Have you been wanting an anime that isn’t full of fan service, preachy dialog, and is just sweet fun? Little Witch Academia might be what you are looking for. It follows a young girl, Akko, with little to no magical ability on her quest to become a witch so she can be like her hero Shiny Chariot, and I have been enjoying watching her struggle to become the best.
I find it refreshing that none of this comes easy for Akko. She doesn’t instantly become the greatest witch of all time just because she is the hero, like so many other magical kid anime shows. She has to work hard and study to just stay in school let alone perform any magic, and the ‘B’ plot of magic slowly depleting from the world and how it connects to the witch that inspired her is actually interesting.
If you are on Netflix, you may also see a thirty minute mini-movie with the same name and a slightly longer Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade. While those ‘movies’ feature the same characters acting pretty much the same way, the series is newer and reboots everything, so while those short films are good, they are not required viewing for the TV show.
Little Witch Academia is a fun show, and it has been refreshing to watch after the slog that was the second season of Sword Art Online. Will Akko become the greatest witch of all time? Probably not, but her show is easily one of the best anime series on Netflix.