Witch Craft Works (J.C. Staff) – Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, School, Supernatural

Episode 01 – “Takamiya-kun and the Witch of the Flames”

Finally. I feel like this is the show I’ve been waiting my whole life for, or at least a good chunk of it. I’ve always wanted to watch an anime series where the main male protagonist has to be protected by the main female lead. There are a few other series where this is the case, namely Haiyore! Nyaruko-san and Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi. However, with Nyaruko the main girl is way too pushy and the main girl in Ookami-san is a tsundere that falls a bit too quickly to the dere side (though I did greatly enjoy the series).

Then along comes Witch Craft Works, a series about a completely normal high school boy named Honoka Takamiya (CV: Yuusuke Kobayashi). That is, until he discovers that his beautiful classmate Ayaka Karagi (CV: Asami Seto) is a fire-wielding witch charged with the duty of protecting his life. It’s because of this that they’ve practically been connected at the hip for the entire month they’ve known each other, though they don’t even talk until she saves him from a falling building.

Right off the bat, I’m really like the dynamic between Honoka and Ayaka. As advertised, Honoka is an incredibly plain guy but for me that adds a lot of charm to his character, especially with the plentiful inner monologues. This, along with Ayaka’s stoic yet domineering demeanor, creates an interesting master-servant relationship that’s constantly reversing roles. First and foremost, Ayaka seems to think of Honoka as her master which makes sense since she has to guard him. However, she also thinks of him as her princess, which I find hysterical. It’s funny because Ayaka has a huge following of female students who call her princess, though it doesn’t seem like she really cares either way about them.

Even with just one episode, Ayaka has already jumped onto my list of favorite anime characters. First of all, it’s hilarious how much taller she is than Honoka. Second of all, she’s made of fire! Thirdly, I can totally picture her becoming a poster girl for the kuudere trope, assuming there are dere moments in the future. And even if there aren’t, that wouldn’t diminish her character at all in my book. I pretty much never ship characters, but this might be an exception. Mostly because Ayaka is so cool and Honoka’s not the typical asshole.

Great characters along with an army of evil rabbits, and we’ve got my favorite show of the year. Sure, this is the first thing I’ve watched this year, but that’s besides the point. It has the female prince saving the male princess character relationship that I’ve been searching forever for, plus the promise of more hilarious characters. I hope that Witch Craft Works will be able to carry my now high hopes through all the way to the end.

Things that made me laugh uncontrollably: Obama, Honoka’s bowtie, the extravagant wiener.

Definitely check Witch Craft Works out if you like firebending, strong women, evil rabbits, and a not-so-serious magic story.

“I’ll protect you, because you’re my princess.” ~ Ayaka Karagi

B.W.