First Impressions / Little Witch Academia

「蜂騒ぎ」 (Hachisawagi)
“A-Buzz About Bees”

I’m sure everybody’s had enough of quibbling about the proper use of noble titles last time the Earl of Hanbridge and his progeny were around, so let’s skip all that this week and dive into the substance of the episode, in which love is in the air! I’ll admit it now, the shoujo eyes cracked me up. So often something like like a love potion (or whatever this thing is pop up in these magical settings that I’m glad Little Witch Academia decided to not play the premise very seriously.

I was actually afraid that LWA would use the love-bug to somehow force some kind of romantic development onto Akko out of the blue and, well, it sort of does, but at least it was all ridiculous enough to pass it off as whimsy. Imagine the alternative though. There’s still all these naysayers going on about how magic is outdated and useless, but if Akko had put more thought into it she could have silenced them all in one fell swoop at the party. Imagine how easy it would have been to bring down the House of Hanbridge with just one night of scandal. No more opposition! The witches will rule again! But instead, all that came out of it were the teasing of a few ships. It seems the main flaw of these witches is a lack of ambition.

It’s good development for Akko all the same, because at least she has hopes and dreams and sights set higher. It came from a direction I didn’t anticipate, mostly because it seemed like Akko was too much of a tomboy to be snatched up by some Prince Charming. I had thought that Diana would have been a better candidate for the romance development, despite having little chemistry with her childhood friend outside of smug snark. At least they already had a relationship going, and romance is a standard part of defrosting the ice queen. Instead, Diana is relegated mostly to a gag role. In this Cinderella story she’s been lumped with the other evil stepsisters, even though I suspect that she comes from mostly the same place as Akko with her dedication to magic, despite the manufactured stigma.

Development is still good, though, and this was the kind of episode that I knew LWA could do well, letting the hijinks give Akko a chance to shine and pushing her forward as a character. It’s sort of inevitable, though, that when the nobles are involved LWA packs a bit more meat. The Earl of Hanbridge has been framed as basically the antagonist. And this week, he cements his role as also being a jackass, a sexist, and an idiot, so I guess he’s set for villainy. What kind of overachieving father pushes his son away from piano? Rachmaninoff must be rolling in his grave.

(*We’ve been writing the next season preview here on RandomC, and it’s quite possible I won’t be taking Little Witch Academia to the next season. Nothing to do with the show itself, and it’s not really the kind of show that needs weekly coverage anyway. And there will be a finale post for it regardless, I’m sure. Still, no concrete plans for now, just a head’s up.)

21 Comments

  1. I love the animation and art style of this series, and I love the premise and most of the characters. I just want something more from it and I’m not sure if it will ever give it. It’s a fun watch. I enjoy it every week. But I wouldn’t miss it if I didn’t see it. There’s nothing really to look forward or celebrate every week. It’s just crazy whimsical hijinks. Like a teenager going through their “Look at me! I’m so random!” phase.

    Alice
    Reply

  2. finally a character progression episode… and heck who would thought that this anime would have some real romance?

    here i thought this anime will keep going on its plot of akko’s constant misfortune and then some fuwa fuwa moment in the end without showing some character progression or even some of the main story plot but thank god, this episode came. i am seriously waiting for akko to have some shining moments and this is one of those episode. i just hope that this is start of something new for LWA because 10 episodes of the same plot can be tiresome.

    well… all i can do is just hope.

    Jeffers
    Reply

  4. “…What happened to the squirrel?”

    That was like a whole 5 minutes ago. We’re dealing with a love bee now. Catch up!

    Akko is very cute when she talks about Chariot.

    Tarage
    Reply

  6. Andrew’s personality changed once he got stung, but the second he stepped outside, he acted like himself without showing any hint of his obsession with Akko. Did he control it?

    starss
    Reply

  11. Who cares about the squirrel when you have maidens in love left, right front and centre!

    https://randomc.net/image/Little%20Witch%20Academia/Little%20Witch%20Academia%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
    You know… I wasn’t surprised that this was bound to happen. KarenLove Bee or not.

    https://randomc.net/image/Little%20Witch%20Academia/Little%20Witch%20Academia%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
    FrankLotte is a definite ship. Would love to see these 2 have something going on together.

    https://randomc.net/image/Little%20Witch%20Academia/Little%20Witch%20Academia%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
    Though between AkkoAndrew and DianaAkko… Not sure which to choose

    And Diana graces up this week with her grace and finesse.
    https://randomc.net/image/Little%20Witch%20Academia/Little%20Witch%20Academia%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Little%20Witch%20Academia/Little%20Witch%20Academia%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2035.jpg

    Velvet Scarlantina
    Reply

  12. I am terribly disappointed that Sucy didn’t get a taste of her own medicine. Also disappointed that Hannah and Barbera didn’t get hit. But I guess there’s only time for so many chaotic hijinks in one episode.

    Overall, though, was great.

    David
    Reply

  13. The Flight of the Bumblebee part was the ice in the cake this episode. The best asset of LWA is that even in its more meaningless moments, it becomes evident how much heart TRIGGER put in this show, true to its Gainax origins and this is a lesson that other studios should apply in their produtions as well.

    Exukvera
    Reply

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