Shuumatsu no Izetta

What’s worse: a consistently mediocre show, or a mediocre show that looked like it could’ve been a lot better? Whichever you prefer, Shoemaster no Izetta is the second option.

I’m not gonna sit here and pretend that Shuumatsu was, at any point, even a strong contender for anime of the season. I don’t feel particularly burned or let down by this show falling apart, but at the same time I can’t help but feel a little surprised: Two super hot main characters, one of them being a witch or magician, a story with historical context, a metal-based OP, and one of the best soundtracks of the ... year come together to form… a light 4. So, what the fuck happened?

To be honest, it wasn’t that anything really happened, it’s just that Shuumatsu put on a nice facade for a bit. That sounds like I’m stating the obvious, but hear me out: This anime was only good on a conceptual level. Beyond writing "MAGIC + WW2" down, the writing team had no idea what the fuck to do. There’s no singular element to Shuumatsu that makes it bad, it’s a consistent series of fuck-ups and bad writing that starts to become apparent after the story’s introduction.

Much of the conflict can be blamed on people being complete fucking idiots, and that’s never a good thing. When you have some pretty high stakes such as… I dunno, a WORLD WAR involved, it’s expected that the people have some sort of responsibility. This involves not discussing the weakness of someone who is single-handedly carrying you in the war, or even discussing this someone period, in broad fucking daylight. God forbid someone hears you and runs back to camp to tell all his friends about it for no reason... ... ... ... ... ...HEY WAIT A MINUTE

Another problem that becomes more apparent as time goes on is the absolute perfect perfectnicityness of the three lead characters: Izetta, Fine with an accent at the end, and Izetta’s Tits, which you better fuckin’ believe are fine with an accent at the end. These are the good guys, so they’re good people. They do absolutely nothing wrong and have no flaws whatsoever. Finemon is noble and brave and lives to defend the country she proudly leads. Everyone that’s not literally Hitler happily supports her. Izetta is the most OP being on the planet, and all she wants to do is use her power for good, which means indiscriminately killing shitloads of Nazis. Her entire character is that she totally wants a piece of dat Fine ass and will do virtually anything for it. She might be a little childish due to literally not having a life for the most part, which doesn’t really count as a flaw.

Meanwhile, the bad guys are Nazis. They do bad things because they’re the bad guys and that’s basically it. I suppose the real context of the antagonists can be summed up as “read a fucking book”, but it’s not like we’re getting actual historical figures in this anime. This isn’t Drifters. This is an original story with not-very-cleverly renamed things like “Germania” involving original characters. Original characters such as Smug Villain who is a villain that smiles in a smug fashion. He has a low voice and talks clearly but quietly while smiling in a smug fashion. Because he’s the bad guy.

Unyielding good versus unforgivable evil. It’s too obvious who you should root for. Tropes aren’t bad on their own, but too many of them will dumb things down and come off as boring, unless you can fully embrace them and use the best parts to tell a satisfying story. I’m describing ‘My Hero Academia’ for the record. Not that it’s related. But meanwhile, Shuumatsu is full of one-note, trope-y, flat basic bitches. Well, not Izetta. She’s not flat. She got some pretty big dynamics nahimean?

In short, despite the serious tone Shuumatsu puts off in its early moments, its story is far from mature. Even when nothing is happening, there’s still something wrong. Like, talking about pie for all eternity, or watching Izetta get molested by some creepy designer lady. I think that’s where they uh… Cross the Line, eh???? Goddamn that song is good.

Okay, so I’ve complained a lot about a show that’s based on a hot chick flying around on a gun. So let’s talk about that for a moment. For some reason, people defend bad writing and fanservice with “she’s riding a gun, it was stupid to begin with!” Just because something’s a little silly doesn’t mean all its faults are suddenly cleared. Like, what? It doesn’t even look or seem that silly. Not only is it cool as shit, but it brilliantly combines both the setting of war and the concept of magic. If anything, wearing a big hat and flying around on a broom would’ve been inappropriate.

But anyway, the battles themselves are actually pretty good. Izetta is OP as shit and just fucking destroys everything in her path. It’s a lot of fun seeing shit like that, and it’s not every day where you see tanks getting thrown around. But, of course, the stakes need to be raised at some point, so the enemy introduces… more magic. Aww… It’s kind of a bummer that they couldn’t stick with Magic vs. Military and had to make it Magic vs. Magic instead. Granted, the story’s timeline gives it very limited technology, but it would’ve been really cool to see the Germans--oh, sorry--the GERMANIANS (you know that's just Germany in Romanian, right? That's not a rename at all, those hacks!) develop some sort of weapon or even a clever strategy to level the playing field a bit, instead of just introducing more magic out of nowhere.
That said, when Izetta has finally met her match, things don’t go downhill. They get crushed, flattened, stomped on, pushed off a cliff, and dropped into the fucking ocean. Shit gets real FAST and that made me appreciate the evil side a lot more.

Nothing’s animated too well, though. Izetta flying around looks quite nice, and let me compliment the character designs one more time because they’re outstanding. But, as expected, the larger animations such as large objects getting tossed around or a collection of swords slicing around… they’re CG. The CG itself isn’t particularly good nor bad, but combined with normal 2D animation, it looks kinda weird and took me out of the experience a little. I don’t remember anything being terrible, though. The general style is very common despite the obscure studio--if you told me this was by A-1 Pissants or J.C. Staff, I wouldn't have questioned it.

The soundtrack on the other hand… now there’s a hidden gem. The mystical, magical music in the back with a rock influence, particularly with Izetta’s fight scenes, holy shit it’s brilliant. It felt a little overdone, though. Exposition could be going on, and the composer’s still going apeshit with dark, jittery, and mysterious music as if the most amazing plot twist’s about to happen. Still, I’m gonna be downloading thi--I mean purchasing this soundtrack in a very legal manner when it releases to the public. And the credits themes were equally outstanding. ‘Cross the Line’ has one of the most hype-inducing introductions of the entire year, and its piercing metal sound kept me on my toes the whole way through. The epic piano ballad used as the ED is equally mesmerizing despite being basically the exact opposite sound.

Would I recommend Izetta: The Last Witch? Given the interesting premise, I might. After all, an anime with historical context always draws in an audience. 'member Joker Game? Talk about awkward! Anyway, just be warned. You’re not getting a very intricately-written story. It has some good moments for sure, but more often than not you’ll want to rip your hair out. Come in mostly for the fights and the occasional charm. And don’t forget the boobies. Hooray for boobies.

Story - 3/10
Art - 6/10
Sound - 9/10
Character - 2/10
Enjoyment - 4/10
Izetta - Fine/10
Overall - 4.25/10 (Score range: 3.5-5.0)
Favorite episode - 1
Favorite character - Izetta’s Ettas
Recommendation level - Medium

Liechtenstein is fighting Hitler with magic. That's all. But if you want a more detailed review...

Story:
It's World War 2 and the country of Eylstadt (which geographically would be Tirol) is about to be curbstomped by the Nazis. Good thing though that the princesses faithful doggy...I mean, good friend Izetta just woke up from her slumber and does her witch thing. Izetta uses its story within the real life happenings around that time, which is pretty nicely done. However, it doesn't do much with the military setting after the nazi witch shows up, which is a wasted opportunity. The ending was lackluster and I can't help ... but think, that the creators were too scared to leave the safe route for this little fantasy story.
6/10

Art:
This anime looks very good. From backgrounds to character designs, Izetta is a very eyepleasing show. When it comes to the fighting scenes, they were able to turn it up even more. It also lacks the usual "oops, we ran outta money" episodes in the middle. I can't find a flaw in the visuals at all.
10/10

Sound:
The opening song is pretty cool and thrilling, the ending a good, relaxing song. The background music fits very nicely in the whole scenery as well. Voice acting was very good too, even though I found Izetta to sound a little too cutesy at times. Sora Amamiya gives me another reason to praise her and it was nice to hear Kana Hanazawa in a completely different kind of role than what she usually does.
9/10

Characters:
Oh, Izetta, as cute as you are, you are a very, VERY one-dimensional girl. It's only natural for this anime to focus on the (homoerotic) relationship between Finé and Izetta, but all this little witch thinks about is her "hime-sama" and how she can be of any use to her. Finé herself isn't that bad, she can be a good politician every now and then, but once we get back to her worrying about Izetta, it all comes tumbling down. The other witch that turns up later has a motivation for her actions, but...I don't know, I just didn't feel it. In the end she did the same thing Izetta does, despite telling her how idiotic that is. The best characters were the agents of both sides, who did the logical things to do and acted pretty clever.
5/10

Enjoyment:
Like most others, I enjoyed the first half more than the second, though I don't think it went completely to shit. While this anime started out interesting and creative, they started playing it safe halfway through, which was quite disappointing. The ending was a lame cop-out for a show that did a lot of things right, but then started heading the wrong way.
6/10

Overall:
7.2/10

What could go wrong with combining a WWII setting with some cute magical girl(s)? Everything I tell you…

Izetta the Last Witch is something I was optimistic for considering it was an alternative take on the second world war which I’m sure many of us have studied at some point before viewing. The Germanian Empire is our like for like replacement for the Nazi Regime which was led by the infamous Adolf Hitler. To summarise, the Germanian Empire has gone on the offensive using arguably one of the best tactics in modern history. The ‘Blitzkrieg’ was designed to create disorganisation among the Allied forces which was ... composed of countries such as Britannia and Thermidor. The fictional small country of Eylstadt (modern-day Austria) which houses our main two characters Archduchess Ortfine and the last witch in question being Izetta, is on the receiving end taking blows from all the powerful Germania.

The show fails to deliver on providing interesting characters apart from the main duo of Ortfine and Izetta. Ortfine during the war is saddened by the news that her father has passed away due to an illness. This incident has caused her to take up reigns, whilst being designated as the successor at the coronation ceremony giving her the ultimate task of leading her country. Being the sole monarch for such a tiny nation has exacerbated the fact of her wanting to protect to what is deemed as being vulnerable. That is the defining trait for our young Archduchess who for the most part doesn’t exhibit any other qualities which is what sets apart memorable and forgettable characters. She would be in the latter bracket as there is no major characterisation from her as the series progresses.

Izetta is our heroine for the Eylstadt soldiers, who have been demoralised from the current conflict knowing they had no chance of winning against the stronger army. Izetta being a witch allows her to use magic in the battlefield which is not the magic that I had envisioned at first. There are no spells being made that resemble any sort of sorcery. Izetta’s magic is just having the ability to levitate certain objects such as torpedoes and lances which are just some examples. The magic used does create mayhem among the enemy line as it’s used in an unpredictable fashion. What concerns me though is the instances where she is pegged back by the enemies’ retaliation which is evident in numerous occasions. Despite being called the key to winning the war, she hasn’t shown enough for me to acknowledge her as being exactly that.

As a witch, she does have her limitations, which is revealed through the information about the ley lines that are spread out through all of Europe. These hotspots as I like to call them are the areas where she can use her magic effectively without deteriorating greatly in magic usage. The best tactic to defeat Izetta was confronting her at a weak magic location but no there is more to that apparently. Izetta like any other superhuman entity will usually have some form of weakness aka their kryptonite equivalent. Funnily enough it does share a similar appearance to that of the kryptonite.

I’ve been mentioning her magic but what defines Izetta’s character? She can basically be summed as being a sweet-natured girl of a placid disposition. Her objective in the current war is to protect the Archduchess and the country that she governs. It is known beforehand that Izetta has been given a verbal warning by her late grandmother not to use her magic powers excessively to the point it would get out of hand. She inevitably breaks this promise and proceeds to display her abilities in the chaotic battlefield. Her existence is predicated on the fact she will do all it takes to protect Eylstadt even if it means her dying. She’s come close to kicking the bucket but the God of Death hasn’t exerted his influence that much.

The show is suffering from other consistencies preventing me from enjoying it and it’s a shame as it looked promising in the beginning. A significant portion of screen time was given to an average infantry soldier named Jonas, who had survived his fair share of blows at times while it being questionable. The poor man dies because of an information leakage which resulted in his death… what was the point in showing his character for him to be dismissed like that?

Another occasion where the plot felt loose was during the banquet held in one of the Allied nations. The fact that Berckmann managed to appear out of thin air to confront the Archduchess should be raising alarm bells. What I find baffling is how he managed to get past all the security considering it is being hosted for all sorts of delegates during wartime. This just adds to the plot convenience needed to advance the storyline.

There was also the instance where Berckmann’s assistant managed to sneak into the countryside of Eylstadt for his espionage mission. The man was picked up by the retainers of the Archduchess who never questioned the validity of him abstaining from conscription. A spy has just managed to get a ride with Bianca and co who are viewed as being competent and act as being professional. This group managed to harbour an enemy for the whole time without suspecting him once, just convenient if I must say. The writing is abysmal through proper retrospection.

There are countless more but I shared the obvious ones that were glaring to me. Another pet peeve of mine is the fact that the Germanian Empire has somehow managed to invent cloning of humans, which may not sound too outlandish at first. The idea of cloning existing in an alternate timeline that can enable for magic isn’t too far-fetched but if you think about it, DNA mapping was never introduced until the 1950s which is after WWII in this case. My case is closed.

The animation by studio Ajia-do is probably one of the factors that enticed people into watching as well as the setting involved. The character designs are designed for the moe aesthetics, which is evident in Izetta who just seems cute all around. The designs are reminiscent to what was used in Sword Art Online, this show has an A-1 Pictures feel to it but there is no relation whatsoever. The animation is crisp and fluid when it needs to be in the action sequences but is generally consistent with no substantial drop in quality.

The sound for the most part is befitting for a show set in this period. The array of tracks which are mostly heard in the battlefields usually consist of orchestral compositions. The variations of vocal sequences add to the immersion during intense scenes but felt lacklustre with nothing being too exceptional or noteworthy. The opening song used feels more like a J-pop song and does not really match with the themes to be honest. The ending song takes more of a dramatic feel to it and is genuinely feels better to listen to.

VERDICT-

Positives –
Decent Animation

Negatives –
Terrible directing along with a poor script. The plot convenience is unbearable at times.
Bland side characters and no variety.
The fan service is heavy with this one and feels inappropriate at times. I didn’t mention the moe maid lol

If potential is something that you’re seeking for, Shuumatsu no Izetta (Izetta: The Last Witch) will breathe life into that word. At first glance, anyway. Think about it though. It’s a series that combines elements of military warfare, witchcraft, political conflicts, and other magical shenanigans into a single package. And as an original series, the show isn’t held back by a dedicated fan base or those who lusts for “faithful adaptation”. However, Shuumatsu no Izetta isn’t exactly perfect or even close as the word potential is dragged down each step of the way.

The risk of making a historical fiction war drama story can be viewed ... from many angles. While it doesn’t always have to rely on historical accuracy, it should still make sense. In essence, the show attempts its best job at that by adapting the setting into World War II style war story. That’s right. It’s when the Allies fought against the Axis Powers that stretched from Europe all the way to the Pacific theater. However, this series doesn’t fly across the globe even though it has a cute little witch. In fact, it focuses primarily on this tiny Alpine country of Eylstadt as imperialist forces of Germania decides to invade them.

Mark my words, the show gets straight to the point pretty fast. The first few episodes easily establishes the fact that there’s a war conflict going on. Ortfiné "Finé" Fredericka von Eylstadt (the princess) is pursued by Germanian forces and even gets captured aboard a train. A mysterious witch named Izetta shows up from a capsule and she recuses Fine. Turns out, they actually knew each other before during childhood. While all this is happening, it’s hard to forget about how Izetta saves her. Literally, she flies on a giant gun and is able to use magical powers to influence objects. So basically, she is a witch although where her powers came from is a mysterious origin. What we do know is that Izetta is among the last of her kind and she enters an alliance with Fine to protect their country. So for standards, the series leaves me a good impression as the storytelling can expand quite a bit with the war drama and mystery. A lot of questions will pop into viewers’ minds like “who really is Izetta?” “Why does Germania want to invade Eylstadt”? or “Who will win the war?”

I’ll be honest here though. Perhaps my expectations for the series were a bit too high from the start but the series seems to dwindle down each and every episode. The first few episodes does a fairly well job at launching the series with its premise. However, the pacing drags back the show as transitions between certain episodes just feels stale. Certain episodes such as ones that info dumps about witch magic or Izetta’s daily life style can easily be condensed to further the storytelling. Instead, they are stretched out with slice of life content with little impact. The series also seems to have a fetish for Izetta’s breasts as the girls often makes fun of them, especially Fine and the maids. On the other hand, it is evident that the series remains faithful to the premise. The war is still the main focus and we see how the roles of characters are played out. Izetta is a prominent figure as a witch so her allies uses her in ways to not just directly engage their enemies but also with psychological warfare. In other words, they want to make the best of what she has to offer with her powers, carrying military squadrons to certain positions, and boosting morale. While it’s not realistic, it does make her character intriguing to watch as we can see what a witch can really do. While I did mention how ludicrous the comedy can get sometimes, this show does not joke with death as certain characters really do die. As such, do expect the violence and war drama to take hold to show how tragic warfare can be.

Even though she’s the titular character, the series isn’t just about Izetta. Fine, the princess of Eylstadt, serves as a good mentor and leader for her country. She plays the role of a strategist, idealist, and also a friend for her people. The most important relationship she has is with Izetta as the latter saved her during childhood. However, I am not overly impressed by the character relationships in the series. Beyond Izetta and Fine, there’s hardly any others that are memorable. For instance, there’s Bianca, Princess Fine’s personal bodyguard who only gets a memorable role in the latter half of the series when she kills a Germania spy. There’s hardly any development between that spy and her so most of their storytelling is easily forgettable. The main antagonist of the series is Berkman, a Major of a Germanian Special Unit. And oh boy, he is about as stereotypical as you can get out of a villain. Egoistic, manipulative, and cunning are just a few words to describe this man. The fact that he also has a secret weapon to counter against Izetta shows him as a sinister bastard.

One thing that does surprise me though is the quality of the visual production. Ajia-Do is practically an unknown studio that most are unfamiliar with. Their most recognizable work might as well be this one so it’s interesting to see how they took on this project. On the surface level, the series is beautiful with crisp animation. The landscapes and country-style feel gives a good impression of its setting. Furthermore, character designs is noticeable as it fleshes out Izetta being distinctive with her white dress and scarlet hair. Fine is noticeable for her beauty and classic blonde hair, fitting for a princess of her country. On most parts, the action has solid choreography without much jerky movements. Camera angles often capture the most intense parts of war that makes the show thrilling. Do note that there’s a bit of fan service that seems to have more fun with itself than it should.

When it comes to soundtrack, Shuumatsu no Izetta, Nagasaki Yukio seemed like a fitting choice for sound director. His most recent work from GATE shows his talent and brings it into this series. The fast pacing of the action combined with the elements of military warfare all seems to work with the instrumental music. The feel of the European style OST also brings credibility for the series’ setting. Finally, character voice acting is well performed for characters such as Fine with haughty personality, Bianca’s toughness, or Berkman’s arrogance.

How do I really sum this up? A massive disappointment or just a show to watch for the pure entertainment? To be fair, this show is probably not suitable for everyone. Fanatics of historical elements and war drama enthusiasts will probably find this series more entertaining than others. However, if you’re seeking for a well-rounded story, then this show will feel like one that dropped the ball. Not literally but just the type that makes you hope there’s so much more. Too bad really.

"Izetta - the last witch" - is good anime in alternative history genre. Events of anime happen in alternative Europe of ~1939, where Germania tries to conquer the world, and as "real" (from other fiction) nazi they study occultism and magic. And there is what to study - because in this world magic is real. And easy prey for Germania as little alpine country Principality of Elystadt suddenly get support from Izetta - the last witch of this world. Magic vs technic, science and cunning, great setup for nice anime.

And there is probably the main problem, anime at the beginning show so great potential, which ... is really poorly realized, so many people even drop this anime in the second half of season. But it is not bad at all, just do not expect much, and you will not be disappointed.

==Story== (7/10)
Story is decent, it was interesting to follow warfare and politics at that world, despite the fact that politics are shown really childish and primitive. Cool guys from secret police of both countries were shown much better and darker. History of witchcraft was well presented, and some little stories too.

Also relations between main characters Fine and Izetta - is great and cause you to imagine what happens next.

But really inappropriate fan-service and some misunderstanding in motivation at the end, where it can be better written, spoils the story.

==Characters== 6.5/10
One more problematic side of anime. No, mostly characters are good, someone even great, just looks at the agents of secret police Berckmann and Muller, some other supporting characters are great too, germanian pilot for instance. Ortfine despite hers childish and sometimes dumb speeches had some charisma and looks like the proper aristocratic girl.

But Izetta - oh, she is just one dimensional. It is pure naivety and mindless loyalty, whatever is going on, Izetta reacts just the same way. If at the start of series you did not notice this, in the second half it so unbearable to ignore. Still relation between Fine and Izetta are nice, except for some predictable Izetta moves.

Main villain is pretty generic and can be found at any average anime

==Art and Sound== 10/10
I love it! Alpine landscapes - just beatiful, tech and building - also drawn nicely, and there is no complaints about character. I love this style, whatever it is.

Sound is even better, some german alpine motives create great atmosphere. Battles also had music accompaniment, which fit war well. OP - is nice, but nothing specific, ED - calm cool song.

==Enjoyment== 9/10
The main problems of this anime are Izetta and the fact that it could be better (maybe, maybe not), but this two facts does not spoil me anime. I got many positive emotions while watching. Decent story, great music, some great characters and emotional chemistry between main characters.

P.S. It is good anime, but hype spoil so much in the eyes of viewers.

The fact that Japan was on Germany's side during WWII along with how we dropped nukes on them during said war really makes things uncomfortable whenever that country decides to dip their hands into alternate WWII fiction. Especially since they can't demonize the actual Germans, so they have to call them names like Germanians or Britanians or Americans (oh wait) whenever they have to portray actual antagonists. Germanians who are pretty damn fluent in Japanese for a country that wants the world to be ruled by the master race, but what do I know about alternate history? Well I may not know much, but I ... do know that if you want to show your child a good entry in that genre, Izetta: The Last Witch is better left in that bargain bin where you found it.

The show is centered on a young princess named Fine and her attempts to stop the evil Germanians from taking over her country on the eve of this war that shares the same name as the world-spanning conflict of the 1940s, but otherwise has no relation to it whatsoever. Because in addition to all the usual changes that are made to the history in order to make a WWII story fresh after it's been exploited by the entertainment industry like ten thousand times, we now have magic in this world. And I'm not talking about the cultish Hellboy/Conqueror of Shamballa/Maria the Virgin Witch religious magic, although it wouldn't surprise me if the writers of this show took inspiration from that. This one deals more with basic witchcraft, except witches use anti-tank rifles to fly around rather than brooms and can decimate entire armies in ways that an entire army of Jedi would cry foul at.

Said witchcraft takes the form of a young red-haired girl named Izetta, a witch-in-hiding who was saved by Princess Fine in the past, and now that they've both grown up, Izetta vows to use her magical powers to help Fine's kingdom win the war and launch a thousand yuri fanfictions in the process. However, the opposing Germanians are aware of the existence of witchcraft and vow to discover Izetta's weaknesses in order to tip the war back in their favor. From there, the show basically spreads itself out way too thin, trying to juggle multiple characters, viewpoints, and genres all at once. In theory, this means something for everyone. In practice, this means absolutely no one is satisfied.

See, I know Izetta got a lot of attention from anime fans upon initial watch because it dumped a lot of elements that people were intrigued by to the point that they were interested in what it might become over what it actually is. Every time I read an initial positive impression for this show, they never praised anything resembling actual story direction, always concentrating on individual scenes or characters who seem likable and all that stuff that sends out warning lights that the show is going to turn to shit within a few episodes like 99% of all anime out there. Although to be fair, I didn't expect the show to be as tonally inconsistent as it ended up being, dedicating entire episodes to the breast sizes of the females (because that's totally appropriate to talk about during wartime, isn't it?), only to shift to a no-name male soldier who ends up getting an early perish because he knew too much.

Since this is a war story, that means we have to sit through the usual boring "being a soldier is bad" storytelling with all the pointless deaths, men turning into monsters, and blablabla that I really hate about war fiction. But you know what's worse than a war story that throws out its elementary school-level cliches like we haven't heard them before? A war story that throws out its elementary school-level cliches, only to shortchange it with elementary anime cliches. I mean can someone explain to me why all the high-ranking soldiers that hang around Fine happen to be cute girls with big racks? Why exactly do I have to watch them trying to give Izetta a shower, and why exactly should I care about them getting their own episode when they have about as much impact on the plot as a malfunctioning cell phone? Didn't exactly help that the episode itself was just plain bad, focusing on them taking care of a male soldier who happened to be on the opposite side, and anyone who didn't see that ending coming has obviously never watched a war story in their life, and you should have picked a better one to start with.

The characters themselves are pretty generic. Fine is a headstrong princess who wants to serve her country and protect the people, and that philosophy isn't challenged at all during the show's runtime, making it hard to sympathize with any of the arbitrary struggles that she faces along the way. Izetta is pretty much defined by her devotion to her. Pretty much every other good guy is characterized the same way only they can't lift tanks. And the bad guys are pretty much characterized by either "kill the witch" or "die soldier die". Really, Fine is pretty much the only person who's in a position to spearhead the story, but because she doesn't take much action nor does she have her actions challenged, she's about as qualified to guide the viewer as she is to run the country in general. Just about the only thing she really cares about is risking her friends' lives, specifically Izetta's, on the battlefield - and the majority of what qualifies as her arc involves her making sure that her witch friend is safe whilst dealing with a war that outsiders shouldn't be involved in. That sort of relationship couldn't carry a two-hour movie by itself. Why on earth would it be able to carry twelve episodes?

As for the magic angle, I think Izetta was actively trying its best to make it as bland as possible, because it hits all the usual cliches you'd expect from an anime gimmick thrown into a generally serious situation. It has limits so the good guys don't get completely overpowered. It's used for generic slapstick that no one over the age of eight would find funny. After initial usage, it's never used with the same amount of efficiency again. Oh, and did I mention that the enemy side happens to have someone with similar powers? To which I respond with "how does that make any horse-fucking sense?". If they had someone on their side who could use magic, why would either the writers or the characters need to devote so much time to discovering Izetta's weaknesses in the first place when they can just send someone on her level who would definitely know how magic actually works in this world beforehand? And where the fuck did this girl come from anyways? I can't recall her ever being foreshadowed prior to her initial appearance in the last third of this show, so the only possible answer I can come up with was that even with the Germanians discovering her weakness, the writers didn't have an idea how to make a suitable final conflict so they threw Sophie in at the last minute.

One other way the magic in Izetta is misused is that the show ends up putting so much attention on the gimmick that it loses focus on the actual story that was initially hinted at at the very beginning. The final conflict is pretty much one big magic duel that has nothing to do with WWII and introduces a bunch of out-of-nowhere plot elements leading to a paint-by-numbers ending that makes Luke Cage's finale look like Fullmetal Alchemist's (either anime adaptation). I should point out that Izetta: The Last Witch is made by a newbie studio who I know nothing about, but apparently doesn't have any recognizable veterans amongst their ranks, because the animation in this show is absolute ass. Everything looks way too flat, the magic spells have no personality, and just about anybody could have directed this show. As such, don't expect that final conflict I mentioned to be a suitable payoff for all the mismanaged elements that came before. And if you're watching this show for the yuri, put away those virgin boners, because you're not gonna get much of a resolution out of that either.

There really isn't a single thing I can recommend Izetta: The Last Witch for. It only has one not-so-unique idea that's only on-screen like half the time at best, and it failed to make anything interesting happen with it when it bothered to show up. The show is cheap junk food: unfulfilling and you feel kind of weird after experiencing it, but you can't really describe why. My recommendation? Toss it into the same hellfire we threw Corpse Princess and that shitty Romeo x Juliet show and forget everything about its existence, just like we did with those shows.

A bad yet entertaining show can go out in a blaze of glory. A show like this gets put out of its misery like a dog on the streets.

*SPOILERS FOR SHUUMATSU NO IZETTA*

I'm sure we all remember what happened with the spring 2016 anime known as Kabaneri. To recap, the series started off strongly and interestingly before divulging into a convoluted mess that made everyone remember this series as "the biggest disappointment of the year" rather than "the biggest blockbuster anime of the year". Something similar happened here. This when this series started, it had a fairly decent reception and many people interested, thinking that ... this could quite possibly be the dark horse of the season. Unfortunately, it lost all of its luster by the end, and now, it is up to us to bury this series and say our final goodbyes to this failed soldier. You may ask: "how did this series flop on us all?" Well, let's find out, shall we?

To be fair to this series, the premise is one of the most fascinating of its season. A witch gets summoned to fight for one of the many European countries (this one being Elystadt) oppressed by Germania's assault during World War II. Even the first episode managed to feel like it would turn out to be interesting, if not necessarily as grandiose as a war series tends to be. Unfortunately, some of the series's major problems come early, with one of the biggest being how the magic is explained. There are these things called "ley ines" (which no one can see, ever, so how were they recorded?) which are the lines of magic energy that allow witches to use their magic. However, they aren't everywhere, so Izetta has to be careful not to wander into an area in which she cannot use magic. This becomes a problem due to the fact that we can never truly know where they are and where they stop, meaning that the writers can, on a whim, make Izetta accidentally go off to a bad location without us knowing any better until she suddenly falls down and gets herself injured, which end us happening in episode 9, bit I'll get to that episode is the point in which the series jumped the shark, later.

While episode 9 is the point of no return, the part that first comes of major concern is episode 4, where they fake Izetta's power via theatrics to fool the world into thinking that she is a very powerful witch while beating the Germanians in another battle. However, this raises the question of "why didn't she just use her own magic when the world from this point on, will know of her magic anyway?'. Not only that, but it leads into one of the tritest setups that I ever have to see: the whole "this person I admire is secretly a fake" cliche". It turns out that there was a spy all along, and Jonas, the guy who found out the secret about Izetta, is blackmailed by the spy that he'll kill his family. Then, he gets shot by him before the guy runs away, and then Jonas is shot and "killed" by Sieg. This should really affect his family given how much they talked about it. However, we never see his family once. After a few meh episodes, one ship explosion that took one torpedo when they explicitly said it required 4 to do the job, and one ball later, we finally get to episode 9.

Turns out, in episode 6, there was a girl who kissed Izetta in order to make her bleed that way said girl could drink her blood (don't ask me how this makes sense, or how they manage to pull it off realistically; this show never bothered to make it work). Turns out, she was a copy of the real White Witch: a girl described in legend to be a noble and tragic witch. I won't even get into how many of the false versions of the story there are here, as only the one showed in the middle of the finale is right, which means the series has lied to us extremely often. Let's just say this: now, she is evil. Also, they are mass-producing clones of her via magic that they shouldn't understand thanks to how this works. After struggling against her, Izetta loses power, and crashes into the land below. How? They went out of their way to state that she is still on land where the ley lines are located. Apparently, they didn't care to explain this, as there is no indication that her powers were manually shut down. Then, she starts bleeding despite nothing indicating that she was badly wounded anywhere. You could assume the crash did this to her, but all it was, was her tumbling a lot with nothing harmful going into her. She is then captured. Episode 10 even explicitly states so. So why is she still with the good guys? It turns out, that in that same episode, they retrieved her. Since that's the case, why did the Germanians bother saying that they got her. Also, why did the SS try to kill Berckmann? They had no reason to fire him, let alone execute him.

Somehow things only get worse in the final set of episodes. In episode 11, they start moving to the area with Izetta seemingly getting ready after another yuri bait moment, but in the very first 5 second of episode 12, she is already at the fight with Sophie already hovering opposite of her. After about 8 minutes, we get this. Remember when Sieg shot Jonas in the head? Turns out, he's completely fine, with the Germanians, and then he shoots Sieg out of panic. This raises a multitude of questions that damn this series even more into absolute failure. Whatever. The day is saved, Sophie is stopped, the Germanian operation has been foiled, and peace roams the land. Also, despite the last few episodes making it out to be a heroic sacrifice for Izetta to fight, she is perfectly fine, and in a wheelchair. This is just like when Ikoma copped out in the finale as Kabaneri by also living after he was supposed to die. All's well that ends well, I guess. Either way, the script is dead, and I still don't think I've covered all that makes this plot so terrible. Why did Izetta's grandmother call Sophie a traitor? They explicitly showed that when Ozetta asked if her criticism of Sophie (interfering with humans) was the reason, she said no. How did Izetta get captured prior to episode 1? Issues like this further break this sorry excuse for a narrative.

The cast isn't great either. Izetta, while adorkable, and determined, isn't a compelling protagonist despite still being the best character here with a believable backstory. She was saved by Ortfine when they were young, as the locals were about to kill her. Speaking of Ortfine, she's your typical strong-willed leader pushed to her limits. Nothing much to her. Most of the cast is also pretty forgettable and unexplored, like Bianka, Sieg, Hans, Berckmann, etc. Also, Berckmann's son, Ricelt fits this bill too, getting a mostly useless episode 7 to himself before he and the spy both die.

It's the villains that are pathetic. Otto is just a lame tyrant interested in witches, and there's nothing else to him. I struggle to find any reason for Elliot to be here given how useless he is. Then we have Sophie. She is a generic antagonist introduced just to have an eventual final boss, in the same vein as Biba from Kabaneri (as if there weren't enough comparisons between the two shows already). After being betrayed, she wants revenge. In episode 6, she is presented as this mysterious figure. After that, she's just a vengeful maniac who cackles while doing evil things for the sake of it.

This series looks pretty good, despite the fact that the studio Aija-Do isn't well known. If this show stayed consistent, this might've put them on the map. Sure, the citizens of Elystadt have this generic light novel look to them, and many characters have those gaps in their mouths (meant to represent lips) that are way too big sometimes, but Izetta, and the styles for the Germanian characters look a lot more interesting and varied. The action looks nice too. Special mention goes to that section in the OP where Izetta is moving from bullet fire. They even went out of their way to not only get the looks of the weapons and cars right, but they even animated certain moments in the black and white box look reminiscent of that of the actual days of WWII. I wouldn't say the show looks great or amazing, but it's clear that there was some significant effort put into this show.

The music was composed by a newcomer named Michiru, who does a fine job. Many of the vocals are in German, and in certain scenes, they fit perfectly, even if none of the songs are ones I would go out of my way to listen to. Still, its experimental and it works rather well. The OP, "cross the line" by AKINO with bless4, is a satisfying and energetic OP with some tight build-up and several electrifying moments. As good as it is, I'm even more impressed by the ED, "Hikari Aru Basho e" by May'n, who, if you don't know, was the voice for the singing done by Sheryl Nome in Macross F. Here, she delivers a powerful, emotional, and slow-moving song that makes me wish this show was as gripping as its ED. Everything works rather well, except for the dub, which is comprised primarily of newcomers who do a mediocre job. That's the simuldub business for you, but hey, anything to give this show some kind of boost, right? It honest to God needs it.

I'm sure we, the people of this community, will cynically remember this in the same way we did with Kabaneri only 6 months before. Only this time, even less of us cared in the first place. In the fires of the show's train wreck path, we can only grieve at what could've been. An interesting first half that led into a stupid yet equally by the numbers second half that only served to make the first half's flaws more apparent. It mostly felt like a love letter to World War II, but that's all this show was good for. Even then, they stopped doing interesting things with that by the second half, so there's nothing I can latch onto in order to recommend this show to anyone.

Shuumatsu no Izetta is an anime from late last year. It was written by Yoshino Hiroyuki who did some work for Code Geass & Kuroshitsuji. He also wrote the anime adaptation for Dance in the Vampire Bund, which was pretty dreadful. The studio behind it was Ajia-Do, which I remember from Magic Tree House. So, with this staff the series could go either way. Let's find out how it does, shall we?

Story:

Our narrative is set in an alternative world at the beginning of World War II. Princess Finé of Elystadt is going to the allies to plead for help against the Germanian forces. She ... and her guards are being chased by Germanian soldiers when she spots a strange capsule on the train. She tries to open it but the Germanians find her before she can. She and her guards manage to escape, but she's taken prisoner after reaching the Britannian minister. She's taken aboard a plane with the mysterious capsule when it opens, revealing a young red-haired girl who Finé knows very well, Izetta. Izetta uses her magic to rescue Finé and their struggle against Germania begins.

There are some relatively minor story issues. First off, there are some contrivances. For example, there's a character who learns a secret because two higher ups in Elystadt's military are discussing it outside where anyone could overhear them. Surely, they are strategic masterminds. There's another case where a Germanian spy happens to make friends with a couple of supporting characters who he randomly encounters without knowing who they are and he makes friends with them in a very short time just to try and make a confrontation betwixt him and one of them more dramatic. It doesn't really work. The length is also a bit of an issue. There are some really good ideas that really could have used more time to be properly fleshed out. The secret of Elystadt's original White Witch, the death of Finé's father very early on, the political gambits that Finé takes to try and save her nation. Frankly, there are enough ideas here that the series could have been twenty six episodes without ever feeling like it was dragging and the pacing wouldn't have had to be so rushed.

That being said, when you factor in the time constraints, the series is really well written. It has strong sources of tension that get explained as well as one could reasonably expect them to be in a twelve episode series. The series is good at touching on all the beats that it needs to, even when there are ones that could have benefited from greater extrapolation. I also appreciate that every plot point comes into play. There's a scene where a certain character dies for the sake of a state secret and it doesn't seem like it's going to be important but then it comes into play for two different plot points later. The way the series brings propaganda into play is superbly handled. It's certainly a series that keeps you engrossed with every episode ending in a way that makes you curious about what comes next.

Characters:

The characters are the biggest strength of the series. Most of the supporting characters are well enough fleshed out to have verisimilitude. Which adds gravity to the situations. Sophie is a compelling character, particularly when you learn the truth behind her hatred of Elystadt. The best part of the characters, however, is Izetta & Finé's relationship. It is expertly handled with a strong back story to illustrate how they got to the point they're at when we first see them in the series and with a good degree of development over the course of the series. They're both strongly fleshed out characters and having a very powerful dynamic only serves to highlight their best, and in a few cases worst, qualities thanks to the ways they interact with one another.

Art:

The artwork in this is largely excellent. The backgrounds are quite lovely and there's clearly a lot of work put into the various military gear, outfits and animation. The one complaint I have with the artwork is that some of the scenes cross the line into crass fan-service. Which can be distracting when they're trying to have a serious scene.

Sound:

The entire vocal cast does well. There aren't any weak links in that regard. The strongest performances come from Akaneya Himika & Hayami Saori. The two of them really manage to sell the chemistry between their characters. Amamiya Sora is also really good in this. We can thank Michiru for the music. Which is excellent.

Ho-yay:

There's a lot in this series. This is one of those anime that's technically not shoujo-ai, but might as well have been. There are a lot of scenes where the artwork and atmosphere give the impression that Finé and Izetta are going to start passionately snogging and then the scene will have to shift before the rating goes all the way up to Rx. Finé cross dresses at one point, seemingly just so she can dance with Izetta at a party. There are also some indications that Bianca would be interested in turning their relationship into a poly-amorous one and there's a former journalist turned tutor who seems interested in the pair of them as well. There's a maid, Lotte, who seems interested in Izetta. I wonder if these two meet a lot of other women who are interested by coincidence or if Elystadt's royal family just hires a lot of lesbians by design.

Final Thoughts:

Shuumatsu no Izetta certainly has its narrative flaws. It's got its contrivances, it can be somewhat crass with its fan-service and it really would have benefited from a longer run. That being said, there's a lot to like about it. The tension is strong. The characters are nicely fleshed out. The dynamic between our leads is amazing. The artwork largely looks legitimately lovely. The acting and music are strong. As a whole, I found it highly endearing and rather enjoyable. If you're interested in seeing a WW II fiction that factors in magical powers and escapes being classified as shoujo-ai by a minor technicality, this one is for you. For myself, I give it a very respectable 8/10. Next week I've actually got a short request to look at, it's going to be Sakamichi no Apollon.

"The fairy tale of the White Witch who appeared in modern times surely left something inside the hearts of people all over the world."
I could only wish Izetta. I could only wish.

Izetta at first seemed like a love letter to my anime taste. Beautiful girls flying on guns, flipping tanks and piercing planes with giant swords. What's not to love?
A lot apparently.

*Quick side note: I watched this as it was airing, if that changes anything.*


Story: 4
This is the biggest downfall of Izetta. The first few episodes were absolutely fantastic for me. They set up the alternative World War II setting well, introduced the main cast, ... that looked unique at first glance, showcased some kick ass action and more. However, as soon as the battle started to calm down, I felt as if the writers didn't know what to do. The SOL moments were okay, but the "battle of wits" between people at the side of Elystadt and Germania was straight up butchered. Each action they took was a bit too predictable. I refuse to believe that Germanians had only one smart person on their side, that could figure Izetta out. I refuse to believe that a secret place hidden under a castle had a secret passage the whole time, that just randomly opened when someone needed to escape. Finally, I absolutely refuse to believe that Elystadt didn't expect to be crushed just because of some wins, even if important from a strategic point of view. This is not how war works. No matter if magic exists or not, there are always a ton of people that have to work on every detail, but here we have only a handful. Another big problem I had, was the introduction of the main threat way too late into the show. I am not a fan of that decision to say the very least. The story does end nicely, but there are still some stories that were not completed. The last few scenes showed that there could be a special episode or something like that coming up.
With all the bad stuff out of the way, there were some cool ideas in there. There was a lot of creative directing in each action scene, groups of guerrillas attacking from the forest looked believable (for the short time that we saw them), the media propaganda was used nicely, the setting was explored well and the relations between witches and normal humans were really interesting. Unfortunately that can't fix all the problems I had with the rest of the shows story.
Long story short, the writing flopped way too fast, way too hard.

Art and Animation: 9
The most surprising thing about the show is how good it looks. The Ajia-Do studio wasn't well known before making Izetta, so that makes their achievement even more outstanding. This series looks gorgeous. Every character design, while a bit more moe than I expected, fits. Some scenes, especially the more SOL oriented ones, get a bit less care, and you can spot some mistakes, but dear Lord, the action scenes look fantastic. Every scene from each bigger battle is handled in a great way. I don't have many complaints here.

Sound: 7
It's fine. Nothing spectacular, but it fits the specified time period and can get you hyped or put you in a pensive mood when it needs to. Bonus point for the opening, both visually and on the music side. I liked it, but music is of course subjective. The seiyuus do their job well too. Berckmann sounds like an asshole, Izetta sounds like a lost girl, and Fine sounds like a strong princess. Good stuff.

Characters: 5.5
At a first glance the cast looks unique enough. A witch in a World War II setting? Sounds good. An all female princess guard? Seems interesting. A smart Germanian to rival the princess? Looks promising.
Unfortunately most of them flopped like a bunch of old pancakes.
Izetta was ineresting to the very end, I thought she would get more development and new motivations other then "I love you Fine-samaaaa", but she wasn't a bad MC. Fine on the other hand was. She seemed to be a strong, independant princess, but she ended up only playing a minor role. Everything was done for her, she was mostly there just to represent her country. However, I have to mention that she risked her life on numerous occasions for the good of her country, so there's that. When it comes to the sides, they just... didn't work. They try to contrast characters or have a random romance pushed in, none of that made much sense and their development was rushed. Their actions didn't have important repercussions on themselves or anything else. I have to admit though, while they were all simple characters that were a bit dumb at times, I liked them. I couldn't say that I didn't. They had strong love for their duty and their homeland. They didn't do their job well enough though, thus I consider this score appropriate.

Enjoyment: 8
For the first few weeks, this was my favourite anime of the season. The action scenes were full of hype and the story looked promising. In the end I did like the characters, I was satisfied with the ending and I am glad that I watched it. I will remeber it fondly, because there were a lot of ideas that I personally liked. I haven't watched any World War II anime before, so I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, but also incredibly sad by how much it disappointed me later. With all that, I can say that at the very least I cared about the characters and the story. I wanted to see how it will end and ultimately, the positive feelings outweighed the negative ones, mostly thanks to the awesome action.

Overall: 6
A low 6 at that. There were some moments where I wanted to pull my hair out because of how stupid I found some episodes, but there were also moments where I grinned like an idiot after all the awesome fights. This show wasn't good for me, but I still embraced what it gave me. Thank you Shuumatsu no Izetta for teaching me not to get hyped for a show after a few good episodes and showing me some of the most awesome scenes of the year. It was a bumpy ride, but I think I can reccomend this to someone who will think that this looks interesting, but be cautious. It may disappoint you much more then it disappointed me.

Of course this is purely my opinion, and I reccomend you to develop your own.

I'm not yet finished with the show but I am a good half way or more into it. I like it a lot.

The problem with so many of the harsher critiques is that they don't seem to know how to just enjoy things. If I wanted to I could critique this series down to the point that it becomes not worth watching even if nothing else was on. I could do that to any show.

The main character Izetta is a witch in this WWII era. This is fine because it is NOT some moe magical girl transformation cliche.

Perhaps I'm just a hopeless ... simpleton, but what I see when I watch this is a cool World War era time period with all the trimmings; tanks, planes and soldiers. You have a cliche plot line of one kingdom/territory invading another. The only difference here is this witch who is fighting for the losing side. She has magic powers that even come with an explanation as to how they work and what her limitations are.

I mean come on, she flies on a giant rifle. How cool is that?
And the best part of all is that it's not clogged up with pointless ecchi filler like Infinite Stratos is.

I've always personally been a fan of good historical fantasies, so when I first caught wind of Izetta: The Last Witch, the premise and setting intrigued me enough to give it a shot. However, although I was initially quite impressed with this anime, that quickly began to change as the series went on...

So, for a quick overview of the story (while intentionally leaving the details ambiguous): You have Germania, a large country with vast military might, baring it's fangs at the small country of Elystadt. Just when things are seeming to take a turn for the worst in the conflict between these two countries, a ... witch (the last surviving one, no less) turns the tide of battle. The witch in question, Izetta, seems unmatched and wins a number of battles against the Germanians. Of course, the happy times must always come to an end, as Izetta meets her rival, the only one capable of matching her strength.

And now for my criticisms:

Story:

The story is frankly unimaginative and predictable. The events in the story unfolded much as you'd expect from any run of the mill fantasy story. Even the plot twists are fairly anti-climactic and expected, in that, they serve to further the story in the most predictable and convenient way possible. This makes them obvious to foresee, especially since they're spun using pre-existing story elements (they're not just grabbed out of thin air, nor do they introduce anything new to the story besides some tidbits of exposition).

With that issue aside, what I disliked most about the story is that, the actual world and the vast majority of it's characters are not even expanded upon at all, apart from Izetta and Ortfine. There are plenty of side characters that, at first glance, seem to have a unique personality and their own agendas that you'd believe would contribute to the story in some major way. However, this is not the case. Many of the characters aren't utilized to their fullest, or really, not even any at all. For lack of a better word, they are wasted potential. World building in this anime is also pretty terrible. Essentially, since all the countries are placeholders for modern day countries (France, Germany, the United States), and since the major conflict in this series is basically just a fictional World War I, I suppose that's supposed to suffice for any sort of explanation about the current state of world events in the time this series takes place, or of the different cultures and societies that dwell within these countries. The world is just very bland and colorless. Why go through the trouble of symbolizing real world countries when your not even going to bother giving these countries any kind of identity to distinguish themselves from one another?

Characters:

I'm just going to come right out and say it. The only real characters that receive any development are Ortfine and Izetta. Apart from that, pretty much all of the other characters are stagnant and have very little value or impact on the story. Even then, Ortine and Izetta are far from being complex characters, they're very two dimensional. Izetta is your average shy, subservient, and caring girl that lives only to make her best friend (Ortfine) happy, that might as well be her sole reason for existing. Ortfine is essentially just an embodiment of her own ideals, namely, justice and responsibility. While they do change somewhat throughout they story, the change is fairly subtle.

There are also multiple sub-plots that were brought up in the story but were never fully expanded upon or explained. For example, in one episode, the writers created what I can only describe as an "implied romance" between two characters that had just met. In this episode, these two characters had met for the first time, which is clearly not enough time to develop a romantic relationship, nor enough time to inspire any kind of feelings for said relationship in the audience. However, by the end of the episode, it's implied that they suddenly have deep feelings for one another. I won't spoil the rest, but their relationship ended on the same episode that it began. Pretty poor writing, perhaps?

There's also instances where it's implied that two characters know each other and may even share a history, yet it's never even touched upon or explained. Once again, I'm not sure why the writers even bothered to make the effort if they were just going to introduce the idea and leave it hanging.

Sound, Art, and Animation:

Despite my problems with just about every other aspect of Izetta, I actually found the OST to be fairly enjoyable. It uses a few different orchestral scores which I found pleasurable, as they matched the setting and tone of the story quite well. The opening and endings songs were also done quite well. While I doubt I'd listen to them again, they were good enough for me not to skip through.

The animation was...well, it was good for the first handful of episodes, but slowly started to taper off in quality near the end (which can be seen in the abundance of off model shots during the last few episodes). The only parts in the anime where it's animation was better than average was during the few battle scenes, which actually made the fight scenes/battles fairly enjoyable to watch.

In general, I found the art to be pretty good, for the most part. Some of the landscapes and nature scenes in this anime are quite gorgeous, although not extremely detailed. The character designs are good, although it would've been nice to see some more variation, especially in regard to the different country's representatives (since they all look the same it's difficult to tell their ethnicity).

My personal enjoyment of this series only began to wane more and more with every episode that was released. Eventually to the point where watching the last few remaining episodes felt more like a drag than anything else. The only reason I continued to watch this was because, when I seriously questioned whether or not to drop the series, I was only a few episodes away from finishing it and couldn't find a reason to drop it after getting that far in.

Although I initially had high hopes for this anime, It's poor excuse for a story and lackluster characters completely ruined it for me. Perhaps if I could "turn my brain off", I could enjoy it for the mediocre historical fantasy that it is, but alas, I have yet to find that elusive off switch that I've heard so much about. Until then, I give Izetta: The Last Witch a score of 5/10. While I've personally seen much worse, I'd recommend that you skip this one, as botched series like this one are a dime a dozen.

Shuumatsu no Izetta. An original anime which focuses during the time of world war two interestingly enough, witches also exists in that era. If that doesn't speak your interest... Well I have no words.

Story:8
The story is probably one of the high points of this series, as it features a witch out of her time period, yet at the same time, goes to show that it's not entirely a bad thing. The story picked up quite well and moved along with a rather moderate and enjoyable pace, but ultimately felt a little rushed in the end.

Art:9
Not much to say about the art except, ... HOLY SHIT! The art very very well in my eyes. Sure, there a bit obvious slumps here and there, but the fact that they had a different animator just for the tank mechanics goes to show how through they were.

Sound:9
The OP was decent, and the soundtrack itself was simply astounding. It emphasized the scenes and gave them a better to them.

Overall: 7
Overall this was a decent anime, definitely above average and something I would recommend to watch over again. You will definitely enjoy it. (Long live the ships as well)

The year is 1939 and as always the Germanian Empire is wreaking havoc all over Europe. (What else would you do in 1939, especially if your country is called Germania?) But when they invade the small alpine nation of Liecht ‒ I mean Eylstadt ‒ the opposition has a plan: to defeat them with... magic. And by magic, I mean the titular witch Izetta, flying on rifles and destroying tanks by launching swords and so on.

So let me ask a question here: is anyone actually interested in Nazis as the antagonists? (Oh, I'm sorry, not Nazis. I mean imperial Germans who happen to yell "Sieg ... Reich!" and put up propaganda posters.) Actually, let me put it a bit differently: is anyone really interested in a black-and-white war story against a generic expansionist militaristic country? Because that's what we're getting here. Oh, don't get me wrong, it could be a lot worse. A few of the Germanian characters seem at least remotely human. But still, what I'm mostly seeing is working for the glory of the fatherland and the emperor (and furthering their own careers in the process, I guess).

The show is certainly fond of the idea. The protagonists and antagonists alike are full of selfless sacrifice for their respective countries. In a particularly baffling moment, the "ruthless strategist" character berates a Germanian defector for betraying his fatherland for his own survival. So let me get this straight. If he had done all the dodgy things he did for the fatherland, it would have been fine then? Really?

On the protagonists' side we have Finé: the paragon of courage, duty, self-sacrifice, national pride and all the other alleged virtues. She is always willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. She never lets power get to her head or abuses it in any way. She holds speeches about how the nation is everything and you must fight to protect it, blah blah blah. And on top of all that she is a princess. Hmm, I sure wonder which side we are supposed to root for in this show: the perfect protagonist or the freakin' Nazis?

Meanwhile, Izetta does whatever she can to help her because she is her... friend? No, I'm sorry; nobody would believe that after the tearful eyes, holding hands, dancing, playing around in underwear and the moonlit flight. The show may not admit it, but Finé is her love interest. Izetta is thoroughly defined by her love and has no ambition or interests beyond it. I'm sure an actual personality would only get in the way of fanservice and fight scenes.

Whenever a side character has a bit more personality, they get approximately five seconds of screentime. Good luck getting attached to these people. After all, we are on the clock here. This show is only 12 episodes long, and we need to set aside some time for maid antics, eating cake and comparing boob sizes. Establishing character motivation? Logical plot progression? World-building? Who needs these?

By the way, character motivations are a major problem here. For instance, the antagonistic witch has a great motive: a revenge plot where she takes revenge on a bunch of innocent bystanders. How compelling. And then there's this one character who defects after getting backstabbed for no clear reason... offscreen. What happened? Am I supposed to make a blind guess here? The show also ends with a hasty clipshow and various copouts. At that point, they probably thought it was already a trainwreck and couldn't be bothered.

There is some novelty value in a "what if" story where a witch is wrecking tanks and planes, but you should actually do something with the idea. It's not like it would have been hard to have a more engaging plot: what if their good intentions go overboard and their cult of personality goes to their heads? How about showing that the other countries also have their own problems instead of everything being the Germanians' fault? How about some internal conflict between the protagonists? Or make it a parody or something; there is more than enough material here.

But nope, just got to beat those wacky Nazis for the hundredth time. Barely anyone has interesting motivation in this show. We don't even learn about the history behind the war. Why are the Germanians on a rampage? I mean, I get it, they are an expansionist militaristic country, but why did things turn out that way? Wars don't happen in a vacuum. Could we maybe get some historial context here? Some world-building? No? Is the war going on literally only because it's 1939?

The crowning moment of this show is when a Germanian officer enters into a rant to berate the character who prioritizes his own survival. Just listen:
"I had brothers-in-arms, too. People who fought and died for what they loved! That ‒ being able to do that ‒ is what makes you human! He believed in you! He believed you were fighting for the fatherland!"

The presentation in the narrative is clearly on this guy's side. So you're talking about noble causes and the example you give is... waging expansionist war and slaughtering and oppressing countless innocent people for the glory of the fatherland? Whereas the real bad guys are the people defecting from this over-the-top evil empire when their life it at risk?

Great aesop there. You really nailed it.
*slow clap*

In a world where you see mediocre animus receive an 8 all the time, here we have an anime which is criminally underrated.

I don't know what kind of Atlantian evil plot to downrate this anime is happening but it deserves at the very least a 9.

Apparently, some "critiques" were expecting not see magic in an anime about a witch?

Truth is, both the political and the military theme fill their spaces fully well and are the real protagonists of the show, were the magical setting and characters as well explored as in FMA (which I am certain would happen with more running time), Shuumatsu no ... Izetta could very well be FMA's spiritual successor.

The plot is great, well made and clear, full of good moments and fantastic details (Jonas getting scared of the shadow at the beginning of the anime and then what happens to him later were more than enough proof to realise the director knew what he was doing). Maybe some people were expecting it to be complicated enough for them not to understand and then consider this anime a pseudo-cult classic and proceed to give it a 9.

The art is brilliant, it's not perfect but it's definitely in the top 5%. Character art is consistent during 99% of the show, which is incredible. Some scenes definitely deserve a 10 though. Even the 3DCGI used is good and make some really good shots sometimes.

The soundtrack is spectacular, both the ending and the opening are also top tier. After the art, the sound was first thing that caught my attention already in the first few minutes of the pilot.

Regarding the pilot, it's one of the best pilots I've ever seen in every aspect.

It was very enjoyable from the beginning to the end.

Izetta: The Last Witch is a rather straightforward series, which as far as I can tell was released to a good deal of interest which then petered out. Personally, I am pretty big on historical and alternate historical settings and shows which utilize them, and I like magical girl shows, so throwing them together into a blender is a good way to get me interested in the show, and at twelve episodes, it wasn't a very big commitment.

Taking place in an alternate World War II, Izetta is focused almost entirely on the small fictious country of Eylstadt, which borders the Germanian Empire (...Germany) and the ... Romulus Federation (Basically Italy), and so they end up getting war declared on them by the Germanians to be able to better move with their allies. Being a small nation, they would normally be pretty boned...were it not for the last known witch in the world, Izetta, who was being secretly smuggled into Germania to study her (and, well, for some more reasons), which throws a whole wrench into things when Princess Ortfiné Fredericka von Eylstadt (...We'll go with what everyone else calls her in the show, Fine) is trying to escape Germanian capture and happens upon her, then later is kept with her on the way to Germania...because, you see, Izetta and Fine have a past together, enough to awaken the witch!

The start of the series is ultimately pretty simple, albeit well enough put together, where Izetta's witchly powers (which, by the way, look really cool) are used to defend the kingdom against overwhelming odds...and also a lot of yuri, of course. While the plot of the series is pretty standard at the start, the Germanians trying to find out Izetta's powers and weaknesses against the main characters trying to work around things like her limited range and some spying plot is enough to carry it well enough. Around the halfway point, the plot begins to get a good deal complex, and I would actuall say the latter half of the series is more of what I was hoping for: More of a look at what happens when a magical girl style of magic meets with a real world war and technology scenario, political plays and spy work and so on.

Dipping into characters, the two main characters are the aforementioned Izetta and Fine. Izetta is not a particularly complex character, and while fun enough, she really could have used a bit more depth to her character and I don't think it would have been too hard to give it to her, such as some more reflection on, you know, all the stuff she is doing in WAR for Fine and so on. Fine is the more interesting of the two, a young ruler thrust into a difficult situation and forced to make tough choices, and while it isn't explored to a particularly deep degree, it does allow her some stronger character moments and is at least fairly interesting, being a stronger character driver than Izetta, although the show is a bit...light in this regard, and so I did not feel it was handled as well as it could.

Something I wish had changed with the show is that the show, rather obviously and something everyone would know who has been paying attention to this show's description on anime sites or promotional material, pretty obviously plays Izetta and Fine as having lesbian moments with each other. As someone who naturally enjoys yuri moments, this is appealing to me, but like many of the shows it doesn't turn into an actual romance, which is pretty disappointing. I felt it was especially disappointing here, as not only does the show play it pretty heavily, but I feel it would better tie together Izetta and Fine's characters, as how they see each other and what they will do for each other is an important part of the show, and frankly it feels totally ripe for a romantic upgrade from friends...in fact, Episode 11 has a perfect moment for this, and while the show may trick you for a moment to think it has happened, it ultimately cops out with an open ending instead of a solid one, and to me it ends up making it feel like this plot line does not resolve in a satisfactory way.

The other characters are more interesting to me. Berkman is not an especially memorable antagonist, but he is played in an interesting enough way and his very self-centric viewpoint ends up being in very interesting context and contrast to essentially every other character in the show, making him more standout and unique. Sieg is probably the most interesting character in the show, with earlier moments that might seem a bit confusing at the start end up slotting into place when backstory is revealed, and ultimately makes him feel like a more deep character than most of the others, although the last stuff he does feels kinda out of place. There's also more minor characters who come in and out and I won't go into all of them, but they tend to have some of the more interesting/different moments in the show.

Both the plot and the characters are a bit basic overall, though, and I wish that the show focused more on the second half's styling, as one thing I wasn't super happy about with this show is that I feel the integration of technology and magic could have been better done. Izetta's gun-broom is AWESOME and I love the idea and I do like how her powers feel both analogous to various real life military units and cleverly tied in. But the politics of it, the fighting aside from Izetta, and so on is rather lacking, and would have been more interesting had the tone of the second half been spread more through it, as the tone is oddly two-faced to it even if it never really goes dark but instead more serious. While I did like the second half, the last episode left me very divided, especially in how it messes with how one might imagine the world, although I did like the villain of the end.

Going into the animation and sound, the animation is actually really pretty, with Izetta popping off as vibrant and managing to make surprisingly realistic styled character designs soft and interesting, which helps make Izetta stand out more among them. Stuff like Izetta's riding of her gun-as-broom looks pretty cool and some of the scenes with the magic are quite lovely. One issue the show sometimes has is in some iffy CGI, most apparently in the last episode but at times seen before. This keeps it as a pretty and high end animation, but far from the best. Sound-wise the opening, Cross the Line, is REALLY standout and something I could listen to all the time. The sound effect of things like the planes and so on are very nice...but while the OP is good, the ED is forgettable, and it has some good music, but nothing which can be compared to the best around, so I leave it as good but not amazing.

Overall, Izetta is not a show that will amaze you, and if you seek a show with a deep exploration of a premise, you'll probably end up ultimately disappointed. If you want something which can give a more minor level of depth, really nice animation, and enough character and plot to keep one interested until the end, you'll probably fine Izetta enjoyable. The second half helped prop it up for me, and there is enough here that I was ultimately left with a positive view of the series...but not a very long lasting one.

World War 2 themed anime is always entertaining to watch. Shuumatsu no Izetta however brings some unique addition to the whole war historical war theme; by adding elements of magic. It is actually rather cool to see a witch riding a huge tank-busting rifle instead of your typical broom into battle. This anime deliver good, enjoyable story till the end, but there are so many wasted potential that prevented it from being a true masterpiece.

The plot of Shuumatsu no Izetta is a linear one. A princess befriended a powerful witch that could help defend her home country in the midst of war. While everything seems ... to be fine, there are bound to be obstacles and conflicts that makes it more interesting. Death and sacrifice is a concurrent theme, and the anime doesn't shy itself for letting several key characters dies. The anime ended in a rather strong and satisfying end, albeit rushed. My biggest complain about the anime is how its should split into 2 cours instead. Character development focused heavily on the two main characters and seems to ignore the other. This is a huge flaw since some of the side characters had a some important roles yet the viewers understanding of their past and motivation is almost null. It had so much potential alas, everything had to be crammed inside a single cour.

The two main characters that mostly took the spotlight are Princess Fine and Izetta. Princess Fine is your ideal image of a ruler, loved by the people and have a strong sense of responsibility to rule and defend the country well. Izetta meanwhile is a rather powerful witch that complement with Fine is a sense that she also want to make sure she become a great ruler, giving Fine her unyielding trust and power. There are no obvious romance that could be elaborated, but the friendship between those two is definitely stepping the boundary of Yuri; not that it is a bad thing.

The art and animation are decent for the most part. The action scene were executed really fluid and well. The portrayal of alternate europe during the World War 2 era is also very detailed; from uniform, to weapons and vehicles. Tanks, airplanes and ship are modelled using CGI, which is really common nowadays. There are little animation issues; while not the best this season to offer it is still a job well done from the studio. Sound is also decent enough. The OP gets the viewer pumped up while the ED leaves a melancholic feel as each episode end.

Shuumatsu no Izetta is one of my top anime this season; which is saying something since this season overall is rather mediocre. It is good and enjoyable to watch, yet it had so much potential that could be exploited if the anime was mad longer instead. While not perfect, it does it job alright.

Izetta has succeeded in becoming my biggest disappointment this season, and possibly, even this year. It initially had everything it needed to succeed: an intriguing premise, serviceable animation, and promising characters. An alternate history exploration of WWII, with magical girls, would have been a fascinating twist to the historical war drama. However, it becomes painfully clear that Ajia-Do either had no idea what they were doing, or they simply did not think this whole thing through well enough.

The animation, while it does have its moments, ranges from relatively average and even sub-par in certain episodes. Some episodes have beautifully animated action sequences, which is something ... I can commend the show for. However, some other episodes will feature poorly done background characters, some even lacking facial features at its worst. The CGI used, mostly for military vehicles and Izetta’s anti-material rifle/broomstick and weapons, is serviceable but nothing truly stands out.

The story is inexcusably sub-par. The whole narrative is built on a mountain of plot conveniences and deus ex machina. Characters and plot devices are shoe-horned into a scene to get things moving, and the plot contrivances are many. The war side of the story is often sidelined in favor of showing Fine and Izetta together. You wanted a show that featured a small country locked in a dance of death and political intrigue with world powers? WELL TOO BAD! You’re either getting episodes of the girls hanging out instead, or episodes of Izetta single-handedly annihilating everything which, in turn, encourages the rest of the good guys to not do much of anything.

The biggest fault in this entire mess are the characters. The female leads,
Izetta and Fine, are two of the biggest Mary Sues I’ve ever seen in an anime, coming close to such characters like Medaka Kurokami of Medaka Box. Izetta is a complete tool with no sense of agency. Fine is somehow a flawless master statesman out of the gate, in which we never see her struggle for most of the time. The villains are laughably cartoonish and two-dimensional. I don’t really need to talk about the rest of the side-cast as they really weren’t characters, and the anime didn’t care about them much either (and don’t even get me started on the “Royal Guard”).

For the vast majority of the anime, these characters, Fine and Izetta especially, all show far too little character development. They don’t really encounter any plot development to precipitate any sort of meaningful change until the very end, and by then, it’s too late for it to matter. You will have stopped caring about them.

The relationship (and heavily implied romance) between Fine and Izetta, a major selling point of this series, is a painfully droll affair that just doesn’t feel like it belongs in the anime all together. It really feels like it competes with the rest of the anime for attention, rather than it enhancing the narrative experience. It’s almost as if this show can’t make up its mind as to what it is, and what kind of experience it wants to tell.

Arguably the most frustrating aspect, is that Ajia-Do forgets that this is an anime that is just as much about WAR as it is about a couple of lesbians. There is so much potential that is wasted to use the unique setting to both shape our protagonists and tell an interesting story. Izetta pretty much murders a small army by shows end, and she never seems affected by the horrific reality of war. You really don’t see Fine really struggle with the reality of running a country at war as a young, new, and inexperienced head of state. Instead, they just keep plodding along as they are. Ajia-Do completely disregarded this psychological element that would have made the story much more compelling.

BOTTOM LINE: I cannot recommend this anime to anyone. It is a production that is too unfocused and fails to make use of the premise’s incredible potential to tell an interesting story.

This anime is an underrated gem that I hope will receive better ratings as time goes on. This has been an anime I can really enjoy.

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Story Score – 8

The story is relatively straightforward. Finé is the only daughter to the Archduke of Elystadt and Izetta is the titular last witch known to walk the earth. Izetta and Finé are childhood friends who after a series of events reencounter each other after being separated for so long. Izetta wishes to do what she can to protect Finé’s country of Elystadt from the Germanian invasion while Finé does what she can to help Izetta anyway she can, ... so Izetta can survive. The chemistry and bond these two share are a driving force of this show, and it is definitely one of the strongest points.

In addition to that, we also get to see some of the behind the scenes things in wars, such as the political, military strategy, and propaganda side. As in the real world, politics in this story can make things quite difficult. I also appreciated that they utilize actual strategy in this story rather than simply have Izetta fight the enemy head on every time. In regards to the propaganda side, it sort of reminded me of “Captain America: The First Avenger,” except Izetta actually showed off her powers against the real enemy rather than trying to sell bonds.

The anime makes pretty good use of foreshadowing, specifically visual foreshadowing. A little more than I think some people might give it credit for. These are just some instances, so I’m sure there are plenty more.

During the first episode, we see what appears to be magical energy flowing towards Izetta during the flashback scene and when she is awakening. In episodes two and three, it establishes that there appear to not only be limits to Izetta’s powers but fluctuations to it as well. Those signs firmly foreshadow the revelation Izetta’s power doesn’t come from within but from the magical energy in ley lines outside. As Izetta explains in the fourth episode, she can only tap into her magical abilities if there are ley lines, but if there aren’t any, she is more or less a normal human.

I’ve seen some people complain about the use of spies in this story, but I think some people don’t realize that the spies were foreshadowed from the very first sequence. In the first episode, the Germanains were aware of Finé being on the train. That alone foreshadows there were most likely spies in Elystadt. Additionally, one of the smug Germanain officers who holds a gun to Finé’s head in the first episode, brags about the Germanian spy network. He obviously wasn’t lying about it. Since Germania was planning on invading multiple nations, I would be surprised if Germania sent out spies into every country as sleeper agents. It would explain why they were effective in taking care of some of them. Not to mention, making use of spies has been a valid tactic that countries have used for a very long time.

One type of foreshadowing that might go into spoiler territory would be one that foreshadows a certain character’s fate. During battle, one character sees one of his fellow soldiers die in some manner and he eventually suffers the same fate. It is due to that sneak foreshadowing that I think certain other characters fates for the end of the series have been foreshadowed as well, and we might look back on certain scenes with a ‘harsher in hindsight’ look.

There is also a very noticeable foreshadowing regarding the ending of Izetta. I won't go into details about it, but I think in hindsight, it visually gave us a pretty decent explanation for why certain things ended the way it did. It is one of those endings when you look back on it, it seems much better than you initially thought. Izetta really does a much better job with visual foreshadowing than some people give the series credit for.

There are a few instances where there is some fanservice that seem a little out of place. While I don’t really have an issue with it, I can understand why some people do. However, the fanservice scenes are usually pretty tame or relatively short. At worse they are a minor annoyance.

Additionally, due to this being a twelve episode series, I feel like it prevented Izetta from being able to fully explore its potential. At the end of Episode 8, it set things up for at least two major plotlines that would have been awesome to explore. While one of those plotlines were utilized and the other was regulated to the side, I think it would have been far better for the series to have had the episodes to fully utilize both those plotlines. Additionally, I think we could have had more episodes of Izetta fighting various Germanian units if we had more time.

Basically, I think this is an unfortunate case of the current climate of the anime industry. It is likely the anime company wouldn't have been able to get more episodes than 12, and they had to decide from the start to end it with just one cour. They did a great job with what they had, but it would have been even better if they could have gotten more.

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Character Score – 8

The main characters of this anime are Izetta and Finé. These two prove in the first two episodes alone that they are capable, likable, and strong female protagonists that you want to root for. They maintain that likability throughout the series. The chemistry between the two is wonderful. The two characters consistently carry the series throughout the twelve episode run.

In the first episode, Finé takes the center stage, and she establishes herself as being pretty intelligent. During the train sequence, she doesn’t solely focus on her bodyguards to protect her nor is she one of those whiny royal brats who says she doesn’t need help. Instead, she works with her bodyguards, and she ultimately figures out how they initially escape. Finé also proves to be quite political and understands her place as a princess. She is ready and willing to put everything on the table to protect her people, including offering herself for a political marriage.

Izetta proves herself to be a wonderful protagonist to root for as well. Her loyalty towards Finé is understandable considering what Finé did for Izetta as a child. Izetta’s powers as mentioned before are great, but she is not invincible. What I like is that while Izetta is loyal to Finé and Finé clearly has the stronger personality of the two, Izetta isn’t completely dependent on her either. Izetta is capable of making her own decisions.

Decisions that Finé and Izetta make during the series have been perfectly inline for their characters. For example, when Finé originally doesn’t want Izetta to help her fight Germania, I realized this was fitting for the characterization the first episode established. Finé proved to have a political mind and tries to think in the long term, such as making sure there were possible heirs for the throne before offering herself up for a political marriage. She understood that if Izetta used her power it would expose her existence to the world and not just Germania and Elystadt. Getting involved could very well put a target on the back of Izetta’s head both during and after the war. After Izetta makes her decision, Finé respects the decision and does her best to help Izetta anyway she can.

Izetta actually does go through some character development in the series. It is subtle, but it is there. Izetta has major self-worth issues at the beginning of the series, but they seem to lessen a little as it goes on. She also proves to be quite assertive at time as well. Although, I’m sure it is mostly due to her feeling useful. Izetta was also somewhat nervous when talking to people or being introduced to new people. However, she does seem slightly more comfortable around people, and she is less nervous talking to new people as shown in Episode Seven. She also has a major moment in Episode Eleven that is very satisfying, but I won't go into details about because it'd be too spoilery.

As mentioned before, I love the bond between Izetta and Finé. I consider it a highlight of the series. Personally, with all the moments they share, I hope they become romantically involved. It seems like they should, and it feels like it too. They have so much chemistry that I've been a shipper for these two from the very start.

In regards to supporting characters, certain criticisms about the supporting characters lacking development does have some merit. We are introduced to a decent number of supporting characters in the first few episodes. Their personalities do receive some characterization, but we don’t learn too much about them. They seem likable, but they lack the development or characterization that makes me want to care about them like I care about Izetta or Finé. While I do wish they developed the supporting cast more, I suppose having strong main characters that don’t aren’t overshadowed by others is fine with me. However, there are still some standouts for the supporting cast.

For the first few episodes, I found Seig to be the most interesting supporting character because of his character development, his logical thinking, and his willingness to engage in morally questionable activity. While he did do a major slip up in Episode 5, I believe he did make up for it rather quickly. Additionally, the fact he showed some regret for his morally questionable activity does show some dimension to the character. The later episodes develop his character further, and we can really see the similarities and contrasts between him and Berkman.

Of the antagonists, Berkman does prove to be relatively interesting. Rather than having people say he is intelligent, he proves to be intelligent. Through logic and noticing clues, he is capable of piecing together a fair number of things, namely as a potential weakness in Izetta’s power. I do appreciate having an antagonist who is intelligent, and there are valid reasons for him to come to his conclusions. Similar to Seig, he does extremely morally questionable things, but unlike Seig, he seems to enjoy them a little. We also learn that while Seig and him are very similar, there are more than a few differences between them due to who they truly are in the inside.

Episodes Seven and Eight do seem to partly address the issues regarding a lack of development in the supporting cast. During the seventh episode, we get introduced to a new supporting character Gromon, who quickly establishes himself as a character that fans can like. The fact he seems like a shipper for Izetta and Finé helps. Despite being a one episode wonder, he proves to be far more useful to Izetta than a majority of the other characters have been over the series.

In Episode Seven, there is a scene with Bassler and Rickert playing poker with other Germanian soldiers. Personally, I like that we got a scene with characters on the antagonist side doing something other than planning and preparing for war related activities. It shows some humanization on the Germanians similar to how we’ve seen characters on the protagonist side having downtime. It also further establishes the Germanians aren’t simply evil. They can have similarities to the protagonists, but they happen to be on opposite sides.

The eighth episode provides us with a day in the limelight for a few supporting characters as well with them taking more of the center stage while Izetta and Finé are more on the side. I liked how the plot can progress without their direct involvement or in some cases the plot progressed because of their earlier actions. Anyway, I found that episode enjoyable because it felt like things that have been building up are paying off.

During the concluding episodes of the series, we get to see a few other characters make major contributions to the plot as well and/or interact more with the main characters. I'm glad we got to see some more development and fleshing out for the supporting characters toward the end. However, I think it would have been done much better if we had more episodes to allow them to be fleshed out.

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Art Score – 10

Personally, I found the art style to be very appealing back from the promotional artwork and the previews. The series proper doesn’t disappoint. The opening and ending themes have great artwork. The characters generally are well designed and appealing. They do a fine job animating the environment and the action sequences. The final battle was very well done.

While there have been some potential weaknesses in the artwork, I do believe that will be taken care of in the Blu-ray. That seems to be the general practice to improve the artwork in the Blu-ray release of anime.

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Sound Score – 10

The music for the opening, ending, and OST are great. They are very fitting for the scenes and atmosphere of the series. The voice acting for the original Japanese cast along with the English dub produced by Funimation have been fitting for their voices. While the Japanese version seems to have better voice acting, I think the English voice actors do a stellar job. Additionally, I’ve noticed some slight script alterations between the Japanese version and the English dub, and I actually think the localization team did a good job changing certain things to make them sound better.

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Enjoyment Score – 10

During the series run, I’ve watched every episode in both English sub and English dub format shortly after it has become available. I remember how I would always look forward to the next episode every Saturday. I was saddened when the show came to an end, but I'm glad it had a relatively conclusive ending. I hope others will enjoy it as well. As I stated, I think this series is underrated, and I hope there will be some vindication overtime.

To be honest I didn't know what to expect from this series, however as I kept watching the series became more and more enjoyable.

The characters are likable and the story was solid. It kept coming back to the theme of war and how Germania was invading their country.

The soundtrack and background music was amazing, the entrance for Izetta was amazingly executed and you could tell that she was a changing factor in battles.

The characters were well presented at the start which kept me interested in watching more and seeing how they would develop throughout the series. I loved the bond the main heroines had ... and you could clearly tell how much they cared for each other which made me want to see more of them.

The soundtrack also showed how holy and godlike the witches are.

Overall I really enjoyed this anime from start to finish.

Shuumatsu no Izetta is a pretty anime with an even prettier main character. Izetta is the last witch in a tiny little kingdom during an alternate WWII, helping her princess fight the invading Germanian forces.

The episodes are rather fast paced, and there isn't much explanations, especially in the first 2-3 episodes. However the character development is quite good and gives even the background characters some backstory and you want to root for them, tragic as it may be. (I'm looking at you, Jonas.) There is a-lot of light-hearted moments during the anime that are for a nice lap, and the character of the Archduchess Fine ... is cute in her mannerisms, despite how 'stately' she has to be. Episodes often end in cliff-hanger moments which make me want to goto the next episode almost immediately. So I considered that as a huge plus. However towards the ending the timeframe of the war gets skewed alot and could be a bit better and there is a bit of a Deus Ex Machina, although it was well planned/made to fit into the story itself.

I did throughly enjoy the concept of magic and how it's made/played out. However a latter element does seem to have an overpowered enemy, but the final battle should've been played out a decent bit more.

The characters are very loveable, especially the Archduchess and Izetta (my favorite.) They're also rather well endowed, or most of them, anyways. However my favourite part of the cast is one of the background characters who I was constantly rooting for. The enemy's side had a lot of confusing and contradicting stories at first, but were mostly explained later. There are/were still some unresolved/confusing elements at the end of the anime I had questions about on the technicality of it. I like the dialogue at times too and the concept of the truth behind fairy tails was a nice way of advancing the plot.

Music was good, and well made, especially the intro and I loved it. Ending credits could use some better music however.

In the end I found that the anime was very enjoyable and had a good mix of magic and realism, and if you ignore the glaring issues with plot and episode/time frame speed, it was a very nice watch with a cute end. Overall the ending could use more work, but was still nicely done.

Overall 8/10 anime, and I might rewatch it sometime, or at least some episodes from it.