Flying Witch

Flying Witch Review (NO SPOILERS)



Heh. No spoilers. As if this show actually has anything to spoil, in the first place. Ok, then. Flying Witch is one of those shows that I see a screenshot or a short clip of and I think the artwork looks so stinkin good, that I just gotta go see the entire show. And unfortunately... that doesn't always lead me to the best of shows... If I were to describe Flying Witch in one word, it would be "nothing". That's the gist of it. NOTHING happens in this show. So you're thinking "Oh, then it's a slice of life show?" I ... guess??? But it's the most eventless and dull lifestyle that you'll ever witness. Now, I said that there isn't anything to spoil in this show, and there really isn't. But I will be going over some events in the show, as well as the overall beginning set up, just so I can better describe things. Don't worry, though. I swear that you won't be getting spoiled on anything groundbreaking, no matter how much detail I give you.

So as the name of the show implies, this show stars a witch, named Makoto. Now you may be thinking "Ok, a witch. So there's probably some cool magic and otherworldly events in this show, right?" Nope... Well... there is, but it's almost entirely non existent. What I mean is that a lot of the magic in Flying witch is either done through reciting words, writing a spell or drawing a symbol, or through jump cuts that have NO flashy transition that even acknowledges that something magic even happened. For example, there's this cafe in the show, run by a witch. But the cafe looks like an abandoned, destroyed building. What they gotta do is a series of gestures, to make the cafe's true appearance show itself. You see them looking at the destroyed building, cut to their faces and bodies, doing the gestures, and then cut to the building being completely different. No transition. No sound effects. Nothing. Another thing is the flying. Makoto doesn't entirely know how to fly, at the beginning of the show. That gets mentioned around episode 4 or 5, or something like that. So you'd think we'd watch her trying to learn how to fly. But no. On the second to last episode or so, there's a scene that has Makoto flying on her broom. One of the characters mentions how well she's flying. And she just says "Oh, ya. I finally mastered it." And that's it. It's never brought up, again. There's even a part where a non witch character starts training to become a witch. She asks for her parent's permission and they just say yes, with no hesitation. And then that's it. She never gets any magic powers throughout the show, but she's apparently now in training to become a witch. And that's the end of that.

So if you're watching this show for its magic elements, don't. They're the most nonexistent non extravagant magic elements you ever see, or rather not see, in any anime ever. So how about the slice of life aspect of the show? Is that any good? Well... not really. It doesn't have any sort of plot, in any of the episodes. Not even any episodic ones, like Ouran Host Club or Fruits Basket. And it isn't funny in the slightest, like Azumanga Daioh. This show is all about existence. Just straight up existence, in the blandest way possible. There's about .0001% of magic, thrown into the mix of it, but that's all. Now a show about simple existence isn't always a bad thing, when the characters are at least interesting to watch. So... are these characters interesting to watch? Take a guess... Just like how the show can be described as "nothing", all of the characters can be described as "nobody". Not a single one of them has a personality. At all. I could not describe these characters, if my life depended on it. I even went and looked up the character descriptions for everyone on MyAnimeList, and even THEY can't describe these characters in more than 1 or 2 sentences. Probably my favorite description was for one of the main characters, Chinatsu. Her description is "Younger sister of Kei. She dislikes bake because she thinks it's for adults." That about sums it all up, right there.

The characters are all nice people. That's about as much as I can say to describe them. Nice. They're always nice to each other. There isn't a single bit of conflict in the entire show. I could probably count on one hand, all of the sentences in all of the dialogue of the entire show that had even the slightest bit of conflict in them. There's literally nothing else to say about it. There's no conflict. No problem solving. No plot twists. No nothing. This is a show about nothing, starring a bunch of nobodies. As for the music, it's just as bland and nonexistent as the show, so at least it flows well with the show it's attached to. Still, you won't remember any of the songs in this show. Not even the opening or ending. The opening and ending are generic in both sound and visuals. Completely skippable. There's no english dub as of right now, so you're only option is sub. The voice acting is fine. No problems with it, at least. Though, if there ever is a dub, you may think this is a good show to have play in the background, while you do something else. Though, personally, I think it'd be better to leave the visuals in the background, and don't even worry about listening to what's going on.

The animation is probably the best thing in the entire show. That's the whole reason I decided to watch this show, in the first place. The animation was done by J.C. Staff, a company that has worked on MANY other shows, and many that are far better than this one. Such as the previously mentioned Azumanga Daioh, Toradora, and one of my favorite shows, Little Busters. The animation in Flying Witch is really stinkin good. Scenery is beautiful and the characters are nicely detailed, despite their boring designs. HOWEVER. There is ONE thing in the animation that REALLY bugs me. And that is the character's noses. I know that that's a weird thing to complain about, but the character's noses all have this little light ring bubble on them, and it's VERRRRRRRY annoying to look at. Right from episode 1, that stupid light ring thingy bugged me, to no end. And it stays there, throughout the entire show. But other than that, the animation is near perfect.

The only thing left to talk about is that there are some OVA episodes, for Flying Witch. There are 9 episodes, each being no more than 2 minutes long, and being animated in a chibi CG art style. As for the plot of these OVA's... they have just as much of a plot as the regular show. In other words... nothing at all. So in conclusion, Flying Witch is nothing special in the absolute slightest. I don't think I'll ever be watching it, again. Though, I can't really say I HATED it, as weird as that sounds. It wasn't a bother to watch, being only 12 episodes. It was easy to follow, since there's literally nothing to follow, in the first place. It's nice to look at, and it may be fun to watch with your kids or younger siblings, since this is one of the few anime series that is actually appropriate for a very young audience. If you wanna watch this show to relax, I GUESS I can recommend it for that. Though, to save you some time, I would only recommend watching episodes 7, 8, 11, and 12. Those were my favorites out of the bunch, and you can honestly see what the entirety of the show is about, just by watching one of them. So ya. That's about it. If you're looking for a good slice of life show, with subtle magic that actually adds to the story, watch one of the Key anime. If you're looking for a slice of life with a plot, watch Ouran. If you're looking for a slice of life with actual comedy and actual characters, watch Azumanga. And if you want a show about literally nothing... watch Flying Witch...

I'm honestly not sure where to leave off this review. On one hand, I was ok with watching this and it certainly wasn't a bother to do so, but on the other hand, I got absolutely NOTHING from watching this. So I'm gonna give this show a bit of a weird final score. If you're willing to watch this type of show and accept that you'll get absolutely nothing from watching it, I can give this show a 5. But if you don't want to watch this type of show, then I'd give it a 0. I know that isn't really a fair rating, since the fact that a show was even able to be created deserves at least SOME respect. In that case, I'll give it a 1. But please know that my rating of 5 doesn't mean the show is decent, and my rating of 1 doesn't mean the show is terrible. I'm giving it a 5, simply because it's the the most indifferent rating I can give. And with this show, I am 100% indifferent to its existence and to my experience watching it.

Flying Witch gets either a 1/10 or a 5/10.

I've watched a ton of slice of life shows, and I've got to say, some shows have sort of the wrong idea about what makes a slice of life enjoyable. I mean, actually just sitting through a 12 episode series about a person going through their mundane life is absolutely boring, and not exactly something that you should try to achieve in a slice of life. Sure, it can be about someone's mundane life, but it's got to be enjoyable in some way shape or form, whether it be characters, the story/setting, or the dialogue. Either way, a slice of life is not successful because ... it's actually just some random person's day to day life.

Flying witch is basically this. Non non biyori, Nichijou, Miname ke, even lucky star or something are good because they have "normal," yet fun characters. Slice of life is obviously held up by their well made characters. Whether it be dialogue, relationships, or drama, characters play a pivotal role in whether or not a slice of life is well made. Those shows I mentioned above had great characters. I found them funny, interesting, or just relaxing to watch.
Flying witch, on the other hand, is basically a bunch of side characters talking to each other, and you start wondering where the main character is. The fact that the traits of the main character can be summarized by "eccentric," and "bad sense of direction" even by episode 5-6, you've got a problem. The fact that the same dialogue or scenario about these two traits happening with the main character, only in slightly different setting is just boring and predictable. Everything about the dialogue in this show is dead. No liveliness at all. It just feels like it's a script that people are reading off of.
Non non biyori also makes use of the setting much more than Flying witch ever did. They both feature a typical countryside town, yet the characters in Non non biyori actually interact and mesh with the setting extremely well. They do things that can only be done in the countryside, and the animation also has a lot of extremely vibrant scenes, attention to detail, and backgrounds dedicated to the setting. It's a great example of how a simple cast of characters can be elevated due to the well made setting and dialogue

As for Flying Witch, the setting is tossed aside. In fact, the episode settings and dialogue can actually taking place in any suburban or urban area. Like I said before, dialogue is extremely boring and uninteresting, and the author takes liberties in the character's actions so that the show can seem less boring.
That's basically what Flying Witch is trying to do: seem more interesting than it actually looks. "Wow, my story is very bland, and my characters are also quite the boring lot, how about we make the main character a witch? Haha, that will make my story good." That's basically what I think the author was trying to go for. Magic and witches are only talked about when there's another witch other than the main character in the scene. It's like there's a slice of life portion of the story, and then the witch/magic part of the story. They don't work in tandem, and mix like oil and water. There isn't any attempt to incorporate magic into everyday life, but rather, it's just a quirk of the main character. Instead, it's just boring slice of life scenarios. Then, when that becomes boring, as it surely does, then stuff about witches and magic come up again to keep your attention. Rinse and repeat. Unfortunate that instead of making a story about a main character using magic in their everyday life, it's about a witch that doesn't use magic unless the story permits, thus essentially making most of the episodes completely unrelated to her witch identity, which is pretty stupid when it's an integral part of the plot.

All in all, this show is a dime in a dozen put in with all the other failures of slice of life shows.

Are you tired of all the action on mainstream anime? Then give this show a shot. It's calm, serene, relaxing, and... well, that's it.

Judging from the title, you'd probably think it has magic and such. Well, you're not wrong. It does indeed have magic for it contained magical characters like witches and fortune tellers and such. However, instead of them using magic for fighting and whatnot, it's used in their daily life, something very rare for fantasy-based anime.

What I liked most about the series is that it doesn't try so hard to be a comedy. It's just one of those feel-good anime which you watch ... simply for its relaxing mood. The plot revolves around witches and other magical beings in their everyday lives, so there's no serious plot to be analyzed.

The characters are too... normal. They don't really stand out much because... well, they're basically just people living their daily lives, only they have magic. Don't get me wrong, they're not bad characters. They just don't have enough "depth" in their personality. But perhaps it's just me expecting too much from a feel-good show.

If there's one thing I like, though, it's the art style. The presentation of serenity is shown clearly, letting you know that it's not a serious anime. It's colorful and light, and it doesn't force itself to be artsy, it just is.

So are you stressed out by all the magic anime? Then I recommend you watch flying witch. Before you know it, you'll be flying in cloud nine.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

I used to practice magic tricks with cards a lot when I was a kid.

I wasn’t very good at it, but I could do a few. Double-flipping, “stories,” rigged decks. It was fun trying to trick my family members, seeing their bewildered faces as I did something seemingly impossible. Something that only magic could account for.

Flying Witch does not have card tricks, but it does have lots of magic – of a different kind.

STORY

On one unassuming day in April, Makoto, a witch-in-training, arrives in a new town where her relatives live. Her purpose? To better ... her witch knowledge and abilities. Thankfully for her, the day to day happenings lend themselves to magical opportunities. And thus Flying Witch proceeds.

This proceeding is nothing like work or routine. The anime is, after all, an “iyashikei” (or “healing”) show. Meaning, its contents are heavily designed to be easy, soulful, and happy in nature.

And that is what the audience gets. Makoto hangs out with Chinatsu and Kei, Akane and Inukai, Nao and Anzu. She takes part in simple yet soothing activities, like finding herbs in a forest or pruning apple trees.

The setting also aides in Flying Witch’s healing capabilities. The small, quiet town is not boisterous with the clamoring of cars and bustling venues. Instead, it invites a feeling of nostalgia, a sense that this spot is tucked away from other parts of the world. Their home houses all the “action,” but its open doors, small farm, and simple décor create comfort with ease.

Even the anime’s comedic moments are reserved. Nao says to Chito (Makoto’s black cat) that she seems to have gained weight, so she jumps on Nao’s back and lightly taps Nao’s forehead with her tail. The anime does not aim for huge laughs on purpose since that would defeat its healing agenda.

Of course, one cannot forget about the magic, for it is implied in the title. And, unsurprisingly and surprisingly, magic ends up being the most important part of the show and the least important part of the show.

First, magic being the most important. Throughout the season, the anime showcases many magical events. Summoning a murder of crows with Akane’s help. Turning Inukai from a dog-girl into a full-fledged dog. Revealing a ghostly waitress through Makoto’s drawn circle.

It must be noted that these magics are not flashy whatsoever. While these are some of the more obvious moments, Makoto levitating or speaking with Chito are just as magical. No matter how normal the anime (rightly) depicts them.

Since these non-flashy magics coincide with the iyashikei tone of the show, they also bring about some of the best moments that the anime offers. Hiding cafés, flying whales, and glowing fish are not possible, but, precisely because they are magic within a non-magic world, they stand out as a wonder to behold.

Second, magic being the least important. In many of the scenes, magic plays no role at all. Makoto, Chinatsu, and Kei get their picture taken by a kind old lady passing by. Nao does her best to cook food during their cooking class. Chito walks the same route two different times.

Just as it was with the flashiness of the magic, it must be noted how mundane these events are. Picking radishes and making hotcakes aren’t life-altering events. But they demonstrate that life really is just that: a series of simple yet personable moments.

For instance, it’s not the otherworldly people that visit the café; it’s the good luck that a pair of romantic ladybugs bring. It’s not that there are fish that swim in the ground; it’s the serendipitous glow of those fish in the nighttime sky. It’s not the giant flying whale; it’s the peaceful ruins of a civilization long since gone on its back.

In other words, when the magic and non-magic are combined, the show’s main message reveals itself: The truly magical moments are the ones that have been “nearby” all along.

The show does have small faults when it does not take advantage of some of its elements. The father gets sidelined hard, the Harbinger of Spring only shows up once (despite having a dancing part in the OP sequence), and Chinatsu’s whole witch apprenticeship (let alone Makoto’s own training) does not see a conclusion. Again, these are not deal-breakers, but they do stick out as odd narrative choices.

Regardless, Flying Witch’s tone and its message carry it as far as any broom could. That is to say, pretty far.

ANIMATION

Flying Witch does not try to dazzle its audience, but what it provides is a lot of prettiness over the course of the season.

Especially in its backgrounds. Dense forests, a quaint café, and a nighttime shot of some cherry trees are detailed in both lighting and depiction. Even more importantly, their soft colors and simplicity further evoke a feeling of calm. Perfect for this healing anime.

In particular, the plants do the most work. Trees, flowers, bushes, herbs, and grass play a major part in making the show a peaceful, nature-filled hub. And since green is often associated with health and healing, the focus on greenery only furthers the anime’s goals.

Even the town itself, with its roads, parks, and buildings, show off how pretty the anime can look. It’s a location revisited multiple times – much like Kei’s family’s house – but it never ceases to feel inviting to walk within.

The character designs go for simplicity as well. And rightly so, for these characters are just that: simple, everyday people. Makoto’s long black hair, emerald eyes, and yellow cardigan simultaneously don’t stand out but make her the center of attention. Akane’s dark complexion contrasts with her white hair, giving her a foreign look. And Kei may as well be a background townsperson (in a good way) for how unassuming he dresses.

Their various outfits, like Makoto’s pigtails and Chinatsu’s overalls, mix up how they usually look, adding even more strength to their designs.

Of course, the more magical-looking designs deserve a mention. Inukai’s dog transformation, the Harbinger of Spring’s mask, and the paper man’s all-black attire. Indeed, their contrast with the normal, simplistic world Flying Witch presents makes their designs that much more intriguing.

The show even employs reaction faces. They are subdued, often slight expressions of shock or bewilderment, bringing small moments of laughter yet keeping the show from going over the top in its delivery.

The only real issue art-wise comes in the actual animation. The backgrounds and the designs receive the most attention, so the characters’ movement sadly does not. Most of the time, Makoto and the others are just sitting around the living-room table or chatting on a bus. Some more interesting segments exist, like when Makoto flies on her broom for the first time or when she’s chasing a pheasant, but these scenes are quite uncommon.

Arguably, the unmoving nature of the characters fits Flying Witch. After all, less movement means more calm, and more calm means more peace, and more peace means more healing. Still, their lack of movement is noticeable, and it is enough to make the anime feel rigid rather than fun.

CHARACTERS

With an anime like Flying Witch, it’s difficult to judge their characters in the traditional sense. The episodic format, the lighthearted, no-drama stories, and the lack of any character conflicts make Makoto and the other characters nothing more than themselves from start to finish.

Not that that’s a bad thing. Because (again) with an anime like Flying Witch, it makes sense that the characters do not change. In fact, it’s almost thematic. Just as the story brings healing through showcasing the mundane parts of life, simplicity of character adds its own brand of healing: nostalgia, familiarity, and ease.

Now, the problem with this approach is that it doesn’t leave the characters in what one would call a memorable light. Remember Kei’s design? His personality is just as dull. That’s not his fault; he’s simply being himself. He likes watching movies which makes him relatable, sure, but that does not make him a very interesting character.

Same idea for Akane, Chinatsu, and even Makoto. The older sister drinks a lot, Chinatsu acts like a cute kid, and Makoto gets lost easily. But, because they lack so much on a character level (besides some niche traits like Makoto overproducing food or Chinatsu disliking bitter plants), they end up as little more than placeholders.

Yet, that’s arguably the point. Kei reading a book in his room, Akane sleeping the afternoons away, and Makoto complaining about how the broom hurts her groin are not stellar character developments. But, much like the story and its portrayal of “magic,” these more simplistic aspects go right along with the show’s motif.

That is, what makes them characters, makes them people, are not flashy occurrences but rather the everyday details that the audience can more than empathize with.

If nothing else, the cast have their own roles to play when it comes to magic itself.

One of the more obvious is Chinatsu. She’s a kid, so something like magic and what it can do has an even greater effect on her. As such, she embodies the wonder of magic.

Akane is the most experienced and often hailed as a fantastic witch (by her own sister). Yet the magics she performs – creating animal-morphing chocolates, desaturating a landscape – show how much silliness and fun that magic can bring. So, she proves that magic does not have to be taken seriously.

Makoto does not act like those folktale witches. She doesn’t have a crooked nose or green skin, and she doesn’t toil over a bubbling cauldron. (At least, not a big one.) Instead, she’s a sweet, kind girl who enjoys the outdoors, loves her family, and talks with her cat. In other words, she pushes back against the typical magic-user tropes – by being the complete opposite.

Even Kei has his role. He’s a very quiet, very normal dude. He does not speak much let alone react to anything with more than mild amusement. In fact, the only time he seems to show any emotion is when spooky ghosts are involved. Thus, he demonstrates that magic is not something to be fearful of.

Altogether, the characters are not the most impressive. However, they at least have these roles and a more thematic argument at hand, giving them a bit more strength than they otherwise had.

SOUND

Two pieces of music stand out from the others in Flying Witch: the opening track and the main track from the OST.

The OP generates a lot of fun. The vocalist’s “Sha la la la…” followed by the quicker lyrics gets at that immediately with their shortness and silliness. The clapping in the background doesn’t just go along with the beat; it’s something that’s easy to clap to. And the guitar flourish, played near the beginning and right at the end, is a catchy little arrangement that starts and finalizes the track on a bunch of happy notes.

“The main track” sounds vague, but it’s obvious which one it is. It starts with a simple acoustic guitar before gently wading into some light piano work. The piano itself jumps around in a calm manner – all while the guitar continues playing in the background. The beat the combo produces becomes a leitmotif that many of the other tracks use, getting at (once again) that familiarity and therefore healing feeling.

The show does have other tracks, like those steeped in woodwind instruments or only relying on that acoustic guitar. They’re not as powerful as the leitmotif, but they have their own sense of simplicity that evoke similar feelings.

On the lower end of the sound department are the ending track and a particular voice-acting job.

The ED goes for a slower pace with both Makoto and Chinatsu singing individually and together. It’s a more reserved piece, aiming for a bittersweet tone that it mostly achieves. It takes a few listens to warm up to it, and it’s not necessarily a poorly composed piece. But with a loud middle section and a grander scale that does not mesh well with the rest of this laidback show, it does not hold up as well as the other tracks offered.

As for the voice acting, there are two people worth mentioning. Minami Shinoda, in her first major role as Makoto, does very well as the kindhearted girl. However, Eri Suzuki as Chinatsu doesn’t quite hit the mark. She sounds more annoying than cute. Especially her “Yay,” which seems to come from an adult trying to sound like a kid rather than it does a kid naturally brimming with excitement. (She’s technically the former, but the latter was the desired intention.)

(One other small shout-out goes to the voice behind the mandrake plant. His constant “ooooooooooooooooo” while Makoto and Nao were talking and afterwards made for a very funny scene.)

ENJOYMENT

I have a couple of favorite moments from the show.

One of the first being the trick-and-treat episode. Watching Makoto cry at everything, Chinatsu laugh at everything, and then Chinatsu laughing at Makoto crying made for a hilarious scene.

I also really liked when Akane mistook Nao to be Kei’s girlfriend. She started crawling on the ground, making encouraging sounds and gestures as she egged on Kei and left the room.

Beyond these couple of scenes, though, I was merely content with the anime. Another way to put it, I neither hated nor loved it.

A lot of that falls on the characters. They didn’t have much of a personality beyond just being nice to one another. Chinatsu could be silly, Akane could be lazy, and Inukai could be angry, but they were all a bit too plain.

I understand that it must be this way. If everyone was shouting or had explosive personalities, they would not fit with the laidback atmosphere. And it’s not like they are unlikable characters. They are nice and happy and fun. I just would have preferred more out of them.

Even so, Makoto was my favorite of the bunch. Her smile while holding that mandrake, her surprised face when a crow landed on her head, and her energy when in the forest made me very happy to see.

Also, the paper man. He was a cool and ominous dude. Too bad he was only around for maybe twenty seconds tops.

Flying Witch may not do a whole lot, but its heart is in the right place. The story’s message is meaningful, the art is pretty, and the characters serve specific roles. It’s a simple show – and that’s no card trick.

SUMMARY

Story: Good, healing and “magical” moments make for a heartwarming experience

Animation: Good, pretty background art, healing greenery, nice character designs, subdued comedic reactions, and okay actual animation

Characters: Fine, while the cast lack any outstanding qualities, their everyday selves and roles in relation to magic give them at least some strength

Sound: Fine, good OP, good OST, okay ED, okay VA performances

Enjoyment: Fine, not much entices besides a fun character or moment here and there

Final Score: 6/10

For someone who likes the Slice of Life as much as I do, this anime was the first to be marked on the List to plan to watch as soon as it was announced (because lately there are not many anime's of this genre lately).
But after looking at it ended up disappointing me a little.

The story does not have an argument and is based only on compilations of various events, in the end it tells you nothing more than the daily life of Makoto and his family. In several places I found it tedious to keep looking at her so I had to end up ... looking at one chapter a day.

The Art is fine, to be an anime somewhat recent meets what it should and the characters are a lot like manga, it may be the strongest point of the anime.

The Soundtrack is not bad, a well animated Opening and with a somewhat sticky musical theme, the ending is calm and characteristic of a Slice of Life. The background sounds that set the story are also correct.

The characters I did not like, the protagonist of the anime never managed to transmit the interest for what happens in history and many of the secondary characters appear just one chapter giving the impression that they are there for "obligation."

In conclusion I can not say that it was wrong but I really expected much more from this anime. If you just start looking at the genre of Slice of Life there might be some better options so you do not end up hating this genre after looking at Flying Witch.

Makoto is a witch in training who moves in with her relatives to further her training. If you're looking for a true slice of life with a light sprinkling of magic, Flying Witch may be up your alley. It shares the feel-good family interactions seen in shows like Minami Ke. However, it lacks a comical equivalent of Kana and doesn't have any semblance of romance. This show literally goes nowhere. If you're like me and need some semblance of story or character development, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Animation:
This show has some pretty impressive, detailed backgrounds. Whether in a local pedestrian mall, a garage shed, or ... walking outdoors, the characters are surrounded by vivid, meticulously-drawn scenery. If you like majestic mountains, green crop fields, and rustic towns, then this is your kind of scenery. Backgrounds aside, the show is standard fare. It's drawn in a bright but low-saturated palette, which fits the peaceful yet plain feel of the story. There is your standard fare 3D CGI used in all the vehicles and trains but luckily they're only used in a few scenes. The characters themselves are well drawn but actually look humorously plain sometimes compared to the detailed scenery. The show involves a lot of spiritual beings visiting the household so expect some rather odd looking characters- your reactions will probably be similar to that of Chinatsu. I actually think the best drawn character here is actually the cat Chito, who seems to have more personality than our rather boring male cousin, Kei.

There is pretty much no action in this rather peaceful show. Likewise, despite there being a witch on a broom in a miniskirt, the camera keeps things clean.

Sound:
The light, guitar-backed op fits both the scenery and pacing of the show; it's a fair and relatively catchy melody. The ED, by contrast, has a much richer instrumentation and is sung by our main heroines. The BGM is rather playful in tonality, it relies heavily on brass instruments, plucked strings, and occasionally piano. It serves its role better than in your typical show and some tunes will become familiar by the end of the show.
The primary VAs are relatively fresh. Minami Shinoda does a great job giving Makoto a gentle yet eager personality; she makes pulling out weeds very entertaining. I can't really say the same for our male protagonist- Shinsuke Sugawara's character is just plain boring- his voice gives him a rather dull character that never seems to be phased by anything. The show is, however, supported by a lot of veterans cast in secondary roles. You have Ai Kayano and Ari Ozawa voicing witch familiars (they don't actually speak words) and Kikuko Inoue voicing the residence's mom, her performance outright puts a lot of the other characters to shame.

Story:
There isn't that much to say for this category. The show basically has a bunch of interesting characters visiting the country residence and showcases a bunch of interactions between the cast. For instance, a good portion of one episode consists of multiple characters individually following the cat Chito while a large portion of another episode has our cast picking wild vegetables. There is actually a bit of educational material here in a similar vein to Silver Spoon but obviously to a lesser degree.
The show is pretty episodic overall with just a few exceptions, and there isn't really any central plot or story progression. There's a bit of light comedy but otherwise it's just a lot of nice, peaceful scenes and interactions.

Character:
The show focuses on Makoto, her elder sister, and her cousin. There isn't a lot of background on many of the characters; the show focuses more on just interactions. I wouldn't expect much in the form of romantic developments or even dynamic characters; other than Chinatsu, the other characters are pretty much the same all the way through.

There are some particularly interesting supporting characters, such as Inukai, but the majority of the interactions are simple conversations and occasional visits by unique spirits. Chinatsu and Akane (Makoto's sister who bears no family resemblance) are the main entertainers of the show; they have vibrant personalities, but aren't particularly deep.

Value:
I didn't really have that many expectations coming into this show and it pretty much matched my expectations. It is a nice, peaceful show with a lot of calming scenery. If that's what you're into then by all means dig in. As for me, there wasn't much entertainment value out of it due to the various reasons listed above.

I already knew what kind of anime Flying Witch was supposed to be when I started watching it, a cute and funny show to relax with.
Story & Character: Easily the worst part of this show is the story, by which I mean, there basically is none. You have a girl who is a witch and has to study witchcraft on her own. It is very calm and the plot is simple, too simple. Nothing ever happens, all witchcraft is reduced to pathetically simple and boring acts that, I guess, are supposed to be funny. The characters are bland and boring, and just as nothing happens ... in the story, nothing happens in terms of them developing. There's a lot of "cute" and "funny" or "heartwarming" things in Flying Witch, but they ultimately feel very forced and unnatural.
Art & Sound: The art is probably the best part of the show, with gentle colors and characters that are easy on the eyes, but it's not far above normal in today's standards (the mc girl looks like the girl from Bakuman). The Sound is pretty normal.
Overall: In the beginning I liked the show, but as it went on the forced cuteness (and so on), combined with the fact that nothing ever happened made it grow more and more boring until I, after the 8th episode, couldn't take it anymore and dropped it. It might be your cup of coffee, but it definitely isn't mine. Decide at your own peril ;-)

I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s a bit of a struggle to get through. As an anime on its own? It’s fine. There’s not much wrong with it, the animation is good, the characters are good, but the one thing that is boring for me is the lack of plot. I tried watching more to see if things would carry on to a plot, but it’s just a witch that doesn’t do many witchy things going around town. As standalone episodes they’re fine, but together it just gets boring. I also wanna note that I don’t usually watch this genre of anime so maybe ... I’m biased but yeah, it’s fine, the characters are good, it’s just the lack of plot makes it kinda boring for me.