Majo no Tabitabi Episode 4 Discussion

kidlat020 said:

you do realize that you are just furthering his point across? the more unknowns there are, the more you should be wary and stay away from danger like wise witch that she is.

mavericko said:

You cant argue with novel and manga reader. it was literally explained in there, but the anime rushed the heck of it. causing people to misunderstood. Do yourself a favour just read the manga, it was really good art. and the plot slightly better

mavericko said:

You cant argue with novel and manga reader. it was literally explained in there, but the anime rushed the heck of it. causing people to misunderstood. Do yourself a favour just read the manga, it was really good art. and the plot slightly better

AdolZeppeli said:
@slavemaster_1991

That's right, we know little about it, the more you don't know about something, the more it means that you shouldn't intervene. I'm just making basic assumptions on reasons why Elaina decided not to intervene. We don't know if using magic would worsen things or not. But ya'all pretending like doing something would solve everyone's problems as if it was that easy, if it were that easy, why nobody has solved it then?

slavemaster_1991 said:

Do you realize, that me, the viewer, not knowing stuff is not an indication that MC has the same info? If it really WAS the unknown and dangerous thing - why there was literally zero information about it?

slavemaster_1991 said:

Welp, that describes the problem: we are both assuming things. But you assume them in a way that MC seems to be doing things right, and I am doing the opposite. With no real info on the subject both of us are just speculating on the topic and with lack of evidence to counter each other we will not come to any common ground. And I can't call it a good writing.

You do remember she's just a traveler right? She's not a super hero chosen one messiah that solves everyone's problems or trains every day to be the very best to help everyone. Sometimes the best course of action is leaving things to more capable hands or simply, not doing anything that might bring bad consequences not only for her, but to whoever she is trying to "help".

Helping is easier said than done, and it's shown on this episode, Elaina decided to help this time, but she realized how powerless she felt in comparison to that other witch that absolutely wrecked a big ass monster with little to no effort. Not just that, imprudence out of experience might have caused a bigger tragedy.

RayReynolds said:

In Episode 02 she saw the problems in front of her Eyes, she did not even try to help. As if nothing happen

in this Episode she is not strong enough, but this time she did not closed her eyes and run away???

What the hell do you mean, she didn't even try to help? She spent several days with Saya training her. Even after Elaina found out the Saya's true intentions she still spent time with Saya teaching her to stand on her own.

Your second sentence doesn't even make any sense. Try proofreading before posting a rebutal.

AdolZeppeli said:


But I'm making my assumptions on clear evidence, coming from the details I'm getting from the visual story telling. Like I said to many others, Elaina is not a messiah nor is overpowered, is not her job to save everyone or become a super hero either. Considering how vast that flower field were and the range it has, I highly doubt a single newbie witch could have had the power to deal with it. She had good judgement and decided not to act. Also, it's not like Elaina is the only witch alive, I bet countless witches have seen the conflict already, but considering how big the flower field is, it's fair to assume that is not an easy task and it has been there for quite a long while.

kidlat020 said:


I'm gonna doubt for a second here. are you seriously gonna suspect a plant or flower? what's next, suspect the very ground you're standing on? suspect that the soil or cement is gonna "suck your mana" or something?

there's a fine line between fear and paranoia. you can only fear so much before it goes to paranoia territory. you may as well fear the very idea of traveling when everything that is "unknown" should be feared and stay away from.

RayReynolds said:


In Episode 03 she saw the problems in front of her Eyes, she did not even try to help. As if nothing happen

in this Episode she is not strong enough, but this time she did not closed her eyes and run away???

kidlat020 said:
I'm gonna doubt for a second here. are you seriously gonna suspect a plant or flower? what's next, suspect the very ground you're standing on? suspect that the soil or cement is gonna "suck your mana" or something?

Opticflash said:


I dunno, if I saw a plant or field growing rapidly and sucking the life out of people, and didn't feel I had the power to get rid of it, or didn't know the consequences of going so, I'd get the fuck out of there.

Opticflash said:


I dunno, if I saw a plant or field growing rapidly and sucking the life out of people, and didn't feel I had the power to get rid of it, or didn't know the consequences of going so, I'd get the fuck out of there.

kidlat020 said:
and that calls for a plothole. if you're already working on a mere assumption that there's something bad with X, then that should have already been reported or something.

Eleina was working on the assumption that there's an impostor and she should walk cautiously when a mere report of a possible impostor hasn't been made yet.

Opticflash said:


Lol, a main character doesn't have to be likeable at all. Many people who watched Death Note hated Light's guts. However people still think the story is well written, and Light, despite his unlikability, is STILL one of the top voted characters in all of anime. Light had little depth; he had this fixed mindset about getting rid of all the criminals that's it. No backstory about why, no conflicted internal monologue. Even Mikami had more depth. People like Light as a character because he drove an interesting plot, but people don't like Light as a person. If you're arguing that Elaina is an unlikable character, there really is nothing to say here. If you're arguing that she's an unlikable [/i]person[/i], she certainly doesn't need to be for many people.

The author wanted to focus on other themes and aspects at least in the beginning of the story, which are emphasized well. You can't really fit everything like character depth, grandiose plot, etc. into a few episodes when they were trying to aim for something else.

Opticflash said:
Some people like that, but sure that's your preference to have some grandiose plot involved. However this isn't related to how well written the story is for what it does.

Opticflash said:
I think perhaps you thought there was a lack of focus because you failed to understand the message in each.
- Episode 1: What it means to be hard working and success driven, and the importance of experiencing failure.
- Episode 2: The importance of doing things on your own, and the importance of seeking comfort from others
- Episode 3: Complexity and ramifications of one's actions no matter the intention
- Episode 4: The dirty side of anger and revenge

For each one, certain moments were done to draw emotion out of the audience watching for emphasis. Such as the slaying of the dragon; people were supposed to have an uncomfortable feeling in their stomach and feel bad for it.

Opticflash said:
In episode 1, Fran already squeezed everything out of her. She didn't stop because she was guilt tripped. She stopped because she achieved her objective. In episode 2, the message is actually how important it is to be able to work on your own and be independent, not that you must always work your own. In episode 3, she didn't intervene because the message was on the ramifications of intervening. You must be, because if you see some disturbance in public, most people avoid it because it's risky to intervene. Few are willing to boldly jump in and end the conflict. In episode 4, it was about the idea of revenge. A character doesn't have to be likeable. Villains certainly aren't likeable.

Opticflash said:
No problem, but it seems like a lot of your points are on what you prefer the anime to be rather than whether it is good at what it does.

Rainbowsaur said:
I really want to know where he found this info, because mate, im deeper in the novel and he knows shit I dont from 4 damn episodes. Either hes has unbeleivable perception of somekind, or I'm have brain damage.

AdolZeppeli said:


Idk, maybe because you guys doesn't even pay attention to what you're watching?

Excluding point 3, all the other things ShiroHachi stated in his reply are things that were stated pretty clear in the anime. If you need others to make this clear for you, it's because you're simply not paying attention to the subtle details this anime gives.

fluroboy said:
I view likability in two ways: do other characters in the anime find her likable, and does the audience find her likable? (that may have been your intent with character vs person, but the terms were a bit vague for me).
I can say for a fact that for the most part people in the anime find her likable. The only exception to this rule would be the younger guard in episode 2, and possibly the other witches in episode 1.

What I'm more worried about is her likability as a character. I'll disagree with your point on Light, I think he is a likable character, at least in the context of the story. Honestly, now that you mention him I honestly think Elaina is a genderswap of Light in some ways. Both are naturally gifted people, and have easily brought themselves to the top of their field (Light is one of the smartest students, Elaina became an apprentice Witch at 15, and I think a full Witch at 16). This in itself isn't likable or unlikable, but it's there attitude towards other people that makes them likable/unlikable. Light's superiority complex (which soon transforms into a god complex) is what makes him so likable to audience. Over the top evil characters generally attract their fans (Gilgamesh from Fate immediately comes to mind).
However, I think Elaina is too down the middle. She certainly doesn't have the God complex of Light, but seems to care very little for people. For episode 2 onward, she really just seems to be using people.
I said before that I think the author intended something different, but failed. I believe that the intent for Elaina to be a passive entity that simply experiences the stories.
Ignoring the whole "she's a witch, she could easily help" argument for a second, I don't think she's been made passive enough. In episode 2, she eats at the bowlcut boy's house, but does not return the favour in anyway. In episode 4, she says that she won't help, but uses the princess' goodwill and sleeps in her house AND eats her food. Obviously she did decide to help later, but that confused me even more. She decided that she could help defeat a dragon (I think it was a dragon), but in episode 2 she couldn't threaten a fat rich dude, or even warn the boy that he might be hurting her.
I don't think Elaina is a sociopath like some on this thread are saying; I think her biggest problem is that she is nothing more than the author's tool to push forward the story when they see fit. This makes her a very inconsistent character, as one second she helps people, the next she doesn't care.

fluroboy said:
I don't want a grandiose plot at all. I want a goal. A goal doesn't need to have 500 episodes of shonen action to be a goal. I mentioned Cowboy Bebop for a reason, it's a very episodic show. But there is a clear goal: we don't have enough money, we need money, let's do some bounty hunter missions. Everything in the show is based around that goal.
I believe the intent for Majo no Tabitabi's goal was is in the MAL bio: "Once upon a time, there was a witch named Elaina, who set off on a journey across the world. Along the way, she would meet all kinds of people—but with each meeting, Elaina would become a small part of their story, and her own world would get a little bit bigger. "
I just think that this goal is too vague, considering what the anime is trying to do (as in its trying to tell serious messages and morals). Slice of Life anime don't need a goal (although as I said, it sure as hell helps, i.e. K-On!: let's start the music club), but this isn't a slice of life.
Instead of just complaining, I'll give my simple alternative: Elaina is searching for something. Could literally be anything, could be as vague as "something fulfilling" or it could be the goddamn one piece for all I care. It would make the story and Elaina instantly more engaging. When Elaina is dealing with Fran ignoring her, we'd start to feel for her more. When we see Saya in episode 2 trying to fulfill her goal, we could draw better parrallels to Elaina's life thus far. Elaina's passive nature in episode 3 would be better explained, she has a goal, she can't die here, and it would mostly be the same for Episode 4.
People in this thread seem to be offended by the idea of a shonen character, but they have all been infinitely better written than Elaina just by including a goal. Some people seem to be forgetting that realism is the 2nd priority to making an interesting and engaging story.

fluroboy said:

No, I understood the message in each. My problem was that I disagreed, or a better way of putting it, thought the message was poorly implemented.

fluroboy said:
For episode 1, Fran said "oh I can't do this anymore". That didn't seem like her achieving her goal, and she even explained her secret plan to her, ruining the entire thing just because Elaina cried.
For episode 2, the subs I had, had Elaina say "When you are seriously trying to accomplish something, you will always be alone. You can't do it if you're not alone. Once you start being friendly, it's over." That really just seems like what I had said before, "I disagreed with the idea you have to be alone in order to accomplish something". I also disagree with the message in general, there is a reason why shonen overuse the "Nakama is important" message, because it's such an obvious but important thing.
For episode 3, as I said in my post, I disagree. Nothing good has come from not intervening when you see bad happen.
For episode 4, I mainly felt they wanted be to feel for the princess, when she had done nothing but selfish actions.

fluroboy said:
Everyone's point on this discussion have been preference, or different interpretations of Elaina's characters. Nothing is objective in art/entertainment (I have that in my bio lol), unless you simply state facts. Most of what you said wasn't you disagreeing with me, it was just you reiterating the intended purpose of the author. My entire point was that it failed at its intended purpose, which is what has made Elaina so unlikable to many like myself.

Sorry for writing so much I got carried away :P.

Rainbowsaur said:
getting pretty toasty in this forum, but I just want to point out my problem to zeppli.

The above quote you condescendingly essentially said to someone that their at fault for not noticing points 1,2,4, and that these were "stated pretty clear" and basically called the guy your replying to stupid for not being able to realise these points. Later on you admit most of it is conjecture and assumptions that one can easily come to. Conjecture and reading between the lines is good and all, but you replying to those 3 points and saying they were all clearly stated is just false not all are at all, some are guess that anyone can come too if they wanted to but it really has no solid base and yeah the guy and no one should have gotten all 3 points. My guess is you accidentally over generalised your comment and didn't actually to mean you agreed with all points 100% but it came out that way.

-Aincrad- said:
Now this was a good episode, dark, but still made well, unlike the previous episode.

Also, Gilgamesh, you better start training o.O

Opticflash said:


What I mean when I say person versus character is that for the former whether you agree with their design, attitude, ethics, and moral philosophy, and for the latter whether that character is effective in the story or whether the character is interesting to you regardless of their moral outlook. There's a reason why people who say "villains who make your blood boil are good villains"; villains are meant to be dislikeable as people, but as characters they are effective at being antagonists.

When people talk about Light, they usually hate his personality. However, like you've accurately pointed out, he's likeable in the eyes of many as a character because the plot involving him is interesting. When you described Elaina, I wasn't sure whether you meant her as a character or as a person. From the looks of it, many people dislike her as a person, but don't explain why they dislike her as a character and why that's a flaw in the show.

Regarding Elaina's actions, there are some suggestions as to why she helps some people but not others. She helped Saya and Mirarose because they have something in common. Both are witches (one aspiring witch who was just like Elaina a few years back), both she got to know before helping, both having helped her somewhat. She didn't do anything for the slave and the reasons are because she doesn't know her, and because there are potential consequences in doing so (which at the end of the episode the anime tried to pinpoint as the theme of the episode). She quite clearly threatened the village chief by pointing her wand at him, but it was a subtle threat that the chief cannot do anything about because she could say she wasn't threatening him and only drew it to repair the jug. What could she have done for the boy? If she said "hey I remember hearing a story about a wife who committed suicide", that will come off as paranoia. She only remembered at the end, but that was used for effect.



But her goal was to go on a journey and explore the world that's it. In Cowboy Bebop (although I haven't watched it), the goal is to do bounty missions. I guess what you're fundamentally uncomfortable with is the specificity of the goal. Sure she could find a one piece, but I don't really mind just wandering the world as long as the themes and ideas portrayed, even though individualistic, is well executed.



I don't think you said why though. For example in episode 3, the idea was one's good deeds may result in dire consequences. However most of the points were on questioning why she didn't help, which doesn't touch on the theme at all.



In episode 1, Fran didn't want to do those things, however she established them as goals because Elaina's parents told her to. She achieved them when Elaina broke down, therefore she stopped. Her mission was to do so, even if she did not want to do the mission. I think it's more impactful that she experienced some failure, and then being told it's training for her. It's impactful because she felt something through experience, but then realizing that there are people who in fact care and want her to succeed. If she was told by Fran that "sorry this is what life will be like, deal with it", that will likely result in self esteem and trust issues, and less confidence and motivation in general. When Fran hugged her tried to sooth her, I believe it was also meant for the audience. It tells the audience exactly what they want to hear when being faced with a difficult situation.

In episode 2, I'll concede somewhat as I missed the part where she said "once you start being friendly, it's over". However I agree with the rest of her notion. At the end if you want to accomplish a task, it is important to be able to do it alone unless such a task necessitates teamwork. Independence is something that is valuable. Being able to work on projects without constantly being told how to is important. Coming up with your own ideas is important. Choosing a career path, landing a good job, paying your bills, getting a house, etc. usually requires you to do these things on your own or at least being able to.

In episode 3, yes nothing good comes out of not intervening. However the idea was that intervening may make matters even worse. That's what the author tried to convey. That is not to say "don't intervene" but if you choose to do so, evaluate the consequences first to make sure what you are doing has the highest probability of achieving a positive outcome.

In episode 4, the audience was supposed to feel for the dragon. This was emphasized via the blood from the dragon, the fact that the dragon was continuously assaulted and as helpless as an insect, and having the head chopped off. The audience was supposed to slowly go from feeling sympathy for the witch to the dragon.



Correct, a lot of opinions are based on preferences. However I believe there should be some sort of evaluation involved on the effectiveness of whatever the author is trying to convey. If you were to write an essay on Macbeth in English class, even though I may think Macbeth is boring as hell, some sort of critical evaluation on the themes and ideas presented and the efficacy of the author's style is warranted.

sazzuren said:
wtf with that unlimited blade works xd

fluroboy said:
I gave this anime one last shot to impress me, and it just didn't. I can see the appeal to some people, but this anime just has too many problems for me to even consider it to be "average".

- A passive, narcissistic and "perfect" main character. I understand the argument that she is a realistic character. I think this may have been intended, but I think it was executed very poorly. As someone who enjoys writing, I know for a fact that writers tend to get very attached to their main characters. Chances are, Elaina is meant to be a bit unlikable but has a human side to her. Putting yourself in the audience's shoes is a difficult task for sure, but I don't even think the author tried here. In fact, I think most of the people on this episode discussion have put more thought into Elaina when defending her, than the author themself. A good main character might be unlikable at first glance, but are soon likable due to their depth. With Elaina, you either immediately love or hate her. There has been no attempt to develop her (arguably the only character that matters in an anime like this), and her likability has suffered greatly. To the people who say her actions make her realistic, and that not every main character needs to be a shonen/isekai goody two shoes: no one disagrees with you. A character doesn't have to be relatable, but they do have to be likable.

- Unrelated episodes. It's not episodic like Cowboy Bebop, it's just completely different stories every episode. This wouldn't be so bad if the episodes were well written, but they really are nothing special.

- No goal. A show doesn't need a goal to be great, but it sure as hell helps. The show is aimless, I don't even know what I'm meant to look for in the next episode. Elaina has pretty much achieved her dream, so I feel no need to ever root for her. And the other characters have only appeared once per episode so far, and they are about as basic as you can get.

- Unlikable or bare-bones characters. Ignoring Elaina for a minute, why are there no interesting characters? Not one. Each character has a whopping total of one trait each, and it really makes them hard to care about.

- Complete lack of focus. I don't even know what this anime is. The 1st episode made me think it'd be a story about a witch in training. The 2nd episode had me thinking it'd be about Elaina traveling, helping people and making friends. The 3rd episode made me think that it would try (and fail) to tell some dark stories. But with the 4th episode... what was even the point? I knew the princess had written the note straight away, I knew she was at fault in some way, I knew she was the princess from the story. Yet the anime told me these facts as if they were surprising. This anime has already tried to be 4 things, and failed miserably at each.

- Predictable plot. I explained earlier, but I have not been surprised once. When you have someone of my ability thinking of more interesting ideas for the episode, you've messed up.

- Cringe messages and twists. This is definitely the most subjective point for me. Personally, I disagreed with most of the messages presented in the 4 episodes I could stomach. Episode 1, I felt that Elaina got out of Flan's harsh training by crying and guilt-tripping her. Episode 2, I disagreed with the idea you have to be alone in order to "accomplish something". Oh yeah, when has working together ever accomplish anything? Episode 3, I pretty much disagreed with all of Elaina's actions. People have been saying that what Elaina did was the natural human response. Now if this is true, I must be a great goddamn person. I must be such a kind-hearted, selfless hero for going out of my way to help somebody with my magical powers. I highly doubt this, so the people saying this are either psychopaths (unlikely) or edgy (likely). And Episode 4, yeah I just didn't like the princess. She was in the wrong. Two wrongs don't make a right, I can't believe I'm actually able to use an old saying like that.

I really can't stand this anime. At this point it's irrationally infuriating me.
There's obviously no need for me to watch this anymore considering how much I dislike it, so I'm dropping it, with a very low chance of ever picking it back up again, and am giving it a 2/10.

And to those of you who are loving the show: more power to you. There's nothing wrong with enjoying something others don't. :)

fluroboy said:
Rather than continuing this back and forth, I think I'll just say that I really don't like the show. Trying to rationalise your thoughts is difficult, especially when balancing opinion with fact.
I honestly can't disagree with anything you've said, but I also can't say I enjoyed anything the show has offered. Maybe I think the show could have easily been improved, maybe I think it had no potential to begin with, I don't know.

The only point in this that I can stand by (without being a prick by disagreeing with your other points for the sake of disagreeing) is that the show's goal is too vague for me. The goal of going on a journey is not bad in itself, but her motivation has been underdeveloped. I don't think she's ever mentioned the witch in the book she read as a child after episode 1. She just seems to wander from place to place, barely interacting with the people, except for food and shelter. I think a better approach would be to make her adventurous. If she purposely looked for danger, that would be much more interesting to me. Not only would it give her some drive in the story, but it would also act as a flaw. So far, I've had trouble finding any flaw's for Elaina. She is definitely a bit narcissistic (such as when she calls herself a beauty), but this is portrayed more as a quirk of hers, rather than a weakness. Feel free to tell me a flaw of her's.

Don't get me wrong though, I don't enjoy hating shows. Even with some of the worst stuff, I can still see the good. In a perfect world, I would be enjoying this show alongside you.

Also I'd like to show this quote I found off some random website, that sort of highlights my issues with Elaina: "Say your protagonist is a gorgeous, violet-eyed sylph with a heart of gold, who fights like Mike Tyson and writes like Mark Twain… but she sings like a squawking parrot and once got a B- in math. Sure, her tone deafness and mathematical ineptitude are technically flaws. But all in all, they’re pretty inconsequential. If your character has only a couple of minor weaknesses to balance out their tremendous strengths, they’ll still read as unrealistically perfect. Watching them dazzle their way through your story will have your readers rolling their eyes — or even worse, suspecting you wrote them as a wish fulfillment exercise. So make sure your character has some meatier flaws, the kind of vulnerabilities that will actually play a role in her character arc. Maybe your violet-eyed heroine is brave and strong, but she tends to panic when the stakes are high, making tactical mistakes that can cost her dearly. Maybe she’s so hung up on a prophecy she’s supposed to fulfill that she has trouble thinking for herself. Maybe her tendency to be suspicious of everyone, so she has a hard time winning allies." - from https://blog.reedsy.com/character-development/

UncleJojo said:
This show was definitely a refresher for me after the dumpster fire that was Rent-A-Girlfriend finished airing.

RayReynolds said:


missclick, obviously I talking about episode 03
And in this episode she considered helping the witch princess her personality has been inconsistent from episode to episode and that is an unjustifiable error, not an opinion.

fluroboy said:

Ignoring the whole "she's a witch, she could easily help" argument for a second, I don't think she's been made passive enough. In episode 2, she eats at the bowlcut boy's house, but does not return the favour in anyway. In episode 4, she says that she won't help, but uses the princess' goodwill and sleeps in her house AND eats her food. Obviously she did decide to help later, but that confused me even more. She decided that she could help defeat a dragon (I think it was a dragon), but in episode 2 she couldn't threaten a fat rich dude, or even warn the boy that he might be hurting her.
I don't think Elaina is a sociopath like some on this thread are saying; I think her biggest problem is that she is nothing more than the author's tool to push forward the story when they see fit. This makes her a very inconsistent character, as one second she helps people, the next she doesn't care.

fluroboy said:


I don't want a grandiose plot at all. I want a goal. A goal doesn't need to have 500 episodes of shonen action to be a goal. I mentioned Cowboy Bebop for a reason, it's a very episodic show. But there is a clear goal: we don't have enough money, we need money, let's do some bounty hunter missions. Everything in the show is based around that goal.
I believe the intent for Majo no Tabitabi's goal was is in the MAL bio: "Once upon a time, there was a witch named Elaina, who set off on a journey across the world. Along the way, she would meet all kinds of people—but with each meeting, Elaina would become a small part of their story, and her own world would get a little bit bigger. "
I just think that this goal is too vague, considering what the anime is trying to do (as in its trying to tell serious messages and morals). Slice of Life anime don't need a goal (although as I said, it sure as hell helps, i.e. K-On!: let's start the music club), but this isn't a slice of life.
Instead of just complaining, I'll give my simple alternative: Elaina is searching for something. Could literally be anything, could be as vague as "something fulfilling" or it could be the goddamn one piece for all I care. It would make the story and Elaina instantly more engaging. When Elaina is dealing with Fran ignoring her, we'd start to feel for her more. When we see Saya in episode 2 trying to fulfill her goal, we could draw better parrallels to Elaina's life thus far. Elaina's passive nature in episode 3 would be better explained, she has a goal, she can't die here, and it would mostly be the same for Episode 4.
People in this thread seem to be offended by the idea of a shonen character, but they have all been infinitely better written than Elaina just by including a goal. Some people seem to be forgetting that realism is the 2nd priority to making an interesting and engaging story.

UncleJojo said:
This show was definitely a refresher for me after the dumpster fire that was Rent-A-Girlfriend finished airing.

Opticflash said:


Respectable. I definitely see some of your perspective. Developing a more refined plot adds to the potential of creating a more involved storyline and worldbuilding. To many people, Elaina's flaws are her personality traits, but we have yet to see how those play a detailed role in the story.



Bro, Rent-A-Girlfriend was one of the best if not the best anime of last season. Dunno what you're talking about.

badabass said:


I can't help but laugh with your post. So i decided to quote. You were right, and now i feel healing xD.

UncleJojo said:
Agreeable. The aspects that I think are understandable turnoffs to this series are Elaina’s personality and the story structure. It’s a series that’s not for everyone, but it’s something that I’m still looking forward too every week especially after starting the light novel. This show was definitely a refresher for me after the dumpster fire that was Rent-A-Girlfriend finished airing. Again, I can understand your gripes with this series and you made very good points. Mad respect.

Opticflash said:
Respectable. I definitely see some of your perspective. Developing a more refined plot adds to the potential of creating a more involved storyline and worldbuilding. To many people, Elaina's flaws are her personality traits, but we have yet to see how those play a detailed role in the story.

deadoptimist said:
It's kinda unsettling how devoid of humanity the writing is.
Elaina chooses what to do or not to do based solely on her subjective understanding of cool, while being powerful enough for it to matter. (She thinks herself the coolest in all circumstances tho.)
And everything else is an edgy background, with people being not living beings, but experiences for Elaina to passively look at, to stand out compared to them.
But like, it's fine, it's the other, feminine take on the typical male harem superhero from LNs. Those are maybe even more sociopatic at times.

The strangest part is that all the lessons seem wrong (as others have mentioned in the thread).
In the first ep the teacher witch told Elaina that her problem was being too patient, while she was and continues to be too arrogant.
In the second ep she gave a cynical advise about being necessary alone while achieving something - but she herself had always been supported up until then, and the other girl also won because of getting her help.
The third ep was about not judging the book by its cover. But at no point Elaina noticed her responsibility in the guard's tragedy or her tendency to judge by the looks. Her "flowers = cool" was very stupid, esp since she had read about evil flowers before. And in the second half she gave the boy some bad advice, none of the good advise she easily could've given, she even withheld the crucial part about the ending of the book (again) - then simply ran away. Moreover it was unclear why the attempt of the young man to cheer his love up was necessary so bad, cause he loved her,tried to help her despite his father's wishes, her situation wasn't the same as that of the magician's sick wife. She had a chance to become free and to have a lot of happy experiences herself. Her fate wasn't predetermined, the main issue was that her boyfriend was too immature. Elaina could've easily said something about it, which would've cost her nothing, but she didn't.
And now Elaina gets involved with a mad witch because the mad witch seems pretty and cool at first. Elaina enters a warzone (so much for staying safe and noninvolvement), then violently barges into someone else's castle uninvited. There she receives hospitality, but is haughty even in front of a princess and the host, while, at the same time, being all "lol, not my problem" about the mess she has willingly flew into. She likes receiving food and shelter however. She crawls out to see the other witch fighting cause it's exciting, but when she learns Mirarose is crazy she leaves immediately, because now it's uncool. She has helped a bit, so she actually is involved in the whole crime now, but Elaina won't ever recognize it.
Tbh, Elaina seems like a bad guest. She takes things easily, it was bizarre when she asked the bottle guy whether she could open his bottle of happiness, but she gives back or even behaves properly only when she find something cute/rad.

It's a pity, I was onboard with a story about a travelling young witch with actual decent action. The show also looks stunning.

Kimurah said:


No, your blindsided and biased stance is an opinion, not a fact.

Her personality hasn't changed at all throughout all 4 episodes so far. Her motto has always been to travel and stay out of trouble. Trouble has found her in different occasions, but she adapts to the situation[/b], some of them allow her to help out without "getting burned" by her own actions (Saya's case in episode 2). Here in episode 4 she helped out Mirarose because she thought Mirarose was a victim, not to mention her involvement intially was just to help setup a trap and nothing more. She felt compassion for the "transient" Mirarose and she even said out loud that she wanted to see her live thru this situation (perhaps she thought it would be a similar situation like Saya's were the risks were minimal to acceptable) Most likley if Elaina had known Mirarose's original plan, she would had bailed as soon as she had regained her strenght and left her alone to deal with her father.

Kimurah said:
Same redditor proposed for Elaina to just take away Nino into some other country. That could easily make the Town Chief put a bounty on Elaina's head for stealing his propierty on what most likely it's a country where slavery is legal, and even the Town Chief's neighbours are totally ok with this (otherwise there would had been plenty of people manifesting their loath at the Town chief's door). That would make Elaina a fugitive along with posibly creating an international conflict into whatever country she decides to drop Nino off.