Witch Craft Works Episode #07 Anime Review

Boy do things ever start happening in Witch Craft Works.

What They Say
“Takamiya-kun and Noblesse Oblige”
Takamiya and Kagari have begun their life together, but they have some weird roommates: Medusa and the KMM Team, who know about the White Princess, Evermillion. Kagari tells Takamiya that their high school security was assured as long as the seals within him were intact, but if Kazane finds out that Evermillion was released, she would most likely seal Takamiya himself.

Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I’ve repeatedly joked that nothing happens in Witch Craft Works, and then this episode comes along and proves me wrong, or does it? For all of the quadruple crosses and unexpected revelations, the episode ends with a seeming return to the status quo. The episode’s jumbled chronology and unexpected developments make this yet another entertaining episode, even if it ends up all being for nothing.

The episode starts out with the typical romantic comedy conceit of the boy and the girl having their first time at home… gulp… alone. Takamiya’s mom is off for a day on the town with Ayaka’s mom Kazane, and little sister is being taken along so as not to trouble Takamiya and Ayaka. (What a strange, understanding mother.) But of course nothing is so simple in Witch Craft Works. They’re not quite alone, as Ayaka has decided to shelter Medusa and the Tower Witches in the spare room Takamiya’s mother has lent Ayaka. In flashback we see Ayaka comment dryly, “Don’t go in my room without permission.”

So we have romcom plot A and sitcom plot B, so we might expect the interweaving of plots a la Frasier. And it sort of does play out like the sitcom for a bit, with Tanpopo trying to attack Ayaka when she’s asleep… except she stays up all night and it’s the Tower Witches who succumb to tiredness. In great sitcom fashion, Takamiya stumbles upon the Tower Witches in the shower, and their typical anime girl overreaction comes in the form of an attempted kidnapping. BUT at the same time mom and Kazane come home and everyone sure is surprised to see naked Tower Witches!

I had to keep notes to keep track of the following: Kazane decides to capture the Tower Witches, but Ayaka stands up against her mother to defend the clueless bunch. After defeating Medusa, you see, Ayaka decided to form an alliance with the wicked witch in order to protect the secret of Evermillion’s seals from reaching Mom’s ears. To this end, Ayaka and Medusa share the Apple of Discord, which merges the power of the two witches. Now a fire and stone witch, the confrontation has finally come and Ayaka has to take on her mother to defend the boy she cares about deeply!

Only Mom totally kicks Ayaka’s butt. Evermillion is said to loathe impurity, so merging with Medusa only weakens Ayaka’s magic source: Plot combo broken, onto a different story arc. Kazane pulls Medusa out of her daughter and sends Ayaka to punishment dungeon. From the chalk messages on the walls, it looks to be the dungeon where little Ayaka might have been sent for time outs. Ayaka’s cute little chibi fire spirits report that it’s no use: She won’t be able to magic her way out of the dungeon. All appears lost. Once Mama Kazane tortures Medusa, the secret of Evermillion will get out, and Kazane will no longer be able to offer her Workshop as shelter for Takamiya. Takamiya brings up his sister’s plan to flee into another district, but Ayaka rejects this on principle. Fleeing in the face of evil is no way to live: Ayaka will fight to ensure Takamiya can attend school and join the student council. She is determined to do whatever she can so that Takamiya can live in a typical romantic comedy anime! Ayaka tells Takamiya that her mom is a typical shonen villain: “She’s very sportsmanlike. If we can defeat her, she’ll become our ally.” But can Ayaka win in a rematch against her mother?

We don’t know! After an explosive ear-cleaning, Ayaka breaks out of prison and damages the school. However, mother refuses to fight. As it turns out, Medusa did not spill any secrets, and was not even tortured. On the way back to Kazane’s OTHER dungeon, twin sisters from Rotherburg demanded custody of Medusa so that she could be returned to her monolith prison. Kazane and the twins play tug of war with Medusa’s unconscious body for a bit, but two eventually prevail over one, and poor Mom is left without anyone to torture (it seems she let the more useless Tower Witches go with nary a scratch).

In the end, Kazane demands that Ayaka attend school tomorrow, and she insists Ayaka stay late to help clean up the building she exploded. Also, Medusa escapes again. And the Tower Witches are adopted into Takamiya’s family. Phew.

In Summary
Well, I can’t claim nothing happened this week. A ton happened, and it was all seemingly resolved just in time for school. But the ground has been laid for future plot threads, and the breakneck pace of this weeks’ revelations made my head spin. As usual, Witch Craft Works set up a bunch of plots it didn’t follow through with, but this time it did it about five or six times in a single episode. Wild and crazy stuff you ought to be watching.

Grade: A-

Streamed By: Crunchyroll

Review Equipment: Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen