I may regret choosing to cover this series as what makes it great is a quality that cannot really be held up to professional scrutiny. Much like Triggers other works, it’s not what’s being presented that matter but rather how it’s presented. You can make the argument that Trigger doesn’t necessarily innovative but rather take old tried methods of storytelling and polish it with great animation. Though one has to wonder if that might be actually enough as to capture the feeling of the old and perfect it is no easy task. It’s difficult to call their works original but there’s no denying that they are fun. I like to see them as the Nintendo of the anime industry in that they stick close to old sensibilities and in doing so keep the simple enjoyment and wonder that seems so rare nowadays. Little Witch Academia so far still has the magic and with hope they can keep it for it’s full 25 episode run. The opening of this series was mixed for me as it is a much more mellow tune when compared to Triggers other works. However it’s growing on me and I happen to like the starting buildup and imagery. For a series like this it is rather suitable that the opening is more easygoing.
I often see Little witch compared to Harry Potter which does seem like a flimsy comparison. Sort of like that joke where you say it’s like Skyrim with witches. Harry Potter is the obvious popular example for comparison but the two actually hold not much in common. Really both have a wizard school and if you ignore actual personality and gender you could compare Diana to Malfoy. This is more a feel good magical adventure when Harry Potter was more written like a mystery with the three often trying to figure out some incident going on at Hogwarts. If we want to play the comparison game then Little Witch Academia holds much more in common with a book series called The Worst Witch. Admittedly I primarily know it from the TV series that aired in 1998 but it certainly is surprising the parallels the two have. Also before you go saying the Worst Witch is a knockoff of Harry Potter it’s important to note that the first book was published in 1973 so if anything Rowling took inspiration from them. This may be a moot point but I wanted to point out that just because Rowling popularised the idea of a wizarding school does not mean she invented the idea. I seem to remember before Little Witch that people referred to Familiar of Zero as anime Harry Potter too.
Based on these past two episodes it does seem like there will be a certain formula which I hope doesn’t become stale. My biggest fear for this series is that it’s predictability could water down it’s charm. The big issue would be the deus ex machina stick, Chariots wand, which can do pretty much whatever the plot requires it to. It does seem to have conditions for its activation which look to involve being charged with magic but I say that later episodes shouldn’t rely on it’ too much. Though it might not be a detriment as Gurren Lagann essentially solved all its battles with fighting spirit and yet didn’t become stale. Diana so far has been made a lot more reasonable as in the OVA she was a lot more confrontational but here she was a lot more reasonable. Still prideful and standoffish but not obnoxious. Her lackeys took to be filling in that role. I particularly like how she noticed Akko’s hair that Susy cursed with a potion and while showing off with the bringing the statue to life she uses it to dispel the magic on her hair. As well as trying to admit that she wasn’t the one who saved the tree. Akko and Diana’s relationship in this show could have a lot more to it here and really could become quite interesting. After all I believe Diana is still a closet Chariot fan and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has the last card Akko was missing from her collection.