I CALL BULLSHIT! The show’s called Flying Witch and it’s about a witch who can barely hover,
much less fly! Though I suppose that’s partially kind of the point and I’m just being angry
for the sake of being angry.
So I figured that, after spending some time
with the big shows of the season, I could sit down and relax a bit with a more calming
series. This was it. I always like to have a more slice of life kind of show in my lineup
of shows that I’m following because my watching habits of airing seasons, if watch them at
all, is usually to pick a day each week and just watch all the new episodes. So a series
like this is a nice breather in between all the rest.
Flying Witch is kind of like a spiritual sequel to Kiki’s Delivery Service, but with a much
more laidback kind of storytelling. It follows a young witch named Makoto, who has moved
away from her parents to a relative’s country town in order to properly practice magic on
her own. But the magic of this world is very subtle.
It’s why I brought up Kiki, because none of the magic in this series is flashy. There
are no sparkles or explosions of light. Most of it just happens and if you are not paying
attention, you might not even realize that magic even occurred.
This puts it in a different category of magic series than others because of its much
more, I guess you could say, realistic interpretation of magic. Makoto herself is for all intents
and purposes a normal girl. She’s a little clumsy at times and has a horrible sense of
direction, but she has an intelligent black cat as a companion, and can hover off the
ground for a time with the use of a broom. Though the cat, Chito, can’t talk, unlike
Gigi from Kiki. Thankfully however, he’s still able to be a similar type of character
because Makoto herself can understand him.
Chinatsu is also a joy of a character to have
along in the cast. She reminds me a lot of Nanoko Dojima from Persona 4, as she has the
same kind of innocent wonder about her, but also the tenacity and bravery to explore the
unknown. Most of the magic so far in the series has been used kind of like a showcase for
her, showing her the wonders of the witching world. Seeing her reactions to all the various
kinds of magic and situations that she gets put in makes you really want to cheer her
on, to root for her in her adventures. I liked that a lot.
If I had to find a negative, the only one I can really pin to the series so far is the lack
of any story development. Though really, that very well could be the point. We know Makoto
is here to try and develop her magical skills, but it actually takes quite a while for her
to do so. Most of the time the series prefers to just tell one-off stories about its world,
rather than anything substantial. So if you are looking for a story that’s even
remotely deep or highly developed, then this probably won’t be your thing.
It’s very easygoing. It has things that it wants to show off, to show us, but it’s
not particularly worried about doing it now. All of the characters are, for the most part,
happy. There is no conflict, no drama, and anything that even looks like it might be
gets squashed quite quickly. For many people, this show will come off as
boring and uninteresting, and I get that. But for what it is, it’s a series that just
works. The character designs are simple yet effective, and the soundtrack is excellent
so far. Even with the pacing of each episode, the
characters just fit well together. It’s like a big family, which is fitting because
the majority of the characters are related if a bit distant from one another. If this
sort of thing strikes your fancy, then hey, here’s another series that you can use to
cool down and just chill for a while. Always good to have a few of those.
So, now that we’ve reached the end bit, do I think you should watch this series? Ehhhh,
it’s definitely not for everyone, and I would understand why many won’t find it
to their liking, but personally I’ve been enjoying it quite a bit and will more than
likely be watching it to completion by the end of the season. I haven’t watched a show
that had this particular take on magic, which to me was quite a nice surprise. Sure I wish
that there was MORE magic to be had, even if it was not of the flashy variety, but I’ll
take what I can get. So what did you guys think? Let me know down
in the whatchamagig, and for those of you who are further along in the show, no spoilers
please. Thank you for joining me on this First Reaction.
If you like this sort of thing, hit the like button to let me know and if you have a suggestion
for what you think I should talk about next, let me know down in the comments, though chances
are I will already be doing it. And until next time, ladies, gentlemen, and others, Stay frosty!