You can’t have completely missed out on Little Witch Academia if you’ve been following anime over the past few years. Particularly since it’s a work from TRIGGER, which at least earns a look from just about everyone due to the staff and what they’ve worked on. But from starting out as an Anime Mirai project to a fairly successful franchise with anime series and multiple manga adaptations, Little Witch Academia has sure made it over here. And now we get to enjoy it in comic form.
But will this version of LWA be enough to sate fans? Maybe if you keep staring at Akko’s goofy looking face…
Speaking of Akko (real name: Atsuko), she was inspired by a witch’s magic as a kid, which spurred her to become one. However, unlike a host of people, she…she has no magic. Like, not at all. And yet, she remains undeterred! Akko, now grown up a bit, heads to the school and tries to get there, not realizing she needs a broom. And maybe some magic, which her future classmates point out as they laugh at her lack of knowledge and skills. Akko does try to make it on her own, which manages to not only involve another student (Lotte) but also sends them to a forest. The forest is forbidden to go into.
And that’s how Little Witch Academia, the manga, begins!
Now, I should preface this by saying I’ve only watched the OVA. I don’t know if this is quite like the Netflix iteration. But I believe the general spirit and fun of the series is in the manga, which is quite nice. From the expressions of every character when something goes great to when something goes wrong, Keisuke Sato did a great job of keeping the fun of the series in comic form. And it rarely stands still — because there’s things consistently happening it’s not easy to get bored of what’s going on. You turn the page, you see Akko crying in a manner that’ll make you smirk because of her face, and then get to that nice resolution. It’s pretty nice.
That’s very much needed since the stories themselves are fairly simple. I admit, the start of LWA did surprise me, but after that the stories aren’t complex. You have Akko, Lotte, and Sucy eventually hanging out together, and the arc with Diana is ok, but it’s nothing crazy. Makes sense since this version of the manga (there’s a one volume series from another artist) is marketed for all ages. This doesn’t actually detract from the fun of the manga, but it instead did make me think about watching the anime series. Like, immediately.
Maybe that’s what this series will do. That said, chances are this is for those who have already watched the anime. Still, this is a pretty solid iteration of the show, and I’m definitely looking forward to checking out another volume of this.