[contains spoilers]

The beginning starts off with the introduction of our main character Elaina. A small young girl, taken by the desire for travel, instilled by her favorite book – a gathering of stories of another traveler. Then, the essence of the show is revealed – for her to leave the warm abides of her parents, she needs to first become a full-fledged witch.

The story, then, does something unexpected and moves into the future where our character has already passed the first two steps to becoming a witch. Elaina has already learned how to use magic and passed her exams for becoming an apprentice, at an incredibly early age, making her a prodigy.

From the very beginning, the show separates itself from other animes. It quickly does away with the usual path of struggle and rigorous practice in the name of perfection, starting us at a point where it has already concluded. But… why? It’s a smart way of setting a concrete direction. It’s not about the pain and the falling-down-and-getting-back-up jazz we always see. It’s about the journey.

That’s also well presented in the line of events throughout the entirety of the show. This is not the story of a fighter. It’s one of an observer. Elaina rarely wants to include herself in the center of the action or to be bothered with different tasks. She wants to experience worlds foreign to her, to meet interesting people. That can be even better seen when she expresses her blithe remarks when forced to try out more than she’d rather chew.

Each episode is its own story with a beginning and an ending – the endings usually carrying some form of moral conclusion, almost fable-like. With its bubbly dawns and bright colors, the show is not afraid of tearing it all to shreds with dark stories and sad endings. First, we are following the events in a little slave girl’s life – one of abuse from her master and continuous harassment from a delusional boy, trying to make her “happy” (presented at first as nothing more than a simple romantic story, getting fishier with every second). All concluding with the show’s insinuation towards the little girl’s suicide. Next, we’re thrown in a castle with a princess suffering from amnesia, forced with the task of killing the monster that has destroyed her kingdom. Later, it’s revealed that the monster is the princess’ father, turned into one by his own daughter who’s actually a witch. It all ends with the monster dead and the princess left alone in the castle, engulfed with delusions about the presence of her loved one.

I think it’s important to also point out that our protagonist chooses to not intervene with the occurring events. She could’ve easily saved the slave girl and possibly helped get the princess get back to her senses, but she chose not to. Another sign of the show separating itself from the expected. She stays true to her own story, refraining from changing others’.

As a character, Elaina is an often narcissistic, selfish little girl, whose self-centered character frequently leaves her unbothered with whatever is occurring outside of her view. Those parts of her often spark some fairly humorous and original moments in the anime that definitely increase the enjoyment factor. Her narcissism can also be seen in its purest form during her beginning monologues in some of the episodes – “Who is the beauty blooming as beautifully as the most colorful flowers? That’s right, it’s me”. She is a person who hates fixing and prefers observing. An example of that is when Mirarosé asks her whether she’d like to help with the fight against the monster, to which she casually responds that she’d rather watch from a safe distance because there is nothing in it for her. Individualism is a pretty big part of her philosophy. She believes in the power of a human as an individual instead of in their ability to be dependant on others - in fact, she looks down on that. That can be seen in the time she spends with Saya, who's in a state of sorrow and despair due to her being left alone by her sister. In terms of character development, there’s barely any, apart from the very first episode when she learns to not always bear things she’s against.

The side characters are well made – each adding to Elaina’s journey, without being a building block of it. The only exception being Flan who is Elaina’s teacher and makes her a witch. Saya’s romantic impulses also add to the show’s comedy and make an [possible] impact on Elaina (shown in the last episode where she meets all of her other personalities/possible outcomes – one being in love with Saya). Of course, in the show all flirtatious moves are swiftly shut down, allowing no romantic progress.

Of course, the show is not absolute perfection. It does its best job at running away from clichés and attacking them head-on (in one of the episodes, magical items such as an unbreakable sword and guns with infinite bullets are introduced, clearly making jabs at the inconsistencies in other shows and media). Sometimes the events are fairly predictable, also prone to delivering expected punchlines, seen from miles away. The mysteries are mediocre at best, allowing the viewer to see through them, ages before they are resolved. I mean, in the doll city every single person is carrying a damn doll with them – it’s not that hard to see that they’re linked to the tragedy, is it? Plus, a creepy-looking lady is giving away dolls for free to numerous people saying “I just want to see their happy expressions" It’s not difficult to put two and two together and see that she’s the Ripper. Anyway… The concept for the show (a bunch of stories/following a character’s journey through additional stories) is pretty common in literature, though, I am still inclined to say that it’s original as an anime. The show has slight moments of inconsistency, where the protagonist pretty much throws herself in action, straying from the overall idea. Saya’s romantic impulses can from time to time be repetitive and forced and some punchlines become redundant but this is me nitpicking at this point…

The show is well structured and mostly consistent, making it an enjoyable and somewhat relaxing thing to watch. It manages to avoid cliché traps and plot escapes, often challenging them head-on. The main character is original and entertaining, not falling into the hole of a basic protagonist that’s often seen in today’s anime. The mysteries can be predictable and some parts of the show become redundant but that doesn’t take too much out of the overall experience. For sure one of the better shows this season – would recommend!

7.5

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