So, I finished watching Little Witch Academia. It was honestly a lot better than I expected it to be, although that's not to say I have no criticisms either. Although, in fairness, I'm also not the target demographic.
So, it's a Trigger anime. That really shows. The animation is just as fluid and expressive as I've come to expect from them. It doesn't seem to matter what art style they use, the quality of the animation Trigger does always shines through.
As far as the story goes, I'd be lying if I said it was mind-bendingly impressive, but it was extremely solid. What it did well was orchestrate small challenges that held great meaning for the characters. The show, while being a bit heavy-handed at times, also did a great job with integrating compelling themes throughout the story. In some ways, the show is less about a witch school, and more a metaphor for persisting against the odds, self-belief, peer support and working to earn your success. In other words, things that are essential to achieve any goal.
The story itself does start of slow, but not in a bad way. The first season is mostly slice of life with a little sprinkling of plot. This serves well to build the world and get us acquainted with the characters. This approach works fine since these episodes are almost always well-written narratives that stand fine on their own. That being said, there were definitely some episodes that were more, or less, entertaining than others. The transition to an overarching multi-episode plot was also done really well with the seeds being sprinkled early on to gradually come together and grow into something more compelling.
The story of the gradual uncovering of the seven lost words was a really good story... but Croix was a problem. I don't think the show needed an antagonist to function - actually suddenly introducing a villain to a show that has mostly been about struggling against personal adversity/circumstance was pretty jarring. She was also just... not as interesting as she should have been. Also, the fact that she nearly started a literal war between the UK and Totally Not France and didn't receive any consequences is just grating. Don't get me started on the fact that the entire conflict there started with a football dispute and then spiralled into that. Magic or not, that's a little eh.
They already had the setup with the gradual disappearance of magic. I think the show would have been better served forgoing a traditional antagonist and being written around the idea of using the Grand Triskelion to bring it back. It didn't need Croix and keeping the focus on circumstance would have made for a tighter story. The second Chariot twist, not her identity because calling that a twist is a stretch given how obvious it was from episode one, was great and it also didn't Croix to work. In fact, I think if it had been a personal error and not manipulation of Croix's part it would have been a lot more impactful.
My only other critique on the writing is that while the humour was genuinely funny, the show sometimes leaned too hard into references.
I think that's all there is to say really. It's a solid show that I enjoyed a lot more than I expected I would. It's not something I'm likely to go out of my way to rewatch, but I am glad that I was convinced to give it a chance. It's not amazing, but it's good. A solid show that shows Trigger's strengths and few of their weaknesses.
