Bee Commotion

## Images

**Bee Commotion** (蜂騒ぎ *Hachi Sawagi*?) is the 10th episode of the *Little Witch Academia* anime series.

On Netflix, the episode is titled "**Bee Affection**".

## Overview

*Akko and her friends invite themselves to Andrew's party, where Sucy releases a magical bee whose sting ignites a deep infatuation in its victims.*

## Summary

The episode begins with Akko, Lotte Jansson, and Sucy Manbavaran enjoying some ice cream as Sucy lamented that she received a Cupid Bee rather than the poisonous wasp she ordered. Intrigued, Akko inquired Manbavaran when she'll use it, only to be annoyed that she'll likely be the guinea pig for that endeavor. Just then, they meet Hannah England and Barbara Parker, dressed in fancy outfits, and reveal that they are currently invited to Andrew's party. Just then, a limo appears, revealing Diana Cavendish wearing an even more beautiful dress, albeit least thrilled by the invitation. Concluding their story, Hannah and Barbara tease Akko and her roommates once again before making their leave, angering the Japanese, who declare that they'll join the party nevertheless while raising the ice cream upwards, only for it to fall onto her face with a comical fashion.

The three friends then set out for Last Wednesday Society to see whether the shop has magical dresses. At first, the shop proprietor offers an old dress that disintegrates on her hands, a small doll-sized plain dress, and a leather red one-piece costume with bunny ears, much to Akko's dismay. That's until he revealed the last Cinderella Magic Set, which Akko eventually accepts. Soon after, the group tries the set by activating it at the park via. incantation and well-made magic circle, earning them magical fancy dress and (to Akko's dismay), a three-seater bicycle with pumpkin-themed hood rather than an actual carriage.

Infiltrating Andrew's party in his mansion by enchanting a nearby squirrel into a not-so-monstrous kaiju version of itself as a distraction, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy are amazed by its luxury. Blending in among the guests, Akko spotted Andrew Hanbridge who is evidently not enjoying the party his father Paul Hanbridge held in the light of his latest achievements in his school, Appleton Academy. Meeting Diana, the two have a mild conversation, with Akko watching from afar while eating some cakes and remarking both as equally good-for-nothing aristocrats. Suddenly, the two caught Akko and her roommates among the guests, and recalling that she was not among those who invited, Andrew inquired the Japanese to leave. As the argument between the two ensues, Sucy releases the Cupid Bee in her possession when no one is looking, and the bee soon stings Andrew on his nape. Succumbing to the bee's enchanted venom, the bewitched Andrew, with his memories pertaining to Akko becoming jumbled to the point that her image in his perspective becomes exceedingly beautiful, apologized to the Japanese, and professed his love for her.

Predictably, Akko is utterly horrified by this unexpected turn of events, whereas Hannah and Barbara faint, and Diana is mildly surprised. While Akko is angered that Sucy had instigated this fiasco, Lotte attempted to chase the released Cupid Bee only for it stopped her by bewitching Frank and three of his classmates who attended the party in a row, causing them to proclaim their love for the Finnish. Diana soon catches the bee on her sight and gives chase with Akko on her tails, but the latter is unceremoniously kabedon-ed by the bewitched Andrew and subsequently cornered. Terrified, Akko pushes Andrew aside while dragging the Manbavaran with her, leaving desperate Andrew who calling out for her.

Eluding the bewitched Andrew, Akko asked Sucy what they must do in the light of this chaos. Sucy suggested that Akko should enjoy it since this is likely the first and last time Andrew in love with her. The Japanese is almost accepting the said suggestion before realizing that it is not their biggest problem and they only have one hour left before their Cinderella Magic Set's enchantments wear off. Enchanting a fan in her possession into an ornate fly swatter, Sucy gives the swatter to Akko and stated that the bee's enchantment can be undone by squashing it. With that, the girls catch up with Diana but by the time they do, however, the Cavendish just get stung by the bee a moment earlier and ended up professed her love for Akko, much to the Japanese's horror. Hannah and Barbara, who have just caught up with their leader as this happens, instantly fainted upon this sight as Diana fled the scene in embarrassment.

Continuing the chase to the garden, Akko overhears Andrew (who is following her due to the bee's influence) and his father who inquired him to evict Luna Nova witches who entered the party. In the said conversation, Paul also reminded Andrew to focus on his duty as his heir and for that he had to cast aside his unnecessary passion as a pianist, a decision that Andrew reluctantly accepted since a decade ago. Once Paul is out of sight, Akko expressed her disappointment upon learning the young man is nothing more than his father's "puppet". Andrew tried to justify Paul's decisions and their role in politics, but the Japanese retorted by reminding that he is in fact, has dreams and ideals of his own that worth pursuing just as she pursuing her dream to become the next Shiny Chariot and proving her idol's ideals. Her words of encouragement made Andrew realized something, but due to the Cupid Bee's influence, he ended up remarked Akko being cute instead, much to her embarrassment. Just then, Akko caught the sight of the cupid bee right when she revealed to the young Hanbridge the cause of his unusual behavior, and with that, the two immediately give chase.

Following the bee back into the mansion, Akko attempted to swat it to no avail, showing her athletic prowess. To ease the guests, Andrew reassured them that she's trying to dispose a dangerous bee and played a nearby piano as the brunette continue the chase. Throughout the epic chase, the agitated bee attempted to deter its pursuer by stinging random guests in its path, including Diana (again) which causing her to fell for her own reflection. The chase soon culminated by Akko smacking the bee just as it stings Paul on his forehead, undoing its enchantment on everyone (though Paul nevertheless left in a state of mild shock from the ordeal). Afterwards, Akko praised Andrew for his impressive play, in which the young Hanbridge bluntly replied that he's indeed perfect with it and left, but not before seeing the Japanese's magic dress reverted to her original Luna Nova uniform due to the time limit of her and her roommates' Cinderella Magic Set ran out. Meanwhile, Lotte is surprised to see that Frank retains his interest on her despite the bee's influence has been broken.

Later that night, Frank revealed to Andrew that he realized how beautiful Lotte was upon seeing her smile despite her plain appearance. Frank then wondered whether he developed genuine feelings for Akko, in which Andrew flatly denied. Nevertheless, Andrew tells that his interaction with Akko that night made him realized that while he greatly respecting his father, it doesn't mean their opinions necessarily aligned, hinting that all this time, he is still practicing his skill as a pianist in his free time albeit in secret.

In Akko's dorm room, Akko is surprised to hear that Lotte turned down Frank's offer for a date because she wanted to start their relationship as friends before she can have any genuine feelings for him. Sucy remarked that Lotte doesn't need a boyfriend as long as she has her Night Fall collection. The episode ends with Lotte brought up the part where Andrew swoons over Akko and playfully teased her about it as Sucy join the fray, much to Akko's embarrassment.

## Order of appearances

* Atsuko Kagari
* Lotte Jansson
* Sucy Manbavaran
* Hannah England
* Barbara Parker
* Diana Cavendish
* Andrew Hanbridge
* Frank
* Earl of Hanbridge
* Cinderella Magic Set
* Magic Wand
* Weapon-Wand Fusion Powder
* Weapon-Wand Fusion Spell (via powder)
* Cupid Bee

## Trivia

* A running gag in the episode is whenever a person is stung by a Cupid Bee and they see their crush, the scene shifts to their POV where in their eyes, their crush's appearance is drawn in the style akin to an archetypal Shōjo manga such as *Glass Mask*, *The Rose of Versailles*, and *Aim for the Ace!*.
	+ Another running gag is Akko’s horrified expression whenever someone makes a love confession to her due to Cupid Bee's sting. During that point, her face and clothes dramatically become pale like a ghost, followed by Hannah and Barbara fainting.
* Shiny Chariot's leitmotif plays when Akko tells Andrew about her dreams in the garden.
	+ Also, as pointed by commentary in Chronicles book, Akko also poses in the manner not unlike Shiny Chariot did while commencing her show back at Japan.
* Diana's dialogues when she is stung by Cupid Bee were modified in the Latin America dub. While other characters openly state their love, she is a unique exception as she says "te quiero" ("I like you" in English) instead of "te amo" ("I love you" in English). In most dubs Diana does confess her love, but the Latin American dub is the exception.
* In Netflix worldwide release, the episode's title name was changed to **Bee Affection**.
* This episode takes place in September, along with "Sleeping Sucy" and "Blytonbury's Undead Travelogue", as stated in the chronicles book.
* Sucy releasing the Cupid Bee as a prank on Akko may be based off the Mambabarang, a sorcerer in Philippine folklore that uses insects to torture her victims.
	+ This is further supported by Sucy's last name "Manbavaran" being based off the Mambabarang.
* The scene where Diana professes her love to Akko due to Cupid Bee's influence was a nod to/inspired by Diana x Akko shipping among fans stemmed from both being fans of Shiny Chariot, Akko's obsessive yet one-sided rivalry with Diana, and eventual strong bond between them despite their contrasting personalities. However, the producer already made it clear the franchise won't feature yuri elements so as to maintain its family-friendly atmosphere and better appreciated by the largest demographic.
* Contrary to fans and audience's assumption, this episode is technically the second instance *Little Witch Academia* franchise utilizing visual style of Shōjo works, preceding *Tsukiyo no Ōkan* manga which drawn entirely in such style and set in its own continuity.
* The book Andrew read after the party, "1984", is a nod to the book of the same name by George Orwell. The cover art also bears an uncanny resemblance to Shepard Fairey's version made in 2008 for Penguin Books (UK). Notably, Yō Yoshinari had created an illustration depicting the same book design that was featured in 2009 artbook Headphone Girls: A Pictorial Book, and 2015 artbook Yoshinari You Gashuu - Illustration Hen
* Theme-wise, the episode is influenced by "Much Ado About Nothing", a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599 revolving romantic pairings.
* The music Andrew played with his piano as a distraction so Akko can chase the cupid bee unimpeded is "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov.
* According to storyboarder Hiroshi Kobayashi, he found drawing Akko in a dress difficult due to the episode's setting (Andrew's party).

## References

1. ↑ Little Witch Academia's Netflix Release Date Announced - IGN
2. ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
3. ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 39
5. ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
6. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/265265778230689793/354307531914608650/IMG\_20170904\_124940318.jpg
9. ↑ https://addictedgallery.com/Products/Detail/george-orwell-print-set-with-books-shepard-fairey
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 38

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