Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo – 06

The Third Witch:

After several comedy moments and a few episodes spent on the main characters coming together for a common cause, we begin the quest of the Seven Wonders with the third witch, Ootsuka Meiko (Makino Yui). We learned about the power of telepathy last week, and that’s exactly what she possesses. She comes off as a shy girl – one who looks like she shouldn’t be failing her tests like she is – but she certainly has a strong inner voice. Without much time being spent on her, we never really get a proper sense of her character, other than her power and her split personalities. It’s entertaining enough, but overall, the whole encounter with the third witch ended up feeling quite flat.

Shiraishi and Yamada were, once again, the stand outs. They’re getting closer, kissing and swapping between the beach and the books. It’s nice to see Shiraishi putting aside what could be jealousy in order for Yamada to achieve his goals with the other witches. Will she be able to let him kiss all those girls for much longer? Whatever happens, that final scene with them looking out over the night sky delivered quite the touching revelation: the witches got their powers because they wished for them, meaning their abilities must represent a part of them that they wish they had or are lacking in some way. I hope this idea of these witches feeling incomplete is focused on in future, but I’m not so sure it will because of…

The Pacing Problem:

Woah. The past five episodes may have stormed through the source material, but this episode took that to a whole other level. I thought we’d have one witch per episode, since it should add up by the end, but actually seeing it unfold made it obvious how much of a mistake it was. I’m not over exaggerating when I say that most of the manga content was skipped with Ootsuka and her lackeys, cramming it into one jam-packed episode. After a few minutes I could see how much of a problem this was becoming; it started to feel like random scenes being chopped together in a rush job. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but this is what we’re getting. We could have done with at least three episodes focusing on the third witch, and we’ll likely need just as much for the four more still to come. Sadly, there’s no chance of that.

Overview – What’s Next?:

This episode was a misstep, and I have a feeling we may be heading for a tumble with the rest to come. I’ll try to remain positive – after all, I know some of the really good stuff that’s to come. All that I’m worried about is that some of the better, funnier, or more memorable scenes being cut in the process. Next week we’ve got our fourth witch, and she’s continuing the rainbow hair trend between the witches. There’s another rather important character to be introduced as well, so hopefully there will be an even balance between the two introductions.

Full-length images: 06, 18.

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