Little Witch Academia

**Little Witch Academia** is a 25 episode anime series written by Masahiko Otsuka, directed by Yoh Yoshinari,

   musically composed by Michiru Oshima, and produced by Naoko Tsutsumi and Studio Trigger.  The series started with a 26 minute short anime film on March 2, 2013, presented at the Young Animators Training Project in 2013.  After that came a manga, written by Terio Teri, directed by Yoh Yoshinari, published by Shueisha, and serialized in the magazine Ultra Jump.  It had one volume, which was released on August 19, 2013.  After that came another anime short film, this time 53 minutes long, titled Little Witch Academia;  The Enchanted Parade, which was released on October 9, 2015.  After that came another manga, this time titled Little Witch Academia: Tsukiyo no Ōkan, written by Yuka Fujiwara, and released between September 3, 2015 and December 28, 2015, with 1 volume.  After that, finally, came the anime series, which aired from January 29, 2017 to June 26, 2017.  Following the anime series came another manga written by Yoh Yoshinari, illustrated by Keisuke Sato, and published by Kadokawa Shoten for Monthly Shonen Ace; it started on January 26, 2017, and is currently ongoing, with 1 volume so far.  Little Witch Academia is avaiable to be streamed legally for free in both sub and dub on Netflix.

## Plot

*Little Witch Academia* takes place at Luna Nova Magical Academy (ルーナノヴァ魔法学校 *Rūna Nova Mahō Gakkō*), a prestigious school for young girls training to become witches. Having been inspired by a witch named Shiny Chariot, a girl named Atsuko ("Akko") Kagari enrolls at Luna Nova Magical Academy to become a witch, but struggles due to her non-magical background. This all changes when she discovers the Shiny Rod, a powerful magic relic left behind by Chariot.

One of the main themes in the franchise is Akko trying to live up to Shiny Chariot's ideals by showing the world that magic is still a wonderful thing, while Luna Nova struggles for its continual existence because the general public regards wizardry as outdated. In the TV series, this background element is expanded into a plotline in which magic is waning across the world. The secret to restoring the flow of magic lies within the forbidden Arcturus Forest, sealed inside a magical locale named the Grand Triskelion erected by the Nine Olde Witches, the legendary founders of the academy.

The key to undoing the seal lies in a sequence of seven magical words and the Shiny Rod, an artifact which reacts only to the wielder's genuine desire to spread joy and happiness. When Akko gains possession of the Rod, Chariot (secretly one of her Luna Nova teachers and the Rod's previous wielder) tries to guide her on the path to restoring the power of magic to the world. However, Croix, Chariot's former best friend, had also coveted – and was denied – the power sealed within the Triskelion due to her selfish ambitions. As a result, she schemes to unlock the Grand Triskelion using her technomagical abilities, willingly tapping into dark powers in the process.

## Video Games

1. Little Witch Academia:  Chamber of Time

## Why It Rocks

1. Beautiful, stunningly fluid and colorful animation.
2. Very appealing, detailed, colorful art style and character designs.
3. Incredible music and soundtrack.
4. Good voice acting in both sub and dub.
5. Fun and likable cast of characters.
6. A plot which is cliche at times, but still enjoyable and engrossing.
7. The show is set up similar to Hairy Potter, except with all three of the main cast being female rather than two male and one female; that's why a lot of people have called it Harry Potter:  The Anime.
8. Excellent coming of age story for Akko.
9. The show has some interesting themes, and is able to present them without shoving them down the viewer's throats.
10. The relationships between the characters are fantastic, the most prominent being the relationship between Akko, Lotte, and Sucy, and the relationship between Akko and Shinny Chariot.
11. Lots of character development, even with characters that you would think would get any, such as Diana Cavendish.

## Bad Qualities

1. While the character development fo rmany of the characters is great, some of them start out really shallow and remain really shallow, such as with Diana Cavendish's two friends, Hanna England and Barbrah Parker.
2. The main villain of the show, Croix Meridies, was forced and shoehorned in as a villain.