(Very minor spoilers.)
Witch Craft Works is an incredibly visually appealing anime with great character designs and concepts that aren’t used all that well, and up us as a kind of boring, sloppy mess that masquerades as your average battle romcom.

The premise is that of two people- a guy who is unknowingly the “Chosen One,” and a girl who is his knowing fated protector. They have a typical princess/knight dynamic, except the princess is the guy and the knight is the girl. This seems like it should be one of the more interesting concepts, but… it goes nowhere. The guy is just generally a useless softie who wants to be better, and the girl is your average kuudere school idol- perfect grades, trained in every martial art, perfect at everything except expressing her feelings…

Everything is pretty. There’s a Senran Kagura-level of creative and memorable design on the characters, and while most of the scenery is typical high school/Japanese city, the few times (2 or 3 that I can remember) they go into magical “witch” areas, the landscapes are absolutely enthralling and magical, in a pastel, harmless way. (Fair warning: there IS CG in this anime. It’s used very little beyond the beginning arc, but it’s not terribly bad or distracting. I kind of like it.)

However, how everything is used… is not terribly creative. Most of the episodes jump between two conflicts- that of the main guy’s role as the Chosen One, and as a magic user (“magic plots”), and that of the main couple’s relationship, either in training or daily life (“romcom plots”). The magic plots are usually action-heavy and dramatic, while the romcom plots tend towards slice-of-life banter and very light ecchi. The comedy lands pretty often, for what it’s worth, and the slice of life parts that revolve around the main couple are lighthearted and entertaining.

The action, though? The magical abilities are actually quite captivating, with each witch using a specific style of magic that suits their design. The problem is that they show their hand far too early. A villain (?) who assaults the protagonists displays a beautiful aquatic magic power (in the first 2-4 episodes) that pretty much blows any other effect in this anime out of the water. Also, the main girl’s abilities are also shown very quickly, with her having different “forms” that reflect how serious she is.

And that’s the main problem with this show’s pacing. It jumps between plots, tones, and intensity far too fast, but with consistency. You’ll be sitting through a slice of life segment, and be saying to yourself “ok where’s the conflict that will put this on pause?” Or during an action segment you’ll dread the imminent cutaway gag from the comic relief that breaks that dramatic tension so carefully created by great villains. (For what it’s worth, all the villains’ designs and fight sequences are excellent. Their motivations? Pretty much non-existent.)

It’s not… bad. I’ve seen a whole lot worse. It pretty much only switches between 2 tones, and the ending arc is serious all the way through. But I much prefer the slice-of-life segments. Framing this as more of a romance or slice of life (in the vein of Oh My Goddess, or hell, Maid Dragon) would’ve been a lot better, and a lot more conducive to the ensemble cast of villains and heroes. Seriously, having like 10 separate good witches and like 5 separate bad witches that are fleshed out nigh-equally is just horrible for a 12-episode anime! The focus is spread equally among every character who isn’t “main,” and every single one hurts for it. The sister is a bland brocon, the 5-person Team Rocket witch team literally never do anything productive (ignoring a tiny element near the end, that ended up being unnecessary), and the chairwoman… what, honestly did she do? Dang it, you have some good characters. USE THEM. Don’t use them as bait for flashbacks, don’t waste them in one-off fights or gags, don’t restrict their character to one trait. You did fine with the main couple, why limit yourself? There are great ensemble cast series that actually flesh out a wide array of personalities and ideas. Jitsu wa Watashi wa (manga) is a great example- varying amounts of time were spent on each character to help them fit into the environment and realistically involve themselves in future story arcs. If a character is overall useless, or going to be— let them be, look, and act one-bit. Don’t fool your viewers into liking or hoping for the spotlight on characters that are just going to be background butt monkeys.

5.5/10. Bonus points for that catchy ED. And don’t even get me started on the actual story.
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