Flying Witches Of Two Worlds – Otaku Digest
Another week means only one thing for us – another instalment of Otaku Digest. I have to say, this season has really taken us by surprise as there have been some top notch titles that are just hitting all other series out of the park.
Usually per season you have one or if you’re truly lucky two titles that just stand out all on their own and make a statement but this season has already blown that out of the water. It is a nice trend to see, especially considering the spring anime season is usually the slow season gearing up for a blowout summer season of new titles. Does this mean we will have a slow summer season to come? Who knows, but for now we can enjoy the bounty of this season.
Saying that, let’s dive head first into this week’s entries, Flying Witch and Endride.
Flying Witch
First up this week we have the slice of life, supernatural and comedy anime Flying Witch adapted from the manga of the same name which began airing on April 10. It has even had a side story airing since March called Flying Witch Puchi. In this anime, we are whisked off to Aomori, Japan where the land has been hallowed by nature’s bounty and has had some bizarre things happen in recent times.
We are introduced to Makoto Kowata, who is 15 years old and just happens to be a professional witch (in training). She took off on a journey leaving Yokohama, her home, with her black cat, Chito, to live in one of her relative’s house in Aomori where she can begin her training to become a full fledged witch.
Unfortunately, since she is still in training Makoto’s powers are still very limited and right now all she can do is fly through the sky but that is not going to stop her and her second cousins Chinatsu and Kei from living their lives to the fullest.
Is it just me or are there far more slice of life anime popping up all over this season? The genre had died away there for a while but now they seem to be back and in full swing. As anyone who has read Otaku Digest knows, I am not the biggest fan of slice of life anime since I feel they can be churned out with no real production value, but even I have to admit there are some that have changed my opinion.
I really had mixed feelings about this anime. Did anyone else get a slight reminder of Kiki’s Delivery Service when you read about this anime? Even leaving that out, it is a simple enough idea but what I had trouble with was it was nearly too simple. I do understand that it should pick up and build as a series but I can’t help that it’s just a little boring.
The characters were actually more interesting than the narrative itself, each having really defined personalities and traits that can be seen as relatable, but the story just moved so slowly with a very day-in-the-life type feel to it. It moved at a snail’s pace with a lot of verbal explanations between characters and, although the characters are interesting in their own right, they just do not carry the story. You can feel some sort of story building even from the first episode but I do not think that prospect is enough to stick with (also, I will have nightmares over that mandrake).
Will I Continue To Watch? No, just nothing stands out compared to other series. It’s innocent enough but not worth sticking with.
Endride
Next this week we have Endride, a fantasy and adventure anime which originally aired on April 3. In this anime we are taken to Endra which is a mysterious unknown world that exists under the surface of the Earth itself. In this other world, there are seven coloured bands drifting across the skies and the giant Adamas shines high. On the Land Above we meet Shun Asanaga who, until one fateful day, was a normal 15 year old middle school student who winds up in the land of Endra after he comes across a mysterious crystal at his father’s company and is transported the moment he lays his hands on it.
Here he happens to meet the prince of Endra, 16 year old Emirio who has a strong hatred for King Deruzain. After reaching the age of succession and wielding a weapon strong enough to finally enact his vengeance, Emirio is overpowered and is then imprisoned by the king. Heartbroken, he is alone in his cell until the walls distort and he is joined by Shun. The two must co-exist in Endra, both with their own missions. One to have his revenge and the other to find a ‘wat’ to return to his own world.
The entire premise of this anime intrigues me. I realise there are a number of anime with a similar storyline or premise but this one just seems to stand out to me for some reason. The anime kicks off the right way with a classic opening jrock ballad theme and, thankfully, from what I saw there were no real spoilers for the upcoming series. There was only a glimpse into the characters we are set to see during the series. Usually I hate anime that takes a long time to build up, but in this case I am not mad about how this series went about it. Sure, they began to lose me when the montages began but, weirdly, it gave you a better sense of who our main protagonist is and what his life was like before being whisked away. You actually sympathise with him even though he had slightly unrealistic hobbies (which were there to force narrative) but, thankfully, the narrative seems worth it.
An aspect I really enjoyed was the clear character design differences between the two worlds. Shun, from the modern day Earth, and Emirio from the more fantasy type world of Endra. The first episode managed to build a good basis for future narrative to work from with interesting enough characters to boot.
Will I Continue To Watch? Yes, the premise and characters make it interesting while there is a great basis made for a growing narrative.
