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Little Witch Academia Wiki
Little Witch Academia Wiki
Little Witch Academia Wiki
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Little Witch Academia

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Little Witch Academia (リトルウィッチアカデミア Ritoru Witchi Akademia?) is a Japanese anime franchise created by Yō Yoshinari and produced by Studio Trigger.

Little Witch Academia logo dark jp

Film

Main article: Little Witch Academia (film)

The original short film, directed by Yō Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Ōtsuka, was released in theaters on March 2, 2013 as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project,[1] and was later streamed with English subtitles on YouTube from April 19, 2013. It was also released on Netflix as an original movie, with dubs in English, European French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish..

It was stated by Naoko Tsutsumi that the short's target audience to be everyone of all ages. Being a promotional animation linked to Anime Mirai and will be broadcast during a special event, it was never intended for television broadcast. As such, through budgetary perspective, the studio chose to invest as much as possible in the quality of the work rather than in its broadcast — Buying a broadcast slot would have partially reduced their budget for the film's development, and video release was considered as an option. As of recording it would be at either United States or France depending on sound director's decision, though Tsutsumi hoped it would be at the latter befitting to the short's European setting. They hoped experimental recordings through a foreign mixing company would be beneficial for such endeavor.[2][3] Another reason France being considered to be where the short's recording took place (which finally did) was the chance of collaboration with Sylvain Chomet who previously in charge of the music of L'Illusionniste, 2010 French film which influenced Studio Trigger alongside Ernest et Célestine, citing Japan's growing interest on French animation at the time[4][5].

The film also serves as among notable contributions for Anime Mirai whose goal being promoting and continuing the Japanese animation as many young potential animators were either went into production or other more higher paying jobs — a situation paralleling the foundation of CalArts. [6]

With the budget around 38 million yen, Little Witch Academia, Naoko Tsutsumi knew the project should also enabled the support from Anime Mirai hence its finalized concept had an apprentice witch (Akko) as the main character. Much of the film's production time was spent on training young animators involved in drawing, with finishing touches and filming were completed around two months respectively. Yoshinari added that characters in the film were given distinctive features in order to maintain their unity despite the diversity of their expressions. It was also unfortunate for them to scrap some characters for convenience reasons (time and budgetary constraints). Regarding the film's aesthetics, they focused more on the general shape and colors than on the details. Yoshinari came up with the concept revolving New Moon Tower's dungeon where it appeared as a giant underground labyrinth set built so that the space stretched vertically — a design which fit to the film's plot. No 3D images were involved in the development. Tadashi Hiramatsu, who at the time worked on Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, had a hand by providing some advice for the production of Little Witch Academia.[4]

While Naoko Tsutsumi looked forward for more adaptations in form of either OVA, TV Series, or manga (all of which eventually realized), he still worked on the appropriate format for an artbook, which may very well pertaining the original short.[4]

The film's sound mixing was done at Paris as per agreement among Studio Trigger staff from their meeting in October 2012. Those who in charge of the process were Masahiko Ōtsuka himself, Naoko Tsutsumi, Yō Yoshinari, and Ryōsuke Inagaki.[7]

Sequel

Main article: The Enchanted Parade

A second short film partially funded through Kickstarter, titled Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, was released on October 9, 2015.[8] It tells the challenge of Atsuko Kagari trying to create a successful parade with the help of her friends of Luna Nova Magical Academy, along with the introduction of three new witch students: Amanda O'Neill, Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger, and Jasminka Antonenko, all of whom would expand their roles in the 2017 anime television series.

It was Tatsuru Tattemoto's idea to have the film crowdfunded through Kickstarter which immediately approved. He and Wakabayashi expected the crowdfunding to reach its goal in 30 days only for fans' considerable support saw it did in 4-5 hours, much to their surprise. It was very notable considering the original short, which posted at YouTube prior, had about 800000 views and 60-70% of the viewers were Japanese but most comments on the video were in English. Not only that, some of aforementioned viewers were the one who provided Tatsuru Tatemoto the idea of crowdfunding the sequel to begin with.[9][10] The success of crowdfunding via. Kickstarter was not only attributed to Studio Trigger's willingness to take risks, but also fans' love and approval on famous content creators' decision to go independent through that site. Ōtsuka theorized the closing rift between Japanese and western tastes attributed to it also, though he felt the animation industry should be more productive in promoting their contents overseas. He didn't think of Kickstarter as a radical change to how Trigger handles its projects while being a unique approach to attain necessary funds for the film, citing it to be a mere 'example' of the possibilities. He also stated that in the meantime, Studio Trigger would continue focusing on being a studio "that can't be predicted" and open to ideas from fans[11].

Anime Series

Main article: Little Witch Academia

A television anime series of Little Witch Academia was announced on June 24, 2016. The series began airing in Japan from January 8, 2017 and streamed by Netflix.[12][13][14] The first cour's opening theme is "Shiny Ray" performed by YURiKA while the ending theme is "Hoshi Wo Tadoreba" (星を辿れば If You Follow the Stars?) by Yuiko Ōhara.[15] The second cour's opening theme is "Mind Conductor", also performed by YURiKA, and the ending theme is "Toumei na Tsubasa" (透明な翼 Transparent Wings?), also sung by Yuiko Ohara.[16] The series ran for 25 episodes with nine Blu-ray and DVD volumes being released.[17]

Manga

Main article: Little Witch Academia

A short one-shot manga based on the anime, drawn by Teri Terio, was published in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine on August 19, 2013.[18] Another manga by Teri, featuring an original story, was serialized in Ultra Jump between August 19, 2015 and November 20, 2015 and was compiled in a single tankōbon volume released on January 19, 2016.[19][20]

Main article: Little Witch Academia: Tsukiyo no Ōkan

Another series illustrated by Yuka Fujiwara, Little Witch Academia: Tsukiyo no Ōkan (リトルウィッチアカデミア 月夜の王冠?, lit. "Little Witch Academia: The Midnight Crown"), began serialization in Shueisha's Ribon magazine from September 3, 2015.[21]

Main article: Little Witch Academia (Keisuke Satō Manga)

A manga adaptation of the anime series, illustrated by Keisuke Satō, began to be published in 2017.

Images

For more images related to Little Witch Academia, see the file category: Category:Manga artwork.

Video Game

Main article: Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time

A video game developed by A+ Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, titled Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time (リトルウィッチアカデミア 時の魔法と七不思議 Ritoru Witchi Akademia: Toki no Mahō to Nana Fushigi, lit. "Little Witch Academia: The Magic of Time and the Seven Wonders"), is scheduled for release on PlayStation 4 in November 30, 2017 in Japan, followed by a PS4 and Steam release in North America in May 15, 2018.[22] A bonus game, Magic Knight Grand Charion (魔導戦士グランシャリオン Magical Warrior Gran Sharion), is available in Japan and the United States as a pre-order bonus.[23]

Main article: Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing


Another video game, this time in form of VR game titled Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Race (リトルウィッチアカデミア -VRホウキレース- Ritoru Witchi Akademia: VR Houkirēsu?)[24] by UNIVRS[25] and funded by Kickstarter[26] was announced in Jun 20, 2019. The game was originally planned to be released in June 2020, but ultimately postponed to Octo 13, 2020 in the light of COVID-19. [27]

Original Soundtrack

Official album cover for the soundtrack.
Official album cover for the soundtrack.

Opening/Ending Themes


DISC 1

  • "Chariot's Theme"
  • "Scenery of Luna Nova"
  • "Sucy"
  • "Magic (Nervous)
  • "The Usual Luna Nova"
  • "Ursula"
  • "The Nine Olde Witches"
  • "The Arcturus Forest"
  • "Crisis!"
  • "My story"
  • "Everyday at Luna Nova"
  • "Incantation"
  • "Memories"
  • "Incubation"
  • "Bewitching"
  • "Magic (Excited)"
  • "The Magic Item Cafe (Last Wednesday Society)"
  • "Opening Declaration"
  • "Dead Heat"
  • "The Future"
  • "Good Night"
  • "Lotte"
  • "Discussion"
  • "Hope"
  • "Unrest"
  • "Blytonbury"
  • "Tension"
  • "Diana"
  • "Anxiety and Determination"
  • "Melancholic"
  • "Blue"
  • "My Pace"
  • "A Sleeping Dream"
  • "Trial"
  • "Road Trip"
  • "Run Away!"
  • "Sucy (Take 2)"

DISC 2

  • "Classes at Luna Nova"
  • "Deep Affection"
  • "Woodward"
  • "Magic Lesson"
  • "Magic Festival"
  • "Bright Magic"
  • "Words"
  • "Summons"
  • "Let's Laugh! Together!"
  • "Dialogue"
  • "Modern Magic"
  • "S.S.S"
  • "Imminence"
  • "Croix"
  • "Shadow"
  • "Recollection"
  • "Pixel Monster"
  • "The Grand Triskellion"
  • "The Sami People"
  • "Dream (Harp)"
  • "Suspicion"
  • "Duel"
  • "Grand Charion"
  • "Full Throttle"
  • "Cavendish"
  • "Oath"
  • "Dream (Piano)"
  • "Time Limit"
  • "The Noir Rod"
  • "Regret"
  • "The Past"
  • "Gathering"
  • "Advancing"
  • "Aiming for the Ideal Place"
  • "Finale"

DISC 3

  • "Main Theme"
  • "Magic Show"
  • "Chariot's Theme"
  • "Cafeteria"
  • "Flying Lesson"
  • "At the Dorm"
  • "Minotaur"
  • "Iron Maiden"
  • "Emerging Dragon"
  • "Here We Go!"
  • "Battle"

DISC 4

  • "Mushroom Menace In The Lab"
  • "Title Intro"
  • "Parade Of The Witch Hunt"
  • "The Three Mischiefs"
  • "Akko’s Idea: The Happy Time Project"
  • "Dance Of The Brooms"
  • "The White Mage Appears..."
  • "Confrontation With Diana"
  • "A Trip To Town"
  • "Tomato Fight"
  • "The Evil Stirs..."
  • "The Magic Of Chariot"
  • "Akko’s Parade Preparation"
  • "Shiny Rod’s Revival"
  • "Luna Nova’s Witch Parade Happy Time"
  • "The Giant Awakes"
  • "The Show Must Go On..."
  • "Sucy To The Rescue / The Chase"
  • "Lotte’s Song Of The Spirits"
  • "The Witches Versus The Giant"
  • "Happy Time Ending"
  • "End Credits"
  • "Magic Parade"

Light Novels

Main article: Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of Fairies

A light novel set in anime TV Series' universe, Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of Fairies (リトルウィッチアカデミア でたらめ魔女と妖精の国 Ritoru Uitchi Akademia Detarame Majo to Yousei no Kuni?), novelized by Momo Tachibana, was published by KADOKAWA in April 15, 2017. [28][29]

Merchandise

Main article: List of Little Witch Academia merchandise


In Other Media

Crossover Media

  • A crossover short featuring characters from both Little Witch Academia and Inferno Cop premiered at AnimeNEXT 2015 on June 13, 2015 [30] and was also shown at Anime Expo 2015 on July 2, 2015.[31].
  • Both Akko (in episode 13) and Sucy (episode 8)[32] make guest appearances in Trigger's 2016 anime series Space Patrol Luluco.
  • Akko, Lotte, Sucy, and Constanze are featured in Super Robot Wars X-Ω as a limited-time event, in which they are hunting fairies in a forest when they are transported to another world. There, they join the characters of Aura Battler Dunbine and Gurren Lagann in their respective stories while finding their way back to Luna Nova. [33]

References in Other Media

  • As the coming-of-the-age franchise revolving a protagonist who attends the magic school in England and making friends and rivals alike, facing enemies and hardships alike, and even involved in an important destiny, it's no surprise the series was compared with Harry Potter and The Worst Witch since they share aforementioned elements. For this reason, it is not uncommon for fans to believe in and/or create and perpetrate a number of misconceptions between three franchises (see Little Witch Academia misconceptions for more information). Naoko Tsutsumi, Yō Yoshinari, and Yosuke Futami were aware of comparison between Little Witch Avademia and Harry Potter as revealed in an interview[34]; Tsutsumi joked that they simply borrowed the latter franchise's popularity while Yoshinari stated. that he had nothing to do with Warner Bros.' possible accusation of copyright infringement for their perceived similarities as he intended Little Witch Academia to be enjoyable by everyone. Yosuke Futami on the other hand, stated that Little Witch Academia was about students developing themselves while working alongside their friends and interacting with their teachers as they grew up, further setting both franchises apart.
    • Little Witch Academia series also similarly compared to Kōhei Horikoshi's superhero Shōnen manga My Hero Academia for similarly sounded title and few key similarities in their premise (a tale about youths who sought to be like their role models despite being nobodies who lacked necessary talents and/or skills for it at the beginning, becoming the protege of said role models and learning things about them at personal levels good and bad, and had said role models handicapped thus preventing them from doing their jobs at their fullest at later point of the story). That being said, the stakes of Deku's struggles proved to be higher than Akko's considering he soon fight a war against a destructive villain known as All for One and his protege Tomura Shiragaki.
    • Another series which compared to Little Witch Academia also for featuring young witches-in-training which includes a nobody who aspired to become a proper witch is Kamome Shirahama' Witch Hat Atelier, something recently noted in April 17, 2023 by Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, which recommended it as their pairing choice for the former series' fans.[35][36] However, the premise of the latter series is much darker since Coco's apprenticeship with her mentor Qifrey is further motivated by the day she magically petrified her mother by mistake, an incident which turned out to be part of conspiracy orchestrated by the Brimmed Caps, a coven of evil magic users who intended to shape her into a messianic figure who will help them revive the free use of magic.
    • Little Witch Academia series can also be compared to Ojamajo Doremi due to both focusing on a determined heroine who find themselves facing trials and tribulation as witch-in-training. In stark contrast of Akko and co., it can be argued that Doremi Harukaze and her friends choose to become honorary witches rather than full-fledged ones given to pros and cons of the way of magic practiced by people of Witch World, more so upon learning the tragedy of Majo Tourbillon.
    • Both Little Witch Academia and aforementioned The Worst Witch are implied influences to Any Other Name by Ela Bambust, since the series was highly recommended for those who enjoyed both.[37]
    • Little Witch Academia was cited to be among inspirations for MaliceTakesOver, Schola Arx Mysteria, To Teach Their Own and Turn to Love!; latter two being tabletop role-playing games while the former two video games.[38][39][40][41]
    • Doujinshi series Magical Girl START! Chan Cheuk-Wah (岑卓華) was explicitly inspired by Little Witch Academia.[42][43] In fact, its first volume's premise was eerily similar to that of both original short and first cour of the latter albeit the struggle of its protagonist, Ellie, stemmed from being descendant of some evil witch.[44] Although, starting from its second volume, the series takes more effort in developing more original stories.[45]
    • An ad by Clip Studio Paint features the snippet of a comic featuring a young adult witch who bears a curious resemblance to Diana Cavendish.[46][47]
  • Though likely a coincidence, a girl with striking resemblance to Akko appeared in episode 3 of anime adaptation of Nyoijizai's 2015 manga series Harukana Receive.
  • Three ponies that resembles Akko, Lotte, and Sucy appears made a cameo appearance in w:c:mlp:Legends_of_Magic_Issue_6 Issue 6 of IDW Publishing's My Little Pony: Legends of Magic.[48]
    • Though unconfirmed, such homage was arguably made in response of both short films of Little Witch Academia franchise had alluded My Little Pony prior;
      • A plushie resembling Rarity can be seen on Lotte's desk in both shorts.
      • An old, worn plushie resembling Twilight Sparkle is along items Sucy examined while she, Akko, and Lotte search a chamber seemingly full of junk — the same chamber Ursula hid Shiny Rod long ago.
    • It's worth to mention that Yoshinari revealed to draw My Little Pony characters in 2012-2013 thus the prospect of such allusions being intentional in his part is not to be ruled out.[49]
  • A character that looks similar to Akko, Jasminka, Hannah, and Barbara made a cameo in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon episode, Mounting an Electrifying Charge!.[50][51]
    • Another similar looking character also featured as a recurring background character in SSSS.Gridman where she appears in Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 5, Episode 8, and Episode 13. Unlike in Little Witch Academia however, Akko's SSSS.Gridman incarnation has brown eyes and hair as well as lacked her signature ponytail.
  • BNA: Brand New Animal, another of Studio Trigger works, has scores of allusions to Little Witch Academia, some of which were intentional in Shiori Miyazaki's part despite Yoshinari against such decision.[52] Moreover, Yusuke Yoshigaki was oblivious about such allusions until fans pointed that out during Studio Trigger's 10th Live Drawing event.[53];
    • The earliest allusion happens to be appearances of beastmen versions of Akko and Lotte at separate points in the first episode.[54] The two, alongside beastman version of Sucy, would later reappear in episode 8 among the crowd who supports Silver Wolf Order near Horners.
      • The first episode also features the cameo of beastman version of Barbara[55]
    • Akko's hat makes a cameo appearance in episode 4 of BNA: Brand New Animal among hats Michiru tries shortly after regaining her human form.
    • Though easy to miss, Nendroid version of Akko with bunny ears, along with Constanze's and cardboard cut of Akko in playboy costume makes a brief appearance in episode 11.
    • One of officials who captured Nazuna in the flashback scene of episode 11 clearly modeled after Andrew appearance-wise. The same character later made another appearance in episode 9.
  • Akko's Luna Nova standard robe, witch hat, sash and wand made a cameo as one of props in the magic shop Amity, Willow, Gus, and Hunter visit in the first special which made the first part of Season 3 of The Owl House.
    • The allusion was a nod to the fact that Dana Terrace, the creator of The Owl House series, was no stranger to Little Witch Academia as she confessed that rewatching the 2013 titular film has an influence to the rough animation experiment posted in her now deleted Tumblr[56] and Blogspot post[57] in September 15, 2013.
    • The same costume set also appeared in Season 3 Episode 12 of Duncanville, being worn by Kimberly Harris in said episode.[58]
  • Two minor character who designed after Lotte and (in lesser extent) Amanda are featured in Kamen America series by Timothy Lim. [59]Another allusion to Little Witch Academia in the comic series being a panel featuring the titular character's facial expression while thinking hard to solve problem at hand which jarringly resembles Akko's own during the awakened Titan's crisis in The Enchanted Parade.[60]
    • Another character in the same series, Kamen Comet, similarly resembles Amanda design-wise. In one panel, she even made a pose reminiscent to Ryūko Matoi, the protagonist of Kill la Kill, another Studio Trigger production.[61]
  • The series was mentioned by Averno and Janus, two users of Juustagram (a fictional social media platform that operates almost similarly to Instagram) in 2017 side-scrolling shoot 'em up video game Azur Lane.[62]
  • As revealed in one of their conversations in 2020, the owner of official Twitter account of Puyo Puyo franchise confesses that Little Witch Academia is their favorite Studio Trigger anime in addition of Kill la Kill, with their favorite Little Witch Academia character being Constanze.[63]
  • The female Chinese VTuber Civia revealed that Little Witch Academia is one of her favorite anime series, the other being Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.[64]
  • Plastic Superman, the intermediate master level hero and one of the minor characters from the 2020 Chinese manhua Cultivator vs Superhero who debuted in the 1st chapter of the series, is clearly inspired by Andrew Hanbridge appearance-wise. Plastic Man's trademark suit as a civilian clearly designed after the latter's own also.
  • Though unconfirmed, an in-universe novel series titled Nightfall in Pixar's 2022 animated movie Turning Red appeared to be the homage to the eponymous novel series in Little Witch Academia series. Considering the studio's character designer Grant Alexander had eventful history with Studio Trigger (having recurring collaborations together and involved in two of the series' episodes), this may very well intentional in his part.[65]
  • The mobile game Clawbert features a homage to Akko in form of Akkie, one of 100 toys which can be found in Old Town level.[66]
  • Though likely a coincidence, the main setting of the upcoming survival horror game, Horror Stories: Harvest Hunt is a curse village which shares the same name as the magic school Akko attended, Luna Nova.[67]
  • Opening and closing themes of Little Witch Academia anime TV series are available in 2008 arcade music video games Jubeat by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan.[68]
  • The hairstyle of Terra Grayson in her teenage years from comic book series Invincible as illustrated by Cory Walker was inspired by Akko's own.[69]
  • Though likely a coincidence, the depiction of Valkyrie unit from Clash Royale in Valkyrie Evolution Reveal trailer curiously bears a passing resemblance to Amanda (see at 0:02 to be believed).[70]
  • A color palette based on Sucy Manbavaran's color scheme is available for Squigly, a DLC character for Skullgirls Encore.
  • Bulma and Lunch, two of characters from Dragon Ball franchise by the late Akira Toriyama sported hairstyle which may very well inspired Akko and Mary respectively; hair which reached shoulder blade with matching blunt square side-bangs on the left side along with a section of it tied onto a half ponytail on the back of the head, and hair tied in a ponytail with a red ribbon with a bang going to the right side of the face.
  • Little Witch Academia is among influences to the development of the upcoming game Witchbrook by Chucklefish but not the major one like assumed. It has since confirmed by the staff that they mainly took notes from the works of Studio Ghibli and already worked on the game for quite some time prior to learning about Little Witch Academia[71].
    • Additional works which are similarly influenced by Little Witch Academia are upcoming works All The Witches mentioned by Cole in Cohost[72] and Cantrip by ¡Hipólita![73]
  • Though likely a coincidence, the Japanese adult manga series KamiKatsu: Working for God in a Godless World reimagined Summanus (the god of nocturnal thunder in ancient Roman religion) as a goddess whose appearance bears a curious resemblance to Sucy, which helped by them sharing eerie aura.
  • An advertisement of Fate/Grand Order advertisement by Shamis & Gentile, P.A erroneously used a Little Witch Academia artwork by mistake instead of the intended series.[74]
  • The non-binary merchant named Quinn from Potionomics are inspired by Sucy Manbavaran, which further reflected by notable similarities between them such as lethargic and blunt disposition, as well as affinity with potions and penchant of testing them on others without their consent.[75]

Miscellaneous

  • In 2018, Joy Yee Plus featured a mural illustration featuring various anime characters enjoying themselves not unlike the restaurant's visitors, among which being Akko, Mami Tomoe and even Saitama as sort of tribute to their respective series.[76][77][78]
  • Along with a livedraw in which it decorated customers' sandwich boxes with sketches of various anime characters, Amanda included, as part of its participation in Anime Expo 2018[79][80], Arby's further popularized Little Witch Academia by taking part in promotion of video games by Bandai Namco at Anime Expo 2017 during which it hid art drop of each game somewhere in the location of the event and reward those who managed to find it prizes. One such art drop was of course, a carton model of Shiny Rod for promoting Chamber of Time game thus anyone who managed to find it gained the privilege to move past the line for trying demo version of said game along with winning a shirt.[81][82]
  • In October 6, 2017[83], employees of University of Memphis' branch of Starbucks drew Sucy to decorate its special menu board which, at the time, featured Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte.[84]2 days later, Tokyo Otaku Mode posted about the board on their Facebook account[85], further popularizing it as several groups such as Yama-Con Anime-Comic Convention[86], Magyar Anime Társaság[87], Tokyo Beat[88] and Anime London[89] shared the aforementioned post to their pages.
  • Anđela Andzl Joković aka. Andjela Jokovic, the Serbian animator and director who won 2 oscars at the age of 19, cites Little Witch Academiaas her favorite anime series. In addition of collecting the series' merchandise [90][91][92], she once cosplayed as Akko[93], she once worked on a clay model of Ursula Callistis[94] and even featured a fan-made post of Little Witch Academia and My Hero Academia in her 2018 showreel.[95]
  • The Taiwanese Illustrator and drawing teacher Krenz Cushart features some of Little Witch Academia artworks by Yoshinari as part of online lecture in YouTube.[96]
  • During 2023 r/place canvas event, one of contestants featured pixel illustration of Akko at one point only for apparently losing as their pic got deleted when the result came out.[97]
  • A curious advertisement offering various dark magic services, such as curses (at 50% off), making someone fall in love, and cleansing your spirit at Latin America has a drawing of Sucy holding materials presumably for conducting the aforementioned magic spells.[98]
  • Transporte Movil!dad MD made a meme featuring Akko which is clearly cropped from the scene in "Pappiliodya".
  • The franchise serves as the inspiration for Little Weeds Academia, costume bundle of Plants vs. Zombies 2: Reflourished, modded version of Plants vs. Zombies 2 game.
  • Among clips featured in Umi - Learning Language, an app devised for helping the user learning various languages, were those Little Witch Academia, such as the scene of Akko attemptint to talk to Sucy in "A New Beginning" and part of red team's conversation with Finnelan in The Enchanted Parade.


Trivia

  • The font for the English title of Little Witch Academia is most likely to be Campanile, with slight modifications to presumably give it originality.
  • As revealed in its Twitter post in May 8, 2021, Chord Design Studio once collaborated with Studio Trigger in designing anime series' logo, including its one-line variant. Unfortunately, such designs apparently scrapped in favor of current ones, if the studio's statement where it eventually discredited by the conclusion of development of anime series was any indication.[99]
    • Chord Design Studio also designed the logo for the second short, The Enchanted Parade, which it had no chance to reveal to Studio Trigger back during the Studio's collaboration with the latter.[100]
  • In an interview with the now defunct site Fighting For Nippon on November 26, 2017 (the same interview which reveals when Netflix started to involved, how the production of its TV Series adaptation episode worthwhile thanks to freedom given to showrunners involved despite their tighter schedule than short films), Yoshinari revealed that he intended many aspects of Little Witch Academia franchise to be played different from other Japanese animes with magical girls, describing it to be a clash between Japanese and Western cultures. As Tsutsumi added, the style they used for the franchise, which not unlike older works such as Himitsu no Akko-chan, was difficult to develop due to facing a decline and about to be phased out in favor of more popular moe style in Japanese entertainment industry.[101]
  • According to Michiyo Murase, strong points of TV series adaptation of the franchise in addition of script and animation by Studio TRIGGER are dynamic between Akko and Diana, Lotte and other side of her glasses, Hannah and Barbara's antics, Jasminka hidden potential (which sadly not fleshed out in the series proper), Constanze and her Stanbots, Amanda's coolness, Ursula and Shiny Chariot's mystery, and importantly, her character Sucy and her mushrooms.[102][103]
  • It's evident that Studio Trigger based many elements of the series' lore, magic in particular, on those in real-life.
    • Incantations of Nullification Spell which debuted in The Enchanted Parade appeared to be based on Kabbalistic term in Jewish mysticism. Even Kabbalah itself was featured alongside Numerology and Temple Menorah as part of Samantha Badcock's lecture in "Pappiliodya", the second episode of anime TV Series.
      • The chalkboard from this lecture is adorned with a variety of alchemical and astrological symbols. At the top left, the four classical elements of Western alchemy are prominently displayed: Air (🜁), Earth (🜃), Fire (🜂), and Water (🜄). Scattered across the board within the various stars, pentagrams and magic circles are other alchemical and planetary symbols, each corresponding to a specific metal or celestial body. In particular, within the diagram for the Tree of Life include Pluto (Pluto Form Two), Saturn (♄), Neptune (♆), Uranus (♅), Mars (♂), Jupiter (♃), the Sun (☉), Mercury (☿), and Venus (♀). Other symbols are also present on the board, such as the Moon’s association with Silver (☽ Variant), as well as a variant symbol for Earth (🜨). which is not surprising as alchemy is taught at Luna Nova.
    • The flavor text of Unicorn Card alludes Il Milione/The Travels of Marco Polo, a 13th-century travelogue by Rustichello da Pisa based on stories told by Italian explorer Marco Polo.
    • Similarly, in "Chariot of Fire", the 15th episode of anime TV Series, Croix's lecture featured passing references to darker forms of real-life witchcraft as part of magic's very sordid history.
    • Perhaps befitting to their focus on Revitalization Magic, members of House of Cavendish prefer to use wand with serpent motif interwind in the handle which is likely a reference to the Rod of Asclepius, from Greek mythology, which is a serpent-entwined rod wielded by the Greek god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicine.
    • This series features numerous motifs inspired by constellations and star names.[104][105]
      • The most recurring constellation in the series is of course, Big Dipper. The motif of Big Dipper can be seen on the placement of seven orbs on both Shiny Rod and Big Dipper Arch, the entrance to Fountain of Polaris.
      • Arcas being the designated guardian of the fountain is a nod to his name being derived from the Little Bear constellation, Ursa Minor, and one of its stars being Polaris aka. the North Star.
        • His backstory about young Chariot befriended him after nursing him back to health after surviving a lightning strike as a cub alludes to the tale of his namesake mythological son of Zeus and Callisto.
      • Professor Pisces is named after the eponympus zodiac sign and constellation which coincidentally represented by a fish.[106][107]
      • Arcturus constellation, the source of Arcturus Forest's name, is the Greek of "keeper or guardian of the bear", which refers to its position adjacent to the tail of the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). In a way, this foreshadows how such area revealed to be secret resting place of Grand Triskellion all along.
    • Apkallu series, the film series Sucy mentioned in the episode, alludes the mythical group of seven eponymous figures from Mesopotamian mythology which at times described as humanoid fishes in addition of the 1954 classic horror film The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels.[106]
  • As Yoshinari explained regarding the parallel between animation and magic as conveyed in the franchise during an interview: "The techniques we use to do animation, I found it resembles Magic, so I thought about doing a parallel between the two in Little Witch Academia. Animation in itself is not helpful to society, nor does it have the power to change society. At least, it can not straightforwardly change society. But animation can touch people’s hearts. It’s very similar to the way Magic works in the show. It does not have any practical use, but it can make a difference in people and their emotions."[108]
  • As confirmed by Masahiko Ōtsuka and interpreted by Tatsuru Tatemoto, the basic premise of franchise's original 2013 short (a young girl from mundane family who set out to learn magic), which later repeated in 2017 TV series adaptation, was partly intentional so as to make animators involved able to relate to characters in it (Akko in particular) since they're both learning and they're both both kind of go into a school as Tatsuru Tatemoto put it. Another plot idea to be considered was one with heavy actions[6].
    • On related note, the franchise tells about embracing innovation while preserving tradition at the same time. Akko and her friends, along with Ursula aka. Chariot, prove that magic can be used to bring smile and joy upon everyone as much as part of tradition. Constanze and Croix show how magic and technology mix perfectly through their inventions, with the latter cites the way of magic must adapt in changing times while maintaining its value. Conversely, conservative magical families' insistence of maintaining old ways saw them losing their way and worsening the decline.[109][110]
  • For the series' setting, Naoko Tsutsumi confirmed in an interview during the talkshow that took place after the screenings for episode 22-25 in TOHO Cinemas in Shinjuku on June 23, 2017 that she and the rest of Studio Trigger staff went to England in order to get a feeling of the scenario the story took place in, which mostly done by her peers who in charge of designing the scenery.[111][112][113]
    • In the same interview, she also wishes Little Witch Academia, notably TV Series adaptation, to be a positive experience for the audience from the beginning to the end, bright and positive hence she and her fellow Studio Trigger staff tried their best to ensure.[114]
    • Despite being Japanese franchise, Yoshinari and the rest of Studio Trigger staff deliberately established English to be most recurring, if not prominent language befitting to it mainly set in England. This was reflected by some of TV Series episodes' titles and soundtracks being written in English as well as DVD and Blu-Ray Volumes releases featuring English subtitles.
      • This extends to featured names in the series that often British-derived ones.[106]
    • Little Witch Academia series is, in some ways, also the tale of Shūhei Handa's struggle as the series' animator, being a learner back during his involvement in its shorts. Yoshinari cited that he entrusted Handa the part knowing he got the job right through support and praise. Handa himself admitted that giving his all as the animator of Little Witch Academia was a challenging endeavor, but nonetheless looked forward to continue involved in the franchise.[112]
    • According to Tsutsumi regarding memorable scenes in the series; "There were moments when the emotions of Megumi Han and Hikasa really came through, and it became something bigger than what we had imagined."[113]
      • The moments in questions were likely pertaining improvements in their respective character Akko and Diana in the second cour of anime TV Series.
    • Megumi Han shared the sentiment for her own part in the franchise, stating that the recurring line by characters in "Tree of Leaves" (Thank You) served as the way to express the gratitude to those involved behind the scenes.[112][113]
    • Lastly, Yoshinari, Tsutsumi and Handa looked forward in continuing the series one way or another. Yoshinari even hoped Little Witch Academia will user a golden age for anime industry just as Akko and co. ushered a new Golden Age of Magic in "Tree of Leaves".[112][113]
  • As highlighted in an interview with Yoshinari and other Studio Trigger staff from Ani-Gamers during AnimeNext 2017, the original short, Enchanted Parade, and TV Series adaptation were produced under different circumstances[115]:
    • 2013 short was, a stated prior, were developed as part of Anime Mirai event, a training program for aspiring animators.
    • Enchanted Parade was through crowdfunding via. Kickstarter, a rare instance in animation industry. While he admitted that his part in its development of the film was ensuring it to be enjoyable, Yoshinari felt Kickstarters staff had greater challenge in doing their part to fulfill the backers' demands.
    • TV Series adaptation was funded by Netflix, though he intended it to be both enjoyable and catered for Japanese audience, though his biggest challenge was assuming the role of its director. He also confirmed to enlist Masanobu Hiraoka in working on its ending animation, being a fan of the latter's works.
  • As hinted in the interview with Michihiko Suwa and Yuzuru Tachikawa by Reverse Thieves during Otakon 2013, the success of the crowdfunding of Enchanted Parade via. Kickstarter further contributed to growing interest on said company.[116] This also helped by the company's benefit of bypassing difficulties in content acquisition and provides the opportunity to be financed in potentially successful projects, as acknowledged by LeSean Thomas during an interview with Reverse Thieves in Otakon 2016.[117]

Gallery

Logo Designs
Miscellaneous

References

  1. ↑ Studio Trigger Posts Long Little Witch Academia Trailer
  2. ↑ INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE DU STUDIO TRIGGER
  3. ↑ English translation of Studio Trigger Fr Interview 2
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 ZOOM SUR ... LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA
  5. ↑ English translation of Studio Trigger Fr Interview 3
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Masahiko Otsuka, Studio Trigger Q&A/English Transcription text
  7. ↑ Exclusive Interview With Studio Trigger In Paris by Otaking May 9, 2013 (Archived on June 4, 2019)
  8. ↑ Little Witch Academia 2
  9. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140619175122/http://www.japanator.com/anime-next-14-studio-trigger-32705.phtml
  10. ↑ AnimeNext 2015: TRIGGER Interview
  11. ↑ https://www.siliconera.com/studio-triggers-ceo-wants-take-risks-enable-creative-freedom/
  12. ↑ Netflix to Stream Little Witch Academia TV Anime Series
  13. ↑ "Little Witch Academia" TV Anime Spotted For January 2017
  14. ↑ Little Witch Academia TV Anime Reveals More Cast, Staff, Visual
  15. ↑ Little Witch Academia TV Anime's Promo Video Reveals Song Artists, January 8 Premiere
  16. ↑ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2017/04/11/little-witch-academia-kicks-off-second-cour-with-oped-single-announcements
  17. ↑ BD/DVD
  18. ↑ Little Witch Academia Gets Short Manga in Ultra Jump
  19. ↑ Little Witch Academia Ends in Ultra Jump
  20. ↑ https://x.com/trigger_inc/status/688296058653261824
  21. ↑ Little Witch Academia Inspires 2 New Manga Series
  22. ↑ IGN - Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time Release Date Announced By Alex Osborn 16 Mar 2018
  23. ↑ PlayStation Blog - [1]
  24. ↑ https://lwa-vr.com/jp/
  25. ↑ https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/165474
  26. ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/univrs/little-witch-academia-vr-broom-racing-new-vr-game-project
  27. ↑ https://x.com/LWA_VR/status/1258109099276828672
  28. ↑ LWA Reddit page - https://www.reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/6imbxe/little_witch_academia_has_a_novel/; semi-reliable translation of tsubasabunko.jp page in Japanese
  29. ↑ Tsubasa Bunko - https://www.tsubasabunko.jp/special/sp1704-b.php
  30. ↑ "AnimeNEXT 2015: Trigger"
  31. ↑ "Trigger Teases New Project & New Inferno Cop/Little Witch Academia Crossover Short"
  32. ↑ The Trap of the Mystical Power
  33. ↑ ""Super Robot Wars" Smartphone Game To Feature "Little Witch Academia" Crossover"
  34. ↑ LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA Interview - Talking To Yoh Yoshinari & Naoko Tsutsumi
  35. ↑ https://twitter.com/MystGalaxyBooks/status/1647995843587235840
  36. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/mystgalaxybooks/p/CrJUp2DOp6b/
  37. ↑ https://elajo.itch.io/any-other-name
  38. ↑ https://omr-machine.itch.io/malicetakesover
  39. ↑ https://bad-quail.itch.io/schola-arx-mysteria
  40. ↑ https://mousewifegames.itch.io/teach
  41. ↑ https://maraj.itch.io/magical-girl-character-driven-ttrpg-turn-to-love
  42. ↑ https://www.hkreadingcity.net/book/details/6142ffc7f49b046dd8686f32
  43. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2948767612067816&set=a.1741153402829249
  44. ↑ https://play.google.com/store/books/details/%E9%AD%94%E5%B9%BB%E5%B0%91%E5%A5%B3START_1_%E5%A4%A2%E6%83%B3%E9%AB%98%E9%A3%9B?id=YWUTEQAAQBAJ
  45. ↑ https://play.google.com/store/books/details/%E5%B2%91%E5%8D%93%E8%8F%AF_%E9%AD%94%E5%B9%BB%E5%B0%91%E5%A5%B3START_2_%E9%9D%88%E7%8D%B8%E5%B3%B6%E5%A4%A7%E5%86%92%E9%9A%AA?id=l2UTEQAAQBAJ&hl=en-US
  46. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/100064851124228/posts/1026953292809699
  47. ↑ https://archive.ph/9C3QA
  48. ↑ https://derpibooru.org/1535056?q=Little+Witch+Academia
  49. ↑ Anime Superstar Animator Yoh Yoshinari Secretly Drew Ponies for a Year by Sethisto November 23, 2013
  50. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/6ypftw/so_akko_made_a_cameo_in_the_pokemon_sunmoon_anime/
  51. ↑ https://twitter.com/manbavarang1/status/1639206536018010112
  52. ↑ https://twitter.com/Alcor_MX/status/1644453484039634946
  53. ↑ Studio TRIGGER -10th live drawing event with Yusuke Yoshigaki from BNA!
  54. ↑ https://twitter.com/type_43/status/1241236209881337856
  55. ↑ https://x.com/Alcor_MX/status/1802753278763286573
  56. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20181209132136/http://danaterrace.tumblr.com/post/61379614289/experiment-ruffed-out-in-an-hour-tried-to-do
  57. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20171128221108/http://dana-draws.blogspot.com/2013/09/loose-lines.html
  58. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/y9givo/i_did_not_think_id_see_a_lwa_reference_in/
  59. ↑ https://twitter.com/FanAkko/status/1493029596090015744
  60. ↑ https://twitter.com/KamenAmericaJPN/status/1637867627778301979
  61. ↑ https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1337436594918920195
  62. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/yf64jd/could_this_be_a_reference_to_lwain_azur_lane_o_o/
  63. ↑ https://twitter.com/PuyoOfficial/status/1307056720670269448
  64. ↑ https://warosu.org/jp/thread/26014890#p26016512
  65. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/tcrofo/comment/i0ftdaf/?context=3&rdt=42187
  66. ↑ Reddit - Omg! Look what I just got on my little gacha game (Clawberta) haha
  67. ↑ https://store.steampowered.com/app/2009620/Horror_Stories_Harvest_Hunt/
  68. ↑ https://desuarchive.org/a/thread/156471955/#156473142
  69. ↑ https://lookatthisbutnotfortoolongokay.blogspot.com/2022/08/invincible-spoilers.html
  70. ↑ Valkyrie Evolution Reveal
  71. ↑ https://www.siliconera.com/stardew-valley-meets-harry-potter-studio-ghibli-mysterious-new-chucklefish-game/
  72. ↑ https://cohost.org/IceColeBrew/post/838515-i-am-extremely-proud
  73. ↑ https://hipolita.itch.io/cantrip
  74. ↑ https://reddit.com/r/LittleWitchAcademia/comments/1fykf7l/akko_wtf_are_you_doing_there/
  75. ↑ https://bsky.app/profile/potionomics.bsky.social/post/3ldyz3wbqac27
  76. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/8lpm8w/mural_at_a_joyees_in_chicago/
  77. ↑ https://twitter.com/mikeyyaki/status/1178485099068903425
  78. ↑ https://twitter.com/JasonD3/status/974503018824720384
  79. ↑ https://www.tumblr.com/zancorvid/175959573950/arbys-booth-anime-expo-2018
  80. ↑ https://twitter.com/Arbys/status/1015657662359396352
  81. ↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2017-07-04/arby-visited-anime-expo-gave-away-bandai-namco-prizes/.118336
  82. ↑ https://twitter.com/Arbys/status/1012757600520335363
  83. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/74k1lr/comment/dnzex0e/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
  84. ↑ Sucy as drawn by employees of University of Memphis' Starbucks
  85. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/tokyootakumode/photos/a.207856349241928.58093.18747727946509/1829008383793375
  86. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/yamaconofficial/posts/1929847900561500
  87. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/animetarsasag/posts/1700846189959698
  88. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/4tokyo.beat/posts/145760202700039
  89. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/AnimeLondon/posts/10155862883414464
  90. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BR3nIHJBCD9/
  91. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BSMG2M-Bmyj/
  92. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BSvvHPoBhb_/
  93. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ_EShVhfSF/
  94. ↑ https://twitter.com/andjelajokovic/status/1049006515154296832
  95. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhj9LcWFhd0/
  96. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbKqIJcIUCw
  97. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=945078416563823&id=100031850205235
  98. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/TSduChariot/posts/647114434180052
  99. ↑ https://twitter.com/chord87/status/1391059967147274240
  100. ↑ https://twitter.com/chord87/status/1391325273442775044
  101. ↑ Sprinkle of Magic – Little Witch Academia Interview w/ Yoh Yoshinari, Naoko Tsutsumi, and Yosuke Futami (Archive)
  102. ↑ http://littlewitchacademia.jp/tv1st/special/comment.html
  103. ↑ 4archive info about anon's translation on Sucy's interview in Little Witch Academia official site
  104. ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 31
  105. ↑ 200px
  106. ↑ 106.0 106.1 106.2 Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 33
  107. ↑ 200px
  108. ↑ https://fullfrontal.moe/manga-tokyo-exhibition-panel/
  109. ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 1, page 5
  110. ↑ LWA Chronicle Page 5
  111. ↑ Naoko Tsutsumi about Studio Trigher's trip to England as part of development of Little Witch Academia
  112. ↑ 112.0 112.1 112.2 112.3 https://type43.hatenablog.jp/entry/2017/06/26/181324
  113. ↑ 113.0 113.1 113.2 113.3 https://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1498468982
  114. ↑ Naoko Tsutsumi about how Studio Trigger intended Little Witch Academia for the audience
  115. ↑ Little Witch Academia Director Yoshinari Talks TV Production and the Challenges of Directing
  116. ↑ https://reversethieves.com/2013/08/19/otakon-2013-10-minutes-with-yuzuru-tachikawa-and-michihiko-suwa/
  117. ↑ https://reversethieves.com/2016/09/05/otakon-2016-10-minutes-with-lesean-thomas/

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