It’s good to see that the strides Akko made last episode are still in effect as she is not making an honest effort to improve herself. She’s taking lessons from Ursula and paying attention in class but despite this her improvement is minimal. That’s good as I don’t want to see Akko become a top class student just because she’s trying now and her development is likely to be a main driving force for the series going forward. What this episode highlighted well though was that Luna Nova clearly hasn’t made an effort to accommodate for Akko. Akko is one of the first student to attend the academy from outside a wizarding family so it is natural to assume that she would need to be taught from the very basics of magic. However the teachers of the academy never took this into account and have thrown her into the deep end without anything to guide her. Akko’s difficulties with magic are not necessarily her own fault but also the fault of her educators who quite frankly never made an effort to incorporate her into the school. This is what makes the teacher’s rant against her at the end of the episode so utterly infuriating. For the teacher places all the blame on Akko without considering her own failings in teaching her.
After all one of the teachers required her to understand fish language for crying out loud and this woman is complaining about why she can’t keep up with the other students who clearly have had plenty of preparation before entering the school. You didn’t even tell her that she was going to need to be able to ride a broom to even enter the school. By all accounts, Akko isn’t a bad student. It just seems like she is being taught wrong. She seems to learn quickly when people are depending on her which allows her to get a grasp of fish language and movement spells in one fell swoop when she is needed.(Though the fish language thing I find a little too convenient) Which brings me to something I didn’t expect which is that Ursula is also learning while teaching Akko. The two have really started to be bond and Ursula in turn needs to learn the right way to teach Akko. So Ursula will be growing with Akko and I think there is something there when Akko remarks on childhood dreams. By teaching her Ursula looks to be regaining the fire she had in her youth and seeing her stand up for Akko at the end of the episode was immensely satisfying
My previous theory about the sorcerer’s stone being the only place one can use magic in the world looks to have fallen through as Ursula remarks about numerous magical professions around the world. I admit my theory didn’t really account for just what the students do upon graduation but just how is magic considered useless by the modern populous? There are things that only magic can do so I have a hard time understanding just how this could be considered antiquated. The only other ways i can see this mindset being logical is if magic has much greater limitations outside of the school or if the traditional mindset of the community has made the world ignorant of magics true potential. This is an issue that needs to be addressed but I have a feeling trigger isn’t going to let this be some plot hole to overlook. Lastly it’s nice to see the shooting star mentioned in the paper detailing Akko’s marine adventure. Looks like it’s still flying around. Theres also the matter of Diana’s prediction that Akko would leave the school which seems to have more meaning than Diana worded it.
The thing about the magic stone is it allows for seemingly unlimited use of magic in its proximity. Outside of its effect witches can only use small amounts of magic before running out. The original OVAs made this a lot more clear and I’m not sure why they chose not to in this series.
Is the episode titles intentionally referencing songs?
~~In the town where I was born
Lived a man who sailed to sea
And he told us of his life
In the land of submarines
So we sailed up to the sun
Till we found a sea of green
And we lived beneath the waves
In our Orange submarine~~
So there was an actual song called Orange Submarine? And here I thought the episode title was a rip-off of Yellow Submarine ^^
Same. I thought it was a play on Yellow Submarine.
Magic has 3 major weakness:
1. cost effectiveness, why not just buy new shoe instead of repair it with magic? why not use artificial sweetener instead of magic it? magic seems ‘craft’, not useful on industrial scale
2. location. magic use is limited in location that has sorcerer stone, so its not everywhere. the Dragon consider sorcerer stone cheap, but even if every medium town has sorcerer stone, there are lot of place where it didn’t work
3. personnel. only witch graduate trained in magic can perform it.
I think Shiny Chariot has right idea. Magic primary modern use application is in entertainment. in other use modern alternative seem superior to magic craft. Magic look like many craft that only showup at reinfaire, its once highly paid high trained profession that industrial revolution make it irrelevant. What application magic has that retained its use? car would triumph broom in availability. railroad can reach more place than portal. industrial scale production make repair, food preparation and its medicine use limited.
https://formeinfullbloom.wordpress.com/2017/02/20/spectacle-and-service-little-witch-academia-and-the-purpose-of-magic/
this blog argue that magic has in essence become ‘Art’. Akko and Diana love it as art art, but it no longer has purpose or prestige.
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magic decline also explain how unusual Akko is, and why Luna Nova seem fail to take her into account. In the past, Luna Nova would be highly prestigious high education that only give further training to children or apprentice of those who already in the profession. Akko choice is essentially like somebody decide to learn glassblowing, She consider it beautiful art, while for other student and teacher its family trade.