The original Little Witch Academia movie still holds up as one of the best 25 minutes of Anime I have ever seen in my life. The emotional resonance, the animation, the sense of fun, excitement and imagination, it all comes together to form a rarely perfect Anime package. I cant say that The Series completely replicated its success as it got a little lost in the middle. But man did it pull off the ultimate magic trick in the end: recapturing that hopefully enthusiasm of the original film and giving us one of the most uplifting finales of the decade, proving that Little Witch Academia has always worked when it comes to being a feel good show.
Before we could get to the feel good stuff, it was time to pull the band aids off. Akko learned Ursula’s true identity as Chariot and a whole lot more. Not only has the one person she’s always wanted to see been in front of her the whole time, but she’s responsible for the reason Akko hasn’t been able to fly on her own. The tragic history of Shiny Chariot might be one of the most saddest stories ive ever seen in an Anime. Watching someones dream of just wanting to bring happiness to the world slowly begin to fail and lose steam strikes all the right cords. Magic is awesome and so incredible to witness. And yet Chariot’s act couldn’t sustain itself unless she tried something drastic, something she didn’t understand. In the end, I was crying by the time she realized her new magic fuel was the magic of others. Croix’s just as much to blame for manipulating her down that route but I can see now why Chariot wanted to hold back from telling Akko the truth. This would be hard for anyone to hear, especially a long time fan hearing it from their hero.
And it did take Akko down. It’s equally alarming to see her so quiet and hopeless. I know I’ve given her grief for several ill advised choices but I never wanted to see Akko defeated. I guess it’s fitting that the one person to bring her back to the world of positivity is the one person Akko’s inspired more than anyone: Diana. Her one time rival revealed her secret Shiny Chariot card and offered Akko all her support, followed by Lotte, Sucy, Amanda, Constance and Jazminka. It’s great to see Diana as part of the gang now and it just feels right (even her two fangirl besties were seen joining in the fun in the final moments of the series). But the one who should really get the credit for giving Akko the biggest life lesson she needed is Andrew, “If you want to bring laughter and happiness to people, believe in yourself and stop believing in Chariot’s shadow.” BOOM. If someone had told Akko this a long time ago, it would’ve saved us a whole lot of trouble. But it was a fitting way to round out this little character arc for Andrew and give a little payoff to a romance that wasn’t traditionally lovey dovey. And if Andrew, a guy who refused to like magic at the beginning of the show, could find it in his heart to believe in Akko and the ideal that a magic show could bring about world peace, anything was possible.
Which brought us to the final two episodes where Croix revealed her masterplan: to use the Grand Triskelion to put magic back on top of the world. Her method of powering her magic tech by gathering negative energy from the escalating riots and the depression it caused was very Sailor Moon Villain 101, same with Croix’s motivations being jealousy over the Shiny Rod choosing Chariot instead of her. I did like it when Croix tried to use the Triskelion (a tiny little stick…fitting) and she was shocked it only produced bubbles and whimsical magical effects rather than something grander. It was one of the last lessons anyone in LWA had to learn: Magic doesn’t need to change reality, it can change things through the simplest and tiniest of tricks. It’s about making people happy, not dominating the world by being a megalomaniac. Chariot and Akko understood this far better than she ever could, it’s probably what helped them resonate so much. Croix might not have been the best villain ever conceived but her machinations did end up bringing things to a head and a beautiful reunion between Akko and Chariot.
Then came the ending. Corix’s tech went out of control and tried to start a World War by taking over a ballistic missile. I’ll admit, that’s stretching things but you know what, the payoff was worth it. Akko and all of her closest friends drew upon their bonds and the power of the Triskelion and Shiny Rod to deliver one spectacular finale. You had Macross level aerial dogfights, Akko warping through transformations and two beautiful girls using a giant weapon to destroy the final threat to humanity while they stood over the planet Earth…so just another day at the office for Studio Trigger. This is just the point of the series where you turn off the logic portion of your brain and just let it run wild. Heck, taking action and visual spectacle above Level 10 is exactly what Studio Trigger is best at and why these former Gainax buds decided to form their own studio in the first place: making fun Anime. In the end, it wasn’t political maneuvering or the biggest military missile that saved the day. It was a handful of Witches, their magic, and a leader who never lost faith in being able to save the world and make it smile…her way. So yeah, seeing Akko floated just a little bit off the ground on a broom was the best reward for the Little Witch that Could, a true F year moment.
Little Witch Academia is a great show. The first half is personally my favorite as I love the stand alone nature of the episodes and all the mad ball energy that comes with them. The second half has some good tension and powerful dramatic scenes but suffers from trying to do too much with Croix not delivering on the villainess front and the overall new serious feel making the show lose some of its light. But you still have an amazing cast of characters, a deep and beautiful lore, tons of amazing adventures and gut busting humor and an inspirational message that should resonate with anyone, “Believing in yourself is your magic”. It might not be the 10/10 that the first ever movie was. But I’m glad Little Witch Academia got a chance to spread its wings a bit and get the Anime series it so rightfully deserved. As a successor to Kill La Kill, Little Witch Academia is proof that Studio Trigger is a very in demand Anime Studio for a reason. Shows like this remind you of why you got into Anime: for the craziness, for the colorful animation, for the inspiration…for the magical fun that I personally still love more than 20 years later.
8.5/10
After Kill La Kill and Little Witch Academia, that’s two solid hits for Studio Trigger. Care to see if they can knock a third one out of the park? Given the next show’s rep…oh boy we’re in for something, that’s for sure. The end of the Summer of TRIGGER event begins on Monday with Darling in the Franxx right her at the Gundam Anime Corner.
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