Little Witch Academia (2017 series)

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Your average Wizarding School.
Clockwise from top right: "Shiny" Chariot du Nord, Diana Cavendish, Sucy Manbavaran, Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsburger, Amanda O'Neill, Jasminka Antonenko, Lotte Jansson, Ursula Callistis.
Center: Atsuko "Akko" Kagari.

My story is about to begin! Extend your hand! Adventure awaits! —Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Episode 2 "Papiliodia"

Little Witch Academia is a 2017 anime series produced by Studio Trigger, and released on Netflix. It is part of the Little Witch Academia franchise. Currently the show only has 1 season, consisting of 25 episodes. Its director Yoh Yoshinari, along with the studio, has moved onto other projects, although they have said they are interested in developing a second season.

Let's face it. Magic is cool. Magic has so functions in life, from the mundane yet simple utilities like making plants grow faster, to the extraordinary like magical spectacles and combat magic. There's nothing that magic cannot do. Atsuko "Akko" Kagari knows this, witnessing a spectacular performance her idol Shiny Chariot put on when she was a kid. This is precisely why she signed up to Shiny Chariot's former prestigious Wizarding School, Luna Nova.

Problem: Akko kind of sucks at magic. Flying on a broomstick is supposed to be one of the simplest spells for a witch. Everyone around her effortlessly rose into the air and soared through the sky, while not even a Training Montage, The Power of Friendship, nor intense Calling Your Attacks sessions with No Indoor Voice could make Akko overcome gravity.

See that broom Akko is riding in the poster?

1. That's not her broom.
2. She's not supposed to have that broom.
3. She cannot control that broom.

Well, Akko clearly isn't the most competent at magic, but fear not! Her pluckiness and exceptional enthusiasm means she at least has a chance in the academy. Her tutor Professor Ursula is more than happy and patient to help, and her fierce determination and ambitious to just be like Chariot fuels her journey through the realm of magic.

Throughout her time in the academy, she inherits a much more important role: searching out the Seven Words of Arctus and yelling them really loud to revive the words. She is the world's least qualified person to do this, but fear not, for her friends are always there to help! Plus, it seems there's a bit more to her Shiny Chariot than she first thought, and she might be able to meet Chariot by seeking out these words...

Little Witch Academia was a major influence on The Owl House, to the point where you can point to some characters in one show, and unambiguously say exactly who their equivalents are in the other show.

Fun fact: this show, which itself is a television length adaptation of the original Little Witch Academia, has adaptations! We have a light novel with the absolutely mouthful title Little Witch Academia: The Nonsensical Witch and the Country of the Fairies. There's also Little Witch Academia, an adaptation of Little Witch Academia, which itself is an adaptation of Little Witch Academia! Fun and totally not confusing at all!

Noctu Orfei... Aude Tropae!

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: In episode 9, the resurrected skeleton grabs his sword, leaps, and cuts a stone tombstone cleanly in half. Based on how the sword is in "default sword gray" and doesn't have a Battle Aura, you expect it to be quite weak, but no. It's far sharper than it looks.
• Accentuate the Negative: In universe. In episode 4, Annabel Crème--the author of the Night Fall series--quits writing due to the hate messages criticising her latest work. She passes her job to Lotte. Lotte persuades her that she is a good author, and that she is a huge fan of her works, convincing her to keep writing.
  • This plays a role in Shiny Chariot's backstory. Chariot keeps receiving requests to make magic more spectacular, and to step up her shows. This, along with pressure from showrunners, led her to seek extreme methods to make her performance better. The fallout from these methods is why she disguises herself.
  • Near the end of the series, a controversial decision made by a football referee causes people to riot openly in the streets, and complain on the in universe version of Twitter.
  • All these messages are blind hatred, attacking the person making a point instead of the point.
• Adaptation Expansion: As an adaptation of the 2013 and 2015 films, the series has a much longer running time. It means the series has less pressure to tell a story within a tight time constraint, leading to loosened pacing, more natural character introductions, and many "relaxed" episodes where the overarching story isn't advanced. There's plenty of new content as well: Professor Croix, Lost Words of Arctus, the backstory of the Cavendish family, and Akko's desperate efforts to learn magic.
• Adaptational Personality Adjustment: Compared to the original film, the series has vastly different characters.
  • Whatever little remaining magical abilities The Hero Atsuko "Akko" Kagari has was completely nerfed, and Akko can't even fly a broom or cast two spells without messing up. In the original film and the Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade follow up, she isn't adept with magic but can at least cast spells. In both the start of the film and the series, she was so energetic the sun called and complained they're jealous. After episode 11, her non-stop Genki Girl action was toned down a little.
  • Diana Cavendish has much more Hidden Depths. Aspects of her personality never seen in the films was revealed, like some hobbies and interests she kept hidden to meet expectations of a prestigious wizarding family. Whereas in the original films she was the Alpha Bitch, actively insulting Akko, in the series her Girl Posse does the insulting; her words towards Akko were genuine criticisms. These new traits leads to a more complex character.
  • Sucy was given new personality traits, being willing to use her room mates as guinea pigs for her experiments, and acting more like a Token Evil Teammate, while in the original two films she was made of sarcasm, and obsessed with mushrooms. These two traits still persist in the series, but new traits were added.
• Adaptational Weakling: Akko got much weaker in the series compared to the original films. She wasn't what you consider "the best" in the 2013 and 2015 films, but at least she can cast magic. Here? She's out of luck. She must learn magic from scratch. Plus, the expanded storyline has more than a few obstacles to throw at her as she learns magic.
• Adults Are Useless: Downplayed in the series as a whole. Adults are not useless, and pupils still have a lot to learn from them, but the teenage Diana Cavendish is more useful than any teacher.
  • In episode 5, the trope is played straight. Diana single-handedly solved the conflict, despite many teachers trying (and failing) to resolve it.
• An Aesop: Episode 11 tells Akko (and the audience) there is no shortcut for hard work. It requires effort and determination to learn any skill, including magical ones.
• Alliterative Name: What is the systemic solution to sorcery slowly shrinking? The "Sorcerery Solution System"! Granted, Professor Croix's system is not a person, but the alliteration is still in a name.
• Animate Dead: This is one of the things a witch must never do, otherwise they face dire consequences. A witch who do so would wish for death than suffer the punishment; it is the greatest crime a witch can commit. Anyway, Akko resurrects the dead in episode 9 "Undead Travelogue".
• Animation Bump: Any time magic is used for a fight scene, the animation becomes much better and fluid, showcasing greater movement and agility in the characters. If an episode starts off with characters frozen or contains large amounts of pans over backgrounds, you know the animators are saving for a big fight scene.
• Anime Theme Song: The opening song "Shiny Ray" for the first half of season 1. The second opening, "Mind Conductor", also qualifies.
• Art Evolution: The art is less detailed and expressive when the films are compared to the series. In the original two films, the backgrounds have greater detail than the show, and the films often intentionally make characters Off-Model for a fun, emotive, and lighthearted feel (remember, being Off Model is not automatically equivalent to bad animation). The series tend to be static with animation, bar the occasional Animation Bump. Whereas the original series reach great levels of animation in its action scenes, the original films are great throughout. Lighting is less dynamic, and often there will be no shading. The films also has more drawings a second, resulting in animation that feels more lifelike compared to the show. These are the consequences of going from a relatively relaxed production schedule for short films to a tight and brutal television production schedule.
• Art Shift: In the second episode, as Diana animates a statue, the animation looks much more like a painting.
  • Happens often in "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld", in the Retraux film playing inside Sucy's mind. The most notable example is a callback to the scene in which Akko first meets Sucy, where the art becomes much more detailed for two shots. There are no animated components, only objects moving around and parallax scrolling, contrasting the shots before and after them. The shots before and after are like cartoons from The Golden Age of Animation. This shot is in a typical anime style.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In episode 10, the "whatever" is a squirrel, who Akko enlarges in order to sneak into a party.
• Back from the Dead: In episode 9, Akko accidentally casts a resurrection spell. She was meant to mend a grave, but her mending potion was mixed with Sucy's mushrooms, resurrecting a corpse who desperately began looking for revenge on a man. That man was himself. Why did it take you the entire episode to remember, skeleton-man?
• Bait and Switch Credits: The first opening sequence (the one backed by "Shiny Ray") shows Akko flying on a broom through the sky. In reality, she spent the majority of the series begging her broom to fly and yelling into the void while nothing close to flight happens. She did fly on the uncontrollable Shooting Star a couple of times, but the opening depicts her on a regular broom. Plus, the sequence shows a level of control which cannot be applied to the shooting star. The final sequence of season 1 depicts her flying, but she only makes ten centimeters off the ground at most, unlike the hundreds of metres the opening suggests. However, the opening does feature Akko running down a hillside, holding her broom, while Sucy and Lotte flew effortlessly on their broomsticks--a perfect representation of Akko's relationship with a broomstick in the series.
• Barehanded Blade Block: Blocking a blade with your bare hands is impressive. Blocking a guillotine blade, and stopping all its kinetic energy, like Akko in "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld" with only your bare hands is more impressive. Unfortunately, her achievements are invalidated because Toon Physics are at play.
• Basilitrice: The first episode has a cockatrice as the main antagonist.
• Battle in the Center of the Mind: In episode 8, a humongous Sucy thing devouring other mental Sucys chases Akko throughout Sucyworld. If the thing keeps chasing Akko and devouring other Sucys, the real Sucy may not be Sucy any more. The solution to the battle? Go and wake the original Sucy up.
• Better as Friends: Lotte thinks that she and Frank are this.
• Bland-Name Product: In episode 18, we are introduced to "CBay", which Constanze searches to find a hand mixer. The site has Surprisingly Good English, although the animators messed up plural form and wrote "2 bid". You can pause to read what the items for sale.
  • The last episode features YouTV.
• Blank White Eyes: In episode 8, Akko gets them. This happens after being hit by Lotte's wand, so she can enter Sucy's mind.
• Big Damn Heroes: When Akko threw herself in front of Diana's magic to protect the pupae of a magical butterfly in the second episode, injuring herself in the process.
• Big Fancy House: The Cavendish estate the 2 episode "Cavendish" and "Intellect and Sensibility" arc takes place in. It even comes with its own lake. Note that, despite being made by a Japanese studio, the effects of this trope aren't as great because the estate is in Britain, where the population density is much lower. It shows the Cavendish family is rich; having the mansion in Japan would show they are on the Fiction 500 list.
• Body Horror: The start of episode 7 explains if a witch uses magic to commit murder, they will be eaten by mice, with hundreds of teeth slowly chipping away. Fortunately, this never happens to anyone in the series.
• Book Ends: Episode 5 begins with Amanda and Akko fighting over who is the biggest try-hard in Luna Nova. Episode 5 ends with Amanda and Akko fighting over who is the biggest try-hard in Luna Nova.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Episode 10 centers around Akko, Sucy, and Lotte trying to get rid of a "cupid bee" whose sting causes the one stung to fall in love with the first person they see. It's a pretty potent sting.
• Cast of Snowflakes: The students at the Luna Nova academy. Every one of them are unique. To a lesser extent, also extends to the crowds outside the Wizarding School.
• Catch a Falling Star: In episode 3, Akko, after falling of her broomstick, is caught by Diana. Akko returns the favour in the season 1 finale.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The start of the series is episodic wacky adventures in Wizarding School. Professor Croix's introduction marks a significant turning point of the Myth Arc. By the time episode numbers hit twenty, the series becomes much more serious, with more emotional moments. Every episode around this mark will introduce Continuity Lock Out, and either reveals new information, develops the characters, or advances the story.
• Character Name and the Noun Phrase: Episode 17 is titled "Amanda O'Neill and the Holy Grail". Bonus points for the half rhyme.
• Character Title: Used to signal A Day in the Limelight episodes. The episodes that use Character Title are:
  • Episode 8, "Akko's Adventure in Sucyworld", focusing on Sucy.
  • Episode 15, "Chariot of Fire", revealing information about Shiny Chariot.
  • Episode 17, "Amanda O'Neill and the Holy Grail", focusing on Amanda O'Neill.
  • Episode 19, "Cavendish", focusing on Diana Cavendish.
• Chekhov's Gun: Akko initially finds her stuff lying on the ground, guarded by a human-eating mandrake. That flower is used later on in the first episode, by she and her party, to attack the gigantic cockarice attacking the cast.
• Children Are Innocent: Akko and Diana are depicted as innocent in their childhood flashbacks.
• Continuity Reboot: Of the original two films, so it can develop events and characters in greater detail. Even the first episode refers to how the series is "Starting Over".
• Contrived Coincidence: In episode 16. The Greenman Disease needs such a specific condition to spread it is said to only do so every thousand years. Conditions which must be fulfilled include having planets be in the correct alignment, having the correct amount of carbon dioxide emissions, having the correct amount of herring be born, and having a pie baked at the perfect temperature. It somehow shows up the exact day Akko and her trio visits Lotte's town.
• Corporal Punishment: Episode 7 states that if a witch engages in fraud, their tongues will be branded with iron, although this never happens in the series.
• Cosplay: In episode 4, during a Night Fall release ceremony for the 365th entry, many people dress up as characters from the book series. Lotte was able to point and name at every single one of them and say which character they dress up as.
• Creative Closing Credits: Two original sequences are created for the first and second halves of season 1. The first sequence shows sketches of characters throughout the series. The second sequence shows an abstract sequence involving Akko and the sun transforming into various objects. Akko, in a basic, undetailed style with no outlines, grows wings and flies away. The last episode in season 1 involves a fully animated sequence.
• A Day In The Limelight: Almost every Recurring Character and supporting character gets them. Most episodes focus on Akko, but "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld" focuses on Sucy, "Pohjola's Ordeal" focuses on Lotte, "Stanship Take Off!" focuses on Constanze, "Cavendish" focuses on Diana, and you can probably figure out who "Amanda O'Neill and the Holy Grail" focuses on.
• Deface of the Moon: In the series, the Moon has a massive, four-point star carved into its face. What do stars do? They shine. What's the adjective form of shine? Shiny. What's shiny? Shiny Rod. Who uses the Shiny Rod? Shiny Chariot. Guess who did the deface? Shiny Chariot. She does this as a last ditch effort to please attendees of her magic show.
• Dream Sequence: Opens the second episode, as Akko reflects on the events of the first episode.
• Drive-In Theater: Akko visits this, among many other places, in "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld". She watches a Retraux film which reveals how the inner Sucy thinks about her.
• Emotion Eater: Professor Croix's solution to the diminishing magic in the world involves this. The little red Sinister Geometry cubes feed off others' emotions, draining them but using it to power magic. This cycle can quickly get out of control, however, if way too much negative emotions such as anger are absorbed.
• Empathic Environment: At the beginning of episode 8, when Sucy is doing all sorts of creepy experiments and making potions, the weather is appropriately dark and stormy to reflect this mood.
• Eye Poke: In the first episode, Sucy animates one of Akko's stuffed bird plushies. The bird proceeds to perform an Eye Poke on Akko. Insane screaming and hyper-exaggerated backgrounds follow.

Akko: That wasn't very nice!

• Fairytale Magic Dresses In one of the episodes, Akko, Lotte, and Sucy try to buy magical dresses, and end up with a special magical item that grants them each "Cinderella" dresses that last two hours.
• Fate Worse Than Death: This is the punishment if a witch uses magic to resurrect the dead. In episode 9, Akko uses magic to resurrect the dead.
• Fetch Quest: In "Pohjola's Ordeal", Akko must find various ingredients, such as naturally falling snow, and reindeer droppings, in order to cure the Greenman disease. She must do so while her friends are being infected, racing against time before she gets too.
• Figure It Out Yourself: Hey, buddy. Want to revitalise the entire magic community and revive the Seven Lost Words of Arctus? Screw you. You must figure it out manually. No amount of guidance from kind hearted characters such as Shiny Chariot Professor Ursula will help. Why? You need to know more than what they mean. You must feel and understand what they truly represent. Anyone can tell you what the words mean. Only you can figure out its true meaning.
• Finale Credits: The season 1 finale credits are fully animated, depicting Akko learning to fly while her friends and Shiny Chariot watch her.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the first episode, when Akko holds out a guide to Luna Nova, you can pause the episode and read its content, which includes a history of Luna Nova, a map of the facility and how to access it, and pictures of the facility. Generally speaking, this applies to all English text in the show.

Greetings from Luna Nova In 420 AD at the site dedication for the prestigious witchcraft academy of Luna Nova, our founding mentor, Woodward of the Nine Olde Witches greeted our first 100 students with these words "Let this academy be the first milestone in restoring the art of witchcraft and all of its lost glory."

• Getting Crap Past the Radar: In episode 21, the animators used the fact that Japanese audiences probably don't know what English swear words are to sneak a very naughty word into a scene. This is when anonymous users online are complaining about the latest soccer game.

piece of shit game piece of shit referee

.

• Ghibli Hills: The Forest of Arcturus, filled to the brim with dangerous magical creatures. In fact, it's forbidden for witches to enter it (this never stopped Akko). This is one of the few times when the "everything trying to kill you" aspect of the trope is emphasized, and the trope is not romanticised.
• Good Angel, Bad Angel: In episode 8, the inner Sucys manifest themselves as angels to guide Akko through, well, Sucyworld. Played with, in that what the good angel is doing--forcing Akko to sign a contract to enlist the angel's help--cannot be considered "good".
• Gratuitous English: Used in the second opening, "Mind Conductor", which is mostly in Japanese except for a couple of English words inserted here and there.

Take action! Raise your hand!

• • Note that, since Luna Nova is in England, the English signs and writing throughout the series does not qualify as Gratuitous English because it is reflecting the setting.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Downplayed. Akko at the start of episode 12 does this briefly. This is even lampshaded.

Sucy: Wow. Akko's feeling down in the dumps. I guess there's a first time for everything.

• Homage: In episode 8 "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld", the fangirl Sucy holds up a lightsaber.
• Humongous Mecha: In episode 18, the ship that Akko and Constanze builds transforms into one. Akko proposes this plan, but Constanze's helper bots believe that a transforming mecha is a stupid idea. Constanze regardless tries to make the plan work. In the end, it all works out. Studio Trigger, we get it. You're formed from the people who made Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann.
• I Kiss Your Hand: In episode 10, "Bee Affection", Andrew kisses Akko's hand. This results in several malfunctions in AtsukoKagari.exe, including Color Failure and unintelligible screaming.
• Inkblot Cartoon Style: In episode 8, the cinema inside Sucyworld shows a cartoon drawn in this style. Midway through, there is an Art Shift to a much more realistic and detailed style, depicting Sucy first meeting Akko.
• It's a Long Story: In episode 22, Professor Croix asks Akko how she is in the town, and how she got to the rooftop of the building Croix stands on. Akko responds with this stock phase.
• Journey to the Center of the Mind: The plot point of episode 8, "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld", where Akko tries to wake up a sleeping Sucy.
• Kangaroo Court: In "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld", the court in Sucyworld is this. Any hint of personality from any Sucy means they are sentenced to death. In fact, every Sucy put on trial was sentenced to death. When Akko opposes this decision, she is sentenced to death herself. Don't worry. Everyone is fine.
• Knight of Cerebus: Professor Croix, whose introduction in episode 14 marks the start of a large story arc, complete with more serialised episodes. This is even complemented with a new opening. Indeed, because the next episode features a big reveal.
• Last Episode Theme Reprise: The last episode fits the trope description wonderfully. We have the first opening Anime Theme Song "Shiny Ray", played at The Climax in an epic battle. We also hear verses not in the original opening, and Studio Trigger is very much going for a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
• Legacy Character: In episode 4, Annabel Crème. The pseudonym was passed down from author to author, and the current Annabel Crème decided to pass it down to Lotte. Lotte rejects the position, giving a motivational speech to the current Annabel, convincing her to keep going with her role.
• Loan Shark: In episode 5, the dragon, who takes Luna Nova's own Philosopher's Stone as collateral, claiming that the school fell behind on interest repayments. Turns out, the initial agreement, written in the dragon language, mentioned that there were no interest to be repaid, rendering the dragon the world's worst loan shark.
• Look Ma, No Plane: In episode 3, when Akko flies past an airplane after getting on a broomstick she can't control very well.
• Love Potion: A love bee in this case, appearing in episode 10. When it stings anyone, they instantly fall in love.
• The Magic Comes Back: In the ridiculously over the top, Studio Trigger style finale, the people around the world give their support for the witches stopping the missile. This increases the Diana and Akko's magical power, and even brings back the World Tree!
• The Magic Goes Away: As the world of Little Witch Academia enters the modern age, magic has been getting weaker and weaker. Magical resources become scarcer, and there's fewer users of magic. Many aspects of magic was replaced by Muggle technology. This concept isn't explored in other franchise instalments, and is only touched on in the series.
• Magic Kiss: Parodied. In episode 8, Sucy is asleep. Akko performs a Journey to the Center of the Mind and locates the sleeping Sucy within the sleeping Sucy. She drinks all the antidotes Lotte gave her, and is about to feed them to Sucy via a magical kiss. That was the plan until Sucy wakes up at the last minute and pushes Akko aside.
• Memento MacGuffin: Akko's rare card of Shiny Chariot. Diana has an even rarer card!
• Mental World: Sucyworld in "Akko's Adventure in Sucyworld". It is made up of nothing but Sucy.
• Miranda Rights: Parodied in episode 8, when a Sucy is getting arrested by the Sucy police in Sucyworld.

Police Sucy: You have no right to remain silent. You have no right to consult an attorney, either. Other Police Sucy: Yeah, deal with it!

• Monochrome Past: In episode 8, the film playing inside Sucy's mind features a Flashback to when Sucy first meets Akko. The moment, along other aspects of the film, are depicted in black and white.
• Mood Whiplash: Episode seven begins with the dangers of magic. To use magic to commit murder, they will be eaten life slowly by mice. Use magic to resurrect the dead? Enjoy your Fate Worse Than Death. Then...

Akko: Are all of these going to be on our next exam? Professor: Probably.

• Muggles Do It Better: This is one of the reasons why magic is disappearing in the world of Little Witch Academia. While witches use magic, muggles have technology. Modern technology can do many things magic can: magic has flying broomsticks, technology gives us airplanes. Magic require rigorous study to use, modern technology doesn't. Cars are just a viable method of transportation than broomsticks. In fact, any muggle who can drive are better at transportation than Akko, who cannot ride a broomstick. The series explores this in depth the most, while other instalments tend to gloss over this aspect in favour of goofy episodic magical adventures.
• My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Akko calls a cockatrice a "stupid bird" in the Forest of Arcturus, and now it wants to eat her. She meant to just cast a spell that Sucy gave her. Sucy uses Akko as bait to distract the cockarice while she harvests its poison.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Diana casts a family-secret revitalization spell in the second episode, to bring more life to the Memorial Tree which is special to Luna Nova. It led to the tree spreading its roots all over the campus. Then the trope occurs again as she tries to destroy what appear to be parasites on the tree's roots, but turns out to be Papiliodia--rare butterflies who only hatch once in a hundred years.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: In episode 13, "Samhain Magic Festival", Akko decides to innovate and break traditions a bit. Surprisingly for Akko, it all works out! They were supposed to be sacrifices to the giant Vajarois, being eaten then excreted a couple of days later. Akko decides to make the creature laugh instead. They discover the underlying problems, and frees the creature from eternal suffering. Their reward? Congratulations, Atsuko Kagari! You're being disqualified from being the Moonlit Witch. Enjoy having your dreams crushed!
• No Indoor Voice: Akko can only speak by yelling. Nothing else. In addition, there appears to be a rule that the Words of Arctus can only be activated when yelled out at volumes louder than 90 dB.
• No Ontological Inertia: In episode 10, when the love bee was killed, the love spell from everyone it stung wears off. Thus, Andrew is no longer in love with Akko, and Lotte no longer has an Unwanted Harem.
• Number of the Beast: In episode 8, the original Sucy lives in room 666.
• Off-Model: If a character is small and far from the camera, it's difficult to tell exactly who they are. While it is expected that characters further away will be drawn with less detail, sometimes characters won't be drawn with basic features like eyes at all, or be drawn with the wrong proportions, making them difficult to tell apart.
  • Deliberately used in episode 8. When a Sucy in Sucyworld is too talkative, Akko grabs her, and Akko's head is drawn out of proportion to emphasize her anger. Akko wants to know where the original Sucy is; she does not want to hear a 392 page autobiography.
  • In episode 17, a particularly noticeable example involves Akko in rat form standing on Amanda's shoulder, where she looked like an eleven year old having a frantic fifteen second session in Microsoft Paint.
• One Word Title: Episode 2 is titled "Papiliodia" and episode 23 is titled "Yesterday".
• Offscreen Teleportation: In the courtroom scene in episode 8, Akko is clearly seen sitting with the other Sucy characters. Two shots and three seconds later, she somehow got up to the judge, close enough to stop the hammer.
• Only Six Faces: In episode 8, Sucyworld is only made up of, you guessed it, Sucy. Every background character is Sucy. In fact, there are no characters other than Sucy other than Akko taking a Journey to the Center of the Mind.

Judge Sucy: The case of Sucy by Sucy for Sucy is now in session.

• Only the Chosen May Wield: Only the chosen may wield the Shiny Rod. Shiny Chariot was once chosen to be the wielder. Later, Akko is chosen to be the wielder. From this, we can conclude that the Shiny Rod does not do a very good job at choosing its wielder, given how Chariot did not want to wield the rod, instead believing Croix is better qualified, and how Akko blows up in the face of any magic. Don't worry, Akko eventually becomes more qualified to wield it, and somehow manages to do a better job than the Shiny Chariot at reviving the Lost Words.
• Or Was It a Dream?: "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld" ends with Akko waking up, with the world seemingly back to normal, and the events of the episode apparently a dream. That is, until Sucy brought up the deal Akko made inside Sucy's mind: Akko needs to carry her stuff for a month in return for the Sucys' help.
• Out-of-Genre Experience: Episode 18 starts off with fantasy themes and elements, and doesn't deviate from the Wizarding School formula too much. Then it introduces some science fiction elements with Constanze's inventions, but still remains with the theme. Then the science fiction elements take over as Akko discovers Constanze's lab. Finally, it turns into a Humongous Mecha show.
• Overly Long Name: In episode seven, we have "Constanze Braunschbank Albrechtsberger", who takes an exam right before Akko. Constanze is part of Amanda's trio.
• Public Domain Soundtrack: In episode 10, while Akko is hunting down a flying bumblebee, we have Andrew playing Flight of the Bumblebee. Very clever, Studio Trigger. Very clever.
• Recursive Canon: In episode 8, there is a number plate with the phrase "LWA008" (Little Witch Academia episode 8). Does this mean the characters of Little Witch Academia know they're in Little Witch Academia? Does this mean Little Witch Academia exists within Little Witch Academia? Or does this mean that Sucy is the only person who knows, and is desperately dropping clues for other characters so they can recognise that they live in Little Witch Academia? How does Sucy know her exact story will occur in episode 8? Is Little Witch Academia a series plucked out from inside Sucy's brain inside the world of Little Witch Academia?
• Recycled: the Series: The original two films, Little Witch Academia, and Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, were recycled into this series. The series performed a continuity reboot, putting Akko right back at the start of Luna Nova, where she has to meet the characters all over again.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Pick Akko. That's the red oni. Pick any other character. That's the blue oni. Akko's enthusiasm is so blinding the entire cast is needed to provide some desperately needed calmness. Even the Hot-Blooded Amanda O'Neill pales in comparison to the screaming Akko.
  • Initially, the red oni Akko is balanced out by the blue oni Sucy and Lotte. As the series progresses, Diana takes over the role as the blue oni. Other characters' controlled personalities contrasts with Akko's, balancing out her No Indoor Voice.
  • A miniature version occurs with the green trio. Amanda's aggressive personality (which is nothing compared to Akko, by the way) contrasts with Constanze's quieter and more focused character.
• Retraux: In "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld", the film that Akko and all other Sucys watch inside Sucy's mind are in black and white, and animated like older American cartoons than a Japanese series.
• The Reveal: Did you know that Professor Ursula is Shiny Chariot all along? It's true! Go watch episode 15 yourself! Akko doesn't find out until the episode number hit their twenties. Other instalments of Little Witch Academia don't advance the story far enough for this reveal to happen, although the original film subtly hints at this reveal.
• Rewatch Bonus: Shiny Chariot's performance that opens the series becomes vastly different once you know what really happened on that day. The fairy flying out of child Akko? That's not a fairy. Also, guess which green-haired blue-eyed Defrosting Ice Queen is in the crowd alongside Akko?
• Road Trip Episode: "Akko's Adventure in Sucyworld" sees Akko taking a road trip through Sucy's mind. Highlights of this trip include watching a movie, meeting different personalities that Sucy has, and getting sentenced to death.
• Screen Shake: Used in conjunction with action and fight sequences, as well in sequences where someone is hit. An example would be in "Akko's Adventures in Sucyworld", where Lotte hits Akko with a wand to put her to sleep, and the screen shakes to reflect this action.
• Ship Tease: The end of episode 10 gives us one between Lotte and Frank, although Lotte immediately crushes any shipper's hope by stating that they're Better as Friends. The episode gives a more subtle one hinting at Akko and Andrew. Later on, there's plenty between Akko and Diana, especially in the episodes after "Cavendish".

Frank: What about you and Atsuko Kagari? Andrew: You're kidding. Frank: Well at least you didn't kick her out.

• • In the same episode, when Akko is asked about whether she likes Andrew her response is suspiciously close to He Is Not My Boyfriend territory.

Lotte: Wait, don't you like him? Akko: Absolutely not. I never ever fall in love with a guy like him. Sucy: Yeah, yeah. Akko: It won't happen!

• Sink-or-Swim Mentor: Sucy briefly turns into this while teaching Akko how to fly on a broomstick. She does this by tying Akko to her own broomstick and making her bungee jump off a tower, then shooting her out of a cannon. Don't worry, because Toon Physics is at play no one gets hurt.

Sucy: In order to win, you actually have to be able to ride a broom. I think it's best if you jump into the pool, completely head first.

• Slapstick: The exaggerated animation and existence of Atsuko Kagari means no one is free from getting hurt in ridiculous ways. Akko herself is the subject of many a slapstick gag.
• The Sky Is an Ocean: In "Stanship Take Off!", the airship that Akko and Constanze designs look like a seafaring vehicle. It even sailed on water before flying into the sky.
• The Song Remains the Same: The ending and opening songs remain in Japanese even in the English dub. This applies to both opening and ending sequences.
• Speed Stripes: Used quite frequently throughout all episodes. It's there to save budget so Studio Trigger won't make the mistake their ancestors at Gainax made and run out of money. They do not want to pull a Gainax Ending.
• Sucky School: Downplayed with Luna Nova. Akko believed it is a prestigious, perfect school with absolutely no flaws whatsoever, a school highly effective at producing talented witches such as Chariot. In reality, people are moving on from witchcraft to modern technology. Fewer and fewer pupils are attending the school each year, so the school started admitting more people, even people not from magical families like Akko. Many students feel like this is tarnishing the reputation of the school. The labour union strike in episode 14 shows the school is running out of both magic and funding, and the school is much worse than what it was.
• Surprisingly Good English: Despite being made by a Japanese studio, the Freeze-Frame Bonus guide to Luna Nova Akko holds up in episode 1 features perfect English, with real, on topic information about Luna Nova that you can read. English text throughout the series are appropriately high quality. The animators even know how to swear in English, without using Gosh Dang It to Heck!
  • If you really nitpick, you can discover some errors. For example, near the end of episode 14 a newspaper headline was titled "SHOOTING STAR sighted in japan!", with "sighted" and "japan" missing the capitalisation expected for a title.
• Talking in Your Sleep: Akko after freeing all the Sucys from being executed inside Sucy's mind, talks in her sleep about how she did something good.
• Talking Is a Free Action: When Akko accidentally insults the cockatrice in episode 1, there is just enough time for Sucy to explain what she's really done before the bird starts attacking them.
• Taken for Granite: The cockatrice in the Forest of Arcturus, in episode 1, has the power to turn things into stone with its breath.
• The Teaser: With the exception of episodes 5 and 24, the show gives you a one or two minute glimpse of what the episode will be about before dropping its anime opening.
• Technician Versus Performer:
  • Professor Croix is the technician, who wants to revitalise magic and be the best she can. Chariot only wishes to entertain the crowd and show people the wonder of magic.
  • Diana wishes to be the best she can be, and holds herself to high standards. She spends way too much time studying, leading to her being the best student in Luna Nova. Akko (the performer) only wishes to entertain and be like Chariot, even though Akko successfully casting a basic spell is a rare occasion.
• That Was Objectionable: In the courtroom scene in episode 8, Akko loudly objects to the different Sucys being executed, even going as far to physically stop the judge's hammer with her hands. She does have a reason, thinking it's ridiculous that people should be put to death because of what they like.
• This Is a Drill: In episode 18, the "metamor-formation" Humongous Mecha uses a drill for the Wild Hunt.
• Training Montage: Parodied in episode 3, with Akko trying (remember, trying) to fly on a broomstick. Cue lots of intense yelling, book reading, and epic failing. She even gets on her knees to beg the broom to fly! Does it work? No. It's Akko. Magic almost never works around her.
• Transformation Sequence: Parodied. In the second episode, Akko has a brief sequence where she changes into formal clothes for the school. It turns out, those were not the clothes she was supposed to wear for class, and learns that before begrudgingly changing into the correct clothes.

Akko: Transformation complete! The fight is on! Lotte: That uniform is for ceremonies and training.

• • In "Stanship Take Off!", the ship built for the Wild Hunt is able to transform into a Humongous Mecha, accompanied with flashy backgrounds and music.
• Unwanted Harem: In episode 10, Lotte has to deal with one of those, from people stung by a love bee.
• Vacation Episode: The series usually takes place in Luna Nova and the locations close by. Episode 16, however, sees the red trio travelling to Lotte's home village and meeting her parents. It's not a relaxing vacation, though. Akko still manages to get herself into an adventure, because life around Akko is never quiet.
• Valley Girl: In episode 8, one of the Sucys in Sucyworld is like this, complete with way too much makeup and trendy clothes.

Valley Girl Sucy: I really want to be a Hollywood celebrity.

• Vanity Plate: In episode 8, the film that's shown inside Sucyworld has one. The film is apparently "A Sucy Picture", with the black and white vanity plate featuring a witch riding a broomstick around a mushroom planet.
• When the Planets Align: Planets aligning in exactly the right way is a prerequisite for the Greenman disease to spread in episode 16.
• The Wild Hunt: The show has its own version in episode 18. It's quite unlike your average wild hunt. It's done for sports, the target is ghosts instead of people, and you can show up to the hunt in a mecha.
• World Tree: Episode 15 reveals that, long ago, the world tree Yggdrasil thrived and spread magic everywhere. Over time, though, the tree grew weaker, and the power of magic diminished along with it. The tree returns in the season 1 finale.
• You Can See the Explosion from Orbit: In episode 25, the Shiny Arc attack can be seen from orbit, probably because it was conducted from orbit. Bonus points for the camera shot showing the attack from orbit.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair: With characters such as Diana and Sucy. In Ursula Callistis's case, you literally gotta have blue hair.
• The X of Y: Episode 15, "Chariot of Fire". Also the "Lost Words of Arctus" and "Forest of Arctus" serve as in universe examples.