ふらいんぐうぃっち

FLYING WITCH

ANIME

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
12
RELEASE
June 26, 2016
LENGTH
24 min

DESCRIPTION

Traditionally, when a witch turns 15, she's supposed to go out into the world alone to study magic. Makoto's parents, however, believe that their directionally-challenged daughter should get a high school degree. Instead of being sent out on her own, Makoto and her cat Chito find themselves traveling from the bustling city of Yokohama to Aomori Prefecture, where they'll stay with relatives until Makoto finishes school. It's going to be a big adjustment, and it only gets more complicated since "normal" people aren't supposed to know that witches exist… something that she tends to forget.

(Source: Sentai Filmworks)

CAST

Makoto Kowata
Minami Shinoda
Chinatsu Kuramoto
Eri Suzuki
Chito
Ai Kayano
Kei Kuramoto
Shinsuke Sugawara
Akane Kowata
Kana Aoi
Nao Ishiwatari
Shiori Mikami
Anzu Shiina
Yuka Iguchi
Towa Inukai
Mari Hino
Kenny
Ayane Sakura
Nana Kuramoto
Kikuko Inoue
Keiji Kuramoto
Mitsuru Ogata
Haru no Hakobiya
Takahiro Sakurai

EPISODES

Dubbed

| | |

RELATED TO FLYING WITCH

MANGA Slice of LifeFlying Witch

ONA ComedyFlying Witch Petit

Cover Art for Flying Witch Petit Special

SPECIAL ComedyFlying Witch Petit Special

REVIEWS

menthol
70/100
A relaxing anime with likable characters, even more likable scenery, and flaws that can be ignored.
Quick Review

Pros
1. Soothing atmosphere.
2. Likable characters with distinctive personalities that aren't overwhelming.
3. An appreciation of nature is shown throughout with the inclusion of fresh ingredients used for cooking and characters relaxing and enjoying cherry blossoms or a river.
4. The background music.
5. A catchy opening that includes synchronized hand clapping.
Cons
1. Lack of world building. It misses the opportunities to answer questions and make events even more interesting. For example, the episode that involves the flying whale. How did the whale fly? Was it a spell a witch cast? How does one know when a new witch moves into town? Maybe a notice is sent out from the association Akane mentions in the last episode. What is this organization? How do you tell whether your daughter is a witch? Maybe she performs accidental magic. Is there such a thing as a male witch? Do wizards exist? How does a witch get a familiar?
2. Each episode is a little less funny, with the jokes becoming predictable.
3. The last episode felt a little rushed for me. I think it would have been more satisfying to focus on either the robes or on the festival, not both.
4. Two very interesting characters that I would like to know more about: The Veil of Darkness and Harbinger of Spring. The Veil of Darkness was more of a quick "here's an example of magic incorporated into nature" and it works because she appears for a short time as a customer in Cafe Concrucio and is simply there to make the viewer understand how wonderful and magical the cafe is, but the Harbinger of Spring is featured just as much as Akane and Inukai in the opening and he doesn't show up again.
Notes
1. I'm adding the manga to my reading list because I'm interested in learning more about the world Flying Witch starts to build.
2. All in all, a very likable anime with flaws that can be ignored in appreciation of the general aesthetics and atmosphere. I probably won't watch Flying Witch again unless it receives a dubbed version and I can use it to work or fall asleep to.
Continue on AniList
Groenboys
90/100
a perfect example what makes Iyashikei anime such amazing experiences
On first glance, this anime looks like any mid-tier 2010s anime that was forgotten the moment the season was done. An anime about witches living in a village is not a grabbing premise, even for a slice of life series. It not weird that not many people remember this anime aside from the fox clip. But there is something neat that this anime has: It has the Iyashikei tag.

Iyashikei anime are commonly known as healing anime, aka anime that exist so that the viewer can, as they say, "heal". This is often fit for cute, fun and relaxing anime, with relaxing having the most emphasis. One fthe most popular anime that has come out that is most representative of Iyashikei is Yuru Camp, an anime that I also personally love to death, and I am by far not the only one doing that. It is not uncommon for Iyashikei to get cult-like followings: The afformentioned Yuru Camp, Yama no Susume, Non Non Biyori, Tonikawa, The Helpful Fox Senko-San, all have very deticated fanbases.

So how do Iyashikei connect with people? Well, why don't we look at Flying Witch for that awnser (that is what this review is about, after all).

Flying Witch is specifically about our main character Makoto becoming a witch at the age of 15, but since she is so challenged in having the feel of direction, her parents decide to sent her to one of her relatives. From here on out, we follow the day-to-day lives of Makoto and the Kuramoto family. We learn about the powers of Makoto and the world of witches. We even get visits of Kowata, the sibling of Makoto, who visits the Kuramoto's house reaaaally often.

The plot is very simple, which is one of the defining characteristics of Iyashikei anime. Having complicated characters and plots get your more immersed with the characters and the world, but having simple characters and a simple, albeit a bit mysterious, world can give more focus on the tone, the comedy and the healing part of Iyashikei. Flying Witch has a simple story and simple characters, but they are endearing to watch. There is almost no cynicism in the anime, with also no amount of pandering. The main focus is the healing part, which is where Iyashikei can make or break for people. Yes, Iyashikei is not for everyone, it might not even be for the people who are fans of the show if they are in the wrong mood. Iyashikei is healing incarnate, so if you are already comfortable or are ready for action/drama, Iyashikei anime will come of as boring. But if you are in the mood for it, Iyashikei does wonders. Seeing characters you like do things they like and be happy, that gives an amazing feeling. Not worrying about any kind of stress, troubles or deadlines and just letting our mind cruise on the happy waves Iyashikei makes causes the feeling of being freed of your own troubles, pains and worries: You get healed.

But Iyashikei can't just be people you liking doing things they like, Iyashikei often have things that make them that extra bit special: Non Non Biyori has great character, Senko-san has a cute fox-wife, Yuru Camp has a great OST and comfy camping, and, what I personally see from it, Flying Witch has a great focus on casualness and an also great OST.

Watching Flying Witch is like taking a day off to work on your grandmothers farm: You see characters without any real worries do simple tasks in casual and funny ways. You meet people who often has magical elements, but are either wonderfully wacky or relatabily casual in their nature. Even with the more magical scenes there is a sense of laid-back wonder that captivates you. There is one episode in Flying Witch in which we see different character go through one day at different times of that day, thus visiting locations previous characters also visited, thus showing those locations from a new perspective. It is such a simple episode but it is one of the best episodes I have ever seen.

This anime healing factor is helped by the OST. As I am writing this sentence I am listening to Flying Witch's OST, and I am enjoying every second of it. The OST is filled with flutes, piano's, harps and more creating beautifully composed music that you notice how good it is during scenes but don't distract you from those scenes. It is amazing.

I know this review wasn't as much about Flying Witch as it was about Iyashikei, but I just wanted to express my love for this genre of anime that has helped me a lot during dark times, with Flying Witch being one of the best examples of it. On its own, Flying Witch is a great, fun anime that is easy to watch and enjoyable to discover the world. The OST is great, the characters are endearing and the world is interesting. It isn't a completely perfect anime, but it is perfect Iyashikei that can heal your soul. Gives this one a watch, especially if you love Yuru Camp.
Continue on AniList
Kalladry
20/100
An unstoppably, dreadfully cheery witch and her insipid adventures that almost manage to avoid a plot altogether
_Makoto, a 15-year-old witch, moves in with some relatives in the Japanese countryside while she continues her magical training. What follows is Makoto’s daily life as she gets used to her new environment. Her relatives and the new friends she makes there are introduced to the customs and peculiarities of witchcraft._
True to its name, this 12-episode makes flying look really, really fun. Like Kiki’s Delivery Service, all I want to do while watching this is grab a broom and fly away.

How much I like this series depends on whether I’m watching it because I want to enjoy it itself, or whether I want something I only need to pay half attention to in the background while I’m working. (For the record: unenjoyable for the former, OK for the latter.)

Makoto is 15 and unstoppably, dreadfully cheery and polite. No matter what happens, she’ll face it with a smile. Cooking a meal in home ec. Helping prune apple trees. Digging up a mandrake that screams so loud the entire town can hear it.

The magic here is subtle for the most part: magical news paper delivery, finding a cafe enchanted to look like an abandoned house unless you know the charm, etc.

The side characters are all similarly one-note. Cousin Kei is nice, responsible and helpful. Young cousin Chinatsu is cute and curious. Older sister Akane is playful and a bit irresponsible.
That’s all. None are bad. There are no villains. Just…pretty boring characters.

I also kept getting hung up on the fact that…obviously most people, “normal people,” don’t know that witches and the magical world exist. Yet apparently there’s no problem with Makoto telling not just her aunt and cousins, but also their friend Nao. In fact, Makoto makes no attempts to keep her magic secret or hide when flying her broom, so it makes you wonder why the magical world isn’t more well-known.

Verdict

English dub? Yes, but it’s not great. Most characters have a slightly glassy, polished, upbeat performative voice, like I would use when reading a book to small children.

Visuals: Generic, not overly bright. Not quite pastel or muted. Generic character designs, but they are all distinct enough to make telling people apart easy.

Worth watching? Only if you really like slow slice-of-life shows in the “cute people doing cute things” vein. There’s no character development in the 12 episodes, no actual plot climax because there’s barely any plot. That said, it functions well as a “playing in the background while I work” type show because it’s not dramatic or particularly interesting.
Continue on AniList