Little Witch Academia



Little Witch Academia is a Japanese anime franchise created by Yoh Yoshinari and produced by Studio Trigger (Kill la Kill). The franchise follows a pretty simple formula. We have an Inept Mage. Her name is Atsuko Kagari, but you can call her Akko. Her Stage Magician idol Shiny Chariot attended the Luna Nova Wizarding School. What does Akko do? Attend Luna Nova as well! Granted, Akko is absolutely not qualified to come within 50 feet of a broomstick because her magical (in)ability makes other Inept Mages shiver in fair, but her upbeat attitude and ability to spread joy more than makes up for it.

All franchise instalments titled Little Witch Academia start the story from the beginning, putting Akko at the start of the story. They focus on Akko arriving at the school and meeting new witches before delving into a couple of magical (mis)adventures. The series focuses on episodic adventures as well as having a larger Myth Arc. Other entries tend to be more episodic, focusing on a single magical (mis)adventure. Characters tend to remain the same throughout the franchise, with the odd Adaptational Personality Adjustment here and there.

Franchise Entries
The following four entires reset the story and puts Akko back at the very beginning:
 * Little Witch Academia, the original short film that started the whole franchise. It was directed by Yoh Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka. The film released in theaters on March 2, 2013 as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project, and was later streamed with English subtitles on YouTube from April 19, 2013.
 * Little Witch Academia, a manga by Teri Terio based off the original film and Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade. This is only available in Japanese. No Export for You, sorry.
 * Little Witch Academia, the series most people tend to think of when they hear the name Little Witch Academia. It is the longest instalment. The series aired in Japan between January and June 2017, with its first 13 episodes available on Netflix worldwide beginning on June 30, 2017. The next 12 episodes were released worldwide on August 15, 2017.
 * Little Witch Academia, a three volume manga series based off the 2017 series. It retells some events from the series, alongside original adventures. It can be thought of as part of the 2017 series, giving slight variations on events referred to in the series while adding new content.

The following entires are extensions of the 2017 series:
 * Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of the Fairies, a 2017 light novel. It tells a small episodic story involving a hill, cats, dogs, and a little girl named Sifla.
 * Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time, a video game where you play as Akko.

Other instalments include:
 * Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing, a game about broom racing in VR.
 * Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, a sequel to the original Little Witch Academia. This Kickstarter funded film was released on October 9, 2015.
 * Little Witch Academia: The Midnight Crown, a manga series.

Tropes

 * Academy of Adventure: Luna Nova, the Wizarding School which provides many an adventure for characters in the series and two films. For example, it provides dungeons to explore, and mystical magic towers. Its professors are exotic and strange, and there are many out of bounds areas that Akko and her friends go into (because there's no stopping her).
 * Action Girl: Just about every witch is one to some degree. Shiny Chariot is the most famed contemporary one in the story.
 * Adorkable: Pretty much every main character has something they'll go full-geek-out about. Akko has Shiny Chariot (she even has a Shiny Chariot trading cards collection), Lotte has the Night Fall book series which is a popular book series in their world, and Sucy has mushrooms and poison. Akko and Sucy's traits are also present in the two short films, although the Night Fall series was never introduced until the 2017 television series.
 * Aerith and Bob: The students from all franchise instalments are from different countries. Thus, we have names like "Atsuko Kagari" hanging out with "Diana Cavendish" next to "Lotte Jansson" and "Constanze Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger", all while their teacher "Ursula Callistis" is watching.
 * After-School Cleaning Duty: In the first half of series, this is dished out to Akko and the trio almost every second episode, as punishment for them doing things they should not do. In the Keisuke Sato manga, Akko's trio also has more than their fair share of After-School Cleaning Duty.
 * All of the Other Reindeer: Akko is the first person admitted to the academy that doesn't come from a family of witches. Many of the other students and even faculty kind of look down on her because of this.
 * Badass Adorable: Some of the feats the witches accomplish is quite impressive. Student and professionals alike.
 * The Beautiful Elite Andrew, Diana, and their friends are considered this.
 * Big, Thin, Short Trio: The green trio:
 * Big: Jasminka Antonenko.
 * Short: Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger.
 * Thin: Amanda O'Neill.
 * Brought Down to Normal:.
 * Calling Your Attacks: The way they cast spells involves using magic words, so it technically counts. If you're near Akko, get ready to hear "Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor" a lot. Because witches use abstract, constructed magic words instead of English, you won't understand exactly what the attack does until you see it.
 * Color-Coded Characters: The main witches are placed in colour coded trios. The colours are seen in their belts and hats.
 * Red: Atsuko Kagari, Sucy Manbavaran, Lotte Jansson.
 * Green: Amanda O'Neill, Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger, Jasminka Antonenko.
 * Blue: Diana Cavendish, Hannah England, Barbara Parker.
 * Crash Into Hello: How Akko and Sucy meet in the series and Keisuke Sato manga.
 * Cute Witch: Plenty of the students attending the academy are this.
 * Ethnic Magician: There are rules/laws and even government policies concerning how witches handle themselves and magic: Committing fraud, murder, and reviving the dead are the three biggest no-nos for witches.
 * Equivalent Exchange: Magic as a whole works like this. Witches cannot cast magic without the power provided by the Phliosopher's Stone, or another source. The school lights go off, and no one can use magic when something happens to the stone present at Luna Nova. Both the Keisuke Sato manga and 2017 series has a story where the stone is stolen..
 * In episode 11 of the series, if Akko wishes to gain a bright future where she is a talented witch, she must give up her past..
 * Everything's Better with Sparkles Magic tends to appear very sparkly in this series. It works though, because it gives everything a glowing and energetic feeling to it. We have names such as "Shiny Rod" and "Shiny Chariot". Even the soundtrack knows this with the Anime Theme Song "Shiny Ray".
 * Extraordinarily Empowered Girl Shiny Chariot, obviously. Diana is renowned for being the most promising up-and-coming witch in years..
 * Fantastic Racism While it's not a specifically racial thing, the non-magic populous tends to see those who study and use magic as either irrelevant/outdated or something weird and bizarre. At the same time, there are many witches who feel that magic should only be used in specific ways adhering to long-kept traditions, and any using it otherwise is seen as disgraceful or improper.
 * Familiar: Lots of witches have them. Birds seem to be the most common type.
 * Flying Broomstick: The word "Witch" is in the title, of course they'd have these show up. Pretty much any witch can use a broom easily, except for Akko. There's even a.
 * Fish People.
 * Forbidden Zone: The Forest of Arctus. It is said that if one enters the forest, they will never leave..
 * Free Sample Plot Coupon: The Shiny Rod was just sitting on the floor in the forest in the Forest of Arcturus in the Keisuke Sato manga and 2017 series. Akko easily picks it up and keeps it. Finding the lost words of Arcturus, which the device helps with, is much harder.
 * Henchmen Race The witches have fairies and (seemingly) other species that resemble goblins and trolls working for them at the school.
 * Hot Witch: They can't... or rather... (thankfully) they aren't all ugly, wart covered, stereotypical, sickly-looking ladies. Some of them are actually quite the lookers.
 * Idiot Hero The main cast are students. Of course they're kind of clumsy and still learning the ropes of magic, especially Akko.
 * Inept Mage:, thus more witches are being born inept.
 * Invisible Parents: Most students studying at Luna Nova don't have on screen parents, or any family for that matter. Occasionally, some parents will appear in the series, like how Diana's family plays a role in the "Cavendish" episode (even then, it's her family that advances the story, not her parents). Lotte's parents appear in an episode, when the red trio are visiting them. Parents of characters like Amanda, Akko, and Sucy are never shown.
 * Kick the Dog: A lot of Akko's peers and even a bunch of her professors are pretty harsh towards her. Then again, she does have a habit of breaking school rules quite a bit.
 * Kid Hero: Let's put some pieces together: the series takes place in a Wizarding School, the main characters are young, Lotte's parents are seen in an episode, the word little is in the show title, and the show is targeted towards kids. After pondering the topic over and over, staying up late at night, you might come to a stunning revelation. The main characters, including the Hero Protagonist Akko, are all teenagers; they're Kid Heroes! All characters, including Akko, are sixteen.
 * Late for School: How the series and Keisuke Sato manga start out. Akko asks around for a bus stop to take her to Luna Nova, but turns out, there are no buses that go there. Instead, you have to ride on a broomstick. Akko cannot fly on her broom. Oh, also if you're late, you're expelled. The stakes are just a little high. Since both the series and manga are more than one episode long, we can obviously conclude Akko made it... barely.
 * Leitmotif: "Chariot's Theme" often plays when (guess who) Shiny Chariot is on screen, and in other important moments in the story. It is the song that opens the series, when the audience is introduced to important characters for the first time. It's also used in the climax in Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade.
 * Long Runners: In universe with Night Fall, where the 365th novel was released in episode 4 of the series. Characters such as Lotte, Sifla, and Barbara are huge fans. The series continued for 120 years.
 * Love Triangle: One is present in the Night Fall book series within the show.
 * Magical Incantation The spells function as this, obviously..
 * Mage Tower: The Sorcerer's Stone sits atop a giant tower on the campus.
 * Magical Library: It's not much, but they have one. Their magic museum is by and large better though, because they keep.
 * Magical Society: It's not like witches and non-magic people live in totally separate social worlds like in Harry Potter, but culturally, magic is looked down upon as obsolete.
 * Magic Staff: Both meanings of the word. The staff of the academy are all magical witches (obviously), and there are those who use staffs, but mostly wands to do magic. The Shiny Rod itself could count as this for Akko since it's around half her height and those far bigger than any other wand shown.
 * Magic Wand: Witches seem to need wands to perform most magic. One of the most iconic wands is of course the "Shiny Rod", which was Chariot's.
 * Magical Girl: The entire franchise is about w-i-t-c-h-e-s!
 * Magical Girl Queenliness Test The Fountain of Polaris, and.
 * A Minor Kidroduction: The 2013 film and 2017 series introduces Akko as a child, watching Shiny Chariot's magical performance, making her a fan of Chariot. Akko's love for chariot fuels her actions throughout the entire franchise. !
 * Morph Weapon: The Shiny Rod can shift into various forms depending on what Lost Word of Arctus is said. For example, "Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor" changes it into a bow.
 * Necromancy: Reviving the dead is one of the, if not the biggest crimes a witch can commit..
 * Our Dragons Are Different: The dragon in episode 5 of the series, who also makes an appearance in the Keisuke Sato manga, brews coffee and makes money trading stocks. No village terrorising here!
 * Outdated Outfit: The robes the witches wear for their supposed "sacred witch dances". Think of the plainest, most unappealing, and just overall boring black cloak someone can wear..
 * Plea Bargain:.
 * Post-Modern Magik:
 * Witches have their own spherical orbs which can connect to their equivalent of the internet.
 * You think dragons made their money by raiding towns and finding treasure, but no..
 * The 2017 series:
 * Episode 18 made a transforming Humongous Mecha show up to The Wild Hunt.
 * In the climax,.
 * Power Crystal: The Sorcerer's Stone.
 * Power Gives You Wings:.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Akko ends up on the receiving end of these a lot. From some of her professors and peers for her not being from a family line of witches, from her peers for always going on about how she admires Shiny Chariot and ideally wants to be like her, and by plenty of other people just for studying magic in the first place..
 * Robe and Witch's Hat: They have standard uniforms for everyday class, but they also have special uniforms which include the robes and witch hats for special occasions. The teachers and adult witches generally wear this sort of clothes more often than not..
 * Sharp-Dressed Man Andrew is always seen in a proper suit.
 * Shout-Out: There's a few sprinkled in. The Harry Potter series, Sailor Moon, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kill la Kill, and even the Fate/stay night Series.
 * Episode 18 features a ridiculous, over the top mecha. What else features a ridiculous, over the top mecha, made by the predecessors to Little Witch Academia's production studio? Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
 * A version of Twilight is present in universe in the form of the Night Fall Young Adult series. Both series feature a love triangle. Night Fall revolves around vampires and characters named Belle and Edgar.
 * Show Within a Show: In episode 4 of the series, we are introduced to the Young Adult book series Night Fall. Night Fall also appears in Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of the Fairies and the Keisuke Sato manga.
 * The Chosen One:.
 * Vain Sorceress: Diana and a lot of the other witches at the academy come off as this when they look down upon or flat out bully Akko.
 * Walking Spoiler:.
 * White Magician Girl Again, Shiny Chariot. However, in the.
 * Wicked Witch: Some fit the description of this based solely on their appearance, others it's by their actions, but not all witches are evil.
 * Witch Doctor: Using magic for medical purposes is a genuine and legitimate profession in their world.
 * Witch Classic: There are a few that fit the stereotypical image of a witch, and honestly that's part of the problem, because them trying to force their students to practice magic using old/outdated traditions without any regard to modern culture has led to a huge decline in how they stand in society.
 * Wizarding School: A school for witches to train. It's the title of the series.
 * Word Salad Title: "Little" comes from the adolescent age of the main cast. "Witch" comes from how the cast uses magic. "Academia" comes from the Wizarding School. Put the three words together, though, and you'll end up with a big mess of nouns and adjectives. It doesn't help that there are roughly four instalments titled Little Witch Academia.