Little Witch Academia is one of the four anime works that each received 38 million yen (about US$480,000) from the "2012 Young Animator Training Project." Just like in 2010 and 2011, the animation labor group received 214.5 million yen (US$2.65 million) from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it distributed most of those funds to studios who train young animators on-the-job.
User Reviews:
Trigger does it again.
Yes, and what I mean by that is is achieving entertainment. Honestly, coming into this series, I didn't expect too much. After all, it involved young amateur anime producers who wishes to get their hands on the experience of making an anime. However, after watching these 26 minutes of awesomeness, I got the feeling that Trigger will pull more exciting stuff out of their hats.
Little Witch Academia details of a single 26 minute episode that is seemingly based off a setting taken place in a form of Magical Academy. The title of the series is what you get - an academy about little witches. The series stars Kagari who plays the role of the main female protagonist. Along with her at the academy are other students. Based on her role, Kagari seems to be a lazy student. Additionally, she seems to be naive as her character and is usually deceived in various forms of witchcraft and wizardry. To make matters worse, she is ridiculed by an elite witch (Diana) in front of her peers. Still, we can see that she has a dream, one which she wants to make into a reality.
Following dreams isn't easy though especially with her skills...
Among other things, the episode adapts the fantasy/magic theme well. There's the magical academy, the various tests that students must endure to become elite witches, and the magical spells. Even the way the character dresses seems to reflect this with black wardrobes and magical hats with that special wand to complete the package. The various creatures and critters also adds a nice feeling of magical touch. They have little resemblance to humans but instead are portrayed as the threat to the academy's students.
That of course requires the students' abilities and magical skills to survival. As such, the students uses the knowledge they learned from their classes and employs them directly. Speaking of which, that spells out the action of the series. Personally, I find the action presented to be a bit cheesy. Seemingly, spells fired and crafted gives off sparks of that magical feel. The usage of broomsticks also fits the trope of witches and the way they travel among the skies. Then, there's the deal again with Kagari...
She just wants to be part of the spotlight whenever she can. Whether it's in the face of danger or humiliation, she faces them directly. Despite her lack of magical skills, Kagari can be seen as a determined and daring. Her friends also shares similar personalities and often rushes to action in the face of danger. Among other things, the episode seems to adapt some tropes from the Harry Potter franchise. The theme of a main character rushing into the face of danger, witchcraft, dragons, and magical stone are all there.
"Believe in magic" because it's all magical.
The animation of this episode was a bit cheesy from my perspective. It felt like watching a cartoon but does reflect well on the whole magical theme. The academy's basement along with the wardrobes gives off that feeling in which the girls really are witches. The soundtrack was a bit mediocre. Surprisingly enough, the voice acting was pleasant. All the characters played their roles even if it required a bit of teamwork.
Overall, this episode was a fun delight for me. Don't watch it out of seriousness because if you do, it might end up with a different result. However, out of entertainment and respect for Trigger, this episode was quite enjoyable for me. Sadly, it's only 26 minutes that I hope will transit into greatness. By that, I mean a full length 1, 2, or hell 3-core series. It's not a waste of time to watch this honestly though; only 26 minutes. That's about 1560 seconds of your life.
