Pssssst, check out the end of the post for more Halloween-themed posts…

Maya-San no Yofukashi – the Night Owl Witch

GENRE: Seinen, Comedy, Slice of Life

MANGAKA: Hotani Shin

PUBLISHED: JAN 2016-2017

This story is about Maya’s life and her claims of being a witch. She lives a pretty closed-off life yet maintains a relationship online with a high school girl called Mameyama-kun. Most times we see Maya is at night when she’s trying to finish off her manga, hence the English title: The Night Owl Witch. Hotani Shin’s art reminds me of NICHIJOU which is also a warm yet absurd slice of life.

The comedy from this manga makes you feel like you could definitely be friends with such a witch. She doesn’t use her powers for anything really, nothing good or bad. She is pretty lazy and survives on instant ramen noodles, so basically a college student.

Though she claims to be a supernatural creature, she experiences many of the problems and pressures that young women her age live through. This makes her really relatable. This 3-volume completed work is a nice breather; all spoopy, no spooks.

Myanimelist gives it a 7.1, Mangadex gives it a 8.3, so you should definitely give it a shot.

Little Witch Academia

GENRE: Shoujo, Seinen, Shounen: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Coming-of-age, Magical Girl

MANGAKA: Terio Teri, Yuka Fujiwara, Yoh Yoshinari (story), Keisuke Sato (art)

DIRECTOR: Yoh Yoshinari, Yoshiki Usa, Kimi Suzuki

WRITER: Masahiko Otsuka, Michiru Shimada

STUDIO: Trigger Licensor: Acttil, Netflix

PUBLISHER: Ultra Jump, Monthly Shōnen Ace

PUBLISHED: Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Spring 2017 – Fall 2018

AIRING: Spring 2013, Fall 2015, Spring 2017

Little Witch Academia is… overrated at best. Yes, you can watch it if all you want is witchcraft and beautiful sceneries and yes, compared to the average anime it does seem a little better. It’s like a solid 7 on a good day but a 4 if you’re being honest with yourself.

The voice acting is alright in Japanese and superb in French. The backgrounds are wondrous and the opening and ending songs are amazing. Trigger, thank you. Honestly, I could just watch a whole movie with the aesthetic of the ending songs. However, this 2017 anime falls apart when it comes to plot and characters – or, rather, the main character. I could live my whole life without ever hearing about Akko and die happy.

The story follows Akko, a girl who doesn’t have magic but wants to be her hero, a parlor trick magician. Somehow Akko gets her wish by fumbling around. She’s your typical annoying MC who really should know better but whose mistakes get forgiven because she’s the MC. It doesn’t help that the plot is mad basic. And that the world-building is half-assed at best. I don’t even know how they got two animated films – both on the short side – three manga spin-offs totaling at 5 volumes and a video game with another one on the way.

Xxx Holic

MANGAKA: CLAMP

GENRE: Seinen, Dark Fantasy 

PUBLISHER: Kondasha

PUBLISHED: 2003

ON INDEFINITE HIATUS

This long-running classic of CLAMP is a dark fantasy revolving around Kimihiro Watanuki and his wish to have no spirit or ghost dodge his footsteps where he goes. Yes, an odd wish. 

This completed work has beautiful art with all the shoujo trademarks (hands, legs and elongated bodies) though the demographic geared more towards seinen and shonen.

 Yuuko Ichihara who becomes the main character’s boss has fashion like no other witch or fortune teller I have ever seen.  And with her two evil child minions, you could go nowhere else to get your first occult fix. 

This manga is part of the card captor sakura and Tsubasa chronicle universe. So if you finish this manage but still want more there’s plenty. 

My Anime List gives an 8.4 so you’re in safe hands. Now go on, go enjoy some witchery.

La Storia della Arcana Famiglia

GENRE: Shoujo: Urban Fantasy, Romance

MANGAKA: HuneX (story), Ruru (art)

DIRECTOR: Chiaki Kon

WRITER: Masanao Akahoshi

STUDIO: J.C.Staff

LICENSOR: Hanabee, Sentai Filmworks, MVM Films

PUBLISHER: Sylph

PUBLISHED: Winter 2011

AIRING: Summer 2012

This single-season 2012 anime is. . . inoffensive. Yup, that’s the best way to describe it. You can watch this J C Staff anime to fill your time and get in the mood for Halloween – but I don’t know how it managed to get two video games, an OVA, and a 2011 manga written by Hune X – short as it may be at 2 volumes. The story follows a mafia-esque family that… does magic? – in their quest to replace the leader of the head of the family. It’s nowhere near as good as 91 Days or Saezuru and doesn’t seem to hit the climax quite right but the journey is entertaining enough.

Idhun Chronicles

GENRE: Urban Fantasy, Action

ORIGINAL: Author: Laura Gallego

DRECTOR: Maite Ruiz de Austri

WRITER: Laura Gallego, Andrés Carrión

STUDIO: Zeppelin TV

LICENSOR: Netflix

AIRING: Fall 2020

This 2020 anime is… just amazing. I don’t know how anyone anime can make this many mistakes in 5 episodes. Exposition. Plot holes. Animation mistakes. Lack of World-building. Oh and some possible plagiarism issues.

But at least I confirm that though shenanigans may have occurred between this anime and Dragon Prince, Idhun Chronicles’ original source – Memorias de Idhún books by Laura Gallego – came out first and had the same character designs – though not style – as the anime. So, if anyone copied, it’s not them.

The anime is a speed-run of Jack, your average human boy, going on the run after an assassin hunts him down on behalf of a tyrannical power from another world. It’s an interesting premise and some aspects of the magic make me want to pick up the books and the comics.

Honestly, the anime could have been just as good as Dragon Prince. It’s a pity then that Idhun Chronicles wasn’t better. It was rushed and the world-building was either left on the cutting floor or never existed to being with. In fact, the style on the book covers was so good I’d rewatch the anime if it looked like that.

If you’re thinking why you should watch this, consider this: this anime is only 5 episodes but somehow has the content of a full season. Some scenes are completely out there but still entertaining. Basically, hate-watch it!

Yondemasuyo Azazel-san

GENRE: Seinen: Comedy, Occult

MANGAKA: Yasuhisa Kubo

DIRECTOR: Tsutomu Mizushima

STUDIO: Production I.G

PUBLISHER: Evening

PUBLISHED: Fall 2007 – Winter 2018

AIRING: Spring 2011 – Summer 2013

Even if you think you’ve never seen this hot mess of a show, you’ve probably seen a couple of GIFs. This 2010 I.G production is iconic even if the name Yondemasuyo Azazel-san doesn’t quite ring a bell.

This occult comedy follows university student Sakuma as she works part-time in a detective agency that uses demons. Her fiendish but completely human boss tricks her into a contract with the lust demon, Azazel. From there, it’s all hilarity and debauchery.

In 26 episodes and 3 OVAs, this anime pushes every boundary for a few laughs from slapstick jokes to expert timing to wordplay. Imagine Gintama but with less copyright infringements or inhibition.

This anime is outrageous. You will have to put away your sensibilities when it comes to gender equality and sexual assault… which is terrible but watching Yondemasuyo Azazel-san with a critical eye is an exercise in aggravation.  If it were not for the fact that the show is filled with demons doing these despicable things, original creator Yasuhisa Kubo would certainly be the poster child for problematic.

If you are looking for plot, this isn’t for you. But still, with each episode being a short 11 minutes … and you have 11 minutes to waste… I guess you can watch this.

As part of our 2020 Creatures of Fantasy series, we covered manga and anime with:

• Witches and Demons
• Japanese Folklore
• Gods and other Religious figures
• Shapeshifters
• Undead