Witch Craft Works Episode #1 Impression

Aired: January 5, 2014

Hello fellow Anime freaks and geeks! Today we are reviewing the newly aired anime called Witch Craft Works and I have to say I am already a fan just by watching this first episode! If you are into witches, killer bunnies, and reverse roles, then this anime is for you!

Storyline:

Since this is the first episode, it is mostly introducing the main protagonists Takamiya, Honoka and Kagari, Ayaka and a little bit of the story. Ayaka is basically the “Princess” of the school although she doesn’t seem to care about it. She is also a witch who secretly was protecting Honoka until he was attacked. Honoka is trying to deal with her fan club that seems to be annoyingly out of control to the point that some of the students beat him up! There is some action that goes down when Honoka is attacked and Ayaka comes to save the day not only once, but twice which I believe we will see more in the future episodes. The first villain Kuraishi, Tanpopo was interesting and gave some clue as to why she and other witches like her are attacking Honoka which wants me to watch more! The storyline wasn’t much, but it is what you expect in a first episode; introductions, some action, and there was an emotional scene as well.

Art & Sound:

I believe the art was decent. I wish the people in the background would move realistically than standing completely still, although this does allow the main protagonists stand out a lot more. Cannot complain about that! The fighting scenes with Ayaka and her enemies were fast-paced and fluid also, one of my favorite part of this episode. The opening theme is called Divine Intervention by Fhána, which in my opinion a decent song for the new series. I would choose something a little more magical to match the theme a bit more. The closing theme is a cute song called Witch Activity by KMM-dan in which the enemy witches of Ayaka’s are singing in various scenes.

Characters:

I believed the main protagonists Honoka and Ayaka are a wonderful pair! Ayaka is seems to be very reserved, barely showing any emotion, but when she speaks her words have a very clear meaning. She has a distinct protective side to her when it comes to Honoka even to the point of calling him her “Princess” and will go any length to help him. She also holds her ground very well when it comes to fighting. Obviously she is a skilled fighter and uses her magic well. Honoka is pretty much a loner who gets bullied quite a bit by Ayaka’s crazy fan club. He seems to be very caring, and is willing to try to help Ayaka even though he is weak. He even got upset with her at some point because she protected him and she ended up hurt. He was also concerned for her fan club as they were upset that he was even in their “sublime Princess’s” presence while eating lunch with her when usually the fan club had to make reservations to even sit with her. He accepted that he needed to believe in Ayaka and listen to what she says and in exchange for her to try to understand his emotions. The enemy Tanpopo was interesting. She transferred to the school that Ayaka and Honoka go to in order to bring Honoka dead or alive to her headquarters. She dropped a few hints as to why, but not enough to know her purpose. She seems to be calculating, finding ways out of a situation, but I can’t say much more on her as there wasn’t much of her character to go on.

Overall Score: 7/10

~Jellz