4 star relaxing and laid back slice-of-life anime.
Flying Witch is a 2016 Japanese anime based on the manga series written and illustrated by Chihiro Ishizuka. It is directed by Katsushi Sakurabi (Gunparade March) and adapted for anime by Studio J.C. Staff (A Certain Magical Index, Golden Time).
This release features all twelve episodes and is available to buy now in the UK on Blu-ray courtesy of MVM Films.
“Hello. It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Makoto Kowata and I’ll be serving as a witch here in your beautiful town. I might cause some trouble from time to time, but I do hope that we can get along and be good friends.”
Makoto (Stephanie Wittels – Clannad, Princess Resurrection) is a young trainee witch. Tradition dictates that at age 15 a witch should go out and make her way in the world, however her parents have decided she should attend high school, so they send her to live with relatives in a small farming community in the country while she trains.
She arrives in Hirosaki with her familiar Chito (Tiffany Grant – Girls und Panzer, One Piece Film: Strong World) and is met by her second cousin Kei (Adam Gibbs – Penguindrum, Haikyu!!), who remembers her terrible sense of direction and shows her to the house.
Here we find her younger cousin Chinatsu (Juliet Simmons – Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?), who is suspicious at first but soon warms to her, especially when she finds out she’s a witch. She also makes friends with local girl Nao (Chaney Moore – Trinity Seven) who is very surprised to learn about the existence of witches. Things get even more interesting with the arrival of her older sister Akane (Christina Kelly – Brynhildr in the Darkness). Together they go on a series of adventures, including lessons in farming, fortune telling and going to see a flying whale.
“Magic gets rusty of you don’t use it that often. Even just keeping up with a few basic practices is enough, got it?”
Flying Witch is a brilliant series, perfect for relaxing and forgetting about the world for a while. It is a calming magical slice of life which takes a look at life in the Japanese countryside.
Although it is about a witch, it also deals with the day to day life of the local farming community and local school. If you’re looking for action, you won’t find it here, nothing really happens. There’s no confrontation, no arguments and everyone finds a way to get along regardless of their differences.
The animation is lovely too, really evoking a sense of idyllic rural life and coupled with a gentle soundtrack, this is a thoroughly chilled out experience and well worth adding to your collection.
“It’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m light-heartedly jumping into this, or that I’m using this as another excuse to practise magic.
Flying Witch is available to buy now on Collector’s Edition Blu-ray
| Director | Katsushi Sakurabi |
| Author | Chihiro Ishizuka |
| Genre | Slice-of-life |
| Starring | Stephanie Wittels, Juliet Simmons, Adam Gibbs, Christina Kelly |
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