*Contains spoilers

Released: 2016
Genres: Comedy, Fantasy, Slice of Life
Studios: J.C. Staff
Episodes: 12

After a tiring week, I looked for a tranquil anime series to relax without worrying about anything else. I almost rewatched Non Non Biyori or Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, but a recommendation popped up in my feed and that’s how I found this lovely anime.

Here I bring a brief review of one of the most relaxing anime I’ve ever watched, Flying Witch!

Flying Witch’s Plot

Makoto Kowata is a polite girl from a family of witches residing in Yokohoma. There’s a particular tradition for witches in which the apprentices must become independent and leave their homes after turning 15 years old. Therefore, Makoto, accompanied by her cat, moves from Yokohama to the rural town of Aomori to live with her relatives.

Makoto’s daily life will be full of adventures and new life experiences. What’s better is that she’ll have the best companions by her side as she learns about magic and even new things!

Story

Flying Witch’s story revolves around Makoto, a witch apprentice who is trying to adapt to her new life in the countryside. It’s a comfy slice of life anime with simple humour that it’s not based on double meaning jokes or dramatic romance. I know, that doesn’t sound flashy but boring, right? I thought the same thing, but it had some good aspects that made this simple story charming.

The first episode of Flying Witch reminded me of Kiki’s Delivery Service. I mean, there I learn that witch tradition of leaving their home after turning fifteen, flying with the broom and even having a black cat as a familiar. There were subtle coincidences, but I know those elements are quite common in stories that revolve around witches.

Although Makoto went to hone her witchcraft skills, we don’t really see much about this aspect in the story. I’m not going to lie because I expected the anime to focus on Makoto’s daily life while practising magic and striking spells… Jokes on me, because the “spells” had nothing special, they were somewhat realistic to a certain extent.

The magic element in this anime is quite subtle and doesn’t exaggerate anything. In my opinion, if magic really exists in real life, maybe it’ll work as it does in Flying Witch. But I guess that kind of “realism” works with this slice of life because it was meant to make us relax, not get excited with a fantastic story.

I’m still wondering how those episodes where the characters just went to the mountain to pick wild vegetables or to watch the sakura blossoms captivated me. I guess that’s the charm of this anime, that even with the simplest things, it managed to capture your attention.

There’s no complexity in its story, no character development, no thrilling scenes, no drama or any other thing that captures the attention of demanding audiences. It’s just the peaceful life of a flying witch and her friends, nothing more, nothing less.

Flying Witch doesn’t have anything new and it also doesn’t stand out among other anime series of the same genre. In fact, it’s an anime that won’t hook many people or leave a big impression on those who have already watched it. Still, it works if you’re just looking for something to relax while spending your day lying on your bed or chilling on your couch.

So if someone asks me if I would enjoy this anime any other day, I’d say the answer will depend on my mood. If I’m in a demanding mood, I’d get extremely bored with Flying Witch (I’d even fall asleep while watching it). Otherwise, if I’m in the mood to just vibe with something very relaxing, I’d pick this one without a doubt.

Characters

Makoto Kowata

Makoto seemed a bit childish to me, at least her attitude. But there’s something that made me feel related to this character and it was because she was so clueless with directions… I can’t blame her, I get lost sometimes, even in my hometown, so I’m part of the bad sense of direction club with Makoto.

Still, even if Makoto was somewhat clumsy at times, her kind-hearted and charming nature made me like her.

Chinatsu Kuramoto

Chinatsu behaves just like a young girl of her age would do. She was curious about many things, yet she never let her guard down when meeting new people. In fact, she was afraid whenever she met someone she didn’t know.

Being a little girl, Chinatsu was a bit spoiled and liked things to go the way she wanted. Still, she was gentle and whenever someone needed help, she’d lend them a hand.

Kei Kuramoto

Kei’s situation in the anime was kind of amusing. I mean, he was always there, yet he didn’t contribute that much. He was just minding his own business, enjoying his days like any other ordinary teenager. Still, he did say some funny things or even provided interesting information about random things.

Let me say that Kei would be the perfect husband with his culinary abilities too, so excuse me sir, but if you were real, I’d have proposed to you…

Art and animation

J.C. Staff had produced many anime that I like and among them, there are a few slices of life series, so they usually do a pretty good job with this kind of animated series. But it’s not like Flying Witch’s art or animation were something remarkable, but it worked with the story of Flying Witch and hence, I can’t complain about it. But I appreciated they kept the good quality throughout the series.

The countryside sceneries were enticing and made me want to live in that kind of place, even if there weren’t many things to do. But simply enjoying the peaceful atmosphere seems like a good life plan to me.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed of smooth and calm tracks that blended amazingly with the series, but that’s it, there’s nothing memorable about them either. They aren’t bad or great, but just perfect for this anime.

The OP “Shan Ran Ran” by miwa has a catchy and energetic melody. Still, I skipped it a couple of times because it wasn’t the type of song I’d enjoy listening to…

On the other hand, the ED “’Nichijou no Mahou” is sung by Makoto and Chinatsu VAs, Shinoda Minami and Suzuki Eri. I liked the relaxing vibes it had, so whenever I finished an episode, I just enjoyed the track till the end.

Final Score

Flying Witch is what you would expect from the anime after reading the synopsis, a serene anime series with a touch of magic, so I’ll give it a 7/10.

It managed to relax me to a point where I didn’t think about any unnecessary dramas while watching the episodes. I only needed to worry about having my warm cup of tea next to me and nothing else.

So, I really adored this anime because its comfy magical atmosphere made me appreciate the smallest things in my daily life, those that bring me joy!

Have you watched Flying Witch anime?

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