Chapter 7 (Keisuke Satō)

## Chapter 7

**Chapter 7** is the seventh chapter of the *Little Witch Academia* manga series adaptation illustrated by Keisuke Satō.

## Overview

*Akko continually receives bad grades in her exams, and will be in deep trouble if she does not pass the final exam of Metamorphosis Magic. Ursula decides to ask Diana to help Akko, but she rejects the idea despite her struggles with the spell. When Akko tries to use the Shiny Rod, Diana transforms her into a mouse, which results in Akko accidently being thrown out of the school by a custodian. Akko then meets another mouse named Hope, who dreams of making it to the ocean and sailing it, just like his hero. However, everyone around him doubts his ambitions, claiming the sea isn't even real. Diana then appears taking the form of a weasel in order to save Akko. Akko offers to take Hope to the ocean, however he refuses saying he'd rather get there through his own strength. Akko and Diana make it back to Luna Nova in time for Akko to take her exam, which she promptly fails.*

## Summary

The chapter begins with a montage of Akko failing in her exams from Fundamentals of Magic Pharmaceutics to the rest Finnelan mentioned to Ursula that she questioned her capabilities in helping the Japanese study (she even attempted to improvise during the broom flight exam by installing some engines into her broom possibly with Constanze's aid only to lose control and inadvertently interrupt Badcock's lesson in other class in the process). Despite her disdain towards her, Finnelan rightfully pointed out that won't bode well since Hanbridges are about to visit the academy after the upcoming Metamorphosis Magic exam and that they can't just presented her among her peers during such an event.

Later that day, Ursula meets up with Akko at the classroom they use for their private lessons just as the latter have some trouble with her Metamorphosis Magic. She informs Akko that one of her fellow students has volunteered to assist her, but the Japanese doesn't take the news very well upon learning the student in question being none other than Diana. Diana herself equally less than thrilled by the endeavor, citing that she is only there because the professors asked her to do so. Retorting that she doesn't need the top student's assistance in her study, Akko makes another attempt with her spell, this time with Diana as the target only for it backfires once again, giving herself rat ears in addition of tail one from the previous failed attempt. As Diana remarks the Japanese's lack of progress being the result of Ursula doted her student too much while casually turning her classmate back to normal at the same time, the undeterred Akko opted to continue with Shiny Rod to no avail.

Unimpressed but intrigued at the same time, Diana interrupts Akko by turning her into a mouse before examining the artifact and wrongfully concludes it to be one of the ubiquitously made replicas, much to the latter's chagrin. Seeing that she has wasted her time for nothing, the disappointed Diana decides to make her leave all while forgetting to turn her classmate back to normal while doing so. When Ursula inquires mouse!Akko about Shiny Rod afterwards, the misunderstood and distressed transformed Japanese abruptly runs off with the artifact on her tiny hands, prompting the guilty bespectacled professor to give chase only to lose her student because she got tripped in mid-way.

Realizing she had run off for nothing, the disgruntled mouse!Akko re-evaluates her options and considers to freak Diana out with her current form as revenge. However, a goblin janitor who coincidentally passes by unceremoniously tosses her onto the top of a leaving delivery truck from the second floor, mistaking her as some vermin until he notices Shiny Rod on the floor. Fortunately, this mishap doesn't go unnoticed by Diana who soon realizes her mistake as soon as she stumbles upon the same bewildered goblin while doing her business.

Trapped in Blytonbury, the terrified and panicked mouse!Akko hears a ruckus from the nearby trash bins; two mice having an argument about the existence of the ocean to the point of one of them beat another in a brawl. Not wanting to interfere at first, mouse!Akko changes her mind upon hearing the beaten-up mouse, Hope, proclaimed his dream to travel across the sea someday. Fortunately, as she does, the larger mouse, Nemo, loses the interest to escalate the fight and leaves alongside his two cohorts. Helping Hope standing on his feet, mouse!Akko confirmed that ocean does exist, leading the excited beaten-up mouse to reveal the legend of a certain rat who crossed the ocean in a bid to defeat a white demon long ago. To mouse!Akko's shock, Hope suddenly coughs a bit of blood in mid-sentence, but shrugs his chronic illness aside as he brings her to his village's elder.

Upon meeting the elder of Hope's community, the two are dismayed by the elder's refusal because he wished the young mouse to take his place in safeguarding their small village someday. His cynical statements when he brings up Hope's sickness provoked mouse!Akko to call him out, but their argument soon interrupted by the sudden appearance of white demon from Hope's story. This prompted Hope and mouse!Akko to investigate against the elder's wishes leading them to come face-to-face with the alleged demon from the tale with Nemo who trapped beneath wooden pieces nearby seemingly under its mercy. Despite their differences, Hope stands between Nemo and the demon knowing the legendary rat would do the same, and so does mouse!Akko. When it appears the demon is about to attack them, it unexpectedly removes the debris to free Nemo, revealing itself to be none other than Diana in her weasel form.

Bewildered by the unexpected turn of events, Hope immediately assumes mouse!Akko as the rat of legend he heard about. Playing along by introducing herself as "Akko Kagareen", mouse!Akko offers to show him the ocean, but Hope refuses since he wanted to achieve his dreams with his own effort. With that, mouse!Akko and weasel!Diana part ways with the small mice village. Watching them leave, Hope is pleasantly surprised to see the humbled Nemo changed his mind about their argument earlier and offers to join his friend in his future journey, knowing he need all help he can get.

Back to Luna Nova, Ursula assures Akko that Shiny Rod is hers' now and that she will be able to pass on the exam. Diana stated that Akko also needs to succeed with her own effort, in which Akko retorted that she won't rely on Shiny Rod forever. As soon as her turn in Metamorphosis Magic exam began however, despite she had visualized the image of mouse enough, there's still something missing that she ended up failed...

## Appearences

* Alice
* Elizabeth
* Priscila
* Akko Kagari
* Anne Finnelan
* Samantha Badcock
* Nelson
* Ursula Callistis
* Paul Hanbridge(indirect mention)
* Andrew Hanbridge(indirect mention)
* Diana Cavendish
* Hope
* Shiny Rod
* Magic Wand
* Magic Broom
* Transformation Spell
* Mouse
* Goblin

## Manga & Anime Differences

* If one looked closely at the panel where Ursula got tripped, one can notice what seems to be leathery layer covering her tights beneath her skirt, suggesting her bodysuit and Luna Nova teacher robe being separate attire as opposed of the former being modified version of the latter in the anime.
* Akko informed Ursula about her acquisition of Shiny Rod during their private lessons together instead of prior to broom race.

## Trivia

* Hope's story about a legendary rat who crossed through the ocean in a bid to defeat a white weasel-like demon is an obvious homage to Gamba no Bouken 1975 anime TV Series as well as its Americanized movie version *Air Bound*, both which in turn, based on the novel *Boukenshatachi: Ganba to 15-hiki no Nakama*.