Flying witch pulled another consistent episode this week, albeit not as stand out as the one last week. I have to say, for a slice-of-life show, Flying witch has a very neat timeline, everything happened in sequence. Last week we had Akame coming over for the Cherry Blossom festival, and she staying till this week, although all she does was lying down all day. This week we follow our Chito-san (the black cat) twice, first through Chinatsu spying on her, and second time when the cat leads the way for Makoto. The repetition between the two parts comes off as a low point from the always-consistent-show here. You see, for a show that relies heavily on small moments, atmosphere and slow building, the repetition is its worst crime. It feels drag out but thankfully, those were just small parts in the episode. For the first part, Chinatsu senses that Chito the cat is up to something, so she decides to follow her. Meanwhile, Makoto goes through all the old boxes she left when she stayed long time ago. Chito obviously is the star of the show. I like the way Chinatsu keeps sneaking and speculating Chito’s actions, but mostly what the cat does is just what normal cats do. From teasing the dog, climbing the trees, investigating the hole where the kids buried the box, or catching the butterflies. All of these are your typical cat’s activities and the show pretty much portrays these actions fittingly.
The best parts of this episode are the scene revolves around the old woman. She appears in each part and each time we learn more about her. This is the kind of observation that Flying witch is always excels at. Her interactions are charming and her manner and gestures speak a lot to her personality. On the first part when she met Chinatsu for example, she inspires Chinatsu for the lucky cherry blossom pedal, in the second part though, we learn that she had a close friend who was a witch, and that she tried too many magic luck charms to know which one was effective (maybe all of them are). There is a parallel between that old woman and Nao in that aspect, both of them are normal people having witch as a friend. The old woman was so fond with her witch friend, so does Nao. This is a lazy Sunday afternoon watch (indeed some of the cast does this week are sleeping) and I think Flying witch and Kabenari would be a perfect combo to watch back to back.
~SuperMario~
The old woman having insight into witches was a pleasant surprise. The existence of witches not being a strictly kept secret and simply existing and belonging in the world is very fitting.
Very true to it’s themes and that’s been disappointing me every week. Slice of life can still have some outrageous things like heart-thumping adventures and emotional rollercoasters but it’s insistence on staying with the ordinary while boasting a title like “Flying Witch” won’t stop bothering me. Surely unfair to compare it to Aria since Aria is my pinnacle, but simply stepping outdoors in Aria launches the atmospheric soundtrack of Aqua. A lazy afternoon gondola ride might leave you in the stream of a song reverberating down a canal. Aria is also slow, mundane and boring but the music is bold and overflowing in passion and love.
The lack of ambition leaves me regretfully thinking there’s something magical sorely missing from Flying Witch.
Sorry for ranting on your post though. I didn’t agree with all your positive writing though reading which parts of the episodes catch your attention are very interesting.
There’s one thing that I have to disagree with you. Yes, the series creates a laid-back, relax atmosphere and easily put you to sleep mode, but that doesn’t mean the production itself isn’t ambitious. I had said it before but to make something flow effortlessly actually require an utmost care in mood and timing. Plus Flying witch gives a lot of attention to small details that actually make it highly re-watchable. Like watching this episode second time, did I realize that Chinatsu’s father missed a fried cake in the morning, so the wife made him 2 more at lunch; or Akame chose the exact same spot that Chito the cat was lying down to sleep.
Ah I didn’t notice those details, that’s quite a nice touch!