. It was just good, not too much else to say~ Unfortunately its English name sounds like a weird porno so most people wont take it seriously but its very rare that you have an anime in a medieval setting, that is not an action show.

If you like history you will enjoy the alternate history setting (France at war with England). If you like mythology you will love all the references to Greek/roman, ... pagan, and other mythology. If you like the church, or better yet, if you like to bash the church you will get plenty of that in this show too!

The ending felt like the end to a movie. It wrapped everything up nicely. The story fully ended and was contented to do so, so rare in an industry so obsessed with sequel baiting.

Now NOT EVERYONE will ENJOY this BUT IF YOU LIKE religion, history, mythology and philosophy I think you will have a good time with this 12 episode show. Plus its extremely underrated so you can feel like a hipster. I give it a 9/10, it was no masterpiece thats for sure, but it was just plain good and got me thinking.

Who would have thought that an anime about war, rape and inquisition could be this charming?

Story:
The way this anime tries to teach us that "the church is EVUL!" is a little bland, but as far as I can judge, the portrayal of catholizism in the middle ages is pretty realistic. I mean, everybody should know what messed up things happened in the name of god back in the days, but I wish Maria would be a little more subtle about it. This includes the way Michael acts. Criticising the church is one thing, but the actual religion? But putting all that aside, this anime is ... very interesting and well written. It lashes from comedic parts to dramatic ones and back again and there's always something changing by the actions of the characters. This somewhat helps to overlook the unfortunate implications.
7/10

Art:
The anime looks pretty good. I like how different all the characters look, as this is a problem many (even the good) anime have. There really isn't anything bad to say about it, though it could have been a little more flashy here and there.
8/10

Sound:
Opening and ending were very generic. I would have chosen something more fitting, make it sound a little medieval. This actually goes for the music in general. The voice acting is pretty good, especially the seiyuu of Maria and Galfa do a good job.
6/10

Characters:
Even taking into account that the church in general is supposed to be in the wrong here, the characters all fall somewhere between right and wrong and not all are clearly good or evil. Maria wants to stop the war, yet it is teased that this might not be for the best for everybody. Galfa does everything for money, but he pretty much has no other choice. And Joseph is torn between his belief, his love for Maria and his loyalty to Guillaume, same case for Ezekiel. This makes them feel more realistic, even the clearly evil and insane Bernard has his reasons.
9/10

Enjoyment:
Despite all the nice things I said, it did not feel as great as it may sound up to this point. This anime doesn't do much wrong, but it also doesn't give the vibe of being something special. I think it is too ambitious in its portrayal of the catholic church, so that the story suffers from it. But as I said, it doesn't really do much wrong, so you won't make a mistake watching these 12 episodes. But don't expect a masterpiece, for it is not.
6/10

Overall:
7.2/10

Before I cover this review, I have to admit I'm somewhat amused about the timing of watching this series considering its themes would be a touchy subject for more religious viewers in spite of the fact I completed it over Christmas weekend of all times. Getting that ironic moment out of the way, let us get to the focus of this review on Maria the Virgin Witch, a fantasy comedy-drama focused on witch Maria defying the forces of heaven to halt ongoing battles waging in the Hundred Years' War escalating between England and France.

First impressions of the series can be a bit misleading. At first ... sight, this can seem like yet another perverse anime comedy with the sexual humor that comes at play about Maria's virginity, the lack of genitalia from one of the familiars, and the scanty attire that she and her familiars don. However if you are able to watch through the first few episodes of the series, you will come to realize that this series has some deeper storytelling it unveils that involves some coming-of-age tribulations with Maria coming to learn more about the ways of the world and other themes such as religious hypocrisy, human morality, and existentialism coming to light.

Let us first explore the coming-of-age developments that come from our lead character, Maria. She is portrayed as a powerful witch with an idealist bent who intervenes in the battles that take place between England and France through use of her magic, and she is mistrusting of God and the church's influence on human society. While her moralistic beliefs are admirable, she is naive to the real world consequences that her actions can cause as two of the battles that she halts lead to other areas of suffering to take place for the French populace during the series and she finds herself having to confront the flaws of her beliefs in later episodes of the series. Also sex jokes aside, Maria also finds herself conflicted over whether or not she wishes to give into her own personal happiness as she is romantically interested in a young man named Joseph, yet can lose her magic if she consummates the relationship due to heavenly punishment cast onto her from her frequent intervention in human battles.

Besides Maria's developments, the influence of religion and personal beliefs have a hand in affecting the developments of several other notable characters throughout the series. Like in real-life during medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church has a large influence on the beliefs of the common populace in the world of Maria the Virgin Witch and this power is abused by those in influential positions to exert control and dominance over others. In addition, those among the forces of heaven adopt a strict belief in non-intervention over the affairs of humans as part of the natural order of existence in spite of humanity's regular suffering and oppose Maria's intervention in human wars due to violating the order they have adopted. Characters like Joseph and Ezekiel find themselves coming to realize the flaws of both these belief systems as they try to comprehend them and come to their own conclusions over what they desire to believe in, despite the flaws being a regular part of living within their world.

Outside of its themes and story development, another thing that prominently sticks out with Maria the Virgin Witch is its surprising accuracy in depicting medieval era France. Outside of the use of magic and the attire of the witches, the series is very accurate in depicting the politics, style of dress, weapons, armor, buildings, and ways of life that were commonplace for the people of the era. Things such as the beginnings of gunpowder-fueled cannons, witch hunts, the aftermath of the plague, and the caste system were faithfully portrayed for the era in which Maria is set in.

In spite of seeming like another perverted anime comedy, Maria the Virgin Witch actually offers up some engaging plot developments and themes focused around Maria confronting the flaws of her beliefs, characters confronting the flaws of their world, and a surprisingly accurate depiction of life in medieval-era France. This is a definite recommendation if you are a fan of medieval fantasy anime titles, with a smidge of perverted comedy tossed into the mix.

"Maria the Virgin Witch" is a unique anime series set in medieval France during the Hundred Years' War against England. The story follows Maria, a powerful young witch, who becomes fed up with the ongoing conflict and decides to use her magic to prevent further bloodshed and maintain peace. However, her constant intervention attracts the attention of the heavens, and the archangel Michael is sent to stop her meddling in human affairs. Michael forbids Maria from using her powers and issues a decree that she will lose her magic if she loses her virginity. As Maria adamantly continues to disrupt the war, the Church plots ... to take away her power and end her interference.

Genres and Themes:
"Maria the Virgin Witch" is a blend of historical, fantasy, comedy, and romance genres. It addresses philosophical concepts like free will and the problem of evil while offering a critique of strict adherence to religious customs. The anime delves into the fear of witches during the dark ages and explores themes of religious conflict and pacifism in a historical context.

Plot and Characters:
The story revolves around Maria's unwavering desire for peace and her use of magic to achieve it. She interferes in battles, drawing the attention of Heaven, and forms complex relationships with characters like Joseph and Ezekiel. The anime's supporting cast includes fellow witches, familiars, townspeople, Church members, and soldiers. Each character develops their own beliefs and values, contributing to the show's complexity.

Art and Animation:
"Maria the Virgin Witch" features a visually appealing art style and historical accuracy in its setting and character designs. The animation is smooth and fluid, particularly in combat scenes, which are notable for their historical accuracy in depicting medieval combat and weaponry.

Music and Sound:
The soundtrack is serviceable, with an upbeat opening theme that sets the tone for the show. The ending theme is a mellow outro that fits the overall atmosphere. Background music complements the fantasy setting but isn't particularly standout.

Pros:

Unique historical and fantasy setting.
Complex characters with individual beliefs.
Balances philosophical and religious themes.
Visually appealing art and animation.
Engaging and accurate combat scenes.
Cons:

Repetitive and formulaic storytelling.
Clunky dialogue and translation.
Faux-intellectualism and shallow exploration of philosophical themes.
Lack of character development for some key characters.
Inconsistent use of historical and fantasy elements.

Overall Rating: 7/10
"Maria the Virgin Witch" offers a unique blend of historical accuracy, fantasy, and philosophical exploration. While it has its flaws, such as repetitive storytelling and some underdeveloped characters, its thought-provoking themes and visually appealing art make it a worthwhile watch for those interested in a different take on the medieval fantasy genre.

Junketsu no Maria is a very confusing anime to rate. There were things that I greatly enjoyed watching and other that definitely needed improvement.
Theme is a huge issue in this particular anime as it addresses the fear of the witches in the dark ages. As most of you know, women with knowledge that exceeded those of men where named 'witches'. People that didn't agree with the church and went against it were called heretics and punished by the church.
That's a very dark part of history and I feel it's not being brought to full light. And that could be fine only the anime is not ... sure when it wants to be more light-hearted and when it wants to be darker.
The same goes for the ending. I felt it was rushed and too Disney like.

Another problem is the characters. Due to the anime being only 12 episodes you don't get a real feel of who the characters are and what their motivation is. Heck, the main heroine's ideals are barely explained. Maria hates wars.... OK...But why? It's never fully explained why or where that comes from especially since it's a huge thing in the series.

These two are my biggest problems with the series. However, I did enjoy the anime. I liked the characters and that's why I wanted to know more about them. Maria was very likeable and I loved her general attitude. She fought for what she believed in and refused to change for other people. That's very difficult to do even in our day and age.

I also loved the relationships between characters as they do have complicated relationships. Especially with Maria. By the end of the series their own will is being put to the test and they know that depending on their decision a lot will be at stake.

The art and sound are great. I loved the opening and have listened to the song in repeat many times.

It's a generally alright anime. Watch the first episode to get a feel for it and see if it's your cup of tea.

When I first saw the title I quickly bypassed it. I assumed it would be about a witch just trying to laid, a show with perverted characters and too much fan service. A time later I saw a picture of it, and the art intrigued me, so I watched it. To my surprise, it wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Maria is a witch who despises war, and continues to try and stop it against God's wishes. Maria is strong headed, and indeed, a virgin. Its a great story, absolutely heart warming and inspiring. I can't ... describe how much I loved it! Along with a good story and meaning, the characters were witty and jovial, especially Maria. It deserved much more than 12 episodes, but those 12 episodes were fantastic.

All my reviews are spoiler free aimed towards people who haven't seen the show.

Junketsu no Maria

What appears to be a comedy quickly takes a dive into symbolism and controversial underlying themes of religious corruption, contradiction, and the selfishness of humans that feed on religious deception. The setting is beautifully done portraying 14th century combat during the 'Hundred Years War', even when they include Maria's witchcraft and magic into the equation.

Story: Maria is a witch who despises fighting, and will use her powers to meddle in the affairs of humans. She is friends with a woman from a near by village named Martha. Martha and her ... granddaughter Ann, often goes to Maria for medicine. When Ann's father is off forced to go off to war, Ann asks Maria to protect her father. Maria plans to stop the fighting anyhow, so gladly uses her Magic to stop the conflict among the French and the English armies. The Nobles are unsatisfied for their lack of spoils, and enlist the help of the Catholic Church. The Church realizes Maria may have allies in the village, and start a campaign using their influence to slander the heretic and bring her to justice. Not only do the humans that reside in the Church and the mercenaries in the army want her to stop. But the Archangel Michael descends from the heavens himself, to warn Maria that she is defying the laws of the world, and if she continues to use Magic, he will be forced to stop her from intervening. Maria insists that it's the Heaven's and God who are in the wrong for allowing humans to act so irrationally killing each other for their own selfishness. In Maria's eyes, God is no less selfish himself. It's then that Michael realizes that Maria has a friend that she holds very dear to her, Joesph. So Michael instead of eliminating Maria, places a curse on her, that when she is no longer pure, she will lose her ability to use magic. Cruelly forcing the Virgin Maria to decide what's more important, her ideals of peace and protecting the world, or her own happiness. Michael must expect Maria to put herself before others, but when Maria decides otherwise...............

Characters: There are various well crafted characters that are given good depth and direction to add suspense of the ensuing turmoil. Maria is caring, courageous, and completely selfless, but also quite naive in a sense and stubborn. Joesph, is a proud young man serving as a vassal for a noble, who gets Maria's protection and becomes infatuated with the young witch and her dreams. Benard, is a cunning and ruthless Monk from the Roman Catholic Church, who starts manipulating Maria's actions into benefiting him and the French army. Garfa is a mercenary of the french army who gets upset when Maria interferes with battles, since it means he doesn't get paid. He's assigned by Bernard and Guillaume into killing Maria if she keeps interfering. Every characters personal struggle is tightly woven to bring this awesome narrative to climax as their paths cross.

Animation: The animation is great. From the battles to the art work. The time period clothes/armor looks great as does the animation of the medieval combat. The clothes design of the witches are unique are fun, as are the creatures they summon and the display of magic they use. The colors and scenery are beautiful.

Sound: The sound track is incredible, to era-esque festival tunes, to pieces adding dramatic atmosphere, the ominous Gregorian Chants, and exciting pieces that really add intensity to the action and suspense. Really great stuff.

Enjoyment: From beginning to end this story is absolutely compelling. Comedy from the familiars is fun. Then there's the intrigue brought by the Catholic conspiracy not only within the story but makes you think within our own world as well. Also a bit of introduction to Celtic mythology which is always interesting to learn about old myth. Then there's the pure enjoyment of accurate combat and the struggle among the armies both on the field against the enemy and the power struggle internally. Seeing all the witches use there magic is fun as well, and to top it off, the story of a sweet forbidden love.

Maria the Virgin Witch seems to be well praised by those who watched it, but not very popular. This show was near perfectly written in my opinion, my only gripe is the ending, it seems rather sudden, but it was completely understandable as long as you have some prior knowledge of a particular deity that was left out of the show. I would have liked to see a more fleshed out scenario before the resolution. Even so, damn was this good! 9/10

Junketsu no Maria tries to be too many things at once and ends up having a weak story as a result. By the end, very little has changed from the beginning. I did not get any real sense of character progression and the ending seemed forcefully happy like there was difficulty wrapping up so many disparate parts. The character designs and animation were of good quality, so some enjoyment can be found there. All-in-all, a fairly average show. Not bad, but could have been much better if it took the time to focus on one of the many themes it gave cursory service to.

I was recommended this anime by a guy from YouTube who said this particular Anime had a realistic combat and represents real medieval battle. He was right! His channel particularly discuss about Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) and weaponry in general.I'm currently new to the HEMA scene, but i have a few knowledge to medieval combat.

Starting from the equipment the soldiers wore, it reflects the historical armors and weapons that you can see in historical manuscript you'll find in museums all over the Europe. For example the knights wore full plate armor that has an accurate design starting from the helmet. Their design are ... very accurate and will give the wearer an excellent protection. The man-at-arms (regular soldiers) wore gambessons which are more cheaper and easier to make, which are most of militiamen wore back in Early to High Medieval. The weapons are design accurately too, so that viewer could believe that the weapons are practical and realistic.

Secondly, the combat and techniques that the soldier used are practical and not to flashy or overly dramatized. They even show the famous "Mordhau" or "Murder Stroke" technique which is actually a technique that are used in historical combat and found on medieval combat manuscripts.

Sadly the i didn't enjoyed the story that much.I felt that it needs some rework and more added to it. The characters are unique, but some of them needs more backstory rather than relying on theories.

Overall this anime actually portrays an actual illustration of medieval combat.

Junketsu no Maria, or Maria the Virgin Witch, is a series with a lot of interesting ideas. On one hand it addresses philosophical contexts such as free will and the problem of evil, while on the other it offers a mild critique on strict adherence to religious customs. The deeper questions posed by this anime are packed within a rather unique blend of a historical and fantasy adventure setting.

Junketsu no Maria can be thought of as an adventure with no clear destination. But I don’t mean that in a bad way, more so literally. There is no real journey for the main character to set ... out on, but rather a dream she wishes to impose on those around her. The show stars the eponymous Maria, named after the Virgin Mary, who is a witch and also happens to be a virgin. Amid the historical war between France and England during the Middle Ages, Maria has an unwavering desire for peace and to end all conflict by any means necessary. Thus she has a tendency to quell any battles with the use of her magic. These repeated interferences eventually draw the attention of Heaven, particularly the archangel Michael. Michael scorns Maria for deviating from the natural order of things and vows to stop any of her future attempts. Alongside this warning, he puts a curse on her in which she will only retain her witch powers on the condition she keeps her virginity. This bit sounds as though it could come right out of an Ecchi anime, but in this case it is surprisingly fitting within the historical context.

As the series progresses, Maria meets many people who are influenced by her goal in achieving peace. Other key characters include a vassal named Joseph who takes a liking to Maria, and Ezekiel, a messenger sent by Michael to watch over Maria. The series has a decent array of supporting cast that consists of Maria’s fellow witches, her familiars, townspeople, members of the Church, and soldiers on both sides. One thing I especially applaud the anime on is how each character carries and develops their own will and beliefs which may not always align with that of others. While at times the anime is a little too clear in painting religion in a bad light, it also reaches compromises. It demonstrates well that the world isn’t simply black and white, as some deserving characters do not always get their comeuppance. All in all I find the storytelling perspectives refreshing, and this carries on pretty well throughout the whole show. One note of warning is that the anime can be a bit overbearing with some sexual remarks, at least in the beginning. There are also instances of almost-assault-but-not-quite which is played for laughs, and another that’s on the darker side, which some may find uncomfortable. Yet these examples still fit in appropriately with the context of the show.

As much as I appreciate the concept and cast of Junketsu no Maria, some of its other aspects aren’t particularly noteworthy. While the art style is quite nice and Production I.G did a fine job with production, nothing much sets the anime apart from its peers. The animation is good but not very flashy, even when it comes to the battles. It works for what it is but the main thing that comes to mind is simplicity. This can also be said of the music used. My favorite track is probably the opening which is quite upbeat and fits the tone of the show. The ending is a rather standard, mellow outro that winds things down. Background music largely consists of sounds you would expect from a fantasy type show with nothing really standout. Nothing amazing but it all works well enough to be serviceable.

Despite some small things I didn’t really care for, I enjoyed Junketsu no Maria a good amount. The anime did well in balancing philosophical and religious themes without becoming too preachy about its own stance on the matter. The setting is unique and combined with the story, it is a refreshing kind of thing you don’t often see in the anime medium. Additionally the show concludes quite satisfactorily for the most part despite how short it is. I wouldn’t say it is underrated or anything, but I think it could afford to be watched more. People may be turned off by the seemingly lightheartedness of the show or some early instances of “Ecchi-like” content, but there are some things that can really be appreciated by certain viewers. If you like anime that isn’t afraid to get philosophical and critique established norms, watch this show. If you’re interested in a relatively unique setting which combines elements of fantasy, medieval history, and religion, also watch it. If you want strong characters that form their own ideals and values, give Junketsu no Maria a chance. Personally it was a worthwhile watch that left me satisfied in the end.

A great anime with a historical setting. It was a great watch. The story didn't stray too far and the character development was great. It isn't necessarily about the sexual theme, however, it is important in the development of the story and the characters.

Watching it didn't make me feel that the story was confined to the setting. I liked the concept of the story, everything happening in medieval France, the Church against heretics, and the sensitive issue of faith.

The art was nicely done. I honestly loved it. If only there were more to this, I'd love to have watched it too. I recommend watching this. ... Although not perfect, it's a gem worth watching!

this anime had beem in my list for a year. I must say, I regretted not binging it until now! and a piece of advice, watch it not to fill your expectation cause nothing more is satisfying than enjoying a show without holding yourself tons of criteria. it stains the essence of quality and lessen how we figure the fictional world.

my initial thoughts after ending the series were so hard to lay due to how fascinating it was from start to finish. the show was impactful about defining human nature and principles. chasing ambitions and sating desires. in short, it covers the simple yet ... crucial aspect of life.
maria and others discover these by engaging themselves again and again. leading oneself for a better and ideal world. and of course that conflicts with everyone, as people differ.
the story revolves around that meaning and progress.
I decided not to spoil any content. just go ahead and place yourself in maria's world.

CW rape in ep 9 and talk of it in Ep 10-11.

I enjoyed this show a lot. It's a mostly well-delivered message about sticking to your ideals even if there are people against you and a lot of conflicting arguments against you, but it's not particularly nuanced. It's got tone clashes and bawdy humour that ranges from funny to skeevy, so the general vibe for me was "a good time, but definitely not perfect".

It's also an extremely atheist anime LOL. MAL please let me enter my paragraph-long reviews and leave it at that I don't know what else to say

Beautifully subversive little show with a profoundly HUMANIST message. I'm big into High Fantasy and Maria the Witch does not disappoint despite being grounded ostensibly in medieval France during the 100 Years War. Maria is a good witch who despises war & bloodshed and meddles in human affairs with her magic to force peace upon the warring factions. This draws the ire of Heaven itself and the Church. As an atheist, I'm tickled by fiction that depicts the Church as unambiguously EVIL. They do NOT come off as remotely "good" in this story. Maria to her credit espouses explicitly ... humanistic views in contradistinction to the Church's received wisdom. She throws down the gauntlet and accuses Heaven of utter indifference to human suffering. There's a lot of moving parts to this story and it may seem curious to still stand by a humanistic credo in a world where God & His Angels present concrete proof of their existence...nevertheless the Problem of Evil still exists and rears its ugly head....and in the end the Archangel Michael is forced to concede that Maria kind of has a point. Also, it should come as no surprise that Maria shares the same name as the mother of Christ and that her human love interest is named Joseph...Mary & Joseph...yeah. Some people claim there's a tonal shift from Ep.11 onward but I disagree. The series has planted seeds all along the way that Maria and Joseph love each other. Their finally confessing to each other is hardly a tonal shift. Anyway, short but very enjoyable series with a subversive but beautiful message & affirmation. Love wins.

Overview:
"Maria the Virgin Witch" is an anime that had the potential to be a lot better than it was. It's unique (especially the setting), ambitious, has good animation and voice acting and, above all else, a great lead character, but it ultimately fails to truly make the most out of its potential, resulting in a highly flawed but still enjoyable series. Its main issue is that it tries to be too many things at once, especially considering its short length, and as a consequence fails to truly excel at anything.

Story (6.5/10):
The person we follow during the anime's 12-episode running time is the titular Maria, a ... witch who lives near a small village in France during the Hundred Years War, and, as the title implies, is a virgin. She's also a pacifist who despises war and bloodshed, and as such makes it her personal mission to break up battles fought by summoning various monsters to scare the soldiers away from the battlefield without killing any of them. While her noble deeds do earn her respect from a lot of people, particularly those who reside in the village she lives near, they also result in her gaining disdain and hostility from the church, who consider her a heretic. Soon enough, her actions result in her earning the wrath from the archangel Michael, who condemns her for, as he puts it, disrupting the natural order. While he initially intends to execute her, she's saved at the last minute by a young man named Joseph, who claims to be in love with her. Ultimately, Maria is spared, but an angel named Ezekiel is sent to watch over her to ensure she does not use her magic to interfere with any more battles. And if that's not enough, the laws of her magic are now tied to her virginity, meaning if she loses one, she will also lose the other. However, Maria is not the kind of person to give up so easily, and so attempts to find ways around the new restrictions that have been forced upon her, though she soon discovers that angels are far from her only, or even her main, obstacle.

All well and good so far, but what kind of story follows this sequence of events. An anti-war story? A romance? A comedy? A study of the flaws of religion? All of the above, while never truly reaching its full potential in any category. As mentioned above, Joseph ends up declaring his love for Maria very early on (at the beginning of the third episode, to be precise), but the fact that losing her virginity would also result in the loss of her magic means their relationship is doomed to go nowhere fast, since Maria feels that she needs her magic if she is going to continue interfering with battles. In general, without spoiling anything major, the series just has too many ideas that not only are fairly underdeveloped, but ultimately don't go very well together, as well as some shockingly dark subject matter in later episodes that feels rather jarring compared to the far more lighthearted early ones, especially considering the lack of build-up beforehand.

The world-building is also pretty wishy-washy. While the setting is fresh, at least as far as anime is concerned, it ultimately has little to no relevance to the actual story, to the point that they could have set the series in any other war in any time or country, or even a fictional war in a fantasy setting, and still be able to tell the exact same story. Additionally, we learn that in this world, there is an entire species of witches rather than just Maria, and yet apart from her, only a couple of them get any real focus or development, and while we learn that there's some kind of society involving them, we never actually see it. In general, a lot of the story's problems can be chalked up to the anime's short length, which is disproportionate to its relatively slow pacing, making you wish it had about twice as many episodes to properly flesh out its ideas, though I can at least say that it does deliver a fairly decent conclusion.

Art & Animation (8/10):
"Maria the Virgin Witch"'s art is best described as 'above-average'. The characters and environments are very well-drawn and the quality remains consistent throughout, and the animations of the characters and various beasts Maria summons are generally quite fluid. However, none of the character designs or animations really stood out for me, and the art style makes the series look like a ton of other anime I've seen. Not to mention that the colors can be quite dull in places. Overall, the series does certainly look very good, but considering the animation studio is Production I.G., I was expecting a lot better.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
The soundtrack is mostly nothing special, but it does have a few very nice tracks. These include the opening "Philosophy of Dear World", the ending theme "alies" and an insert song that plays in one of the later episodes. In general, if a song has lyrics in this series, then chances are it's worth remembering. The voice acting is great; Alexis Tipton delivers a fantastic performance as Maria, and the dub features a good number of fine talents, with Austin Tindle, Whitney Rodgers and Colleen Clinkenbeard (who pulls off a surprisingly sexy English accent) being standout examples, though there isn't really any performance in the series I would call bad.

Characters (7/10):
From the very first episode, it's obvious that, even if she loses her temper quite often, Maria is a very kind person who despises war and bloodshed. She is not an entirely selfless person, however, as she's often shown to break up battles for the simple fact that she doesn't like them. In general, she is very much a small steps hero i.e. the kind of hero that will always do an immediate good even if it means allowing a greater evil to emerge later on. In her case, her actions end up getting others hurt by proxy and makes the war go on for longer than it should, which is pretty much the only decent point Michael makes to her beneath all his high-and-mighty 'natural order' nonsense. That said, Maria does seem to be somewhat aware of this, stating at one point that there have been times when people she's saved have ended up fighting amongst themselves, and she freely admits to not being perfect. In addition, while she is very stubborn, she can be reasoned with and will stay out of a matter if she's given a good reason as to why she should. She is also quite clever, frequently creating situations where Ezekiel can't see her using her magic (she has to witness it for Michael to strike her down) so she can still break up fights even with Ezekiel watching over her. At her core, Maria is simply a very loving woman who just wants everyone to get along and be happy, instead of having to fight and kill each other. While it would have been nice for them to have delved a little deeper into her backstory to give a better impression of how she became the person she is, especially since she's implied to have been around for the better part of a decade, I'm overall content with what we got, and it would not be a stretch to say she is the best part of the entire anime, let alone the best character.

My second favourite character would probably have to be Joseph, a young man who strongly sympathises with Maria's ideals and wishes and soon falls in love with her. While he comes off as very meek most of the time, it's obvious that he has a spine as early as the second episode, when he stands up to Archangel Michael armed with nothing but a crossbow, though whether this is incredibly brave or incredibly stupid is open to interpretation. Overtime, he becomes more and more brave and confident in himself, and despite the aforementioned problems with his and Maria's relationship, the two do share some pretty sweet moments together. Another character of note is one of Maria's two familiars, Artemis, a succubus who seduces men in order to gather information for Maria. Maria created her from an owl, and as a result, she maintains some of her owl-like mannerisms. She's also quite the troll, frequently getting under Maria's skin with the fact that she's significantly more sexually experienced than her. Despite this, she is very loyal to her mistress, and frequently shows she will risk life and limb in order to protect her, showing she ultimately has a good heart.

Maria's other familiar is Priapos, an incubus whom Maria creates early on to seduce women. He's notably meeker and kinder than Artemis is, and soon becomes just as loyal and protective of Maria. Unfortunately, due to Maria's lack of knowledge of male anatomy, he doesn't have a penis, which embarrasses him to no end since it means he can't do the one thing he was created to do, making it easy to feel sorry for the poor guy. The fifth and final main character is the aforementioned angel Ezekiel. While she comes off as strict and bossy in the beginning, frequently giving Maria lectures on what she can't do, it's not long before it become clear that she's really just parroting the words of Heaven, and she even admits eventually that she's doing what she's doing out of duty rather then because she actually believes what Maria is doing is wrong. She does change overtime, however, going from a flat follower of God to someone who has her own views and opinions. Unfortunately, there isn't an awful lot to be said about the rest of the cast, as, with a few exceptions, most of them are either underdeveloped or just plain unlikable, with Michael being by far the worst offender in the latter's case.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
Given that the main character is someone who despises violence and will break it up however and whenever she can, it stands to reason that this series does not have a lot of action, and any action that is there tends to be quite brief. The slow pacing does not help matters, with not being until the second half of the second episode and the first half of the third that the plot finally gets to the point and is properly set up. There are some really funny moments at times, and things do get a lot more exciting towards the end, but I won't be able to fault you if you find yourself getting bored at times, since I'd be lying if I said that didn't happen to me.

Overall:
"Maria the Virgin Witch" is a sad example of a series trying to cram far too much into only 12 episodes, resulting in a jumbled story and fairly weak, underdeveloped supporting cast. The dark subject matter in later episodes which contrasts heavily with the show's generally lighthearted tone also makes it a difficult series to recommend, as you can't help but wonder exactly what crowd the writers were aiming at. Ultimately, this is the conclusion I have come to; if you're a fan of fantasy anime, or just really like strong female characters, then this is a series that's worth checking out. Just don't expect anything amazing from it.

Score:
6.5+8+8.5+7+7.5=37.5/50=7.5/10