It’s time for a pretty fun comedic action title. Witch Watch is a manga that ended up being a whole lot more fun than I was expecting it to be. Fortunately I can say that the anime did a great job matching that energy as well. So all in all this is definitely a fun anime to check out and it’s very well rounded. The type of show you can enjoy even if you aren’t really familiar with anime as a medium.

The story follows a girl named Nico. She is a witch and has always had trouble mastering her powers. She spent years being taught by the best and now she has returned to her home town. She will be living at Moi’s house. He has been assigned to be her guardian since he is an ogre and they used to be best friends back in the day. What Moi doesn’t realize is that Nico is in love with him. He is determined to be an amazing bodyguard and has no time to worry about such things. There are many sorcerers out there who want to take Nico away because she is the prophecies witch of thousands. She will grow to be the most powerful being on the planet. This won’t be an easy fight for Moi but along the way they will be making more friends.

Now that sounded like a very action filled synopsis so keep in mind that this is a comedy first. Witch Watch is just good at unapologetically going all in on each genre. So you will have pure comedy episodes on one hand and then you will be going straight into full action on the other. The show always takes itself seriously during these climaxes but knows how to relax once again after that. So it’s easily a lot more well rounded than nearly any of the other shows out there.

The animation is consistently good at all times. It’s very colorful and vibrant. You also really feel the impact of the spells. It’s not going to be the Demon Slayer or anything like that but it gets the job done. On the sound, I do think the little jingle that happens whenever a spell is cast can get old pretty quick. I wouldn’t mind if that was toned down quite a bit for the next season. The soundtrack as a whole is okay but for now this may be the weakest part of the series. There’s definitely nothing that would make my playlist and the openings are only okay.

Where the series is strongest is with the humor and fun atmosphere. As the Moi house gets more and more filled with the new recruits, the show lets us get a lot of fun dynamics to see at play. The episodic nature of the series means that just about everyone gets their time to shine. The cast is a whole lot bigger than you would expect for a comedy series. In a way it reminds me of Gintama and the payoff for this tends to be really good because then you can see all of the characters assemble together when the action part comes in.

The show also goes all in with the gags. For example we have a manga within the series called Uron Mirage which is a big action title. We get a whole episode segment devoted to it which had its own opening and ending. That was a really good attention to detail and helped the whole thing feel more real. It also makes you look forward to each episode because you never know which plot will appear. There are so many going on at once.

For the most part the show is completely episodic though. There may be a 2 parter every now and again but most episodes have 2 or even 3 segments as a result. So you are getting a ton of adventures but they can go by pretty quickly. The actual plot of Nico and her magic won’t be moving forward very much. Just think of this as the introduction arc and also pay attention to the spells Nico can use as you try to picture what she can do with them in an action context. Hint, most of them seem pretty useless in that regard.

For the characters, Moi is a great MC as you’d expect. He’s always good at getting right to business and doesn’t let himself get distracted by matters of the heart. It’s what separates him from a lot of other characters. Additionally, his super strength consistently comes in handy. Some may say that he should be embracing his emotional side more but eh I can see why he holds back. That’s just not him, but as the series goes on he does try to fit in with everyone as best he can. Moi’s just not the best at showing emotions on his face even if he is really happy about something.

At times he may be a bit too studious but honestly you could have far worse traits than that. Then we have Nico who is a solid heroine. You definitely feel bad for her with how hard she tries to get Moi to notice her. It’s just a really uphill battle for her and we start to even learn why this is really the case as the series goes on. Sometimes she will use magic a little too recklessly but her goal is to make everyone happy so you have to take some risks in order to make that happen.

It would be good if she could learn some more spells for self defense though. The dangers are only going to get more intense from here. Kanshi is the next member of the cast to join the Moi household. He may not be as tough as the ogre but he can still put up a decent fight when needed. He tends to be the guy that everyone steps on because of how goofy he is. The poor guy usually can’t catch a break but he’s loyal and everyone can count on him. That’s just how these things go sometimes.

Then we have Keigo who has the toughest magic element since he is fused with Wolf. They are two different personas that share the same body. They also like the same girl so that makes things extra complicated. Keigo suffers from confidence issues since he is just a normal guy while Wolf has super speed and strength nearly on par with Moi. Hopefully Keigo will one day awaken abilities of his own. In the meantime he just has to do his best and he is also still breaking out of his shell like Moi.

Miharu joins the group rather late in the show so he’ll get to do a lot more in season 2. Either way he is my least favorite member of the main group so that works out well enough for me. He’s part vampire so he can drain energy and add it onto his own. He’s certainly powerful but always speaks his mind and doesn’t really have a filter which can get the group into trouble at times. He’ll definitely need to watch that and hopefully he can improve his stamina down the road.

Then we have Nemu who has magic powers like Nico. Hers are much more limited though as she can turn into animals and that’s basically it. Still, it was nice for Nico to have another witch nearby. Initially Nemu liked Moi but now her feelings are confused with Keigo and Wolf. Her episodes always have a lot of very preventable danger scenarios due to her being way too nervous. The episodes work well though and she is a fun supporting character to have around..

The weakest episodes tend to be the ones about Yuri and Kukumi. Yuri is a huge anime/manga fan but works as a teacher and doesn’t want anyone to judge her so she keeps this a secret. Then you have Kukumi who is a really good artist and has been making a fanfic version of Uron Mirage. The two end up becoming best friends and they go on a lot of adventures together. I enjoy the segments about the Uron Mirage series itself but the two girls otherwise have a very limited dynamic. There are only so many gags you can do about Yuri hiding her true power level irl. I’m hoping Yuri will eventually just be bold enough to be a fan out in the open.

Then we have the student council. I enjoy how crazy all of them are. They each represent different character tropes and I’d say that they represent them very well. The most noticeable one is Tenryu who is always holding onto his cap very tightly. This character is easy to root for and is one of the most logical characters next to Moi. He doesn’t let his enthusiasm run away from him and knows how to keep everyone in check. Now that is an underrated skill right there.

There haven’t been too many notable villains yet. One of them was a witch named Ayako who went after Nico. Ultimately her magic may have seemed impressive but her true form wasn’t all that strong. Taking her down wasn’t hard once the heroes could figure out where she was. Ryohei was a little more impressive since his water abilities really had the whole gang wrapped up. That was one time where the vampire actually made himself useful.

It’s clear that the series is holding onto the big villains for now. The heroes are essentially gaining experience by clearing out the weakest fighters. Then the big shots will start to appear in the next season. This way the opening season is really for character meetings and calm times. I’d say that it’s a sound approach and while not every show could execute this plan, Witch Watch certainly did.

Honestly it can even get a little educational at times. Whether it is commentary on running a Youtube channel or how to properly wash your jeans, there is a lot to really focus on here. At the end of the day though, Witch Watch is just a show that’s fun to watch. It may sound simple but not every show can get this kind of cozy atmosphere to really work right out of the gate. At the very least you’d expect the episodes to wildly vary in quality but I generally enjoy just about all of the dynamics. I haven’t seen a comedy balance so well between genres since Hitman Reborn! and Gintama. Of course when the action comes, I won’t have time to miss the comedy because of good those parts are.

Now the show is also part romance but it tends to be played up in a very comedic way. That’ll get serious eventually too but for now it works well enough. I’d say the Moi and Nico ship is a solid one that’s going to have a lot of buildup so it’ll work either way. The Nemu one is probably going to be a lot weaker from what we’ve already seen. She has too tough of a time making up her mind and that’s a recipe for disaster. Still, romance is hardly the central focus of the series so you shouldn’t watch it just for that. Now if you like a sprinkling of romance with your comedy then you’re all set.

Overall, Witch Watch is definitely a series that I recommend. Each episode will string you in with whatever magical situation is about to occur. You can easily sympathize with the different situations there and the unique drawbacks to each spell will make you wonder if they are worth it or not. Don’t watch this one anticipating a grand scheme or anything. At best that would be in the next season and either way I don’t think that will be any time soon. So just enjoy the comedy here and you’ll be just fine.

Overall 7/10