Witchcraft Works finished its 12 episode run. It was interesting that the manga translation paced the anime releases rather closely. It's an interesting story, if not a little boilerplate.

Somewhat weak guy is protected from a distance by a powerful girl who harbors deep feelings for him. There are secrets from his past that slowly become revealed, and relationships that develope as the series progresses. There is a power within him he is unaware of, but in times of great danger or distress, his powers break forth. Boilerplate. In a season that seems full of shows that are more or less okay, a familiar story well told is not too bad.

Of note, however, the show shares a similar problem with another one I have been following. In this show, the female protagonist shares the same kind of bland personality as the male protagonist in Mikakunin de Shinkokei. Low energy output. Although that type will make for some humor, they also tend to dull the edge off any scene they are in.

You might hope for some kind of breakthrough moment when a strong emotional expression or reaction comes forth, but it never seems to happen. There was one such moment in MdS, when the male character (and he's pretty much the only male character) makes a deadpan joke about his deadpan self, and it was a nice bit of self deprecation, but after the fizzle, there was no pop.

This doesn't mean the series are bad, but it is awfully hard to be great with this. Indeed I have rewatched all of MdS and the series hasn't even wrapped yet.

Witchcraft Works is the first I have been following that has been completed. The arc ended well, if a little rushed, but it was worth it.

Posted by: topmaker at 11:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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