Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia is a standout anime, even though so far there is only one part and it is about 25 minutes long at this stage I would definitely consider this a masterpiece. Instead of writing an essay about this i'm going to create a list of Positives and Negatives, I know when you're just looking to see if an anime is worth watching you usually don't want to read all that much. Positives - A short story which leaves room for expansion yet ties up the major loose ends and sticks to a three act structure incredibly well. - The characters are all very different from each other,none are stereotypical archetypes and each are likeable in their own way. - The soundtrack is not something I noticed too much, but it was enough to create the correct atmosphere for the scenario's. - The animation, I feel like this really needs to be stressed, by god the animation is amazing, everything is so smooth I think this might be the smoothest and most consistent animation i've ever seen. Negatives - Hard to think of many. - The soundtrack wasn't extremely memorable, hardly much of a negative. Like I said, it's very difficult for me personally to find faults in Little Witch Academia, I would recommend this to almost anyone and am certainly looking forward to the future of this project.

"Trigger saved anime." This is a phrase the anime community got to read a lot alongside Kill la Kill's airing until a little while. I'd go this far and say that Trigger DID save anime. But it had nothing to do with Kill la Kill. Read here why! Actually, Little Witch Academia caught me by surprise. I didn't know Studio Trigger had something like that in stock and after I found out about this little gem I almost instantly decided to download it and oh boy was that a fine decision. Reminder: This review will be spoiler free and I will refrain from going too deep intohappenings and just summarize it really, really quickly. We have the main heroine Akko Kagari. As a child she was attending a magic show featuring the witch Shiny Chariot who has become an idol for Akko. Even though she is not born into a magic family she attends the name giving magic school and is friends with Sucy and Lotte. Let's split up this review into the five categories as usual: Story (7/10): There really isn't much I can say about a one episode anime with 25 minutes without coming up with a summary or spoilers. So let's just say that Little Witch Academia features a coherent plot. It features a look in the past of the main character and her motivations, parts of the everyday life at the academy and the interactions between multiple different characters. It's just one episode but felt concluded and not rushed by any means. Art (7/10): Since it has been Studio Trigger working on this it has this certain touch you instantly get out of it if you have watched Kill la Kill before. In general the backgrounds are very nice to look at, the animation is fluid, lightning looks gorgeous and the character models are full of variety in looks and facial animations. There is nothing to complain about here. Sound (8/10): As it is a single episode anime yet I would have never thought so much effort has been pumped into the soundtrack. It was outstanding and had a broad variety of different tunes to set the mood. I really loved that it consisted mostly of orchestral music. It just fitted so well. Another part worth mentioning in the "Sound"-category is the voice acting. Trigger got really, really talented people on board for Little Witch Academia and it was a pure pleasure listening to them. Character (8/10): For a one-piece show they had a pretty adorable and varying cast reaching from the arrogant but talented witch with her two friends and the goofy main character as well as her sidekicks which would be a clumsy glasses girl and the superficially more introverted girl with the not-so-obvious but kickass abilities. All in all a very good cast of likeable characters. Enjoyment (9/10): I can't remember when it was the last time 25 minutes felt that short. It was over in almost an instant and had no dull moments. It was funny, suspenseful and full of quality. Pure entertainment! Verdict (8/10*): A very good anime. It is nice to see that projects like Little Witch Academia are such a success (600.000 clicks on YouTube according to Trigger). Also the second episode has been an insane hit on Kickstarter, fulfilling the 150.000$ mark in just one day. I can't wait for more. It was fun all along. You shouldn't miss out on this enchanting tale! It's worth your very time and appreciation. --------------------------------- *) Score is not an average

I just want to rate this special as a 10 to applaud the young animators on a job well done! Your story goes like this a typical magical girl has aimed to become like her idol "Chariot" and this connects to the minds of our youth because you know we hold lots of dreams, ambitions, and imagination. So this special takes that and creates the opportunity to take this dream head on. Bits of comedy and adventure with a hint of wonder, i mean its about magical girls ;] The characters are all unique. Including the art, oh man the ART. The scenery if fabulous andas for the character designs...gorgeous. I'd also like to add that the style changes from cartoon-y to normal to detailed in their faces to match the situation such as embarrassment or laughter. The main ones have different facial features so you can easily recognize them not only by their hair color. The music matched very well. Especially at parts that needed suspense ^^ I really enjoyed this special and it will go down as one of my favorites for now :> Typical magical girl, so why now give this special a try? The special effects are pretty dramatic ^^

Trigger does it again. Yes, and what I mean by that is is achieving entertainment. Honestly, coming into this series, I didn't expect too much. After all, it involved young amateur anime producers who wishes to get their hands on the experience of making an anime. However, after watching these 26 minutes of awesomeness, I got the feeling that Trigger will pull more exciting stuff out of their hats. Little Witch Academia details of a single 26 minute episode that is seemingly based off a setting taken place in a form of Magical Academy. The title of the series is what you get - an academy aboutlittle witches. The series stars Kagari who plays the role of the main female protagonist. Along with her at the academy are other students. Based on her role, Kagari seems to be a lazy student. Additionally, she seems to be naive as her character and is usually deceived in various forms of witchcraft and wizardry. To make matters worse, she is ridiculed by an elite witch (Diana) in front of her peers. Still, we can see that she has a dream, one which she wants to make into a reality. Following dreams isn't easy though especially with her skills... Among other things, the episode adapts the fantasy/magic theme well. There's the magical academy, the various tests that students must endure to become elite witches, and the magical spells. Even the way the character dresses seems to reflect this with black wardrobes and magical hats with that special wand to complete the package. The various creatures and critters also adds a nice feeling of magical touch. They have little resemblance to humans but instead are portrayed as the threat to the academy's students. That of course requires the students' abilities and magical skills to survival. As such, the students uses the knowledge they learned from their classes and employs them directly. Speaking of which, that spells out the action of the series. Personally, I find the action presented to be a bit cheesy. Seemingly, spells fired and crafted gives off sparks of that magical feel. The usage of broomsticks also fits the trope of witches and the way they travel among the skies. Then, there's the deal again with Kagari... She just wants to be part of the spotlight whenever she can. Whether it's in the face of danger or humiliation, she faces them directly. Despite her lack of magical skills, Kagari can be seen as a determined and daring. Her friends also shares similar personalities and often rushes to action in the face of danger. Among other things, the episode seems to adapt some tropes from the Harry Potter franchise. The theme of a main character rushing into the face of danger, witchcraft, dragons, and magical stone are all there. "Believe in magic" because it's all magical. The animation of this episode was a bit cheesy from my perspective. It felt like watching a cartoon but does reflect well on the whole magical theme. The academy's basement along with the wardrobes gives off that feeling in which the girls really are witches. The soundtrack was a bit mediocre. Surprisingly enough, the voice acting was pleasant. All the characters played their roles even if it required a bit of teamwork. Overall, this episode was a fun delight for me. Don't watch it out of seriousness because if you do, it might end up with a different result. However, out of entertainment and respect for Trigger, this episode was quite enjoyable for me. Sadly, it's only 26 minutes that I hope will transit into greatness. By that, I mean a full length 1, 2, or hell 3-core series. It's not a waste of time to watch this honestly though; only 26 minutes. That's about 1560 seconds of your life.