Introduction

Comedy anime has always held a special place in my heart. Regardless if comedy is subjective or not, it’s always a pleasure to see a series be lighthearted once in a while and try to make you smile or laugh—and if it has some romance, that’s an added bonus. That’s what immediately intrigued me about Witch Watch. Based on the manga by Kenta Shinohara, Witch Watch is being animated by Bibury Animation Studios (The Quintessential Quintuplets/Grisaia: Phantom Trigger), and from the trailer alone, I wanted to watch this series as soon as humanly possible. Thankfully, we here at SunsetNerdVerse were given early access to the first three episodes courtesy of GKIDS—thanks, guys! After flying through them, I can honestly say I can’t wait to watch more of this series this coming April! Why, you may ask? Simple: Witch Watch is hilarious, cute, and adorable—but let my first impressions tell you more!

Why You’ll Like This

Witch Watch follows Morihito Otogi, a young man who also just so happens to be an ogre. Seemingly destined to protect his childhood friend turned witch, Nico Wakatsuki, Morihito (or just Moi to Nico) is told that he must keep her safe as her familiar—for reasons I won’t spoil. Nico ends up moving in with Moi in order to complete her witches’ training, so that means our stoic but tough Moi is now going to be quite busy. Again, this setup feels akin to anime from yesteryear, but it works because of the reasons these two end up living together.

The concept of Witch Watch doesn’t try too hard to be super original—but honestly, I didn’t care while watching it. I almost immediately fell in love with Nico and found myself yelling for Moi to protect this girl with his ogre abilities. These two also—please—need to get together soon (she clearly loves Moi), and their camaraderie is just amazing. Given the early screening, I was also granted two short videos: one from the voices behind the two main leads (Rina Kawaguchi as Nico and Ryota Suzuki as Morihito), who clearly have chemistry and passion, and another behind-the-scenes video that shows love was put into Witch Watch. What makes this show easy to recommend is that the characters’ partnership fuels everything—from the comedy to the goofy antics they get involved in.

Just a few minutes into the first episode, I was already laughing hard. The facial expressions, the way characters talk, and the references made (there are a lot!) are just laugh-out-loud inducing. Nico’s magical powers are incredible but come with some rather annoying consequences—usually at the cost of Morihito. I really hope the rest of this series continues to make me laugh, but after the first three episodes, I don’t doubt that it will continue to put a smile on not just my face but on everyone who watches!

Is It Worth Three Episodes?

I’d say if you sleep on Witch Watch (which airs in April), you’ll be missing out on one of the better magical romance comedy anime I’ve witnessed in some time. I really have nothing bad to say about the first three episodes—the animation was great, the story simple but effective, and the characters are hilarious and charming! I was so upset when the video ended, and now I have to wait for the proper release. Witch Watch is hopefully going to be a hit!

Conclusion

There’s nothing but high hopes in my mind that every anime fan gives Witch Watch a chance. Filled with heart and pure magical comedy, this anime has a lot of potential to be great—and I’m betting it will be one of the better shows airing this year. I’ll be watching weekly (I’m going to rewatch the episodes when they air), and when it wraps up, I’ll be here with a full series review! Thanks again to GKIDS for the opportunity to watch the first three episodes—I loved them and already love this anime! Now let’s all pray that Nico and Moi get together!

—Aaron