Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia (リトルウィッチアカデミア, Ritoru Witchi Akademia) is a 2013 animated short produced by Trigger for Anime Mirai 2013. The short was created and directed by Yoh Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka. The short was released in theaters on March 2, 2013^[2] and was later streamed with English subtitles on YouTube from April 19, 2013. A second short film partially funded through Kickstarter, titled Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade (リトルウィッチアカデミア 魔法仕掛けのパレード, Ritoru Witchi Akademia: Mahōjikake no Parēdo), was released on October 9, 2015. A television anime series is scheduled to premiere in January 2017. Two manga series have been published by Shueisha.

Story

Little Witch Academia

Akko Kagari enrolls into Luna Nova Magical Academy (ルーナノヴァ魔法学校, Rūna Nova Mahō Gakkō), a school for young witches, after being inspired at a young age by a witch named Shiny Chariot, and often spends her days hanging with her classmates, Lotte Yanson and Sucy Manbavaran. However, she has trouble paying attention in class, doesn't know how to ride her broom, and is often looked down upon for admiring Chariot, who many believe gives the wrong impression about witches. One day, as a teacher instructs the class to explore a dungeon and retrieve rare treasures, Akko finds the Shiny Rod that belonged to Chariot. Meanwhile, the top student, Diana Cavendish, inadvertently breaks a seal on a dragon that grows more powerful by absorbing magic. Noticing the Shiny Rod still has power after all these years, the teacher sends Akko and her friends to reach the Sorcerer's Stone, the source of the academy's power, before the dragon can devour it and become invincible. Arriving at the stone, the Shiny Rod absorbs some of its power, allowing Akko to fight against the dragon. Put into a desperate situation, Akko hears Chariot's words coming from somewhere, that a believing heart is magic, and with renewed conviction she uses the full power of the Shiny Rod to destroy the dragon.

Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade

Akko, Lotte and Sucy, having gotten in trouble yet again, are forced to team up with three other troublemakers; Amanda O'Neill, Constanze Braunschbank Albrechtsberger and Jasminka Antonenko, and must make an annual witch parade a success or else flunk the school year. Not content with how the festival revolves around the mockery and subjugation of witches, Akko becomes determined to make the festival a spectacle that would show off how awesome modern witches are and dispel their negative reputation. As Akko's ambitions for the parade grow, however, she ends up arguing with her friends when they don't feel the same way. However, Akko remains determined to prove Shiny Chariot's ideals of magic to everyone, using the Shiny Rod to borrow some magic from the Sorcerer's Stone for the parade. During the parade, some delinquent kids try to steal the rod, only to be caught by a giant that was sealed away long ago. Luckily, Akko is assisted by the other witches, including the return of Lotte and Sucy. Making up with each other, the three witches combine their power and put a stop to the giant, resulting in the parade becoming a great success.

Characters

Atsuko "Akko" Kagari (アツコ・"アッコ"・カガリ)

Voiced by: Megumi Han (Japanese); Erica Mendez^[3][4] (English)

The main protagonist, an energetic girl who joins a school for witches called Luna Nova after being inspired by Shiny Chariot. Having not come from a magical background, she struggles using magic most of the time.

Lotte Yanson (ロッテ・ヤンソン, Rotte Yanson)

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh^[4] (English)

Akko's friend and roommate, a shy girl who wears glasses. She worries about Akko's well being. In The Enchanted Parade she harbors a song from her home town that appeases spirits.

Sucy Manbavaran (スーシィ・マンババラン, Sūshi Manbabaran)

Voiced by: Michiyo Murase (Japanese); Rachelle Heger^[4][5] (English)

Akko's other friend and roommate, a sickly looking girl who specialises in potions with various effects. She likes using poison mushrooms in her spells and concoctions.

Diana Cavendish (ダイアナ・キャベンディッシュ, Daiana Kyabendisshu)

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese); Laura Post^[4][6] (English)

The top student in Luna Nova who looks down on Akko for her admiration of Shiny Chariot. Despite saying this, she is secretly a fan herself.

Professor Ursula (アーシュラ先生, Āshura-sensei) / Shiny Chariot (シャイニィシャリオ, Shainī Shario)

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (Japanese); Alexis Nichols^[4] (English)

An instructor at Luna Nova. She has bluish-grey hair and wears glasses. It is later revealed in the film that she was Shiny Chariot, a flashy and popular witch who specialised in spectacular performances and inspired Akko to become a witch.

Hannah (ハンナ, Hanna) and Barbara (バーバラ, Bābara)

Voiced by: Eri Nakao and Chinatsu Akasaki (Japanese); Jennifer Alyx and Alexis Nichols^[4] (English)

Diana's schoolmates who team with her during the dungeon crawling task.

Amanda O'Neill (アマンダ・オニール, Amanda Onīru)

Voiced by: Arisa Shida (Japanese); Marianne Miller^[7][8] (English)

A Luna Nova witch student who appears in The Enchanted Parade who got in trouble for breaking into the school's high-security vault. She is a party girl who is very good at dancing and doing aerobatics on her broomstick.

Constanze Braunschbank Albrechtsberger (コンスタンツェ・ブラウンシュバンク・アルブレヒツベルガー, Konsutantse Buraunshubanku Aruburehitsuberugā)

Voiced by: Rie Murakawa (Japanese); Jennifer Alyx^[8][9] (English)

A Luna Nova witch student who enjoys combining magic and technology to create robots, laser guns, and other gadgets.

Jasminka Antonenko (ヤスミンカ・アントネンコ, Yasuminka Antonenko)

Voiced by: Reina Ueda (Japanese); Stephanie Sheh^[8] (English)

A friendly and laid-back Luna Nova witch student who got in trouble for stealing food; she is always seen snacking on something, even during classes.

Media

Anime

Short films

Little Witch Academia was produced by Trigger as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project, which funds young animators, alongside other short films by Madhouse, Zexcs and Gonzo.^[10] The short was created and directed by Yoh Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka with music by Michiru Ōshima. The short, along with the other Anime Mirai shorts, opened in 14 Japanese theatres on March 2, 2013.^[11] Trigger later released the short on Niconico and with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll on April 19, 2013.^[12] The YouTube version received over 850,000 views up until it was taken down in August 2013 to promote the Blu-ray release.^[13] The short was later released on region-free Blu-ray Disc on October 24, 2013.^[14][15][16] The short is also available for streaming on Crunchyroll^[17] and Netflix.^[18]

On July 5, 2013, Trigger announced at Anime Expo that a new episode, titled Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, would be developed in response to the reception the first episode received.^[19] The project began production in 2014 following the airing of Kill la Kill.^[20][21] Whilst initially having the funds for a twenty-minute episode, Trigger launched a Kickstarter campaign to extend its runtime to fifty minutes.^[22] The Kickstarter was launched on July 9, 2013^[23] and met its $150,000 goal within five hours.^[24] A stretch goal of $500,000 was added to produce a making of documentary and audio commentary for the Blu-ray release.^[25][26] The Kickstarter raised a total of $625,518.^[27] The short was premiered at Anime Expo 2015 and for Kickstarter backers on July 3, 2015 and was subsequently released in Japanese theaters on October 9.^[28][29] Otsuka has stated that if the sequel performs well, they may potentially look into producing a television series or full-length film.^[30] Both films were later released on Netflix with an English-language dub on December 15, 2015.^[31]

Television series

A television anime series of Little Witch Academia was announced on June 24, 2016 following the final episode of Space Patrol Luluco.^[32] The series will begin airing in Japan from January 8, 2017 and will be streamed by Netflix.^[33][34][35] The opening theme will be "Shiny Ray" by YURiKA while the ending theme will be "Hoshi o Tadereba" (星を辿れば, If You Follow the Stars) by Yuiko Ōhara.^[36]

Manga

A short one-shot manga based on the anime, drawn by Terio Teri, was published in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine on August 19, 2013.^[37] Another manga by Teri, featuring an original story, was serialized in Ultra Jump between August 19, 2015 and November 20, 2015 and was compiled in a single tankōbon volume released on January 19, 2016.^[38] Another series illustrated by Yuka Fujiwara, Little Witch Academia: Tsukiyo no Ōkan (リトルウィッチアカデミア 月夜の王冠, lit. "Little Witch Academia: The Midnight Crown"), began serialization in Shueisha's Ribon magazine from September 3, 2015.^[39]

Other appearances

A crossover short featuring characters from both Little Witch Academia and Inferno Cop premiered at AnimeNEXT 2015 on June 13, 2015^[40] and was also shown at Anime Expo 2015 on July 2, 2015.^[41] Both Akko and Sucy make guest appearances in Trigger's 2016 anime series, Space Patrol Luluco.

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)
• Little Witch Academia at Anime Mirai (Japanese)
• Little Witch Academia at the Wayback Machine (archived April 19, 2015) (English)
• Little Witch Academia (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Little Witch Academia at the Internet Movie Database

Ultra Super Pictures
Sanzigen	Television series Black Rock Shooter (2012) Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life (2012) Miss Monochrome: The Animation (2013) Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova- (2013) Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life: Kakusei-hen (2014) The Heroic Legend of Arslan (2015) Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 (2015) Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life: Mugen-hen (2015) Miss Monochrome: The Animation 3 (2015) BBK/BRNK (2016) BBK/BRNK: The Gentle Giants of the Galaxy (2016) ID-0 (TBA) Films 009 Re:Cyborg (2012) New Initial D the Movie (2014–2016) Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova DC- (2015) Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova Cadenza- (2015)
Ordet	Television series Black Rock Shooter (2012) Senyu (2013) Senyu 2 (2013) Wake Up, Girls! (2014) OVAs/ONAs Black Rock Shooter (2010) Blossom (2012) Miyakawa-ke no Kūfuku (2013) Wake Up, Girl ZOO! (2014–2015) Films Wake Up, Girls! - Seven Idols (2014) Wake Up, Girls! Seishun no Kage (2015) Wake Up, Girls! Beyond the Bottom (2015)
Trigger	Television series Kill la Kill (2013–2014) When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (2014) Hacka Doll the Animation (2015) Space Patrol Luluco (2016) Kiznaiver (2016) Little Witch Academia (2017) ONAs Inferno Cop (2012–2013) Japan Animator Expo (2015) Ninja Slayer From Animation (2015) Films Little Witch Academia (2013) Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade (2015)
Liden Films	Television series Senyu (2013) Aiura (2013) Senyu 2 (2013) Miss Monochrome: The Animation (2013) Terra Formars (2014) The Heroic Legend of Arslan (2015) Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches (2015) Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2 (2015) Miss Monochrome: The Animation 3 (2015) Sekkō Boys (2016) Schwarzesmarken (2016) Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko: Everything Flows (2016) Terra Formars: Revenge (2016) The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance (2016) Poco's Udon World (2016) Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor (TBA) OVAs Terra Formars (2014) Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches (2014–2015) Yankee-kun na Yamada-kun to Megane-chan to Majo (2015) Films New Initial D the Movie (2014–2016) Cardfight!! Vanguard: The Movie (2014)
Production works	Monster Strike (2015–present)
Video games	Project X Zone (2012) Indivisible (2018)
Category (Sanzigen) Category (Trigger)