Anime Done Right: "Little Witch Academia"

     If you're a fan of Harry Potter and have been looking for that one anime out there that suits you, you should give this a go:

     Little Witch Academia is a wonderful one episode "proof of concept" short film (commonly known as an OVA (Original Video Animation)) released by a company known as Trigger that has the internets in an uproar. Okay, maybe not the whole internets, but at least most of the internets I frequent. There are many reasons for why it's becoming so popular, even popular enough for fans to demand more of it. The second episode was Kickstarter funded in a little more than 3-5 hours after it was put up, revealing just how much of a demand there is for more. It really is a wonderful OVA, both conceptually and artistically. Here are a few things that I particularly enjoyed about it:

Just look at those eyes... Oh wait, wrong anime... but still so beautiful!

- The art, although a bit simpler and less shiny than more contemporary anime, is fantastic. While they could have gone the ultra simple route and used CGI for a lot of it, they didn't. In fact, there's no CGI at all (or it's extremely well hidden), which immediately wins you some points in my book. I get a lot of Gurren Lagann vibes from the art at points, especially some of the explosions and action. Then there's that dragon.

Dat dragon...

     The artistic talent portrayed in the OVA is one of the best parts about the whole thing. Everything is incredibly detailed, and the animation is fluid and exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it just for the beautiful visuals.

- The concepts and ideas of magic are fresh and interesting. Using small brushes on the end of a wand to lower yourself slowly into a hole? Collapsible wands? A dragon that feeds on, and gets bigger from, magic? I love some of the ideas presented in the OVA. I'm a big fan of the Harry Potter series, so seeing something play off that in anime form is fantastic.

I suppose that's one way to ride a broom...

- This is as close to a Harry Potter anime as we're going to get, and I'll gladly take it. While I did enjoy shows like Madoka Magica, I'm not a huge fan of "magical girl" anime. I much prefer Western style magical series like Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. Little Witch Academia is more akin to the Western style than a Japanese "magical girl" anime, especially Western magical stories like Harry Potter. They're in a school like Hogwarts and going to boring classes. There are even some similarities in the characters. Diana, the blonde haired girl, is somewhat like Draco Malfoy, all the way down to her two cronies who are more bark than bite. Speaking of characters...

I'm no expert on iron maidens or ancient seals, but I wouldn't open that if I were you...

- There is a wide array of character models and personalities. This is an obvious point that happens with just about any anime, but to be able to see the interesting personalities that have been created is wonderful. I especially like the potions girl, Sucy. She seems lethargic by nature and has very little regard for beasts that could very easily mash her into jelly.

Minotaurs, dragons, and danger... Oh boy. *twirls finger*

- The Comedy was lighthearted and hilarious. I found myself laughing dozens of times, from  the character's expressions, to the awkward situations, to the homages to other works of fantasy. Although it sometimes delves deeply into super-deformed cartooniness, it doesn't look out of place. There were even parts that reminded me of Looney Toons.

Just look at that face and try to tell me it doesn't remind you of Looney Tunes...

- The music fit perfectly. It was fast and action packed when it needed to be, and slow and comedic when necessary. Majestic fanfare blared when the dragon was defeated and the triumphant flight of the heroines. Some of the music almost reminded me of the music from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.



- Little Witch Academia has incredibly good pacing, at least I think so. Within the first few minutes we have a motive for wanting to be a witch. Then we get a short, but informative, bunching of scenes where we learn more about the way magic works in the world, who is who when it comes to the cast, and we get to see the main character in a moment of weakness. Then we get to the good part, a dungeon crawl that ends up with a spectacular dragon fight in which the main protagonist overcomes her inadequacies and saves the day with a wondrous and somewhat mysterious weapon formerly used by her role model, Shiny Chariot. It only takes about eight minutes to get a decent amount of backstory in before moving on to the action. That, in and of itself, is quite impressive.

We also find out that Diana is indeed a Shiny Chariot fan...

- The significant lack of "fanservice". With a cast full of girls in skirts and dresses it was a relief to find that they didn't take any of the opportunities to take advantage of what most people expect out of anime. They did have ample opportunities, but instead covered everything up with a void of sorts. It would have been disgusting if they had, considering these were, if we follow Harry Potter logic, eleven year old girls. I don't like pointless fanservice, so seeing the lack of it in this OVA despite multiple opportunities earned it a great many points in my book.

Pictured: Utter disgust over "those kinds of anime" (and one *HORK!* over there to the left).

     All in all, I'm really looking forward to what Trigger is going to do with this. I hope that they can keep up the standard that they've set, not only with Little Witch Academia, but with anything else they make. Just remember: no CGI, no fanservice, more backstory, more comedy, and more dragons. Okay, maybe not more dragons, at least not right away... but that dragon was flippin' awesome.

HEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!

     Edit: Yes, Mr. Anonymous commentor, I did notice that. In fact, I even found an awesome screen grab that catches her in the act! I'm glad that someone else noticed it too!

Shiny Firefox... Erm, Shiny Chariot saves the day!

(All pictures were "PrintScrned" from the video and edited in Paint.net by me.)