Mid-Season Checkpoint on Witch Craft Works

Here is one way to skin this cat. I sort of agree but I would have put it in a different way.

Witch Craft Works is really an “anime” anime. Only Zvezda gives this one a run for its money this season. What I mean by this is that what’s fun about Witch Craft Works, other than the characters and designs, are out of the elements that’s added in by the process of animation: the voice acting, the visuals, and pacing. To use IS as a point of comparison, season 2 is closer to radio drama slideshow than anime. As an aside I think that is where things failed for IS…

So rather than pinning all the blame on either Potato-kuns (Potato-kunes?) I am going to just give credit to where it’s due: JC STAFF.

Because, like I said, the manga and the themes in Witch Craft Works are hardly anything one should aspire to. It’s not terrible but I think I can throw a stone into a late-night TV screening in Japan and hit something just as good or better. Which is to say…it’s kind of terrible. Admittedly I’m still a couple episodes behind, but there’s nothing in this show that has shown me any redeeming value besides what the anime brought to the table.

Which is to say, if you give Kugyuu, Mamiko, Kawasumi Ayako and Kayanon (and a strong supporting cast, although I’m kind of flipping the roles here) their own witch anime by JC Staff and put some actual animators and an experienced director behind the helm, it’s probably going to be A-OK.

PS. I hope Seto Asami keeps doing deadpan roles after this one, because I like to hope against great odds?

PPS. WCW is probably “better than A-OK” because, well.

PPPS. Is the top image a GSC spoof w.