What a neat little treasure. After seeing it around the internet, I thought it was a new series in the works, and I planned to check it out. As it turns out, it’s only one episode (a short movie, really), and stumbling upon it on Anime News Network led me to watching it right away.
Being short in time length while covering the key features of a good, short story takes work and talent, and I think this title was a success in that regard. Be as it may, there were a few points where I felt the plot becoming formulaic, but it was certainly made up for with the execution. The main characters each had a chance to display a key asset of their personalities to where one could simply deduce the direction or type of character they were, which made it easier to get attached to them in one way or another. The setting and main plot of the story were made clear from the beginning, so that it wasn’t necessary to wonder what was going on. And be it formulaic in ways, it was still very entertaining to watch, and still peaked interest (we see a lot of the same devices in many shounen anime, for instance, but for many, it still doesn’t take away the enjoyment factor as long as there’s still something new to offer). The art and sound (including the voice acting) is just superb, and it really does a lovely job representing what studios are capable of in the anime industry. Overall, Little Witch Academia is a cute, fun, visually enchanting mini-adventure (with potential for more) suitable for any type of anime fan of any age group. I highly recommend it.
Personally, it gave me the feeling like this was just a pilot episode for something greater ahead. And who knows? With enough success, it very well could be (one can certainly hope).
