Flying Witch

• Genre: Slice of Life, Supernatural
• Episodes: 12
• Studio: J.C.Staff

As part of her training to become a full-fledged witch, Makoto moves to a rural town to live with her cousins. There she does rural town witchy stuff. Look this show isn’t really about some big overarching plot. Lots of little stuff happens. 

This series rounded off my witchy anime streak and it did so not with a bang but a whimper. Ok that made it sound much worse than it actually is. Flying Witch is a sweet little slice of life and it honestly has a few things going for it but BANG it is most definitely not.

Once again, this story transports us to one of those utterly charming rural Japanese towns, namely Hirosaki. I looked it up – it’s a huge metropolitan city! I’ve only been to Tokyo in Japan so I don’t have a very firm grasp of the landscape but anime would have me believe that it’s just brimming with these little (often coastal) super clean, calm, somewhat oddly empty, sleepy and completely delightful little rural towns. I’m not sure if this is part of a master plan from Japan’s tourism bureau to convince us that it’s the place to go to unwind from the rat race but it’s sure working on me. Hirosaki ,as shown in the Flying Witch, looks lovely and comfortable. I would really like to visit.

The visuals may not be particularly special but they do a good job in conveying that lazy summer vacation feeling. If anything, watching this show will give you the impression that you’re in the middle of one of those endless summer afternoons with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Ok, it might not exactly be the most exciting time of your life but it certainly is relaxing. I think thee Flying Witch does better in retrospect. To be totally honest, I remember thinking it was a little boring while I was watching it but I find myself thinking back on this show with a sort of placid fondness.

Hirosaki also seems to be the world’s nicest town. Every single person there is polite and genuinely kind. Even Makoto’s sister, who occasionally visits and can be a bit of a handful, is still clearly a good person. This agreeable atmosphere is pushing me even closer to buying that plane ticket but the complete lack of conflict isn’t helping to shake up the sleepy mood of this series.

The plot is mostly episodic with Makoto discovering the town, practicing magic or meeting new people every episode. As long as you know the basic premise you can easily just watch a random episode and follow along. Witches here are treated a bit like shamen or seers of old. They do not seem to be feared and are generally accepted as unusual but certainly not mythological. As a result, Makoto can freely practice spells in the open and does not have to hide her powers or any of those classic witch tale tropes. No problems here. No problems at all… The show does make magic seem rather mundane, you could easily have gotten the exact same show if she was a gardener trying to hone her skills.

We do get the chance to meet a couple of other witches. Akane, Makoto’s older sister  mentioned above is a happy-go-lucky and immensely gifted witch who provides most of the shows comedy and has a sweet odd couple routine with her long-suffering friend Inukai . The humor is very much in line with the rest of the show, serene and sweet.

This is a show for watching after a long and difficult day, when all you want to watch is a bunch of nice folks peacefully going about their pleasant lives in their picturesque little town. If you want to see heart pounding magical action, maybe skip this one. For what it’s worth, if witches did exist I would really hope that this show would be a faithful depiction.

Favorite character: Kei (that’s a detailed description)

What this anime taught me: I should deep fry things in a wok

When I drink alcohol…everyone says I’m alcoholic but When I drink Fanta…no one says I’m fantastic.

Suggested drink: Lazy Sunday

• Every time Chinatsu wants to be a witch – have a drink
• Every time someone is flying on a broom – take a drink
• Every time Inukai is exhasperated – take a drink
• Every time Akane is drinking – join her
• Every time Makoto meets someone new – take a drink
• Every time Chito gets annoyed – take a drink
• Every time Kei cooks – have a snack
• Every time Makoto writes in her diary – take a drink
• Every time Kei’s accent comes out – take a drink
• Every time we see a magical creature – take a drink