Blytonbury's Undead Travelogue

## Images

**Blytonbury's Undead Travelogue** (ブライトンベリーアンデッド紀行 *Buraitonberī Andeddo Kikō*?) is the 9th episode of the *Little Witch Academia* anime series.

On Netflix, the episode is titled just "**Undead Travelogue**".

## Overview

*On a trip off school grounds, Akko breaks the no-magic rule and raises a skeleton from the dead. When it runs off, she and her friends must chase it.*

## Summary

The episode begins with the students getting lectured by Finnelan about rules they must adhere to outside school grounds before the strict teacher is interrupted by Holbrooke, who shows her a big pointy boot large enough to be worn as a hat. Just as Finnelan is irked by the latter's antics, Holbrooke chides the former for being unnecessarily strict before underlining her previous point by having Ursula try one of the said boots. Nevertheless, Finnelan put this argument aside by inquiring the students about the items they chose as their amulets. It took Akko to be told by Holbrooke to understand the amulet Finnelan was referring to (an object with emotional value one left behind at their residence/home as a charm to return safely) before reluctantly leaving behind one of her Chariot Cards (the one with Shiny Chariot holding Shiny Rod) among others' possession and makes her leave along with others.

While on their way to Blytonbury, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy ended up at the town's old cemetery because the latter looked for Grave Mushroom, a magical mushroom that only flourished at graves. The unsettling atmosphere of the area made Lotte wonder whether a ghost would appear just as a flock of ravens flew out of the blue nearby, startling Akko so that she hugged Lotte in fear that the two ended up crashing into two nearby tombstones in the process. Terrified by the prospect of them getting cursed for disturbing old graves, Akko decided to fix them with Mending Magic Powder despite Lotte's concern. In her attempt to do so, however, Akko knocked Sucy's grave mushroom, resulting in the spilled powder mixing into an explosion of green gas that seeps into one of the broken graves, reanimating a buried corpse within. The reanimated corpse soon grabs Akko's ankle from within his grave, scaring the daylight out of her and Lotte in-process and prompting the latter to pull the former to safety. In doing so, however, the Finnish also pulled the corpse out of his grave, worsening their predicament. Oddly enough, rather than behaving like some mindless zombies, the reanimated corpse called out some coward he loathed in a bombastic manner before expressing gratitude to the young witches. Hilariously, the animated corpse doesn't remember who he was in life in the middle of his introduction but brushes the issue aside to check on his reanimated form and makes his leave to get revenge, but not before retrieving his hat and slicing his own tombstone to underline his current undeath quest. Incredulous over this unexpected turn of events, it took Sucy reminding the two of the escaped undead that they eventually give chase. Sucy soon joins the chase, albeit at a slower pace than her roommates.

Chasing the reanimated corpse, Lotte deduced that the mixture of Mending Magic Akko cast and Sucy's mushroom must be some necromantic combination that allowed his revival before bewitching nearby vines to capture him. However, she ran out of magic before the vines could reach the surprisingly fast undead. Sucy told the group that it was not an entirely big deal as the reanimation effect of Grave Mushroom supposedly lasted until sundown, yet the prospect of punishment for (accidental) necromancy forced the girls to continue the chase nevertheless. Entering the town, the three friends arrived in time to see the reanimated corpse yelling at random pedestrians at the market one by one and managed to stop his tantrum before he could yell at a 3-year-old boy. Akko begged for the corpse to return to the afterlife, but the corpse refused because of an unfinished business he could not ignore as they spoke. Their argument was soon interrupted by Lotte, who told them they attracted unwanted attention from the crowd, promoting Akko to improvise by claiming that the whole fiasco was part of a miraculous, once-in-a-millennium street performance about a vengeful reanimated knight and a witch who sought to break his curse. To Lotte's surprise, this improvisation works so well that they earn lots of money from their audience.

Hilariously, it's not just Akko who has to improvise to further prevent unwanted attention from the reanimated corpse's antics that day. As soon as Akko concluded her "show", the reanimated corpse proceeded to rummage through a random dumpster nearby, prompting Lotte to concoct a somewhat convincing story to calm down two police officers who were attracted by his antics (claiming the corpse to be her grandfather who wanted to relive his past experience as a legendary pirate through searching every dumpster he could find as if they are treasure chests). The reanimated corpse soon eludes the girls again, with Sucy apparently already chasing him. Just then, Akko and Lotte catch the sight of two random men running out of a nearby pub with faces full of blood-colored ketchup, prompting them to check on the place in fear of the worst... only to see the corpse and Sucy having fun with the patrons. While Sucy reassured the two that she had botched everyone's drinks with Memory Altering Potion to ensure none of them can remember events that recently transpired in two hours, the reanimated corpse is still frustrated by his inability to remember anything before running off, inadvertently left his left arm in Akko's grasp in her attempt to stop him. It took Akko being nearly hit by a passing truck for the corpse briefly let go of his single-minded obsession for revenge, and he pushed the brunette out of the way at the last moment, resulting in the truck hitting him instead.

Despite apparent damage from the ordeal, the corpse managed to put himself back together like a doll, with Akko helping place his head back on his neck. In his gratitude, he remarked that witches, in general, are a symbol of wisdom, and the pride of humanity, giving away a hint of the era from where he came before crying out that the man he seeks is in a house on Caliban Road. When he arrived there with the three friends in pursuit, however, said house had been replaced with a new building, yet he didn't care about that matter, leading to another argument with Akko. Their dispute attracted the attention of a nearby pedestrian who suggested they go for Last Wednesday Society instead (the shop's owner had salvaged everything in that house a long time ago). Consulting with the shop's proprietor, the reanimated corpse is revealed to be from the Golden Age of Magic as he finds the painting of the man he is looking for, yet this discovery is not enough to help him remember anything. The three friends then noticed a letter plastered behind the painting, from which they learned the baby in it was Miranda, a student from Luna Nova in that era. The reanimated corpse then reveals the man in the painting being Miranda's father and that he holds a grudge against him for breaking his vow to raise her as a proper witch following his wife's passing at childbirth by leaving her. Hearing the sound from the city's clock tower, the corpse abruptly makes his leave, all while adding that Miranda's father is the town's bell ringer, with the girls following from behind.

Meanwhile, at Luna Nova, Holbrooke, and Ursula are placing amulets they received from the students into a chest when they stumbled upon Akko's Shiny Rod Chariot Card. It's revealed that the Headmistress is not holding any ill-will towards Shiny Rod, unlike other staff in the academy, remarking that it brings back good memories. Ursula smiled at the sentiment before inquiring the Headmistress about the latter's amulet, in which she only wondered whether they still existed. Afterward, Ursula suggested that they take a stroll around the town.

Arriving at the top of the clock tower, Akko and Sucy take their time enjoying the scenery. Examining the tower's old bell, Akko noticed the clapper was missing for some reason before knocking her head against it by mistake. The produced sound of the tower's old bell from said mishap returned the animated corpse's memories along with some twists:

* Mr. Holbrooke, the man whom reanimated corpse looked for, **is none other than himself** — he died not long after sending his beloved daughter to Luna Nova, a fact that greatly distressed him.
* Miranda and the current Luna Nova's Headmistress are the same person through the symbol on her staff that matches the one on the tower's old bell.

Having put all the pieces together, Akko decided to bring Mr. Holbrooke to Luna Nova so they could reunite him with his daughter. With the group only having little time left before sundown, the Japanese improvises by using Mending Magic Powder on the clock tower's bell, causing it to detach and fly for its missing clapper (which Mr. Holbrooke has fashioned into a magic staff for Miranda long ago). Riding the detached giant bell, Akko, Lotte, Sucy, and Mr. Holbrooke hold their grip over it as the bell brings them to Ursula and Headmistress Holbrooke, who just exited Ley Line Terminal at Glastonbury Tor, at which Holbrooke softened their landing with her conjured giant pillow. Afterward, Holbrooke's staff flew for the bell and reunited with it at last as it stopped near Mrs. Holbrooke's grave.

When Mr. Holbrooke and the Headmistress eventually reunited at last (with the latter recognizing her father despite his undeath state) before the late Mrs. Holbrooke's grave, Miranda expressed no contempt over her father's abrupt passing. She reassured him that he had fulfilled his promise despite rather unusual circumstances before casting a spell on the clock tower's bell via. magic in its modified clapper, ringing it on the air for the first time since Golden Magic Age. As they enjoy this nostalgic scene, Mr. Holbrooke notices his undead body begin to disappear. Thus, he takes his remaining time to say goodbye to everyone present, wishing a good future for witches. His return to the afterlife was not a lonely one, as leaves that flew by the wind in the scene revealed his spirit reunited with his late wife at last. As heartwarming as it can be, the last few seconds of such a moment are unceremoniously ruined by Sucy, who claimed that she "coughed Mr. Holbrooke's dust", much to Lotte's chagrin.

As much as she is grateful that the girls have helped her father fulfilling his promise, Miranda rightfully pointed out that Akko, Lotte, and Sucy has committed a taboo in doing so. However, since the three are still green and the act is likely an accident (which it is), Miranda instead gave them a much more merciful detention in form of repairing a pile of brooms in the academy's equipment repair. Even so, this still dismayed Akko as they had to work without magic. However, Lotte made it clear that magic is not always the best solution to problems. Nevertheless, having learned about Golden Magic Age for real, Akko wished that she was born during said era, in which Sucy retorted that it was the very era when witches got their hands full in solving every problem as well. On the other hand, Lotte remarked that despite advancements in science worldwide, there are certain problems to which magic is the best solution to deal with it. The episode ends with Akko and Sucy arguing over magic and mushroom...

## Order of appearances

* Anne Finnelan
* Lotte Jansson
* Atsuko Kagari
* Sucy Manbavaran
* Ursula
* Miranda Holbrooke
* Mr. Holbrooke
* Memory Alteration Potion
* Object Repairing Spell
* Plant Control Spell
* Undead (Mr. Holbrooke)

## Trivia

* In this episode, the description on the Shiny Rod Chariot cards is written in English. In "Pappiliodya", when Akko receives it as a child, it is in Japanese.
* In Netflix's worldwide release, the episode name was changed to **Undead Travelogue**.
* Through their premises are nothing alike, the motif of the episode's title was inspired by *Cockneys vs Zombies*, a 2012 British zombie action comedy film about the titular group led by Terry MacGuire and his younger brother Andy who robbed a bank in a bid to save their grandfather Ray's retirement home from being demolished only for things become complicated by zombie outbreak.
* According to the episode's storyboarder, Akitarō Daichi, Blytonbury's Undead Travelogue is an episode he enjoyed working with thanks to its slapsticks and intriguing scenarios.
* This episode takes place in September, along with "Sleeping Sucy" and "Bee Commotion", as stated in the chronicles book.
* According to Trigger Night Vol.6, the tree that grows at Mrs. Holbrooke's grave is supposedly her transformed state following her passing.

* Gathered paper money with distinct triskelion symbol of Flag of Isles of Man.
* Isle of Man Government design which has been in use since 1983
* Westminster Bank design.
* Banknote designs comparison with their real-life counterparts
1/4
* If one looks closely at the paper money Sucy gathered from Akko's improvised street show with revived Mr. Holbrooke, they bear the distinct triskelion symbol of the Flag of Isles of Man (three bent legs joined at a central point). Same paper money also evidently based on their real-life counterparts, which is appropriate considering the series' setting:
	+ The first basis is the Isle of Man Government variety which has been used since 1983 and issued with its own currency, the Manx pound. The difference is that it uses the portrait of Queen Elizabeth the First instead of Elizabeth II. The reason behind this artistic change is yet to be revealed.
	+ The second basis is the Westminster Bank variety which was issued since 1955.

## Errors & Goofs

* In this ending, the three girls are given the least severe necromancy punishment, Sucy's shoes disappeared.

## References

1. ↑ Little Witch Academia's Netflix Release Date Announced - IGN
2. ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
3. ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
4. ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 36
6. ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 37
8. ↑ https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/265265778230689793/354307531914608650/IMG\_20170904\_124940318.jpg

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