Little Witch Academia
Little Witch Academia is a Japanese anime franchise created by Yoh Yoshinari and produced by Trigger. The original short film, directed by Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka, was released in theaters on March 2, 2013 as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project, and was later streamed with English subtitles on YouTube from April 19, 2013. A second short film partially funded through Kickstarter, Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, was released on October 9, 2015. An anime television series aired in Japan between January and June 2017, with the first 13 episodes available on Netflix worldwide beginning on June 30, 2017. The remaining 12 episodes of its first season was labeled as the show's second season and was made available on the platform on August 15, 2017. Two manga series have been published by Shueisha.
Story
Little Witch Academia takes place at Luna Nova Magical Academy, a prestigious school for young girls training to become witches. Having been inspired by a witch named Shiny Chariot, a girl named Atsuko "Akko" Kagari enrolls at Luna Nova Magical Academy to become a witch, but struggles due to her non-magical background. This all changes when she discovers the Shiny Rod, a powerful magic relic left behind by Chariot.One of the main themes in the franchise is Akko trying to live up to Shiny Chariot's ideals by showing the world that magic is still a wonderful thing, while Luna Nova struggles for its continual existence because the general public regards wizardry as outdated. In the TV series, this background element is expanded into a plotline in which magic is waning across the world. The secret to restoring the flow of magic lies within the forbidden Arcturus Forest, sealed inside a magical locale named the Grand Triskelion erected by the Nine Olde Witches, the legendary founders of the academy.
The key to undoing the seal lies in a sequence of seven magical words and the Shiny Rod, an artifact which reacts only to the wielder's genuine desire to spread joy and happiness. When Akko gains possession of the Rod, Chariot tries to guide her on the path to restoring the power of magic to the world. However, Croix, Chariot's former best friend, had also coveted – and was denied – the power sealed within the Triskelion due to her selfish ambitions. As a result, she schemes to unlock the Grand Triskelion by force with use of artifacts powered by negative emotions she developed with her technomagical abilities and try to deter both Akko and her rival along the way.
Characters
;Lotte Jansson;Sucy Manbavaran
; Chariot du Nord
;Diana Cavendish
;Amanda O'Neill
;Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger
;Jasminka Antonenko
;Croix Meridies
Media
Manga
A one-shot manga based on the anime, drawn by Terio Teri, was published in Shueisha's Ultra Jump magazine on August 19, 2013. Another manga by Teri, featuring an original story, was serialized in Ultra Jump between August 19, 2015 and November 20, 2015, and was compiled in a single tankōbon volume released on January 19, 2016. Another series illustrated by Yuka Fujiwara, Little Witch Academia: Tsukiyo no Ōkan, began serialization in Shueisha's Ribon magazine from September 3, 2015.Anime
Short films
Little Witch Academia was produced by Trigger as part of the Young Animator Training Project's Anime Mirai 2013 project, which funds young animators, alongside other short films by Madhouse, Zexcs and Gonzo. The short was created and directed by Yoh Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka with music by Michiru Ōshima. The short, along with the other Anime Mirai shorts, opened in 14 Japanese theatres on March 2, 2013. Trigger later released the short on Niconico and with English subtitles on YouTube and Crunchyroll on April 19, 2013. The YouTube version received over 850,000 views up until it was taken down in August 2013 to promote the Blu-ray release. The short was later released on region-free Blu-ray Disc on October 24, 2013.On July 5, 2013, Trigger announced at Anime Expo that a second short film, titled Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, would be developed in response to the reception the first short received. The project began production in 2014 following the airing of Kill la Kill. Whilst initially having the funds for a twenty-minute episode, Trigger launched a Kickstarter campaign to extend its runtime to fifty minutes. The Kickstarter was launched on July 9, 2013 and met its $150,000 USD goal within five hours, finishing with a total of $625,518. The short premiered at Anime Expo 2015, and was made available for Kickstarter backers on July 3, 2015 before it was subsequently released in Japanese theaters on October 9 of that year. Both films were later released on Netflix with an English-language dub on December 15, 2015.
| No. | Title | Original release date |
Television series
An anime television series of Little Witch Academia was announced on June 24, 2016 following the final episode of Space Patrol Luluco. The series aired in Japan between January 9, 2017 and June 26, 2017. For the first cour, the opening theme is "Shiny Ray" by YURiKA while the ending theme is "Hoshi o Tadoreba" by Yuiko Ōhara. For the second cour, the opening theme is "Mind Conductor" by YURiKA while the ending theme is "Tōmei na Tsubasa" by Ōhara. The series ran for 25 episodes released across nine BD/DVD volumes. Netflix began streaming the first 13 episodes with an English dub as of June 30, 2017. The remaining 12 episodes began streaming as of August 15; but they were labeled as the show's second season.During interviews, Yoshinari said he wishes to create a second season that explores the history of characters like Diana Cavendish and Amanda O'Neill. The director also wants to create an anime spinoff series focused on the witch Shiny Chariot. He even suggested that the Night Fall books in the anime might work as a standalone anime series.
Video game
A video game developed by A+ Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, titled , was released on PlayStation 4 on November 30, 2017 in Japan, followed by a PS4 and Steam release in North America in early 2018. A bonus game, Madō Senshi Gran Sharion, is available in Japan as a pre-order bonus.Other appearances
A crossover short featuring characters from both Little Witch Academia and Inferno Cop premiered at AnimeNEXT 2015 on June 13, 2015 and was also shown at Anime Expo 2015 on July 2, 2015. Both Akko and Sucy make guest appearances in Trigger's 2016 anime series Space Patrol Luluco.More recently, the series appeared in the mobile game Super Robot Wars X-Ω as a limited-time event. The story features Akko and her friends hunting fairies in a forest when they are transported to another world. There, they join the characters of Aura Battler Dunbine and Gurren Lagann in their respective stories while finding their way back to Luna Nova.