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Anime Spotlight - Little Witch Academia

by ANN Staff,

On air starting January 9, 2017

Streaming available at: Netflix

Introduction

Created by Japanese animation Studio Trigger (Kill la Kill, Kiznaiver) and animator Yoh Yoshinari, Little Witch Academia began as a short film in 2013 made for Anime Mirai (currently known as Anime Tamago), a project used to train young animators. A new episode was funded via crowdfunding website Kickstarter, where it procured its goal of $150 thousand within five hours. The project ended with $625,518 collected.

A full-fledged television anime series with a story separate from the films was announced in 2016. Little Witch Academia has also inspired two manga series.

Story

Ever since seeing Shining Chariot's magic show when she was young, Akko has dreamed of becoming a witch. In order to make her wish come true, she enrolls at "Luna Nova Magical Academy," a traditional all-girls school where Chariot used to attend.

A new town, a new school, and new friends.

Akko and her friends Lotte and Suzy cause craziness during their classes for subjects like broom-riding and magic at the school for witches. Akko's taken her first step toward becoming a witch, and she's bringing all of Luna Nova along for the bumpy ride!

Characters

Atsuko (Akko) Kagari
Voice: Megumi Han

A girl who came from Japan to become a witch. Determined to become a witch after being spellbound by Shiny Chariot's magic show, she decided to attend the Luna Nova Magical Academy. She's not very good at magic, but she's doing her best to make her dream of becoming a witch like Chariot come true with a positive attitude. Her treasure is her Chariot trading card.

Lotte Jansson
Voice: Mamiko Noto

A Finnish girl who is Akko's roommate. A kind and sincere girl, she is able to make calm jabs at Akko when she starts getting out of control. Lotte is a good singer, and can even summon Nordic spirits by singing witch folk songs. She is a rabid fan of Nightfall, a novel that revolves around a vampire's bittersweet romance.

Sucy Manbavaran
Voice: Michiyo Murase

Akko's classmate who is said to have come from Southeast Asia, but as she's quite the enigma, no one really knows. She's crazy about poisons, and researches both toxins from animals like spiders and snakes as well as plant poisons from things like mushrooms, sometimes using Akko as her personal guinea pig. She's a sharp-tongued cynic who does things at her own pace.

Diana Cavendish
Voice: Yōko Hikasa

Akko's British classmate who is from a family of famous witches. She has a brilliant mind and is highly-skilled in magic, leading her to be called the greatest student since Luna Nova's founding. She often butts heads with Akko because of her serious and righteous personality.

Amanda O'Neill
Voice: Arisa Shida

A delinquent girl from the United States. A girl with sticky fingers, her hobby is stealing treasure, and even goes so far as to sneak into the school's storehouse and play pranks on the security force. She loves dancing and parties.

Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger
Voice: Rie Murakawa

A machine-loving German girl who brings in high-tech devices into school despite them being against the rules and sells them after altering them with magic. She seems to be researching something a bit fishy with Sucy, whom she gets along with...

Jasminka Antonenko
Voice: Reina Ueda

A girl from Russia who loves to eat, and loves nothing more than sweets and peace. She often gets scolded by the teacher for eating snacks during class. Her nickname is Jasna.

Ursula Charistes
Voice: Noriko Hidaka

The instructor of magic astronomy at Luna Nova Magical Academy. She dotes on and watches over Akko from the shadows as she recklessly runs forward to achieve her dream. There are rumors that she was once Shining Chariot...

Shining Chariot
Voice: Noriko Hidaka

A once globally popular witch who caused a magic boom around the world thanks to her magic shows. However, after the boom peaked and eventually died down, she suddenly retired. Her whereabouts are unknown.

Cast

Atsuko (Akko) Kagari
Megumi Han
Lotte Jansson
Mamiko Noto
Sucy Manbavaran
Michiyo Murase
Diana Cavendish
Yōko Hikasa
Amanda O'Neill
Arisa Shida
Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger
Rie Murakawa
Jasminka Antonenko
Reina Ueda
Ursula Charistes
Noriko Hidaka
Shining Chariot
Noriko Hidaka

Staff

Original Creator
TRIGGER, Yoh Yoshinari
Director/Original Character Design
Yoh Yoshinari
Series Composition
Michiru Shimada
Main Character Design
Shūhei Handa
Color Design
Yukiko Kakita
Director of Photography
Daisuke Okumura, Naoki Yorozu
Main Animator
Takafumi Hori
Design Works
Yusuke Yoshigaki
Editing
Kentarō Tsubone
Music
Michiru Oshima
Sound Director
Jun Watanabe
Sound Effects
Kiyotaka Kawada
Opening Theme Song
"Shiny Ray" by YURiKA
Ending Theme Song
"Hoshi wo Tadoreba" (If You Follow a Star) by Yuiko Ōhara
Production
TRIGGER

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