Majo no Tabitabi

So, i found this anime randomly and searched for some reviews about it and a lot of people said it was bad or the protagonist was too much cold and in a way self-centered, not interested in what happens around her (about people and the world itself).

I have to say, i really liked it: 1) animation was incredibly good, all the countries were depicted so well; 2) op/ed/osts incredibly good, also in THAT ep.9 at the end; 3) anime itself: the pace i have to say that tbh the timeskip of 6 months randomly in the first ep was "too much", like i get the ... 12 eps limit etc. but it was, for me, excessive but other than that i find it good with no issues; 4) Elaina's character: i have to say somethings about this > 1) i liked it but i was a little bit "saturated" from her being too much cold and careless about everything and everyone sometimes. At the same time i was happy to see her "vulnerable side" with Fran-sensei and at the end of ep.9. That ep. was incredibly good and well made.

So, a part from the character itself of Elaina, this was a really good anime and i liked it a lot, also i hope in a S2.

I'm not quite sure who the audience for this show was meant to be.

If you like cute stories about girls adorably bumbling through life and growing up along the way, you will find parts of it excessively dark and unsettling. If you prefer darker themes, for the most part, you will find the story boring and the characters annoying.

I do not think all of the episodes are in chronological order, either, so sometimes the main character will say she is eighteen, and then later in the series say that she is seventeen. But it isn't too confusing aside from that, as most of the episodes ... have their own story to tell.

The animation is really pleasant. I liked it a lot. The music was fun.

I would recommend this show if you're looking for something to watch around Halloween, and you aren't too picky about what.

[JP, rare case where Crunchyroll has better subs than the fansub (GJM-Kaleido) which is overlocalized. Most episodes of the bluray require shifting the tracks by 9 seconds]

Conclusion: It is boring. The protagonist is a self-absorbed bitch in an unentertaining way. You will doubt my claims, watch the first episode, become confident I am wrong, and realize your mistake later.

The way this is directed and put together makes the MC vary from uninteresting to insufferable. Unlike Kino, the observer of stories from Kino no Tabi, or Ginko, the resolver of stories from Mushishi, this character is the protagonist of stories, all the stories. Thanks to a ... plot device it is confirmed so far as the story is concerned this protagonist is pure hearted. Yet thanks to dialogue/plot later it is confirmed she really is a self absorbed bitch and very much aware of it. Such traits on their own are not bad things. It turns into a problem because the appeal of such a traveler story comes from the journey and the destinations, but most of her monologues are describing herself.

With the exception of Saya and a collection of grape enthusiasts the character interactions suck. Those specifically feel like the laziness of cheap isekai adaptations. Underneath the poor direction is an abundance of interesting things left unused and wasted, making for an aggravating watch especially in the final episode. In addition there is no journey in of itself; the MC just pops up here or there, adding to the boredom. Most locations are visually indistinct so as to feel like the other side of town.

Took off an extra point for replacing panties with an inexplicable black hole in the blurays (ep1, 11:10).