Friday, May 6, 2016

FIF#11-Little Witch Academia


Akko has always had a dream.  Ever since she saw a performance from witch superstar Shiny Chariot, she has wanted to become a Witch.  But Ako’s not the best student at Luna Nova Magical Academy, falling asleep in class and she cant even ride a broom. Akko fears she is being taught to become a more traditional witch, the old and creepy kind.  However, all that doubt and fear is about to be put to the test.  When a school exercise goes horribly wrong, Luna Nova’s source of power, the Sorcerer’s Stone, is threatened.  It’s up to Akko and her only friends, her roommates Lotte and Sucy, to pull off a magical miracle the likes of which no one at Luna Nova has ever seen before.

Gonna be a busy weekend for me so I’ll keep this one pretty brief. 

I spotted this title on Netflix a while back and, after seeing it was a short 25min feature, decided what the hell, ive got time to kill.  Last time I did a random watch like this was with Summer Wars and that turned into my favorite Anime Film of all time.  While LWA isn’t my brand new favorite Anime of all time, i did have a ton of feels I haven’t felt watching an Anime in a long time.  Sure most Anime I watch are more action packed and full of thrills, but I do enjoy the ones that give you hope and show that with Anime, anything is possible.

There really wasn’t a single part about Little Witch Academia I didn’t like.  Akko had a lot of spunk but Sucy is sure to be a fan favorite for her tone def, morbidly hilarious sense of humor.  The animation is pretty stellar.  This one was done by Studio Trigger, the minds behind Kill La Kill, so it definitely felt like a more kid appropriate version of KLK.  The music is sweeping and as magical as it should be, given the Anime’s title.  The final battle with Akko and the Dragon especially hit all the right beats and moments of awesomeness gelled nicely with great tunes.  I have to just say outright, im not happy this isn’t a full fledged series.  I’m sure LWA was supposed to be a one off project.  There is a longer sequel: The Enchanted Parade (which I may review at another time).  But beyond that, there’s too much goodness here that it’s a shame there isn’t a 13-26 episode series dedicated to these characters, this humor and this Wizarding World that I don’t think has been looked at in a very long time in Anime. 

I went into Little Witch Academia with no expectations and I left wanting a lot more.  If this were a normal series you can bet Id throw this on my must watch list.  It made me believe in the possibility of Anime again, and we all need a show that can remind us of that every once in a while.

Keep an eye out for either a review or FIF feature on Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, later this year.

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