Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte

This anime seems to have quite poor reviews, but I honestly really, really loved it. The whole show is really funny, and it doesn't seem to be very plot-driven, but rather character-driven, so if you're like me and dislike plot-heavy stuff I really recommend this anime!!
The main character, Komugi, is SO freaking adorable. Her character design is so cute.
As previously mentioned I feel like this show is really driven more by the characters themselves than the plot. But if you like shows that have a strong plot then maybe give this one a miss.
The only complaint that I personally have about the show is that ... there's a bit of fanservice. I found myself hitting the fast-forward button once or twice in each episode due to those scenes.

The picture should be a dead giveaway of what you're getting yourself into: bunny ears, nurse outfits, and lots of pink. It's fanservice and jokes, their was never any depth intended, and anyone taking this show seriously is a fool.

Nurse Witch Komugi is a parody-laden romp laced with sight gags, slapstick and sheer randomness. And like Excel Saga it works pretty well. References to other anime are frequent and often hilarious, and Komugi makes an over-excitable but likeable lead character. The series is pretty much made up of stand-alone stories, with Komugi having to face a different problem in each episode, which ... usually start with her doing a job for her modelling agency before everything goes wrong and she has to change into Nurse Witch Komugi. It may be a bit formulaic if it was done over a long series but over the six episodes, it stays entertaining without becoming too predictable.

It's hard to analyze the story of Nurse Witch Komugi when there is no story to speak of. Boob jokes and fan service pepper this show like Naruto headbands at Anime Expo.
This is a show that's neither plot-driven nor character-driven, but exists only as eye candy and comedy.

The artwork is higher end quality, but not original. Even Mugimaru, the obligatory cute animal mascot, looks like a reject from the Di Gi Charat cast. The real work that goes into the visuals is in rendering the cosplay outfits with detail, and cosplay is inherently not original, so thats kind of the point.
On the bright side the artwork is the crisp, high-contrast color scheme, despite being a touch on the simple and kiddy end of the spectrum (think again back to di gi charat). The animation is decent on the number of frames vs motion, it moves smooth enough to give a flowing feeling and it actually pulls off the exaggerated, comedic action quite well, unlike some anime where actions are stiff and walking is like watching a sticky pad flip art.

Overall, this show is worth watching if you enjoy things like popotan, puni puni poemi, excel saga, and sailor victory, but if you took a look at the dvd cover art and had any expectation of an anime with any depth, you entirely missed the point here.

Welcome to my nightmare… If Kurai really wanted to break me, this is a really good one to use. I don’t know who decided to actually make an anime out of the stupid pinked haired girl Komugi from SoulTaker, but they need to be forced to watch this themselves.

The story starts out talking about a rather odd place called Vaccine World where a virus has broken out of prison and went to earth. Because of this, the Goddess of Vaccine World sent this little talking… squirrel-puffball-annoying sidekick-thing… to go find a human to use the magic baton to defeat the virus. He finds Komugi who ... takes the job only because she wanted to cosplay as a nurse witch. Yep, its one of those shows… the shows where its all fun and games to the person trying to save the earth. I wish he would of at least looked around a bit more or at least thought twice about giving the baton/wand to the first girl he saw. At least someone who gives a crap what the hell the magic was actually supposed to be used for! She, of course, is in love with Kyosuke Date like in SoulTaker. Unlike SoulTaker though, he has the personality of a wet noodle. I have a feeling that this is what Komugi wanted him to be. In fact, I would consider this to be exactly what was going on in Komugi’s empty head all threw Soultaker.

Anyway, then we have Runa who in SoulTaker was the sister of Kyosuke but in this world is nothing more then a childhood actor who does anything for money. There’s Asuka who is a movie actress here but is the love interest sort of in SoulTaker. There’s Shiro who is her manager Yui… both really doesn’t have much of a personality on there own.

I guess the show isn’t all bad, its better then Puni Puni Poemii by a long shot. The artwork is better and the story is a bit more consistent then Puni. If it has fan service, then it has fan service… if it wants to play on parodies, then they do it. They know exactly what they want to be and don’t try to be anything more.

The animation is actually quite good, though sometimes not consistent throughout. I was surprised that Kyoto actually had in doing the artwork and it shows with its rather bright and detailed artwork in no matter what part. The lines are crisp and the colors fill the whole area. Characters don’t normally lose their proportions unless its to push the comedic affect. The characters do look like they were pulled straight from SoulTaker (however, their personalities are actually destroyed) to the point that it’s easy to see who was who.

The English voices are consistent with SoulTaker and so must of it will be said in my review on that series but her’s the low down on this, I CAN’T STAND KOMUGI’S VOICE! She’s a whinny, immature, shell of a girl who is pretty much played off as just the normal everyday high school girl with a crush and a secret. Of course, in order to combat her voice, they have little puffball there a 12-cigarette pack a day voice with a high pitch whine. This we have to hear everytime he talks with Komugi with almost all his sentences ending in ‘Komugi’… ‘We got to save the world, Komugi. Your our only hope, Komugi’… Um… Ya… I like Kyosuke’s voice yet it doesn’t work for the personality they did for him. The opening music is actually quite catchy, and a rather cute piece. Some of the other songs like when Kyosuke is supposed t be singing is actually some pretty nice stuff. I have to say that most of the soundtrack is created rather well and has a nice tone to it, at least when there are vocals. On the flip side, when there is only background music, it doesn’t stand out much and just gets lost or unnoticeable.

In the end, its bad, but not as bad as some others I watched. It’s nothing I can’t deal with having to watch.

if you watch this ova expecting to get some answers on the open ending from the soul taker stay away from this anime, as it's a parody that has a very specific target audience that's very big in japan and almost non existent outside of it, first it's filled to the brim with references to the japanese pop culture of that era such as places, internet forums, comiket, the idol and anime industry and tons references to older anime (some as old as the early 80s or even 70s), so in order to understand them and get the jokes you have to be more than ... "weeb", you have to either have lived that era or study about it, in my case it's a bit of both so i can say i enjoyed this anime a lot (and enjoyed it a lot more when i watched it with friends that also got most of the references), i have even rewatched it multiple times and every time i do so i say "oooooh so this is what this scene is referencing to".

however this anime is not all about references, the plot and characters are very funny on their own and most scenes are memorable (it helps that it's only 5 episodes long or 9 if you count the ova and 2nd season), the songs are very good and the art is decent and average at worst, don't expect a technical masterpiece of animation in this tho as you will not find it here.

overall i enjoyed this anime and it made me laugh multiple times, if you like comedy anime with a bit of nonsense and a speedy plot i totally recommend it to you, unless you don't know much about japanese culture as you will miss most of the jokes that make this anime especial.

Well, here’s the thing about this anime right here. This is a spinoff OVA to their sister series SoulTaker and yet I’m going in without watching the original series. From what I heard about the show, people absolutely hated it, mostly because they found the character Komugi was so annoying in SoulTaker, a whole OVA series that revolves around her would spell anger into a lot of fans, non-fans and even anime reviewers, especially a certain wolf/angel-based reviewer I know. *wink wink*.


Ungrar, the King of Viruses, has escaped from his prison cell in Vaccine World. Maya, the Goddess of Vaccine World sends Mugimaru down ... to Earth to find a human to accept the powers of Vaccine World and become the Magical Nurse. He finds the best (and the only willing) person for the job when he meets Komugi Nakahara.



“Komugi is a playful, lazy, and easily distracted (typical) teenager whose dream is to become a cosplay idol and balancing her career with the Kiri-Pro Promotion Company and her new job battling Ungrar's loyal henchman and the Magical Maid Koyori.” – That’s what part of the plot synopsis said when I read it on ANN, I swear.


Well, Komugi is all those things but sometimes she gets very cringe worthy to deal with and it’s not just her. I really can’t stand the constant bickering between Komugi and Megumi, who mostly tease each other’s breast size and they do it every time and it gets real old real fast……in other words, I can’t just both of these girls. Then came Koyori, who is Komugi’s friend that works as a model and cosplayer and yet she’s also her rival when it comes to them being magical girls. But how does she turn into that? She loses consciousness………yeah. There is also Runa, a child star who also works for Kiri Pro with Komugi and also teases her about her being flat-chested but yet she seems to be the one that annoys her the least but not a favorite of mine.


Matter of fact, nobody on this show is a favorite character of mine. There are either too bland or too annoying to give a shit about. I’m sure some of the characters from the original series have more character than they do here. They scream, yell too much, overact, and try to overexcite one too many times.



Now for the animation department, Tatsunoko Pro, being the original animation company for SoulTaker but in here, they are around with the help of Kyoto Animation……yes, that Kyoto Animation and for what it is, the animation is fine with what it is and there is some hiccups especially in some of the magical girl and fight sequences in between the series, thankfully it lasted 5 episodes or 6 if you count episode 2.5 or the other OVAs that I didn’t know of.




The music does have that very cutesy J-Popish sound that many people know and the music is about as bland as the rest of the series. The first time I listened to these songs I just wanted to skip the whole music sequence together and for you either liked these songs, then all the power to you. As for the English dub, some of the original SoulTaker cast from The Ocean Group/Geneon dub does appear in here, although NWK was distributed by ADV Films but yet it was such a chore to go through. The voice actress for Komugi, Jocelyne Loewen, is really grating on the ears and feels like her motivation in the script is to annoy you. Luci Christian does play the role of Mugi-maru and yet it’s sad to see her doing this part considering she really is a great voice-actress and they got her sounding like Webby from Ducktales smoking up menthols.




FINAL VERDICT: As it all comes down to this, this OVA is really so damn annoying but it’s nothing to rage about and the simple fact that it’s too dull to rage this series. It’s something nobody really wanted or needed but either way you watched it and regret it but not really care for it.

I'm going to make this short because there's no need to be long-winded about such an unserious anime. Also, no, I have not seen the anime this is based off of, Soultaker. I'm basing this review on Nurse Witch alone, since Soultaker is not required viewing to watch Nurse Witch.

The show is a parody of the magical girl genre, particularly that of the early moé boom. There are references to many other anime and live action dramas (Evangelion, Macross, Anime Tenchou, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, etc.) throughout. If you find referential humor funny, especially otaku-media references, you'll probably enjoy Nurse Witch.

The character designs ... are by Akio Watanabe (Poyoyon♥Rock) of Monogatari Series fame. His art style is iconic and on full display here. Nurse Witch is a must watch for fans of Poyoyon♥Rock's work. The art/animation quality is inconsistent but above-average for an OVA.

The director is Yasuhiro Takemoto, someone who would go on to have a leading-role in some of Kyoto Animation's best anime. One of those would be Lucky Star, a referential anime which appears to have taken some inspiration from Nurse Witch (especially with the Anime Tenchou references).

The VA cast is equally amazing and surprising for an anime of this quality. The standouts for me are Ikue Ootani (Koyori), Haruko Momoi (Komugi), and Yukari Tamura (Asuka). These VAs are known more for their other roles, such as Yukari Tamura's later performance as Rika Furude in Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, but they bring that power to Nurse Witch. The VA for Komugi, Haruko Momoi, is a famous otaku of Akihabara, and she fits her role perfectly. As a matter of fact, she often cosplayed as Komugi in live performances with her music group, Under 17, in the early 2000s. Haruko practically embodies the character of Komugi. The voice acting is definitely an out-performance of the expectations for an anime of this type.

You may notice that I've said a lot of good for an anime I've only rated a 6. That's because I really can't justify anything higher. Nurse Witch is self-evidently an unserious work. It's also a niche work, and that niche is otaku culture. If this is one of the first 10 anime you watch (and I mean full series, not just individual seasons or the completed count on MAL), you will not get or like this show. That's my perspective on it, at least. If you've been around the block and can enjoy some odd-ball anime, give this a try. Otherwise, I would recommend watching some more well-regarded referential anime first, such as Lucky Star, Steins;Gate, or other anime of that kind.

Nurse Witch Komugi-chan is the perfect representation of what anime in 2000’s was like. Considering that this was a parody like anime, I wasn’t too surprised over what I was dealing with. This anime is makes fun of the magical girl shoujo characterization, which is famous in anime like “Precure”, “Sailor Moon” (obviously), “Cardcaptor Sakura”, while also parodying “The Soultaker”. The funny part about this show is that besides the main characters abilities, it also makes fun of the cosplayer stereotype that makes most cosplayer-like characters in today’s anime seem interesting to watch. There were moments that I wish they made fun of the cosplayer ... culture a whole lot more than I wish they made fun of the magical girl plot line, as it would have been a whole lot easier to do so.

It also says a whole lot that Mugi-Chan ended up being one of the memorable characters in the shows first half (granted it is a short series), as I laughed at the fact that he gets relegated to be the perverted bunny rabbit that is also the helper of a teenage nurse witch like Komugi. Koyori’s character, from when she slips between good and evil, can be entertaining from time to time. However, she does seem to (almost) make me lose interest in her, mainly because I think more interested in how they managed to make “The Soultaker” into a parody in the first place. Even with that, it is still a good anime for its time, and I can’t wait to see the reboot of this in the future.

Nurse Witch Komugi is a fascinating anime. It exists as a parody of the magical girl genre as a whole, but also a parody of an entirely different anime, SoulTaker, which embodies an entirely different tone. The SoulTaker production committee is actually responsible for the production of this anime, and even brought over the same dub actors to maintain consistency. Furthermore, Nurse Witch Komugi maintains this irreverent, highly referential personality throughout the show that is highly peculiar and specific to the time in which it was made, that being the early 2000s. It references everything from other anime like Fist ... of the North Star and Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-Chan, to more unexpected things like South Park and early 2Chan memes. This eccentric personality is something I love about the anime, but the show itself sometimes ends up feeling like an excuse to make these references, leading it to become narratively unmoored. I'm not saying it needs to be some dramatic masterpiece, but I would prefer if it didn't just devolve into nonsense. Beginning with the story, as I said earlier, I love its sense of humor and the clever references scattered throughout, especially its callbacks to 2000s otaku culture and the early internet. It captures that atmosphere earnestly and honestly, which on its own is worthy of praise. Indeed, much of its score rests on the fact that I am a huge sucker for 2000s otaku culture, so the fact that this anime is so referential while being so self-aware carries a lot of weight. The story itself, however, is pretty rudimentary, and often trips over itself trying to make clever references, which ends up being a problem for the pacing and coherence of the story.

The art is great, in that fun, nostalgic 2000s style, complete with all the garish trappings of magical girl anime, and a shockingly strong command of character design, which on its own elevates the art to the strongest aspect of Nurse Witch Komugi. They're all so visually complex yet exceptionally distinct, loaded with tiny details and design elements that bring them to life, even for the more mundane characters throughout. If I had to describe the colorful, energetic art in a single word, I'd describe it as electric. It stands strong even today, and it's because of random screenshots that I decided to watch it in the first place.

The sound is good, with a fun soundtrack and voice work that matches the high energy of the show. It all works towards creating this rich atmosphere that perfectly captures 2000s weeb culture, especially in the context of an early, still-developing internet culture.

The characters are very strong, especially for something like this, and drive the story along by their sheer energy. My favorites are Komugi, who is simultaneously the archetypal magical girl and the perfect subversion of the trope, and her arch nemesis, Koyori, who matches her absurdity as the perfect embodiment of and foil to the melodramatic villain archetype. As for the specials and sequels, the special episode is a bit messy and loaded with music videos, but the second episode of the sequel OVA, Nurse Witch Komugi Z, is the anime's strongest showing by far. It boasts a maverick visual identity, a fluidity of animation, and a sense of narrative purpose on display that is better here than anywhere else in the show. Indeed, if the entire anime was this caliber, then it would enjoy a much higher score. From what I understand, the newer series, Nurse Witch Komugi R, is completely different and almost entirely devoid of what made the original OVAs special. Overall, Nurse Witch Komugi is a fun, interesting little piece, and while I enjoyed it, most of the enjoyment here comes from the art and the references, so if that's not enough for you, then there's little else to be had.

This may have been the dumbest thing I've watched in awhile... in a good way(?) Ecchi comedies that actually manage to be funny to me are often too far and in between, and this series literally starts off with the "virus" of the episode being 2chan shitposters. It is a parody on magical girl/idol tropes, and in no way does it even pretend to be serious. One scene could be spoofing Gundam, the other could be 4th wall break after 4th wall break.

The only complaints I have about the series is that the subbing from the copy I watched is downright awful, with text overlapping ... and staying on the screen for far longer than it needs to, being super jumbled and often covering the whole screen (is it part of the joke?). There are also a couple more "risque" scenes (like the end of episode 7) that didnt need to be there/go a bit too far.

All in all a very funny watch with that classic turn of the millenia art style I love so much to boot. Highly recommend.

I watched Nurse Witch Komugi-chan (all of the original material). I watched the first 4 episodes of R and then dropped it. Note: I have not seen more than like 10 minutes of Soultaker.

The originals are great. Simply put, they are funny and entertaining. Good voice acting too. Most importantly, they have tremendous cultural value. If you're into ‘otaku culture’ then I strongly recommend watching Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte. It won't even take you long (there's like 8 episodes). Overall 7/10 but don't let that dissuade you. That's just an intellectually honest rating; I'm still really glad I didn't pass on the series. The ... series is highly underappreciated (this decade at least), and I urge you to give it a chance.

Okay now on to the 2016 'reboot.' I'm not aware of the legal issues or licensing process and all that, but I'd imagine there's a story to be told there. As you might infer from me dropping it, Nurse Witch Komugi-chan R is awful compared to the original. It is unfunny and not entertaining. The art style is nauseating. There are some cute idol song cutscenes, which I'm a huge sucker for (the CGI isn't even that bad in this case), but that's not enough to get me to sit through the entire series. Every aspect of it is really just bad. I went into it with a positive optimistic attitude too.

Not much more to say. Again, I think you should check out the original Nurse Witch Komugi-chan if you haven't seen it. It is underappreciated.