Akko Kagari Little Witch Academia (TV) 2017 (Episode 5)
Out of all anime that came out in winter 2017, Little Witch Academia (TV) caught my interest and it's the only show from that season that had to potential to great not counting squeals.
I have previously seen the short movies for Little Witch Academia and I really liked a lot. However, I won't be mentioning or comparing the TVs with the short movies because I want to review the TV series by its own identity.
Now after all that is show worth watching or it's just an another lame seasonal anime.
Hellow everyone this is Shawn aka PhantomKurata and I will be reviewing Little Witch Academia (TV) and with that out the way let's begin.
Story.
The story of Little Witch Academia follows Akko Kagari who aspires to be a great witch like her idol Shiny Chariot even tough she has no witch blood in her. Akko sets off to go to Luna Nova Magical Academia where she can to achieve her dream. Along the way her during to Luna Nova Magical Academy she befriends two other witches Sucy and Lotte. Now they magical adventures in Luna Nova Magical Academy begins as Akko tries to achieve her dream by being a witch like Shiny Chariot.
I found the story of Little Witch Academia to be pretty great.
It's very similar to Harry Potter in terms of concept and setting but unlike Harry Potter where it centers around Harry growth as so one day, Harry can defeat his antagonist. Little Witch Academia is mostly episodic as most episodes are very different from one another.
If you're looking for a magical academy drama like Harry Potter then you won't enjoy this anime.
While mostly being episodic Little Witch Academia deals with great themes of achieving your dream, appreciating others, determination, change, and friendship.
The worldbuilding for Little Witch Academia is great as it gives relevant names for every location in the show. We get certification of how some witches can only use magic in certain places than others, We get information about the history of magic, how the students in Luna Nova Academy must obey the rules such as not leaving campus without permission to no allowing them to go to locations that Luna Nova that is off limits for students.
I could go on about how great the worldbuilding is but it will end up spoiling the show and I don't want anyone to get spoiled.
I also really like how it references a lot of other Gainax/Trigger anime as well as humor and jokes in this anime.
The last thing that I want to mention is the second half has a more serious tone and it's more plot driven and to be honest I really liked the second half more than the mostly episodic first half.
Little Witch Academia (TV) is a very engaging/well-written series that will never bore you and it will keep you smiling from start to finish.
Overall the story for Little Witch Academia (TV) to be pretty awesome and it's very refreshing when compared to most anime that are coming out nowadays.
9/10
Charterers.
The characters in Little Witch Academia is honestly amazing and very likable in they own ways. Not to mention they have great character chemistry to one and another.
Akko is a great female lead.
She's a very energetic and determined girl who wants to achieve her dream despite her shortcomings by being an ordinary girl with no witch blood.
Some people may find her annoying in the beginning but in my opinion, she's the perfect type of annoying you can relate to from start to finish.
Not mention he she has great and believable character development especially in the second half. Plus she's very relatable.
She's one of my favorite female protagonist in recent memory.
Sucy is the aloof, sarcastic and sadistic character of the show who likes to use Akko as a text subject for her experiments. I can't say anything more about this but all I say is she a fun and likable character overall but I wish she had more screen time in the second half of the show as well as having a bit of character development in my opinion.
Lotte is a rather patient and studious character of the group. She also a supportive character who likes help her friends mainly Akko.
Like Sucy she's a fun and likable character. Also like Sucy I wish she had more screen time in the second half as well a bit character development because I found her to very interesting and likable.
Diana is a serious esteemed witch from a long line of witches who is the top student in knowledge and magic.
She's honestly my favorite character in this show.
I personally like her personality as well her development as the series progresses on. Not to mention like Akko she very relatable.
Overall Diana is an awesome that I adored from start to finish
The rest of the characters are also great.
They are very likable, enjoyable to watch from start to finish and they brought more life to the show
Overall besides the lack of screen time for Sucy and Lottte in the second half, this character cast was great from start to finish.
9.5/10
Visuals.
Visually Little Witch Academia looks good for the most part
The background scenery is defined by thin lines and washed out colors. They are very well detailed and well drawn but they are mostly static.
The characters designs minus Sucy have very similar size and body types. However, the characters faces and movement are very different for each character and it gives them a personality of they own. Immediately by watching the show, you will see that Akko is an energic, Sucy is an old sarcastic girl or Diana is a hotty top student.
In terms of actual animation, the character movement is easy to follow. Things like the motions of clothing hair, ribbon caps, magical effects or broomsticks are what gives the visuals a lot of their flare. Plus it's very well animated.
Overall the visuals are great but can be a bit repetitive at times in terms of size and body types
8.5/10
Sound.
The soundtrack is almost entirely orchestral pieces and consists of a handful of themes with lots of variations and rearrangements of each.
These orchestral pieces are amazing, very enjoyable to listen and have a purpose for each scene.
Michiru Oshima did an amazing job with this soundtrack as it makes each scene more impactful.
The sound effects used in this show is great.
The opening and endings themes are really good.
From the happy adventurous of the first opening Shiny Ray to the more slightly serious opening that some foreshadowing towards the end of the opening,
Both ending themes are really
The voice acting is simply top notch.
All of the seiyuu's did a great job for voicing each character.
I cannot about the dub because it hasn't been released yet but the dub of the TV series will be available on Netflix soon.
Overall the soundtrack was amazing the openings and ending themes were great and the voice acting was wonderful and well acted.
10/10
Final Thoughts.
Little Witch Academia (TV) is a breath of fresh air when compared to most anime that are coming out nowadays. Cough *Eromanga Sensei*
The story was great and very enjoyable, has great worldbuilding, great theme exploration, a strong likable cast from start to finish, great visuals and animation.
The soundtrack is amazing as well as the opening and endings and voice acting is wonderful.
It has some minor hiccups such as lack of screen time for certain characters in the second half as well mostly repeating the size and body types for the character designs but these minor hiccups are easily ignored due how great the story and characters were.
This is easily one of the best anime to ever come out in the last two years.
Unlike Eromanga Sensei that represents everything that is wrong about modern anime and it's also one of the worst anime I have ever seen in my life. Little Witch Academia (TV) represent everything that is great about modern anime and for that reason, I give the show as well as the director You Yoshinari full respect.
It may not be the perfect anime but compared to most anime that I have seen over the years this show almost represents everything that I love about this entire anime medium.
This show will make you laugh, it will make you cry and it will make you smile with joy and determination.
Thank you to all the creators for making this wonderful anime and I hope this gets a Blu-Ray/DVD release in the future.
I give Little Witch Academia (TV) a 9.5/10.
Anyway this was Shawn aka KurataTrigger and I will see you guys next time.
