I loved the first two Little Witch Academias because they managed to make use of their time perfectly, so I was a little worried an anime series would end up too long-winded. Fortunately, each episode (or eventually two episodes) had plots that felt reminiscent of the first short.

The format of the show is a bit weird. At first, episodes are their own little plots, then an overarching plot is introduced halfway in that selves as a backbone to the continued "little plots" until the finale episodes. I will say, I found the first half of the series to be perfect. The anime isn't much about witches learning spells (despite the title), with really only two or three spells seeing repeated use. It's more about Akko wanting to do something and bringing her friends along for the ride with the hijinx you'd expect. Akko is very clearly the star of this entire anime and her bullheadedness is always the driving force, so if you love Akko (like I did) then you're set for a fun time.

However, that comes at the cost of other characters not getting enough focus. I feel the main demand of a Little Witch Academia anime was to give the characters more time to be developed, and if that's what you were hoping for then I imagine you'll be disappointed. They get some screentime, especially in the first half, but I definitely felt starved of a good portion of the supporting cast. Lotte and Sucy don't get nearly as much time as you'd think despite being Akko's best friends. As a side note, I was remiss to find that Sucy didn't develop much beyond mushrooms when she got her spotlights, and Jasminka got literally no time to actually have a personality like I was hoping.

The plot introduced halfway in, which introduces "McGuffins" to collect, is where I started having my doubts. It's more of a unique take where they're actually traits Akko has to find in herself that can be good little lessons to boot, but it introduced moments of trying to formulate game plans to find them that slowed the anime down. It also started eeking in a villain, which I found unnecessary when the plot is much better as "Akko vs. herself." They aren't complete dealbreakers, but their inclusion felt like they interrupted the flow the first half had going.

So it sounds like I don't like the anime, but those are the reasons I don't think it should get a 10/10. Despite all of that, the anime is a sheer joy to watch throughout. Despite being given the main focus for 25 episodes, I never tired of Akko's unmatched silliness and motivation. The way she and the other characters bounce off of each other creates so many funny and cute moments, but also emotional ones. And thanks to the beautiful animation and magic theme, there are a lot of beautiful points as well.

While the Little Witch Academia anime gets a strange shift halfway through, it still showcases captivating quests throughout. As a result, it's one of my favorites and I definitely recommend it.