Category: Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia – 15[Chariot of Fire]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

Shiny Chariot rides once again and I think that’s where most of the animation went besides the showcase at the end of the episode. Wise choice though as it shows that Ursula hasn’t dulled much in her later years. She still seems intent on keeping her identity secret from Akko though this may be because finding Chariot is her main driving force at the moment. We at least are getting some idea of Chariots past as it seems she and Akko are a lot more similar than first thought. Akko and Diana seem to mirror the relationship of Ursula and Croix in their youth. However it would be a strange twist of fate if Akko ended up under Croix’s wing while Diana and Ursula teamed up. Diana has started to look into Ursula so she could very well figure out her true identity.

I feel that Akko’s nativity is getting to be a bit much as her trust of Croix is so much that even when walking up to her lair she doesn’t seem to register how ominous it is. Though Ursula is at fault as well seeing as she doesn’t seem to be making an effort to warn Akko of Croix’s intentions. I don’t really understand why she covered for her when Akko woke up as letting Akko know of the danger Croix possesses would be a very good idea. Though what is Croix after exactly? Others besides Ursula to harbor doubts over her changes to magic and with good reason. Amanda makes a point that with her innovations magic has essentially been supplanted with Science, making it indistinguishable. It does feel like with the technological upgrades it’s getting that something more personal has been lost. However another reason to be concerned is that this direction for magic is heavily dependant on Croix. In fact she pretty much holds full control of magic power distribution with this system and she seems like just the kind of person to take full advantage of that. Those routers may allow magic to be used off grounds but who’s to say she didn’t place a backdoor in them to allow her to shut them down whenever it’s convenient for her. It’s getting to the point that when she makes her move, nobody would be able to do anything about it. For everyone would depend on her inventions at that point and she would have them by the balls.

Kudo’s to the commenter on the last post who correctly guessed the involvement of Yggdrasil as Ursula points out the tree as being the source of magic power. I originally wrote it off as I thought it was strange to involve Norse mythology when so far it’s been mostly Celtic(Though we did have a dragon named Fafnir so it’s not the first time it’s popped up.) but if Wikipedia is trustworthy then mentions of a world tree are in Celtic folklore as well though that tree was unnamed. The final bit of exposition that Ursula gave at the end of the episode was impressive animation wise but admittedly only really served to inform us of what we already know. It clued in Akko to what she needs to do and the main new information to be gleaned from it is that the seven words unlock some sort of reality warping magic and the bit about Yggdrasil. In that regard I feel like unsealing the words can only really lead to trouble as Croix could swoop in to take the magic once Akko has done her job.

Little Witch Academia – 14[New Age Magic]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

Well here she is, miss antagonist and now another of the visions Akko had when unlocking the second word has come to pass. In a way this is still continuing the episodic structure of the previous episodes but again there’s enough plot in the background to make it feel substantial. We also have a new opening which looks to be hinting at a conflict between Diana and Akko which mirrors that of Ursula and the new professor Croix. I don’t think the new opening is better than the old one, feels a little too standard and like Kill La Kill’s second opening. I rather like the thematic  conflict with the main characters. With Akko and Diana being aspiration against realism while Ursula and Croix look to be traditionalism against modernization. Croix, much like Constanze, is mixing magic and technology in an effort to fight against the magic energy crisis. You could argue she has best intentions but her demeanor screams villain to such a degree that I expected rainbow spotlights to appear with a German theme song.

Akko seems well enamored with her but I think this was a missed opportunity to have Constanze play off her. As I said previously, Amanda and her crew have had little screentime so far in the series and I would certainly like to see them featured more than just being background characters. Though I suppose the purpose of this is that Croix is winning over Akko to the side of magical modernisation and leading to a conflict between Akko siding with her idol or her newly respected mentor. I think this was a really strong episode and a good introduction for Professor Croix. The witch academy did seem to be won over by technology a little too fast though even with one teacher still is not convinced. Tradition was one of the things holding back the academy, the Samhain festival is certainly proof of that. However to remove it entirely does seem to risk losing connection with the power of magic. I have a feeling that Croix is deeply involved with the decline of magic and it’s clear she has an underlying motive behind this Academy modernisation after setting  up the events that triggered the strike in the first place.

It was quite humorous to have Akko go to try and convince the spirits to stop the strike, only to join them instead. But the real golden moment is that Akko managed to get Diana flustered. Her method was a bit underhanded but nonetheless she did have a point in that Diana didn’t try to understand the situation the spirits were in. She condemned them for demanding more when they were clearly getting a raw deal here. A mere ten percent of the magic energy with witches taking up the rest. Considering that they need it to live that’s akin to cutting off their food supply. Akko may be unreasonable but her cause is justified and it is rather satisfying that after 13 episodes of Diana being a pure perfect witch that Akko managed to shut her up. A one sided rivalry looks to be becoming a true rivalry as Diana acknowledges Akkos worth. It also seems she is catching on to Akko being chosen to revive the grand triskelion which is sure to shake her up even more.

Little Witch Academia – 13[Samhain Magic]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

While the episodic structure still lingers I can say that this is an episode I can get behind. There was at least progression in that Akko revived another word and a hidden villain at episodes end. But what makes it work is that unlike the more lackluster episodes previously, the story didn’t return to zero once the episode ended. In the zombie episode or bee episode, by the time the episode ended the characters were right back in the same position that they started. But then episode ended with good developments. For one we have Diana who has been rather harsh on Akko as of late. It’s quite understandable when you take into account that Diana was at first intrigued about her but over the series became frustrated at how Akko refuses to improve or take things seriously. In a way Diana’s feelings mirrored that of audience as she had lost any real faith in Akko. When this episode ends with her actually feeling conflicted and dissatisfied. Diana followed the rules and performed a impressive feat of magic but both the audience and her know full well who stole the show. Much like episode 2, Diana gets the kudos and becomes the moonlight witch due to Akko being disqualified for not following the rules. When comparing their fats, Diana summoned a unicorn and Akko broke an ancient curse to save the soul of a princess. Akko’s approach was clumsy and awkward but she nonetheless accomplished what Diana couldn’t or even dared to think of. I think on some level Diana does see Akko as a rival and may even dream of performing magic like Shiny Chariot. But Akko seems far closer to Chariot than Diana could ever be.

It’s nice to see that Sucy and Lotte were at first reluctant to go with Akko’s plan and Lotte even mentions that they can’t keep following along with her. Akko has often dragged the two along with her regardless of what they think so it was nice that they refused initially but decided to help in the background once they seen how hard Akko was practicing. It is a wonder as to why the school never tried to break Vajarois curse before but seeing as they are such a stickler for tradition perhaps they never even thought of it. But why is it that this was tradition in the first place? Well if the end of the episode is to go by, perhaps there was a good reason as to why this princess was kept cursed. Maybe to prevent something from escaping. Akko’s little show clearly took inspiration from Chariot as she attempted transformation spells in a similar manner. Of course due to her lack of skill these transformations became comedic rather than impressive. The audience enjoyed it regardless after the entire festival was a bore for everyone due to sticking with tradition.  While looking at them, I do wonder if those which judges might be playing a part in future events. One of them looks far too well designed to just be a one off character.

We have hit the halfway point of Little witch Academia so perhaps Netflix will finally put the series up on their service. Even better if they dub it. My overall impressions of the show is that it is overall great despite having a weak episode or two. This show is still indeed fun and when it gets it right it usually knocks it right out of the park. It’s possible now is the time when the series shrugs off the episodic structure and moves for an ongoing narrative but if they can keep a string of progression like in this episode I would be fine with the episodic structure remaining. Even the anime greats have a weak episode or two but for this show to be considered great the second half has really got to bring out all the stops. Amanda and her crew haven’t been present all that much so I think they are getting their due and it’s clear an antagonist is coming by the premonition Akko received and the mysterious figure at the end of the episode.

Little Witch Academia – 12[What You Will]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

I did expect to see the episodic stories return in some fashion but at least the story development from last week is still going. This week Akko is transformed into Diana by a mirror that looks to have some connection to Woodward. I worry that Akko may be falling into the same trap as the main character of the pokemon series. Proclaimed that she is gonna be the best while her strides towards it are small while being prone to backtracking. Diana does seem rather tired of her talk with nothing to back it up and I can’t honestly blame her for that. While Akko is improving she does tend to slip back into old patterns from time to time. She tries a little bit and suddenly gets a big head and thinks she can pull off statue magic. If Woodward had a point in this little prank it was likely to force Akko to recognise that she isn’t Diana. In a way they may not want her to be Diana. Diana is the poster child of the school and it’s clear the teachers are the ones who think she will be the one to bring back magic but Woodward didn’t test her on the night of the blue moon. If it really was her in that mirror then she might not have much of a good opinion of Diana’s methods. Perhaps because Diana treats magic as a science when Chariot treated it more as a art.

What we did find out is that Diana has tasked herself with unsealing the Grand Triskelion and bringing magic back to the world. As a fairly privileged child of magic it is rather appropriate that she sees it that she has to be the one to save the world. Unbeknownst to her, the chosen one for this task has already been decided. So how would Diana react to the fact that it isn’t her, the magic prodigy and pride of the school, but Akko the class dunce who is tasked with saving the world of magic. Diana so far in this series has been a reasonable girl but I think even she would be devastated at this revelation. At the start of the series I hoped that it would delve more into the two perspectives that Akko and Diana have approached magic. Akko is the dreamer aiming for the stars while Diana is the realist who takes into consideration the sacrifices and work needs to strive for a dream. Personally I stand more with the viewpoint of Diana but I do recognise the value of optimism and drive. It’s just that when that is all you have it just becomes reckless and destructive.

This episode is the first of two parts and we end with Akko getting advice from the fountain of polaris to do what only she can do. What that is I certainly have no idea but it’s clear she isn’t going to perform her part of the festival as intended. Speaking of which, what might be of interest is that the monster that will appear of the festival looks like one of the red visions that Akko had upon striking Woodward with shiny rod. If so then perhaps those series of visions are a premonition of the future and if that is the case then dark tidings are on the horizon. We still don’t know the meaning of Diana’s prediction as well that Akko would leave Luna Nova. For now it looks like Akko is set on becoming the Moonlight witch as she seems to believe that Chariot was made one in the past. Though based on Ursula’s reaction I don’t think that’s how things went down. Guess we shall see next week.

Little Witch Academia – 11[Blue Moon]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

I don’t mind the lighthearted shenanigans of Little Witch Academia but in my opinion it’s episodes like this that will truly make the show memorable. After ten episodes of mere hints as to the state of magic and it’s history we get a truckload of answers. Why is magic being considered antiquated? Because magic is declining and less witches are being born into the world. What is Ursula’s past? Much like Akko, she chased after her own Icon in the form of professor Woodward, one of the great witches. What is the plot of Little Witch Academia? Akko must activate the magic words of Shiny rod(Claiomh Solais) and bring back magic to the world. As it stands Akko has activated two of the words, strangely the spell she said in the second episode doesn’t seem to count. We even get a small glimpse of an antagonist and strangely it wasn’t the horned woman who turned out to be Professor Woodward. It’s nice to see Ursula get some development though rather silly that Akko is too oblivious to notice her connections to Shiny Chariot. Even the Bird in Ursula’s room should have been a massive giveaway. Though perhaps I don’t give her enough credit as in her dream it showed at first Ursula from behind before switching to Chariot while repeating Ursula’s words. At least on a subconscious level, I think she’s beginning to catch on. Either way, with a task given to her by Woodward I think Ursula is going to buckle down on Akko’s training. If so I hope they go further with the bond the two have in this master student relationship.

Can I just say just how refreshing it is to see anime make references to Irish Mythology? I admit that as an Irishman I am biased in that regard but it’s just so refreshing to see something referenced that isn’t bloody leprechauns. Today we know the real name of Shiny rod and that is Claiomh Solais which strangely enough translated to “Shining Sword”. Considering that it has the ability to transform into a bow and an axe I say that it is highly likely that it also has the ability to transform into a sword. I also really loved the celtic theme that played when Ursula was talking to Woodward. Quite marvelous. This episode was a bit of a retread of the fountain of polaris as Akko once again seeks out something detailed in her Shiny Chariot cards. Though with the fountain she was seeking a quick path to becoming a great witch, here she is just trying to see if she has the potential to become Shiny Chariot. While the reason for seeking it out is different, the lesson is more or less the same. In a way it’s sort of regression that Akko needs to learn that there are no shortcuts for her a second time. It is understandable that she is losing patience with her constant failures with magic though she has made progress. The weakest part of this episode was the choice that Akko was presented as giving up her past in exchange for being Shiny Chariot was out of the question from the start. There was no tension in the choice because the choice was obvious. Otherwise I consider this a great episode of the show and one it sorely needed at this point.

My biggest worry at the moment is that with the story laid out this will mean we return to the more episodic nature of previous episodes. After this development I don’t think people would have the patience for the show to sideline it so that we can see Akko have some  one off adventure with little consequence. One of the things that could suggest this return is that while Sucy and Lotte have gotten their own individual episodes, there’s still Amanda and her whole crew that have yet to get the spotlight. Not saying I wouldn’t want an Amanda or Constance episode but if we are going to get one I would wish it would push forward some kind of plot. Diana may have gotten a large amount of screentime but I feel she has become a Mary Sue with the antagonistic aspects of her removed. I originally applauded this change as I thought this would put more focus on her contrast with Akko but unfortunately she just has been disconnected with the stories so far. So in order for this show to really shine we need Akko to work towards finding these words while developing the side cast of characters. One last thing, was Sucy meditating at the start of the episode? That’s a pretty interesting detail.

Little Witch Academia – 10[Bee Commotion]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

I remember seeing a remark someone made that Little Witch Academia would lose half it’s fanbase when the realize that they don’t like Saturday morning cartoons all that much. While most likely said in jest, I find there is a certain degree of truth in that statement. I did enjoy this episode of Little Witch Academia more than the previous two episodes but there is an underlying frustration I am feeling that I find all too familiar. Before finding anime I used to watch a lot of cartoons and I do remember this feeling of wanting the show to give more. To dive into deeper subject matter, to capitalise on characters development or to push forward with romantic relationships. However cartoons rarely gave me that and I remembered feeling aggravated when things returned to zero. The OVA’s gave me a small taste of nostalgia for old Saturday Morning cartoons and the series has delivered in regards to keeping that same magic. However ten episodes into this series and I find myself wanting something more than just that. There are some developments and attempts at world building but they are few and often in the background to today’s hijinks. I admit that perhaps the problem is the wait in between episodes as I watch it weekly. If I was binge watching through the episodes I don’t think I would have the same reservations. The point is that if Little Witch Academia continued with this episodic hijinks for the remainder of it’s runtime, would I be satisfied with the result? In all honestly, No. I would not. The show is currently fun but I do wish to see it develop into something more substantial.

But on to the episode and this week we have a love bee going around making everyone fall in love at the drop of a hat. Trigger certainly is using this to poke fun as for one brief moment DianaXAkko was actually feasible. This episode seems to be pushing for a romantic relationship between Akko and the politicion’s son, Andrew. Some have misgivings about this though I would argue that they are not quite there yet. They certainly do seem to be interesting in one another and both Akko and Andrew do tend to seek each other out. Though I don’t think they have reached the level of love and it’s more fascination at this point. Andrew is enthralled with Akko’s drive to shoot for her dreams when he is locked into the position his father has decided for him. Akko on the other hand looks to have formed a friendship with him after going to the fountain of polaris and is rather determined to prove to him that magic isn’t useless and unnecessary. This seems more along the lines of friendship rather than romance, though there certainly is potential for it to develop into one. Right now I would rule it out after Akko seemed suitably horrified when Andrew started confessing to her after getting stung by the bee. If she had more serious feelings for him I would think her reaction would be a little different. I did find it nice that even after the bees effects worn off, Andrew’s friend Frank still remained interested in Lotte. I don’t really like the idea of pairing up every character in the series but after seeing Lotte get disappointed when the effects worn off it was nice for someone to reaffirm that she does have charm. Plus this would mean he would stop hopelessly chasing after Diana..

Plenty of references this week too, though I think Trigger may be going a little overboard with them. This week saw references to classic shoujo with everyone getting shoujo eyes after being stung by the bee(Pretty funny though.), Cinderella got reference with the signature Bibbity Bobbity boo spell getting parodied and they even threw in a reference to George Orwell’s 1984 of all things with Daicon IV Bunny suit making a brief appearance. We pretty much confirmed that Andrew’s dad will be playing an antagonist role and from how he speaks of witches it seems like this is more personal than just magic being considered useless. Seeing as Andrew’s mother has not been brought up that makes me suspect that his father got together with a witch and she ran off, leaving him bitter about the experience. There is a witch in the opening who is shown briefly in the reflection of the water that could be related and whom I suspect of being a future antagonist. Otherwise it’s nice to see Akko performing magic without messing up as she casts a transformation spell on a squirrel that works perfectly. Thus her claim in front of the fountain feels more than just empty talk as Akko takes small strides towards her dream.

Little Witch Academia – 09[Brightonberry’s Undead Travel Log]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

This is a tale of a man whose wife died during childbirth. The man decided to enroll his daughter in a magic school she that she could become one of the witches who brought such happiness to the world. But the man was called off to war and gave his daughter a bell ringer as a charm to help him get home safely. Alas the man was shot during the war and died cursing himself for leaving his daughter all alone in the world. Years later than man comes back from the grave when three witches accidentally bring him back to life and searches for his daughter so he can apologize for dying on her. Only to find that the daughter never resented him and grew up to be a witch just as he wished. The man then spends his last moments on earth with his daughter before joining his wife in the afterlife. It’s a very touching tale…or at least it would have been if the man wasn’t aggravating during every minute of screentime.

Well, this is the first episode of Little Witch Academia that I truly didn’t enjoy and I think the prime reason is that bang of bones. This could have been a really good episode if approached differently but instead it was this zombie running around causing trouble until he remembered what it was he wanted to do. Essentially the same gag over and over. Zombie runs off and causes trouble, Akko and crew try to stop him, once stopped he runs off again to cause trouble, Akko and crew try to stop him, wash, rinse, repeat.

We at least got some worldbuilding as we learned about the golden age of magic in which before technology, witches helped with everything. Again the big question of “If magic is so useful then why is it considered outdated?” looms over the series but we haven’t got an answer for that yet. I am a little disappointed in Akko trying to once again solve her mistakes with magic as it feels a bit like a regression after her character grown before. I think it’s safe to say that the episodic nature of the series has become a little worn out and i am not the only one craving a little more progression. It’s nice to learn more about the headmistress and it’s a interesting touch that when heading out to town each girl must leave behind an object they care for. As it mirrors the very thing the headmistresses father did with the bell wand.

But if we were going to do this episode I would have preferred that the zombie wasn’t trying so hard to be funny. When you introduce a character and said character does nothing but constantly unapologetically cause trouble for the cast then it’s difficult to find them endearing. If they changed his personality and maybe went for a less manic persona this tale could have hit right in the heart. As it is now I am glad I won’t be seeing this character again. Animation seemed on the lower quality today but after last episode I am not too surprised. I have heard word that this was outsourced a bit and I suppose if we are going to do that it’s better done with one of the weakest episodes of the series.

Little Witch Academia – 08[Sleeping Sucy]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

After Lotte got her own episode I did think it was a matter of time before Sucy got the spotlight. However I did not expect her episode to be so…weird. Personally I consider this the weakest episode of the series so far as it didn’t really push the plot forward and was more focused on being wacky rather than charming. The end of the episode essentially pulls the “It was all a dream” twist and despite not really being so, this episode felt like filler. Enjoyable filler but well filler nonetheless. There are a considerable amount of references this week with shoutouts to Akira and Sleeping Beauty being a few of them. If there’s one thing to take out of this it’s that Sucy does genuinely care about Akko despite her pranks. The theater in her head does replay their first meeting often which does show that she cherishes that memory.

Animation got fairly creative and having the episode take place inside Sucy’s head allowed Trigger to get more silly that they usually does with Little Witch Academia. This is purely speculation on my part but I think that Hiroyuki Imaishi was more involved with the creation of this episode than You Yoshinari. Mainly because the tone was kinda similar to the likes of Hiroyuki’s Kill La Kill or Luluco. Now I am all for having fun but from what I seen of Trigger’s animation studio online, those people need some sleep and having this much effort go into an episode which is essentially fluff has me worried about burning the animators out. Passion is beautiful but for the love of god guys don’t kill yourselves with overwork. But what else can I say about this episode? I don’t really know as I don’t think I really learned anything new about Sucy despite being in her head for an entire episode. The most telling thing was the movie theater and a lot of that could be surmised by her normal behavior. She does have parts of herself like her mild interest in reading nightfall but really everyone has whims such as those.

Other than that I don’t have much to add here, this episode was madness from start to finish and while I liked it I felt it missed the distinct qualities that make Little Witch Academia so different from their other original works. There is a wackiness to the show but it’s the heart and charm that truly make it memorable. We saw a glimpse of that here with the movie theater but the rest was more or less comedy chaos with little rhyme or reason. Seeing as we have a two cour season I don’t see any real harm in spending an episode in manic oddness and cultural references. As long as Little Witch Academia doesn’t forget whats important it will remain high on my watchlist.

Little Witch Academia – 07[Orange Submariner]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

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.

Little Witch Academia – 06[The Fountain of Polaris]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

I should start having more faith in Trigger. Just at the point when Akko’s mentality was starting to become a problem, she gets an episode dedicated to fixing that. After gaining shiny rod Akko was under the impression she was something special but now after failing in magic again she is finally acknowledging her shortcomings. I was getting worried as she began looking for a quick fix by finding the fountain of Polaris but the fountain itself only showed her that Shiny Chariot was once in her position. Thus Akko is ready to truly begin working hard at magic and accept Ursula’s help which I think could be the beginning to a real mentor and student relationship between the two. One thing I find interesting is that Ursula took away Shiny Rod when she rescued Akko and Andrew only to return it once Akko acknowledged her weaknesses and decided to do better. Also it truly is set in stone that Ursula is Shiny Chariot. Her hair has changed to red and she clearly knows far too much about the nature of Shiny Rod, the cards and Polaris’s protector. I am curious was to what prompted her to disappear and hide as a teacher in Luna Nova but there’s another moment I am quite looking forward to. Since the first OVA I always wanted to see the reaction Akko and Diana would have to Ursula revealing herself as Shiny Chariot. I don’t really expect it to happen until the very end of the series but I would love it to be a great epic reveal before facing off against the main villain.(If this series has one) It’s cliche and predictable maybe but I always did have a weakness for that kind of heroic reveal.

With the introduction of the Duke’s son comes a new concern. Romance in Little Witch Academia. Actually let me rephrase that. Plausible romance in Little Witch Academia. I know you Yuri shippers are shipping hard and I certainly have seen that Akko kissing Diana comic strip more times than I can count but come on. We both know the truth. Most you guys will get is slight insinuation if you are really lucky. As far as straight romances go it seems like Diana and Andrew doesn’t look likely as both know each other from childhood and don’t hold each other in high regard. Akko seems to have caught his attention though the two aren’t staring into each others eyes with deep red blushes. Truthfully I am not truly fond of the idea of romance in this show, be it gay or straight. If it’s featured it would need to be a very minor addition as I don’t want a Kiznaver situation where the plot grinds to a halt so characters can get shipped together. I highly doubt Little Witch will go down that route, for one it’s not written by Mari Okada, but yeah as far as romance goes I say keep it minor or keep it out.

It was around episode 6 that Kill La Kill dropped it’s episodic format for a more ongoing narrative so we may be seeing the birth of an ongoing plotline. The Duke himself seems fed up with Luna Nova himself and is looking to close it down. It has been repeated by now that magic is seen as out of date and useless by the modern populous but why is that exactly. By all accounts the magic shown in the series could have several uses and even as the duke berates it he is driving through a magic portal. Technology is undeniably useful but it seems odd for so many people to dismiss magic outright. So far the biggest problem with using magic is that you need to be near the Sorcerer’s stone in order to use it. That in fact may be the main reason why people consider it useless. I mentioned before that Luna Nova has a rather diverse student body but perhaps the reason for that is that Luna Nova quite literally is the only place on the planet where one can learn magic? The Sorcerer’s stone may be only one of a kind and in that regard magic certainly would be considered rather useless as even if you can perform miracles within school grounds. Even if you can transform rats into horses, the magic would likely wear off the minute you go outside the stones field of effect. Coupled with this is the Teachers traditionalist views and aversion to technology which could very well hamper any use magic has. Only thing I would could see magic having a use for is as an energy source but as already shown the stones effect radius is small and I doubt it could power the world. It’s still up in the air just how Akko is going to prove that magic is still needed but it’s clear that this will be one of the major themes of the series. So what I wonder is, where might we be going with this? Somewhere fun, I hope.