Little Witch Academia

Description: Akko has been fascinated with magic from the moment she had seen her first magic show. Now, she is enrolling into Luna Nova Magic School, a famous school for magic in Europe. However, contrary to her expectations, she is finding that lessons are boring. Magic lessons are staid and conservative, and not at all exciting. One day, an emergency occurs which threatens to destroy the school, and it is up to Akko to save the day!
[Courtesy of AniDB]

AniDB | ANN | MAL

1 Episode

This series is a part of the Young Animator Training Project. A company, in this case Trigger, is given a grant by the government to give aspiring animators on-the-job training.

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I loved the hell out of this short OVA. It's just...fun.

The animation style and tone of the OVA has a Studio Ghibli/Panty and Stocking Gainax feel to it. That meshes very well with the tone of the simple and slightly comedic story.

The story isn't anything special, really just a generic fantasy story about witches at a school and a few mishaps along the way. But it is just pure fun. Toward the end, I was smiling non-stop.

The cast is a pleasant surprise. There are just a ton of short roles filled by some major VAs over the years:
Hidaka Noriko (Noriko in Gunbuster, recently the Dominators in Psycho Pass) playing Akko's idol
Akko herself played by Han Megumi (Sumire in Chihayafuru, Gon in HxH)
Orikasa Fumiko (Rukia in Bleach, Shirley in Geass) as Akko's friend
Hikasa Youko (Mio from K-ON, Seraphim from Zombie desu ka?!) as Akko's stuck-up rival
Takayama Minami (Nabiki from Ranma 1/2, Envy from FMA, and of course, Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service)
...and I'm pretty sure I heard Kyouda Hisako (the best old lady VA ever) too, but couldn't confirm.

I know there are more, but I didn't recognize them immediately.


Give it a watch, it is only 25 minutes long. If you've enjoyed Kiki's Delivery Service or Mahou Shoujo Tai, you'd definitely be interested.