Atsuko Kagari

Atsuko "Akko" Kagari is the main protagonist who made her first appearance in the short film Little Witch Academia and later, its sequel Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade and reboot anime TV series that is also titled Little Witch Academia likewise with it's aforementioned short film. She is a young witch in training who is joining a school for witches called Luna Nova Academy. Due to her normal human background, she struggled to study magic and tried her best to become the best witch like Shiny Chariot in spite of the said witch being denounced as a fraud due to her ways of using magic for her shows bringing unwanted views on witches in general by mundanes (non-magical humans).
She is voiced by Megumi Han in the Japanese version of the anime, and by Erica Mendez in the English version of the anime, who also voiced Ryūko Matoi, Melissa Shield, Haruka Tenoh/Sailor Uranus, Aladdin, Arle Nadja, Bernadetta von Varley, Nico Yazawa, Noire, Megumin, Seong Mi-Na, Kamisato Ayaka and even, Raphtalia.
==Personality==
In both short films and anime series, Akko is best described as a cheerful and optimistic yet impulsive and determined girl, which is consistent with her normally exaggerated expressions. She is always up for a challenge, even if it seems too difficult for her and everyone else. As Akko is very social, kind, and truly compassionate, people are often drawn to her happy disposition. She will do anything to pursue her dream to become a talented witch like Chariot, even if it means to put her life in danger. Additionally, Akko has an idealized view of witches inspired by her childhood idol Shiny Chariot, which clashes with her fellow students' perception. Being a fan of Shiny Chariot, she displays a poster of her in her room, and Shiny Chariot is often idealized in her fantasies. It is worth mentioning that she is also very immersed in her own fantasies and sometimes does not account for other witches' opinions. This does not mean that she is a selfish person: In the short films, Akko realizes she almost jeopardizes her friendship with Sucy and Lotte, thus resulting in her sympathizing with what she had done.
In anime continuity, Akko's personality remains consistent with in short films, though her overall characterization fleshed out better and her worst flaws being toned down a bit somewhat. Throughout her early months in her enrollment at Luna Nova, Akko earned infamy among her peers and the academy's staffs as much as Amanda where in her case, for her idealized view on witches, inferior magical abilities, and impulsive and reckless behavior that saw her repeatedly breaking rules. Contrary to Anne Finnelan's poor opinion about her and true to Ursula's statements, that is not to say Akko being unable to change to better, let alone aware with her own faults. Her first visit to the Fountain of Polaris saw her understood that she must work hard to achieve her dream, a lesson that motivated her to improve her magical skills and even unlock the Second Word of the Seven Words of Arcturus. The events of "What You Will" highlighted how much Akko's insecurities over her magical abilities plagued her to the point of comparing herself with the seemingly flawless Diana. She initially believed that emulating Chariot and outperforming Diana was the best way to prove herself only to be rebuked by both Ursula and Woodward (the latter did so by changing her appearance into the likeness of Diana), with the former advising that she should prove herself with her own qualities instead. Akko eventually let's go of these insecurities through liberating Vajarois from her sadness with the help of Lotte and Sucy and unlocks the third Word in the process, ending the tradition of keeping Vajarois appeased via sacrifices once and for all. The moment when she unlocked the Fourth Word while saving Lotte's home community from Greenman Disease saw her understanding that she must be patient. Though she took those lessons at heart and learned that it was her determination to be like her idol, Shiny Chariot, and desire to spread joy with magic which allowed Shiny Rod to appear before her in Arcturus Forest in the first place, Akko still retained her impulsive and reckless attitude.
Though she has a little discipline for studying and finds most classes boring, Akko is very clever. This is first seen in "A New Beginning" when she lures the Cockatrice so that it gets entangled in the vines of a Mandrake plant. In "Night Fall", she gets Lotte into the city by catching a ride in Luna Nova's food delivery truck. And in "Blytonbury's Undead Travelogue", she is able to quickly bring Mr. Holbrooke to Luna Nova by grabbing onto the Bell Tower bell and using a Mending Magic spell to reunite it with its clapper, knowing the clapper is on campus as Miranda Holbrooke's staff. Akko is very creative and eschews tradition for innovation. However, she does not have a great sense of her own capabilities and her overconfidence contributes to a tendency to look before she leaps, and her motivation to do her very best and inch closer to Chariot is often dismissed as naivety by others.
Despite her impulsiveness, ultimately Akko is a selfless witch who will risk her own well-being and reputation to do what is right, such as during "Orange Submariner" when she used her last bit of magic in her wand to break open the fishing cage to save a fish's family rather than using it later when they find Pisces (although she coincidentally found Pisces in the cage), "Luna Nova and the White Dragon" when she convinced her friends to go with her and take back the Sorcerer's Stone from the dragons, and during "Sleeping Sucy" when she volunteered to be the "sacrifice" to go into Sucy's mind and wake her up. In "New Age Magic", her kind heart has allowed her to feel sympathy towards fairy laborers of Luna Nova who went under the strike and joined their cause in getting more magical energy. Indeed, her kindred spirit saw her gained so many friends and allies as well as earning respects from her rivals, and loyalty between them which stemmed from her compassion proved so strong it inspired them to do the same; Ursula sacrificed her Broom Flight ability to protect Akko from the cloud of Wagandea pollen for the sake of her future while Diana entrusts Akko her premium Chariot Card, the only thing she lacked in her collection, in order to rekindle her resolve to be a witch like Shiny Chariot after the awful revelation surrounding their very idol and role model. Diana herself acknowledges how envious she was to the Japanese' positive traits which saw her changed the lives of many around her to the better, including those who stubbornly attempted to maintain status quo at the beginning, as much as she appreciated them, leading the Cavendish concluding that Akko's beliefs being the only true key to save the magical world.
==Appearance==
Akko is a 16-year-old girl who usually appears smiling, or with exaggerated facial expressions. She has large crimson eyes, slightly pale complexion, and straight chestnut brown hair which reaches about just below her shoulder blades in length which had a section of it tied into a half ponytail on the back of her head along with a blunt square side-bangs on the left side.
==Powers and Abilities==
Compared to the rest of her fellow witches, Akko was not competent with magic, let alone using flying brooms (in the anime, it's also the result of Croix Meridies' Noir Fuel Spirit Plan by tricking Chariot to use Dream Fuel Spirit on her), but her potential with magic and determination to master them is unmistakable: She can use the Shiny Rod that once belonged to Shiny Chariot with impressive prowess, both to turn it into a bow and arrow form and the huge ballista form. In the manga prequel, she uses a mandragora potion to gain access to magic only for her lack of experience with it resulted in her accidentally (and comically) triggering a powerful explosion that nearly killed her along with Sucy and Lotte.
*Magic: Because of her mundane background, Akko initially terrible at magic where the severity of such issue is different between in short films and TV Series; whereas the former has her unable to properly control her broom via. Flight Magic, the latter showed her not being able to fly at all, which later revealed to be part of Croix's Dream Fuel Spirit plan to break the Seal of Grand Triskellion. In either case, her determination and faith in magic allowed her to improve.
**Nullification Spell: With aid of at least one of her allies, Akko can conjure energy threads to nullify any magic, including ones emanated by immensely powerful beings.
**Metamorphosis Magic: Although initially terrible with Metamorphosis Magic (only able to give herself animal traits), it eventually became one of her greatest skills through extensive training.
***Transformation Spell: With Transformation Spell, Akko can magically transmogrify herself or others into any desired form such as animal forms (which tend to be cartoonish in appearance) or disguise herself as someone else (which requires at least one item the person in question always carry to make it work).
****Transform Gust: Offensive variation of Transformation Spell where Akko turns into a winged elephant and charges back and forth in high speed, ramming everything and everyone that unfortunate enough to stand in her way.
**Object Control Magic: Akko can magically move objects without touching them to a certain extent with her wand as the focus.
***Opening Spell: With Opening Spell, Akko can magically open any locked door, window, or cage in an instant.
**Mending Magic: Through Ursula's tutelage, Akko becomes proficient with Restoration Magic, being able to restore broken objects with or without aid of Mending Magic Powder to accomplish the feat.
***Object Repairing Spell: With Object Repairing Spell, Akko can magically fix small to medium-sized broken objects.
***Large Object Repairing Spell: With Large Object Repairing Spell, Akko can magically fix larger broken objects.
**Flight Magic: Flight Magic is admittedly Akko's weakest suit. In the short films, she cannot control her broom mid-flight. In anime TV Series however, she cannot fly at all due to the effects of Dream Fuel Spirit before eventually overcome it two months after combating Noir Rod, though her control leaves much to be desired as confirmed in VR Broom Racing.
**Floating Magic: In addition of activating magic broom at hand, Akko can use Flight Magic Spell (Tia Freyre) to walk on the air via. conjured floating platforms that act as sort of stepping stones.
**Magic Energy Manipulation: Akko can manipulate magic energy in its pure form to perform various feats such as projecting beams or blasts, illuminating her surroundings, simulating telekinetic force by infusing a bit of the energy into a target, and generating solid constructs out of the energy's tangible form.
**Heat Blast Spell: Akko can conjure a concentrated bolt of heat radiation that can be used to either obliterate weak creatures and cripple larger targets (human-sized target at minimum) as a form of combat magic or provide radiation treatment on injured ally with this spell, though she only familiar with the former application.
**Seven Words of Arcturus: During her quest for Grand Triskellion, Akko learned the existence of Seven Words of Arcturus, seven special words that form a spell with the power to break the seal of Grand Triskellion via. Claiomh Solais aka. Shiny Rod. Each Word is represented by its respective orb embedded into the staff, and the power within can only be released once its wielder understood their meanings. Unlike her mentor Ursula, Akko managed to unlock every single one of them and thus able to tap on their powers, including the Final Word which allowed her to harness the ancient magic itself. As Shiny Rod had returned to the stars where it came from, she currently no longer able to tap on this unique magic.
***First Word: Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor: The First Word allows Akko to turn Shiny Rod into a bow that can form one or more explosive magical arrows that can either open Ley Line portals or decimate even dragons if they hit their mark. She managed to tap on the Word's power after understanding that she must strive for her ideal place.
****First Word: Makmur Mikmur Mektoral: Through this alternate First Word incantation and magic boost from Lotte and Sucy, Akko can transmogrify Shiny Rod into a floating ballista loaded with proportionally large arrow comprised their combined magic, thus possesses enough firepower to incapacitate or decimate the likes of Titan or Ghost Witch. Lotte and Sucy will pull each end of the ballista as Akko set the magical arrow loose.
***Second Word: Phaedoari Afelgorr: The Second Word allows Akko to turn Shiny Rod into Shiny Axe to perform a frontal attack with. She managed to tap on the Word's power after understanding that she must go forward to achieve her dreams by her own account, working day after day to realize them.
***Third Word: Arae Aryrha: The Third Word allows Akko to either perform flawless display of Metamorphosis Magic or transmogrify Shiny Rod into enchanted rope to bind target with. She managed to tap on the Word's power after understanding that she must prove herself through her own qualities instead of instead of just trying to emulate Shiny Chariot or to outperform Diana as she initially intended.
***Fourth Word: Mayinab Dyssivyrdd: The Fourth Word allows Akko to turn Shiny Rod into Shiny Sprinkler to disperse liquids with within a large radius. She managed to tap on the Word's power after understanding that she must be patient in the face of crisis such as saving her friends from Greenman Disease.
***Fifth Word: Civilladura Lelladebura: The Fifth Word allows Akko to turn Shiny Rod into Shiny Balai, a smooth gilded broomstick with three straw ends that can move very fast. She managed to tap on the Word's power after learning Diana's dream of preserving the selfless legacy of the Cavendish family without giving up Luna Nova and persuade her to believe in her heart, leading both girls both to understand the Word's meaning that says, "When traditional and modern powers mingle, the gate to an unseen world will open."
***Sixth Word: Llyonne: The Sixth Word allows Akko to generate light tendrils that can heal most severe of injuries from Shiny Rod's orbs. She managed to tap on the Word's power after recognizing and thanking Ursula for everything she did for her, thus understands that the Sixth Word can only be learned once she understands who it is that deserves her most sincere gratitude.
***Seventh Word: Fasannciel Shearila: The Seventh and Final Word allows Akko to claim and tap on the power of Grand Triskellion itself via. Shiny Rod. She managed to tap on this Word's power after affirming bonds she made with those who supported her in achieving her dreams, including Ursula herself despite her part in Dream Fuel Spirit incident during her fateful show at Japan.
*Determination/Indomitable Will: Akko's greatest strength is her immense determination and willpower which allowed her to overcome even the most challenging obstacles. Hence, in short films, she faces an enormous magic-eating dragon and later, keeps moving forward on planning the Happy Time Project for the Witch Parade (where Sucy and Lotte left said project out of stress from Akko's impulsive control freak attitude). Similarly, in anime TV Series continuity, she pressed on to reach Luna Nova despite being trapped in Arcturus Forest with Sucy escalating their situation at the time by coveting one of the attacking cockatrice's feathers at her and Lotte's expense, riding the wild magic broom Shooting Star during the 1333rd Luna Nova Cup, trying to overcome the polar bear-like guardian of the Fountain of Polaris to know if she could gain the power of stars, trying her best to study for exams, attempting to solve one of the most important magic rules after having broken one, overcoming the temptation of Blue Moon Abyss' omniscient spirit when the latter offers to grant her desired future, and fighting Noir Rod twice. While there are instances of her losing hope, Akko would eventually overcome them in the end. Indeed, this trait of hers admires her friends and allies as much as inspired them.
*Physical Conditioning: Thought she doesn't look like it on the first glance, Akko has honed herself to the same level as, if not greater than Amanda's own, enabling her to physically performing feats beyond girls around her age. In fact, she fares better than the Irish-American when wrestling against the temperamental Shooting Star and even briefly riding it until it completely broke free from its remaining restraints, effortlessly ran on the marble railing in Hanbrige Manor and even slid through one of the Manor's staircase railings nearby at one point while chasing a Cupid Bee, and ride Shiny Balai like a surfing board without losing balance at the slightest during the fight against Noir Rod-infested missile. These of course, were attributed by her desire to be as athletic as Shiny Chariot.
*Skilled Archer: Akko displayed impressive skill in archery as seen when she fires Shiny Arc with impressive accuracy.
==Equipment==
*Magic Broom: Akko possesses a magic broom she utilized as transportation via. Flight Magic.
*Magic Wand: Akko carries a wand as instrument to cast magic.
*Shiny Rod (formerly): A powerful staff that may very well the embodiment of the power of seven stars that make up Big Dipper itself. Although Akko is initially unable to use it at will, she is able to use it in moments of great importance in response to her feelings, managing to revive the Seven Words of Arcturus. It can transform into a bow and create an arrow from thin air. She also managed to transform it into a great ax to launch a frontal attack as well as a grappling hook, a specialized sprinkler, and a flying broom. After breaking the seal of Grand Triskellion, the Shiny Rod merged with the Grand Triskellion, allowing it to access its powerful world reconstruction magic. Akko eventually loses the Shiny Rod after she used it to help spread magic throughout the world, allowing it to disappear into the stars. 
==Reception==
WatchMojo.com listed Atsuko Kagari as #5 on their "Top 10 Zero to Hero Anime Characters" list.
==Trivia==
*Akko's English voice actress, Erica Mendez, also voices Ryūko Matoi from Kill la Kill, another Trigger production. Similarly, Diana and Lotte's voice actresses, Laura Post and Stephanie Sheh, also voice Ragyō Kiryūin and Nui Harime in the same series.
**Akko also shares both her Japanese and English voice actresses with Gon Freecss from Hunter x Hunter.
**She also shares her English voice actress with Megumin from KonoSuba series, whose personality she is often compared with and as well as them being Heroic Comedic Witches.
*The way Akko obtains the Shiny Rod is different between the anime and the first OVA. In the OVA, she found it within Luna Nova during a treasure hunt while in the anime she found it in the Arcturus Forest while trying to become a student at Luna Nova Magical Academy.
*Akko makes a cameo in the post-credits scene of the thirteenth and final episode of Space Patrol Luluco, another anime series produced by Studio Trigger.
*Judging from her energetic yet impulsive behavior and short-attention-span, it's implied that Akko suffered mild ADHD at best. She even stated arguably to be a problem child for the same reason at school according to her bio in Chronicle Book. 
*One recurring event/running joke in Little Witch Academia series is that Akko has her face flat with bruises from mild forms of harm:
**The very first short film has her face smacked against the desk by a small fairy summoned by a professor for dozing off.
**Some episodes of TV Series also have Akko receiving this injury where the most notable one being the pilot episode, "Starting Over", in which Akko fell flat on the face after unintentionally crashed onto Sucy.
**Chamber of Time game, she got crashed against the ground after failed to stop an animated skeleton model for a second time.
*Three ponies that resemble Akko, Lotte, and Sucy made cameo appearances in Issue 6 of IDW Publishing's My Little Pony: Legends of Magic.
*A character that looks similar to Akko made a cameo in the Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon episode, Mounting an Electrifying Charge!.
**Another similar looking character is also featured as a recurring background character in SSSS.Gridman where she appears in Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 5, Episode 8, and Episode 13. Unlike in Little Witch Academia, however, Akko's SSSS.Gridman incarnation has brown eyes and hair as well as lacked her signature ponytail.
*Akko's hat makes a cameo appearance in Episode 4 of BNA: Brand New Animal among the hats Michiru Kagemori tried shortly after regaining her human form. Two Nendoroids of Akko and Constanze also make cameo appearances in Episode 11 while Lotte can be seen in a crowd shot.
==External Links==
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