Flying Witch

[Ryllharu]

http://i.imgur.com/eZwB0v5.jpg


Genres: Slice of Life, Fantasy, Daily Life, Humor

Themes: witches, family, daily life, exploring nature

Plot Summary: The comical story follows the 15-year-old witch Kowata Makoto and the other people of her daily life. With her black cat Chito, the perhaps too easygoing girl moved from Yokohama to live with her second cousins in Aomori Prefecture (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aomori_Prefecture) (second link (http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/foreigners/english_sightseeing.html)) .

Links: AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=11469)| ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=17448)| Official (http://www.flyingwitch.jp/)

Download: HorribleSubs (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=801414)


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To me, this series is the Kiki's Delivery Service version of Yotsuba&. That alone should be endorsement enough to at least try it.

I'm a big fan of the manga, not gonna lie. This first episode was a very faithful, well executed adaptation of it.

Makoto in particular is a wonderful character. She's so in love with doing what she's doing that she doesn't even really stop to think about how others might perceive it. "Aloof" doesn't quite seem to cover it. The others serve well in playing off Makoto's demeanor to extract the comedy in the way she acts and her casual approach to pretty much everything.

Character designs are nice, but before you think, "Oh, she's just Chitanda from Hyouka!" look at Makoto's figure...and wait for her to put on some jeans. Also keep in mind that she has already briefly gestured that flying on brooms makes her thighs and...more private places sore after a while.

It's also worth noting that this series has been co-sponsored by Aomori's tourism board (the manga was endorsed by them as well).

[David75]

I was also pleased to hear some north japan accent quirks. That follows "Erased".
Someone flying on a broom should create a ruckus, but not in that anime ? My guess is that they will not explain why true witches are still secret, even when an aloof one does everything she wants in public.

It was a nice and easy watch, so I guess I can watch it even if nothing much happens

[Ryllharu]

About not creating a ruckus, my best guesses are that a flying person is relatively small compared to a plane or balloon, and honestly, how often do most people look up?

The conversation with Nao at the opening ceremony explained the other part of it. Makoto is a bit of an airhead at times. She shouldn't have been doing it, but it stop Chinatsu from being suspicious of her.

[Kraco]

There might have been more fancy mandrakes around in stories before, but this certainly was the most amusing one with its endless "Ööööööö" moaning and the rather lethargic but obviously painful squirming motions.

This show does look promising for sure. The MC dude's VA sounds like a total newbie, and I guess he is based on his number of roles, but I'll get used to it, I reckon.

[shinta|hikari]

I am loving this show. The laid back realistic feel is really refreshing, if that makes sense.

And the loli is cute. Shorts ftw.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I thought episode 1 was kind of boring and too slow paced. I hope something interesting happens and it isn't them just killing time around town.

[Buffalobiian]

The male lead's voice is the weakest part of the episode. He just sounds so unenergetic. It's almost like he's lacking in voice projection or something. Other than that, this is an easy watch.

[shinta|hikari]

I actually think his laid back, I don't give a shit voice fit the show pretty well. It's pretty different, which is valuable in and of itself nowadays.

[David75]

My only little complaint is that I was hoping both male and female leads were in their early twenties. It was plausible in the first minutes of the ep, and even that male voice gave some hope.... Only to understand our aloof witch probably is 15...

[Kraco]

As a matter of fact, I was also thinking they were older. It really was a bit of a disappointment she simply moved there to attend a high school. It would have been more interesting if she was there to set up a lab or run some other kind of business, like in Kiki.

[Ryllharu]

Her parents forced her to move in with relatives (so they'd feel better) and stay in school (as a career backup).

As she explained, it is typical for witches to go off on their own to become independent at 15 (when they are deemed adults), very much in the Kiki tradition.

If you watched some of the Petit mini-episodes, it is pretty obvious what Makoto's focus is.

edit:
Petit episode links
01 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=797653), 02 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=801205)

[Kraco]

Episode 2 - HS



- -- - -- -



Utility pole is obvious, but to be honest I'd never pick anything from right next to a road/street either. If those plants are so ubiquitous, the dude could have went to a cleaner place.

I can't really blame Chinatsu for being suspicious of the harbinger. The dude looked dubious enough. Who knows, without the mask he might have looked like a real monster, so this could have been still better.

As I predicted, I'm getting used to the male MC's lackluster voice.

[David75]

I looked into the butterbur flower and don't really know what it compares to, eventhough it seems we have those in Europe too.
The only thing I got from wiki is the extract, what it does and the potential dangers. But nothing culinary.

With that ep, I understand the witch in training approach. It's weird a witch who already knows about spring harbinger and masters flight, wouldn't be proficient about vegetables, sprouts and everything mother nature has to offer. Worse, she was told by a 15 years old male teenager.

[Kraco]

I looked into the butterbur flower and don't really know what it compares to, eventhough it seems we have those in Europe too.
The only thing I got from wiki is the extract, what it does and the potential dangers. But nothing culinary.

Now that I googled a bit, it seems so. The only uses mentioned are medicinal, which seems to be why it was purposefully cultivated in Finland centuries ago. The Japanese variety might have been brought just for ornamental purposes here. Funnily enough I do know this plant well enough, I just didn't know its English name. I certainly didn't know people would eat it.


With that ep, I understand the witch in training approach. It's weird a witch who already knows about spring harbinger and masters flight, wouldn't be proficient about vegetables, sprouts and everything mother nature has to offer. Worse, she was told by a 15 years old male teenager.

She's does know something as made evident by the mandrake. It's a good question why she didn't know this butterbur flower considering it's an ancient medicinal plant (maybe it wasn't in Japan?). But then again, she's still quite young and quite absent-minded, so who knows. I guess she knows some things well and others not at all. Apparently she didn't need to cook her own meals back home, she only made sweet snacks, so she wouldn't have known pure food related things so well.

[Ryllharu]

With that ep, I understand the witch in training approach. It's weird a witch who already knows about spring harbinger and masters flight, wouldn't be proficient about vegetables, sprouts and everything mother nature has to offer. Worse, she was told by a 15 years old male teenager.
I thought of it more as a rural vs urban thing. Makoto is from Yokohama after all, and while she certainly knows about all sorts of mythological plants, rural edible plants is more of a rarity. I viewed it similarly to the scene in Non Non Biyori where the rest of the girls introduce Hotaru to edible forest plants for the first time (of course eliciting a hajimete! catchphrase from Hotaru).

Japan also has a ton of edible forest plants (https://shizuokagourmet.com/sansaiedible-wild-japanese-mounain-vegetables/). Stuff you'd never heard of if you were from the city, because a lot of them just look just like other weeds, vines, ferns, and wildflowers.

Urbanites are hilariously ignorant of edible forest plants. No better evidence of that than the "rise" of ramps (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/24/what-are-ramps_n_7128438.html) in the US/Canada. It's one of those things that Appalachian and Canadian wilderness folks knew about for two hundred years, but urbanites only discovered in the late 90s (Canada) and 2000s (US) and went bonkers over them. To the point that harvesting them in Quebec is now illegal (and there is a black market for them), and the US culinary world put them in everything and they're becoming endangered here as well.

I can forgive Makoto for never having heard of butterbur before.


edit: Her whole bizzaro dream sequence, and Nao's reaction in class, is hilarious.

[David75]

I didn't know about the butterbur and was pleased to learn.
I knew about ramps, because my mother's familly were farmers in Portugal, which was quite poor even till the 80s and 90s... So I did learn some bits and pieces an urbanite (Paris isn't that green) like me shouldn't have.
I also did learn about the true taste of ripe fruits and vegetables you grow with great care. And believe me, 90% or more of what you get at the store feels fake. Nice body, no flavor... Even so called organic vegetables have me wonder at times.
And like Proust, I have my found memories of small white peaches I ate when ripe from 3 peach trees in an abandonned lot.
Sadly, someone bought the place and cut the trees at some point... And the marvels are gone.

Growing your plants is very hard work though. I remember I didn't like it. But now that I see the price for no flavor fruits and vegetables, I keep wondering why is it I work as hard for such a bad result.

But thanks for remembering me that not everyone had the chance to experience a life outside the city, which is what our young witch is about to discover.

[shinta|hikari]

I really liked this episode. The laid back comedy actually made me laugh a bit, especially the dude's reaction to being called girly, and Chinatsu's reaction to eating the tempura. The cooking scene was done really well too. It had great info for beginners in the kitchen instead of fooling dudes into taking up cooking because they could see girls orgasm.

[David75]

It's true the kitchen scene nice.

On the contrary, the mother/daughter goodbye scene felt off. Even if it's in the culture to be polite, it felt strange it would happen between a mother and her young daughter

[Kraco]

Episode 3 - HS



- - - - --



I liked the second part of this episode. The vegetable field was kind of lackluster, but the sister and her visit were very nice. No wonder she's regarded as a highly accomplished witch, being able to teleport to Africa and back.

Although at first I called him the weakness of this show, but the lithium brother is kind of growing on me. It's pretty funny how he sounds all the time so unnaturally calm and slow.

[shinta|hikari]

It works because he never gets flustered. He saunters like a boss.

[Munsu]

Watched the first episode, overall not my thing, but I see why you guys are liking this. Good enough to keep watching for me when I want something different than the usual.

[KrayZ33]

Didn't watch this yet but I'm interested, I'm a sucker for romance, especially when the main girl looks as cute as Chitanda... does this show have a love interest or is this strictly slice of life / how to become a proper witch?

[David75]

Slice of life and proper witch route as of yet, and not much indicating romance.

[shinta|hikari]

But isn't it inevitable? I mean, there is only 1 male teenager in the show.

[Ryllharu]

Uh...they're cousins.

As this is not a drama series (which do rarely enough feature incest), I would expect there is no romance angle to this series. It is pure slice of life.

[shinta|hikari]

Cousins can marry in Japan.

And many parts of the world for that matter.

[Kraco]

Episode 4 - HS




- - - -- -



Drinking and witching is not a good combination.

Has there ever lived a man who would be that scared of haunted houses? That's quite an artificial anime/manga trope. I guess the poor dude had forgotten to take his medicine and got just a bit excited.

[Buffalobiian]

Has there ever lived a man who would be that scared of haunted houses? That's quite an artificial anime/manga trope. I guess the poor dude had forgotten to take his medicine and got just a bit excited

I don't know.. if you've been brought up with the knowledge that ghosts and witches are real while knowing you're powerless to protect yourself against them, that can be pretty scary.

That said, apparently it's the shock factor that gets him. That's surprising, given his demeanor. Chinatsu said that older people tend not to get surprised, and he's just like an old geezer.

This show is a figure showcase. Everyone's so pretty. It's actually slightly awkward in a "Am I allowed to think about you that way" kind of way.

[shinta|hikari]

Agreed on the prettiness. This thing must have an awesome budget and/or animator/animation team. Everything just looks really polished. Don't believe me? Watch Konosuba again.

The dude still handled his fear quite well. I think that's what I love about this show. Everything feels real, and while there are some supernatural and fictional aspects and tropes, they really tone down the exaggerated reactions anime is infamous for.

[Ryllharu]

I can safely say this is my favorite anime of the season at this point.

[Ryllharu]

[HorribleSubs] Flying Witch - 06 (http://www.nyaa.se/?page=download&tid=811753)

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Akane is my hero.

Makoto admitted that her improper flying technique makes her happy valley sore. What makes me love this series is moments like this, and the brother getting bored watching them practice magic almost immediately.

This series has a bluntness to it, where the fantastical world the witches live in is also surprisingly mundane. A fairly simple spell taking the better part of an hour, the problems with riding a broom, Akane using her phone to make sure the compass points were aligned, etc.

It's magic, but it's relaxed and understated most of the time.

The flashiest thing this episode was Makoto drawing a flawless freehand pentagram in a matter of moments. That impressed Kei.

Tons of cute concentration faces and Makoto's adorable tears of joy. Or Chinatsu casually hugging Akane and Makoto.

[Buffalobiian]

This series has a bluntness to it, where the fantastical world the witches live in is also surprisingly mundane.

This.

Last episode I thought "Did I just watch a cat explore the town twice? And I liked it?"

I paid way too much attention to Kei's movie expecting Akane to show up in it.

Also, Makoto ass-shots galore.

[shinta|hikari]

Thirded. Bluntness for the win.

You know why that works? Because the people here in GW are anime-jaded oji-sans. A newb wouldn't get why it's so entertaining. This show knows those watching are tired of exaggerated anime-character reactions and does the exact opposite.

The perfect pentagram was indeed amazing. I draw, and I honestly can't do that in 10 tries with a pencil and eraser, much less one attempt with a permanent marker.

Kei's comment about the gravity control conversation was hilarious. It was an amazing (sugoi) conversation, but his face didn't show it at all. I love characters like that. He reminds me of Inaho before Noah's second voyage.

[Kraco]

What impressed me the most in this episode was Lithium Kei getting annoyed by the simultaneous crying and laughing concert from behind when he was trying to watch the movie. Who would have thought he was capable of such a grand emotion.

[Kraco]

Episode 07 - HS


- - - - - -




The saving grace of the dude is that he's so competent. He knows a lot about plants, food ingredients, planting, and cooking. He can navigate and isn't afraid of nature unlike usual feeble city dwellers. It's always nice to see Makoto being impressed by his skills, considering he's just an ordinary human without magic powers.

[Kraco]

Episode 08 - HS




- - - - - -




Turns out the dude wasn't an ordinary human after all. Well, I always suspected it considering his general disposition, so it was no big surprise.

The cafe scene turned out to be quite nice indeed, with the broad selection of customers and everything. The daughter and mother confusion was quite unoriginal but worked decently.

[shinta|hikari]

What do you mean? The dude is an ordinary human, except for his strange disposition.

[Kraco]

Did you watch the ep carefully enough? The witches told him he's no ordinary human. It even shocked him a little.

[shinta|hikari]

You didn't watch carefully enough. They meant that the moment you hang out with witches, you're not ordinary anymore. He himself is perfectly human.

[Kraco]

That is precisely what I'm talking about.

[shinta|hikari]

So you meant that the dude is an ordinary human with witch acquaintances? Because that's what the witch owner meant. There's nothing special about him except for coincidentally being cousins with a bunch of witches.

You wrote "the dude wasn't an ordinary human after all," as if you thought he had magic powers or something. I thought you were kidding, so I tried to confirm, then you said, "The witches told him he's no ordinary human. It even shocked him a little."

It's a bit hard to interpret those lines as "he is a perfectly ordinary human with witch relatives."

[Kraco]

I only meant what the show itself said: He's not an ordinary human anymore. It doesn't matter if he's merely 0.1% more unordinary than any random joe from the streets.

[KrayZ33]

Pahahha, it's a good thing I started watching this show.

I can't believe how funny it is. Every "reaction" (if they show any) is so unexpected - it's really difficult to explain why I enjoy it.

[Kraco]

Episode 09 - HS



- - - - - -




This episode annoyingly reminded me of the fact I couldn't grow radishes on my balcony like I have been doing for many summers now. Because I don't have a fricking access to my own balcony due to repainting and other renovation work they are doing. I'd have rather not been reminded of this...

The quality of animation in this series keeps impressing me. Like the character movements even thought they aren't doing anything remarkable. It just feels natural, with no shortcuts taken.

It's such a pity Inukai is a furry beyond mere ears. She has such a sexy body, but the daytime face kills it for me.

The ghastly mandrake made a comeback. Groaning even from underground. Not bad.

[Kraco]

Episode 10 - HS


- - - - -




I have never been bitten by a bee, only stung a couple of times. Bees die after stinging, so it makes sense they wouldn't do it unless absolutely necessary. I guess they would then bite if they are merely annoyed. I'd have never allowed them to walk on my hand, though, so I wouldn't know.

Those were quite gross cookies. Maybe Makoto should think twice before offering them as the first treats to her future boyfriend candidate.

[Ryllharu]

Makoto said she can make plenty of types of cookies. Nao specifically asked her to make "witch cookies," which happen to be the type that witches make when two of them can't agree which witch gets the man when they're both fond of him. One can easily assume Makoto would make normal cookies.

I've been bitten by yellow jackets and harlequin ladybird beetles (aka fake ladybugs). The latter are an Asian import. You definitely don't want yellow jackets stinging you, because they can do so repeatedly, and there's some pheromone in it, that results in the entire colony swarming you.

In contrast, I'm a big fan of bumblebees. I've been stung by one before, but it was totally my fault for grabbing it when I was young. My interactions with them have been peaceful coexistence ever since.

[shinta|hikari]

What an interesting life.

I was maliciously stung by a wasp on the thigh once during grade school. I was 10, I think, and did nothing to provoke the attack (aside from doze off during lecture). I shouted the equivalent of "motherfucker" during Math class with my teacher right in front of me. Everyone was shocked, but I got off scot-free (aside from the swollen stung area) because I was an honor student. It kinda changed my reputation back then though.

The cooking segments in this show are excellent. The author clearly knows what he/she is doing.

[Kraco]

The author clearly knows what he/she is doing.

Unlike Nao.

[Buffalobiian]

I've been cutting onions wrong for 26 years.

Motherfucker.

[Ryllharu]

The microwaving or the cross-cut?

Hint: You can do garlic the same way by making a few side slices, but regular mincing works fine too.

[Buffalobiian]

Microwaving them. I've tried various different methods.

Cutting them underwater was somewhat successful, but it was difficult to find containers that accommodated. Cutting them while wearing swimming goggles worked until they fogged up.

[Ryllharu]

Protip: Sharpen your knife.

I sharpen mine routinely with ceramic stones, and use a steel on it every time I use it. Onions only make me tear up when I accidentally rub my eyes before I've washed them.

I don't use an expensive fancy knife, mine was $12 at Ikea (similar to this one (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40294722/)). But it is sharp as hell. Extremely sharp knives are safer to use.

[Kraco]

I use a German vegetable slicer thingamajig to slice onions and other vegetables I need to slice. It very rarely causes tearing up, and when it does, I blame my own lacking ninjutsu, not the method since it's not systematic.

But yeah, keeping your knives sharp goes without saying. Surely that's not a problem in Japan, though, where a knife/sword sharpener was a venerable profession.

[shinta|hikari]

Just fucking microwave the onions. It's less of a hassle than sharpening knives each time.

Knives are cheap. I just throw em away once they are dull and get new ones.

[Kraco]

Episode 11 - HS



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This episode had the best ending. Totally surprised me. It's funny how the atmosphere was first so warm, friendly, and also a bit exciting with Anna Anzu visiting for the first time, despite not anything else happening but making and eating of pancakes, then we got the owl familiar suddenly bringing the letter one might have imagined to be a lead to the last episode's plot, but instead it was a reminder of a bloody large tab. Akane's reaction made it all the better.

Not much to say about the whale observation. Chinatsu safely riding under Akane's overcoat was the best part.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 12 - HS


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Wow, that cafe actually exists..

http://i.imgur.com/z6vUURz.png

http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2016/06/25-1/feature-anime-vs-real-life-flying-witch-part-3

[Kraco]

Wow, that cafe actually exists..


I doubt it would be nearly as interesting in RL, though. But a cool thing, nonetheless.

This last episode wasn't as good as the previous one in my opinion, but possibly this was a better spot to end the show than the funny debt scene. A nice and relaxing show all in all.