Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches

• Genre : Romance, supernatural, school, kissing
• Episodes: 12
• Studio: Liden Films

Yamada is thug with a heart of gold but unfortunately for him most people don’t really get past the thug part. This has led to some difficulty when trying to make friends, so he gave up. What Yamada doesn’t know though is that his school is a literal coven complete with a troubled history and obscure secrets and Yamada himself has a very specific role to play in this magical universe. That role is to kiss a whole bunch of super cute teenage witch girls and a few pretty boys. It’s not a bad role all things considered. I would take it.

I’m pretty sure this show is what kicked off my witch anime spree. I think I saw the box art for it somewhere and thought that looks cute – I liked Harry Potter… You cannot believe how much of my life is guided by that exact line of reasoning.

I’m not going to go into the production values here as they were all perfectly fine but unmemorable as far as I’m concerned. The plot itself could be considered a harem although Yamada tends to be pretty faithful emotionally if not physically. There is never really any doubt who the canon couple will be and any suggestions of love triangles are never very serious and quickly abandoned. The story reads as a basic romantic comedy with a dash of action, a spot of mystery and a good helping of equal opportunity fan service. Nothing special but light-hearted and generally likable.

The series starts out relatively episodic with Yamada trying to hunt down the eponymous seven witches who all have variously sucky powers. Witches here are treated a bit like Pokémon, they each seem to have only one specific skill and Yamada is trying to catch em all! The childish kissing and body swapping shenanigans of the first half were honestly pretty fun, and it doesn’t hurt that their high school seems to be a model breeding ground.

The series does go through a somewhat unexpected tonal change towards the end, becoming considerably more dramatic. It can’t quite pull off the shift as it feels too sudden and doesn’t last long enough for you to settle in properly, but I do appreciate what the show was trying to say. It is somewhat sobering that even though Yamada is surrounded by somewhat hostile witches who wield some pretty amazing powers and that he can never be sure of what’s waiting for him around the next corner, his greatest fear by far is losing his friends. And not tragically seeing them die in a magical battle but simply not having them as friends any more. Of all the wonders he’s seen and the powers he’s discovered since he started high school, the only thing he truly cherishes is meeting a handful of people he can call friends. Of course, this becomes rather sad when you consider that as far as he’s concerned, this is the first time he’s ever had friends to begin with.

The show is really more about him than the witches so it doesn’t fit into my witch week as well as the other two, but we do see a lot about witches learning to accept their powers as gifts instead of curses. Little dramatic sidestep notwithstanding, the show is good for a few chuckles and a decent way to kill a couple of evenings. It won’t change your life but maybe you like your life the way it is! 

It should be noted that despite the plot Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches manages to not be monstrously sexist which feels like an accomplishment.

Favorite character: Leona – what is it about hot girls and scissors…

What this anime taught me: I’m gifted, I just haven’t kissed enough people yet.

Nothing lasts forever so live it up, drink it down, laugh it off.

Suggested drink: Kiss on the Lips

• Every time we see a bra – take a drink
• Every time someone is really surprised – take a drink
• Every time we meet a new witch – take a drink
• Every time Yamada switches bodies – blow a kiss
• Every time there is a same sex kiss – take a drink
• Every time we see the student council president – take a drink
• Every time someone cleans – straighten up
• Every time we see someone wearing something other than their school uniform – take a drink
• Every time  we see Leona – cheers!