Bee Commotion (蜂騒ぎ, Hachi Sawagi?) is the 10th episode of the Little Witch Academia anime series.
On Netflix, the episode is titled "Bee Affection".[4]
Overview
Akko and her friends invite themselves to Andrew's party, where Sucy releases a magical bee whose sting ignites a deep infatuation in its victims.
Summary
The episode began with Akko, Lotte, and Sucy enjoying some ice cream as the Manbavaran lamented that she received a Cupid Bee rather than the poisonous wasp she ordered. Intrigued, Akko inquired Sucy when she would use it, only to be annoyed that she would likely be the guinea pig for such endeavor. Just then, they met Hannah and Barbara who dressed in fancy outfits and revealed that they were currently invited to Andrew's party. Just then, a limo appeared, revealing Diana wearing an even more stunning dress albeit least thrilled by the invitation. Concluding their story, Hannah and Barbara unnecessarily teased Akko and her roommates once again before making their leave, angering the Japanese witch-in-training that she declared that they would join the party regardless while raising the ice cream upwards, only for it to fall onto her face with a comical fashion.
The three friends then set out for Last Wednesday Society to see whether the shop got some magical dresses on sale. At first, the shop proprietor offered an old dress that disintegrated in Akko's hands, then a small doll-sized plain dress, and the next a leather red one-piece costume with bunny ears, much to Akko's dismay. He eventually revealed the last of Cinderella Magic Sets which the Japanese witch-in-training eventually accepted. Soon after, the three friends activated the Magic Set at the park via. appropriate incantation and prepared pumpkin and magic circle made of stones. Despite of it being decades-old, Cinderella Magic Set worked as they hoped; Akko, Lotte, and Sucy found their uniforms transmogrified into fancy dresses, though they attained a three-seater bicycle with pumpkin-themed hood rather than an actual carriage. Lotte stated that Cinderella Magic Set lasted for two hours, leaving Sucy wondering whether such limitation explained how it had eventually fallen out of fashion.
Infiltrating Andrew's party in his mansion by enchanting a nearby squirrel into a not-so-monstrous kaiju version of itself as a distraction, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy were amazed by its luxury. Blending in among the guests, Akko spotted Andrew who was evidently not enjoying the party his father Paul held in the light of his latest achievements in his school, Appleton Academy. Meeting Diana, the two had a mild conversation that Frank soon joined as Akko observed from afar while eating some cakes and remarking the Cavendish and the young Hanbridge as equally good-for-nothing aristocrats. Just then, the two noticed Akko and her roommates among the guests and, recalling that she was not among those who invited, Andrew inquired the Japanese witch-in-training to leave. As the argument between the two ensued with Frank stepping in to diffuse the situation, Sucy released the Cupid Bee in her possession when no one was looking, leading to it stinging Andrew in the nape. Succumbing to the bee's enchanted venom, the bewitched Andrew, with his memories pertaining Akko warped to the point of her image in his perspective became exceedingly beautiful, apologized to the Japanese witch-in-training and professed his love for her.
Predictably, Akko was utterly horrified by this unexpected turn of events. So did Hannah and Barbara who fainted on the spot. Diana on the other hand, was faintly surprised. As Akko berated Sucy for releasing the Cupid Bee, Lotte attempted to chase it down only for the Bee stopped her in her tracks by stinging Frank and his three classmates, resulting the four to swoon over her. Before long, Diana spotted the Bee as well. However, before Akko could join her, Andrew, still under the Bee's influence, kabedon-ed the Japanese witch-in-training, much to her horror that she pushed him aside and ran off, all while dragging Sucy with her as the desperate Andrew calling out for her.
Eluding the bewitched Andrew, Akko asked Sucy what they must do in the light of this chaos. Sucy suggested that Akko should enjoy it since this was likely the first and last time Andrew in love with her. The Japanese witch-in-training nearly entertained such notion before realizing it to be not their priority, especially with them having only one hour left before their Cinderella Magic Set's enchantments wore off. Enchanting what appeared to be a peacock fan in her possession into an ornate fly swatter, Sucy gave the swatter to Akko and stated that the bee's enchantment could be undone by squashing it. With that, the girls caught up with Diana only to find her already stung by the Cupid Bee, causing her to profess her love fo Akko. This horrified the Japanese witch-in-traininb as much as Hannah and Barbara who fainted again, whereas Sucy merely shrugged and Diana fled the scene in embarrassment.
Continuing the chase to the garden, Akko overheard Andrew (who was following her due to the Bee's influence) and his father's conversation; not only the latter insisted the former to evict Luna Nova witches who entered the party, but also reminded him to focus on his duty as the latter's heir which necessitated him to put aside his passion as a pianist. As soon as Paul left, Akko chided Andrew for being nothing more than his father's "puppet". Andrew tried to justify Paul's decisions and their role in politics, but the Japanese witch-in-training retorted by reminding that he has dreams abd ideals of his own that worth pursuing as much as hers own as the successor of Shiny Chariot and proving her idol's belief having some merit. Her words of encouragement had some impact for Andrew, though his later flirtatous remark reminded the embarrassed Akko about his current state of being. As the Cupid Bee was soon within their sight, Akko enlisted Andrew's help to deal the problem.
Following the Cupid Bee back into the mansion, Akko attempted to swat it to no avail, showcasing her athletic prowess while doing so. To ease the guests, Andrew reassured them that she's trying to dispose a dangerous bee and played a nearby piano as the brunette continued the chase. Throughout the epic chase, the agitated Bee attempted to deter its pursuer by stinging random guests in its path, including Diana (again) which causing her to fell for her own reflection. The chase soon culminated by Akko smacking the Bee just as it stung Paul on the forehead, undoing its enchantment on everyone (though Paul nevertheless left in a state of mild shock from the ordeal). Afterwards, Akko praised Andrew for his impressive play, in which the young Hanbridge bluntly replied that he's indeed perfect with it and left, but not before seeing the Japanese witch-in-training's magic dress reverted to her original Luna Nova uniform because of its Cinderella Magic Set enchantment wore off. Meanwhile, Lotte was surprised to see that Frank retained his interest on her despite the Bee's influence had since broken.
Later that night, Frank revealed to Andrew that he realized how beautiful Lotte was upon seeing her smiling despite her plain looks. He then wondered whether Andrew felt the same way toward Akko, which the young Hanbridge dismissed. Nevertheless, thanks to her, Andrew had an epiphany; as much as he respected and admired his father for being an exemplary politician, it didn't means their opinions had to be aligned.
In red team's dorm room, Akko was surprised to hear Lotte's decision to begin her relationship with Frank as friends first hence the reason she turned down the latter's offer for a date. Sucy remarked that Lotte didn't need a boyfriend as long as she had Night Fall series. The episode concluded with Lotte and Sucy teasing Akko about how Andrew swooned over the Japanese witch-in-training, much to her embarrassment.
Order of appearances
| Characters | Tools | Spells | Creatures |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Trivia
- A running gag in the episode is whenever a person is stung by a Cupid Bee and they see their crush, the scene shifts to their POV where in their eyes, their crush's appearance is drawn in the style akin to an archetypal Shōjo manga such as Glass Mask, The Rose of Versailles, and Aim for the Ace!.
- Another running gag is Akko’s horrified expression whenever someone makes a love confession to her due to Cupid Bee's sting. During that point, her face and clothes dramatically become pale like a ghost, followed by Hannah and Barbara fainting.
- Shiny Chariot's leitmotif plays when Akko tells Andrew about her dreams in the garden.
- Also, as pointed by commentary in Chronicles book, Akko also poses in the manner not unlike Shiny Chariot did while commencing her show back at Japan.[2]
- Diana's dialogues when she is stung by Cupid Bee were modified in the Latin America dub. While other characters openly state their love, she is a unique exception as she says "te quiero" ("I like you" in English) instead of "te amo" ("I love you" in English). In most dubs Diana does confess her love, but the Latin American dub is the exception.
- In Netflix worldwide release, the episode's title name was changed to Bee Affection[5].
- This episode takes place in September, along with "Sleeping Sucy" and "Blytonbury's Undead Travelogue", as stated in the chronicles book.[6][7]
- Sucy releasing the Cupid Bee as a prank on Akko may be based off the Mambabarang, a sorcerer in Philippine folklore that uses insects to torture her victims.
- This is further supported by Sucy's last name "Manbavaran" being based off the Mambabarang.
- The scene where Diana professes her love to Akko due to Cupid Bee's influence was a nod to/inspired by Diana x Akko shipping among fans stemmed from both being fans of Shiny Chariot, Akko's obsessive yet one-sided rivalry with Diana, and eventual strong bond between them despite their contrasting personalities. However, the producer already made it clear the franchise won't feature yuri elements so as to maintain its family-friendly atmosphere and better appreciated by the largest demographic.[8]
- Contrary to fans and audience's assumption, this episode is technically the second instance Little Witch Academia franchise utilizing visual style of Shōjo works, preceding Tsukiyo no Ōkan manga which drawn entirely in such style and set in its own continuity.
- The book Andrew read after the party, "1984", is a nod to the book of the same name by George Orwell[9]. The cover art also bears an uncanny resemblance to Shepard Fairey's version made in 2008 for Penguin Books (UK)[10]. Notably, Yō Yoshinari had created an illustration depicting the same book design that was featured in 2009 artbook Headphone Girls: A Pictorial Book, and 2015 artbook Yoshinari You Gashuu - Illustration Hen[11]
- Theme-wise, the episode is influenced by "Much Ado About Nothing", a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599 revolving romantic pairings. The music Andrew played with his piano as a distraction so Akko can chase the cupid bee unimpeded on the other hand, is "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov.[12][13][14]
- According to storyboarder Hiroshi Kobayashi, he found drawing characters in formal dresses owing to the episode's setting (Andrew's party), Akko included, quite challenging.[12]
- When the fountain scene in this episode was brought up by still-confused fans during the talkshow that took place after the screenings for episode 22-25 in TOHO Cinemas in Shinjuku on June 23, 2017, Yoshinari pointed out that whether Andrew still succumbed to Cupid Bee's influence was left to the audience's interpretations[15]. Even so, it's too apparent to more astute audience that Andrew could only truly be freed by killing the Cupid Bee and that its influence simply lessened thanks to his interaction with his father.
External Links
Reviews
- The Con Artists
- Rolling Review – Little Witch Academia (10) by CONARTISTSCOTT March 15, 2017
Gallery
| Bee Commotion has an associated gallery here. |
References
- ↑ Little Witch Academia's Netflix Release Date Announced - IGN
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 2.50 2.51 2.52 2.53 Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 39
- ↑
- ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
- ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
- ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 4, page 116
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ https://addictedgallery.com/Products/Detail/george-orwell-print-set-with-books-shepard-fairey
- ↑
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 38
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ https://type43.hatenablog.jp/entry/2017/06/26/181324
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