3ET: Witch Craft Works

"What is with that stupid hat?"

Studio: J.C. Staff

Director: Mizushima Tsutomu (Another, Ookiku Furikabutte)

Writer: Mizushima Tsutomu (Genshiken)

Main Cast:

Kobayashi Yuusuke as Takamiya Honoka

Seto Asami as Kagari Ayaka

Character Design: Hiyamizu Yukie

Music: Ishikawa Tomohisa, Fujimura Tohru, Matsui Youhei

In Witch Craft Works, an ordinary high school boy named Takamiya Honoka finds out the most popular girl in school is a witch who has been sworn to protect him. It's basic wish-fulfillment that requires the audience to identify with the main character. However, that would require Takamiya to have some defining traits with which to distinguish himself from the endless parade of "ordinary nice guys" who show up in mediocre anime series and waste screen time trying to get me to care about them. And sadly, the main character, Takamiya Honoka, completely fails to do this.

My biggest issue with Takamiya is how little there is to say about him. Outside of a short scene at his home where we see him carving wood, we don't know anything distinctive about him. He seems to have no sense of humor, nor does he show any real emotion aside from confusion at the magical battles going on around him. Which, to be honest, is completely understandable. What frustrates me the most is how he just does whatever the plot demands, never feeling like a real person.He just goes through the motions of a main character, asking questions and going off to get in trouble so the fire witch Ayaka can protect him. At his most self-serving, he wants to know what's going on, and he wants to be able to protect himself so not to put the girl in any danger. Some would call that nice, I call it boring.

Oh yeah, that's a real classy angle.

As for Ayaka, she is somehow even less interesting. In her case, there are two good reasons. One, she has only one focus, protecting Takamiya. And two, she has the powers of a god. Never in the three episodes is there a chance she could lose any of the magical fights against other witches. This was despite her pyrotechnic powers flying around against an army of robot rabbits, or being shot at, or having time stopped on her. Her godlike powers and practical invulnerability suck all of the dramatic tension out of the actions scenes. And no, I don't care about any budding romance between Ayaka and Takamiya.

And I haven't even touched on the terrible CG. Or the hilarious exposition dump in the middle of an episode, jarring me out of Takamiya's head, where most of the show takes place. Or how stupid the other girls (and they're all girls) who are chasing after Takamiya. Or the big-tittied maid girl in the cafe who shows up to waste more time. There is one decent scene where Ayaka flies Takamiya on her broom at the end of the third episode, but by that point I was beyond caring. Witch Craft Worksis a fail. It's not even enjoyably bad, just mediocre in a disposable way.