Pohjola's Trial (ポホヨラの試練, Pohoyora no Shiren?) is the 16th episode of the Little Witch Academia anime series.
On Netflix, the episode is titled "Pohjola's Ordeal".[1]
Overview[]
While visiting Lotte’s parents, Akko wakes up to find the town's residents struck by a mysterious ailment that can only be cured by a witch.
Summary[]
Lotte and Sucy were astonished by the significance of Shiny Rod as told by Akko — an artifact devised to create a seal which protected Grand Triskellion as well as means to undo it, though it requires the Rod's wielder to unlock all Seven Words of Arcturus. The determined Japanese witch-in-training then consulted with WitchNet to see whether she could learn a thing or two about the Seven Words but, the site she accessed was taking too long to respond, much to her chagrin. Just then, Shiny Rod's seven stars started to glow, much to her curiosity.
Looking back at the day Woodward told her and Croix about means to unlock the Seven Words of Arcturus, Ursula confirmed to Akko that the Fourth Word was not far ahead. Akko attempted to recite the Word straight away but, it had no effect on Shiny Rod because she has yet to figure out its meaning; in this case, something she woefully lacked. Since the meaning of each Word of Seven Words of Acturus was meant to be discovered on one's own and taken to the heart accordingly, Ursula couldn't be more specific about it. Just then, Lotte remembered that she had invited Akko and Sucy to come with her in visiting her parents back at her hometown in Finland on the next day. Luckily for them, Ursula allowed the Japanese witch-in-training to go there since it would help her in unlocking the Fourth Word of Seven Words of Arcturus; the Word might actually within her heart's reach instead of close in traditional sense.
In her laboratory, Croix reviewed Noir Fuel Spirit samples drawn from different emotions. She came to a conclusion where anger-based Fuel Spirit yielded most power.
Arriving at Lotte's hometown in Finland through Ley Lines and later, a bus, Akko couldn't shake off the Fourth Word of the Seven Word of Arcturus in her mind. The three friends finally reached L Kiosk, a shop that belonged to Lotte's family and doubled as their humble abode. Sucy was underwhelmed by the shop's wares which consisted of foodstuff and mundane items that more numerous than magical ones. As they took a look around, Lotte's father, Mr. Jansson, showed up and happily greeted his daughter in his curious manner (literally spinning her above his head before gently placing her down) with his wife, Mrs. Jansson, behind him. They then welcomed Akko and Sucy, bringing up how their daughter wrote about the two while studying at Luna Nova. So far the visit was eventful apart of two things; Jansson family's trademark Hapansilakka pie and sauna. Akko found the pie's taste too repulsive to her liking unlike Sucy who enjoyed it. The sauna was too hot for the Japanese witch-in-training to enjoy for less than three minutes yet Sucy didn't mind by the heat. It was at the sauna Lotte revealed the reason L Kiosk only got few magic items among its wares unlike Last Wednesday Society was because of not frequently used, an issue that exacerbated by the number of magical families who lived in Lotte's home town were even fewer.
Unknown to red team, the remaining Hapansilakka pie turned sickly green for some reasons.
In the next morning, the horrified Lotte found her mother covered in moss-like growth and immobile while standing. As if it was bad enough, Mr. Jansson and Jane suffered the same fate on the outside, though Sucy was oblivious to how dire their situation actually was (she thanked the latter for the pies on the other day). Consulting with the opened Witch's Medicine on Mrs. Jansson's hands, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy learned that they fell victim to Greenman Disease outbreak which triggered by perfectly baked Hapansilakka pies among other conditions, prompting the Japanese witch-in-training to dispose the remaining pie. Lotte fell into despair because the outbreak got her mother before the latter had the chance to contain it like before, at which Akko assured that they and Sucy should take the matter with their own hands; the book in Mrs. Jansson's hands provided them crucial information not just to cure the afflicted, but also end the outbreak. So, the three friends split up to find the ingredients for the antidote; Sucy searched some green amanitas while Akko and Lotte freshly fallen snow from a pine tree forest, berry leaves blown off by the wind, fresh droppings of a reindeer raised by a laplander, and traditional medicine base crafted by a master yeti artisan.
The search for the ingredients put Akko's patience into a test. At the local pine tree forest, the Japanese witch-in-training couldn't wait for the snow falling from the trees there that she impatiently kicked one of them, much to Lotte's chagrin because the fallen snow was unsuitable for the antidote. After procuring the exact kind of snow they needed, the two moved on to a berry bush in order to take some of their leaves which blown by the wind, though they managed to do so with the second one because of Akko sneezed at the first. Unfortunately, they couldn't find the laplander who able to help them, Nicholas, at his usual spot in the plains near Lotte's hometown. So, they had no choice but to head back and figure out the way to contact him somehow.
Things didn't go any better when they returned to L Kiosk. Akko and Lotte found Sucy succumbed to Greenman Disease right after procuring green amanitas they needed. In her panic, the Japanese witch-in-training briefly shook the Manbavaran's immobilized form that she unwittingly knocked Mr. Jansson behind the latter, leading to him falling onto Jane. Hilariously, despite her condition, Mrs. Jansson still had enough strength to move about in order to push her husband aside from such suggestive position. Before long, Lotte succumbed to the disease as well, forcing Akko to continue by herself.
In a bid to locate the reindeer, Akko enlisted help from the Janssons' messenger dove on the roof of their home. The dove finally located the laplander and subsequently led her to it. Chasing the reindeer, Akko ended up scaring the animal to the point of it retreated into the tent belonged to its owner, Nicholas himself; it took Nicholas' help that she was able to acquire his reindeer's fresh dropping. Nicholas then revealed the location of the home of the yeti artisan who could craft her the traditional medicine base she needed as the final ingredient for Greenman Disease Antidote — the snowy mountain not too far from Lotte's hometown. Because of the considerable distance, he lend her his sled which pulled by his reindeer, much to the latter's chagrin because of its contempt toward Akko.
Arriving at the hut, the Japanese witch-in-training found it seemingly empty only for its newly returned inhabitant patted her on the shoulder. Despite her doubts, Akko requested the yeti to craft her a traditional medicine base, which he did after some convincing in her part. For some reasons however, something held the yeti back to the point of his attempts yielded poor results that left Akko disappointed. Having enough by her outbursts, the yeti artisan ran off with tears.
Catching up with the yeti artisan, the worried and remorseful Akko apologized to him, at which he confided to her about the issue plaguing him as of late; anonymous people on a social website criticized and insulted both him and his works, most likely former clients he let down in the past. Unamused by how preposterous their rants were upon reviewing some of them in his phone, Akko tossed it before making a motivational speech that caught its owner off guard as much as moved him greatly. True to this, her support allowed him to make the perfect traditional medicine base. Although bigger than expected, the Japanese witch-in-training appreciated the yeti artisan efforts and thanked him for his help.
Unfortunately, Nicholas' reindeer had left, forcing Akko to return to L Kiosk on foot, a predicament which didn't help by Greenman Disease finally got a hold on her. As the blizzard settled in, the Japanese witch-in-training was considering to give up until she remembered her friends and Lotte's parents back at her destination as well as realization of Shiny Chariot not wanting her to quit after coming this far. Resolving to press on, she soon heard the sound of ringing bells accompanied by the silhouette of what appeared to be Santa Claus... only for it revealed to be Nicholas himself who apologized to her for what his reindeer had done. Relieved by this nonetheless, Akko finally able to reach L Kiosk just as the dawn came with Nicholas and his reluctant reindeer companion's help.
Now that she got everything she needed, Akko followed the instruction of how to brew Greenman Disease Antidote. The Japanese witch-in-training first poured all ingredients into cooking pot full of required amount of water and heated with a stove, then stirred it until the mixture became rainbow-colored. As the mixture hardened by the heat over time, she knew she had to remain perservere for the sake of her friends, Lotte's parents, and Jane. It was when she recalled on Ursula's advice prior, leading to her realizing patience being what she lacked all along. And so, just as the Antidote was ready at last, Akko recited the Fourth Word of Seven Words of Arcturus, causing Shiny Rod to transmogrify into a sprinkler that allowed her to spread it in massive radius, restoring everyone who afflicted with Greenman Disease and effectively putting the outbreak to an end, much to everyone's joy.
Heading back to Luna Nova, the red team told Ursula of circumstances surrounding the visit to Lotte's hometown that also saw Akko unlocking the Fourth Word of Seven Words of Arcturus, much to her delight. Akko credited Lotte and Sucy for their respective part in facilitating such accomplishment, whereas Lotte thanked Akko for finishing what they started in ending the Greenman Disease outbreak. Upon Akko's excitement for finding the next Word as soon as possible, Ursula reminded her to be patient in such endeavor, which the Japanese witch-in-training sheepishly agreed, leaving her roomates uncertain whether she truly took the virtue of being patient to the heart.
Order of appearances[]
| Characters | Tools | Spells | Creatures |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Trivia[]
- The episode makes some references to Finnish culture. For example, Lotte's neighbor in Finland appears to be based on the character Mymble from the Moomins series, which became extremely popular in Japan in the 1990s following the release of the 1990 anime Moomin. The episode's title refers to Pohjola from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, where the heroes Väinämöinen, Lemminkäinen, and Ilmarinen each complete trials for the witch Louhi in order to win her daughters' hands in marriage.
- The logo and the name of the Jansson family's shop are almost identical to a real-life Finnish shop chain R-Kioski.
- In "Don't Stop Me Now", an item closely resembling the Yeti medicine base can be seen in the Magic Item Cafe.
- Brands of some, if not all of foodstuffs sold at L Kiosk were based on real-life ones such as Riipisen (canned reindeer meat).
- Hapansilakka pie[2], the trademark food of the Jansson family baked by Jane which was introduced in the episode, is obviously based on the real-life traditional Finnish food Karelian pastry. Unlike the latter, this pie has Surströmming added among its stuffing akin to fish pies in addition to rice, egg, and butter.[3][4] The concept revolving around this cuisine is arguably meant to be a nod to the family's mixed ancestry.
- Lotte's mother looks quite different from her appearance in Terio Teri manga of Little Witch Academia, as she is shown to wear clothing that covers her head and does not expose her hair.
- In the Netflix worldwide release, this episode's title name was changed to "Pohjola's Ordeal".
- Akko's reassurance to Lotte who was saddened from learning her mother was afflicted with Greenman Disease that witches (they and Sucy) will save the day serves as a subtle foreshadowing of them about to end a bigger crisis in the four-parter finale of the second cour.[5][6]
- This episode takes place in December along with "Amanda O'Neill and the Holy Grail" and "Sky War Stanship", as stated in the Chronicles book.[7][8]
External Links[]
Reviews[]
- The Con Artists
- Rolling Review – Little Witch Academia (16) by CONARTISTDAN April 26, 2017
Gallery[]
| Pohjola's Trial has an associated gallery here. |
References[]
- ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80156387
- ↑
- ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 51
- ↑
- ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 2, page 50
- ↑
- ↑ Little Witch Academia Chronicles, Chapter 4, page 116
- ↑
