WITCH CRAFT WORKS - Review - It's Paint-by-Numbers Anime?

This... seriously felt like a show designed to fit anime search-engine
optimization. The premise didn’t grab me when Sam first brought it up a few
weeks back; but it’s proven to be popular, so I’d be remiss not to address it
here. Seeing it now, I can more-or-less understand why people have been watching, because it pretty
much hits all the points of your standard anime issue opener…

Certainly, it’s a real possibility that I’ve simply watched too much of
this stuff (or gotten too old? Not yet!), but there’s only so many times
I can watch a high school pushover get turned upside down when a hot,
otherworldly chick literally crash-lands into his life and professes her
totally-unbelievable infatuation with him… and so on… and act like I’m
not just watching an animation studio fill in the slots on a check list.

== TEASER ==

That said, the show actually gives a few minor tweaks to the formula to
make this feel like more than a rote recitation. The gag about the Queen Bee at
school having a fan club who will actually go ahead and viciously beat the
shit out of any unworthy suitor is a funny, unusual way to earn sympathy
points through those reliable means of campus bullying. I’ve never been that
conscious of set-design making a story more appealing before, but the studio put the
right person in charge of picking digital textures, filters and other effects
here. The props… just… look nice?

And that goes for the CG bunny monsters, too. As if to directly answer
another question recently posited on the Vice Pit, these critters are a fun
counterpoint to all the 3D characters who haven't integrated well with 2D scenery. They look quite appealing in their own, cel-shaded right.

Does it say something about the quality of the story when I’m focusing on
all these aesthetics, though? Well, I’ll leave that up to you...

Watch, “Takamiya-Kun and the Fire Witch” and
decide for yourself.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk