The Rise of Little Witch Academia: How Hanna and Barbera Revolutionized Anime for a New Generation

"Little Witch Academia" is an anime series created by Studio Trigger and directed by Yoh Yoshinari. It was first released as a short film in 2013 and later developed into a full-fledged series and a feature film. The series revolves around a young witch named Akko Kagari, who enrolls in Luna Nova Magical Academy to fulfill her dream of becoming a legendary witch like her idol, Shiny Chariot. The anime is heavily influenced by the works of Hanna-Barbera, the American animation studio known for creating classic cartoons like "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons," and "Scooby-Doo," among others. The animation style of "Little Witch Academia" exhibits the same vibrancy and humor found in Hanna-Barbera cartoons, which makes it visually appealing and enjoyable for audiences of all ages. Hanna-Barbera cartoons are known for their strong emphasis on storytelling and character development, and "Little Witch Academia" follows suit.

Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

Well, they did do that in FLCL, Gurren Lagaan, and Panty and Stocking, all produced by GAINAX and all worked on by many of the same people working on this OVA. On her way to school, Kagari meets the kind Lotte Yanson and the mischevious Sucy Manbavaran and the three become friends as they share a bedroom in campus.

Hanna-Barbera cartoons are known for their strong emphasis on storytelling and character development, and "Little Witch Academia" follows suit. The series explores themes of friendship, determination, and the pursuit of dreams, which are common themes in Hanna-Barbera cartoons as well. The characters in "Little Witch Academia" are relatable and endearing, with each having their own unique qualities and quirks.

Little Witch Academia

So this came out recently. While it is a oneshot I found it to be quite lovely. The artstyle is gorgeous and the characters are quite likable. While the plot is a bit rushed I still found it enjoyable and if it were to be a full series I could see it being a rather great one.

What do you all think of it?

I saw it and thougth that it was great for what it was.

The animation was above average and nice to look at.

The characterdesign was not to pompous and the characters were all very likeable (exspecially Sucy).

Even though it had nothing much new to it, it was well paced and wonderfully executed.

I would give it a 8/10.

I need to watch this soon. The animation is from Trigger, founded by people from GAINAX, training a group of young upstart animators working on this film in a government-sponsored "internship" of sorts! Several Japanese studios signed up to trains these young animators while producing 4 30-minute OV As! To participate in the program, the studio needs to produce the animation ALL IN-HOUSE, WITH ABSOLUTELY NO OUTSOURCING. Bravo!

edited 2nd Apr '13 2:14:01 PM by kyun

Animation was fantastic, comedy was good, if a bit more cartoony than I would have liked. and I hated most of the characters. So, I hardly regret watching it, but I'm not exactly hoping it'll get turned into a series

Pretty sure it works better as a short than it would as a series. Since the plot was typical, condensing it is probably the best way it could be treated, and being a short lets them showcase all the cleverer bits of humour. I was fond of pretty much all of the characters, but they have their appeal because the short could highlight parts of their personalities. The bits showing how the world works might also be more interesting as a concept than as something used in a longer story, though it'd depend on execution.

. that said, I'd probably keep watching if there were more episodes.

I was amused by how they essentially had a witch turn into a magical girl. Also, mogu mogu demonstration. Wouldn't claim it was actually meant as a reference to anything, but.

You will not go to space today.

Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

I loved everything about that. Well-done! Were any of the other "Young Animator Training Project" projects as good?

Diana is the best character, but everyone else was cool too (except maybe Diana's two sidekicks). I felt bad for the designated monsters though.

I want a gif of Akko pushing the shiny rod into her professor's face while wearing a look of pure glee.

If this were made into a series. well, that will probably never happen, but we could dream! The animation could never be that consistently good though.

edited 2nd Apr '13 4:00:07 PM by Ruise

Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.

If you knew who the supervising animator is, you'd realize why the animation is so crazy.

Finally someone who agrees about Diana. Most people seem to favor Sucy the most and I'm just sitting here wondering why.

I was initially wondering how the heck Shiny Chariot's wand wound up in the bottom of the academy building! . until they neatly revealed the twist ending that answered precisely that! :D For a 30-minute OVA, it shows just enough to serve the barest bones of the story without making it seem cluttered, and also, making you want to see more into a series! The set-up is incredibly standard fare that we have all seen before (an underdog misfit student in a school for witches tries to proves herself), and is very much aimed at children, but that story . isn't half bad!

I also favored Sucy not only because she's one of those deadpan silently-awesome characters, but she uses her knowledge of potions to save the heroine twice!

edited 2nd Apr '13 5:46:00 PM by Shota

Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

Well, Sucy is a Deadpan Snarker with mild to moderate Comedic Sociopath tendencies who uses the heroine as a human test subject. But she cannot compete with Diana's unconvincing Tsundere with an obvious heart of gold and genuine magical academic talent.

When you write it down, it seems like Sucy should certainly win as best character, but Diana's just a really good person. Or maybe she's just more fleshed out as a foil to Akko.

edited 2nd Apr '13 5:48:00 PM by Ruise

Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.

• 2010:
  • Torracman: Skip it.
  • Kizuna Ichigeki: Pretty good, a silly action piece.
  • Tansu Warashi: Is about little kids that live in drawers and cabinets. Darn cute.
  • Oji-san no Lamp: The standout for this season. Really feels like a story an old person would tell kids.
  • Buta: Vanilla samurai story featuring anthropomorphized animals.
  • Puka Puka Juju: A heartwarming family story.
  • Shiranpuri: Deals with bullying. Too heavy-handed for my tastes.
  • Wasurenagumo: The standout for this season, because it's filled with Nightmare Fuel. Beware, arachnophobes.

  edited 2nd Apr '13 5:47:03 PM by fillerdude

  Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

  Nyanpasu~

  I certainly plan on watching Oji-san no Lamp. I started watching Buta months ago, but quit in the middle. Wasurenagumo sounds like it may be interesting. I like spiders anyway.

  edited 2nd Apr '13 5:46:54 PM by Ruise

  Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.

  Firestarter Sorceress Bookwench from over the rainbow Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other

  Sorceress Bookwench

  Just saw this. Nothing unpredictable with the story, but the art was wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If this became a serialized show I would watch it for certain.

  I would also note that it is now my dearest wish to have this dubbed with Sucy voiced by Evanna Lynch.

  Everything happens for a reason. The reason is a chaotic intersection of chance and the laws of physics.

  HeavyDDR Who's Vergo-san. from Central Texas Since: Jul, 2009 Who's Vergo-san.

  Why couldn't her name just be Suzy, this is bugging me way too much.

  I'm pretty sure the concept of Law having limits was a translation error. -Wanderlustwarrior

  tvsgood from Steins Gate Since: Jan, 2010

  I believe it should be Suzie, gg just messed up with the subs.

  edited 2nd Apr '13 9:53:12 PM by tvsgood

  Chariot King of Anime Since: Jul, 2014 King of Anime

  Why does it matter? Sucy isn't that bad of a name.

  edited 2nd Apr '13 9:59:39 PM by Chariot

  Hylarn (Don�t ask) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love

  It's weird, but that's the way it was pronounced

  Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010 Gunpla is amazing!

  Amazing. The animation was jaw dropping. I want this to be a full movie or something. Damn.

  I never thought I'd see traditional animation again.

  Every single frame was great.

  edited 2nd Apr '13 11:18:24 PM by Thorn14

  HeavyDDR Who's Vergo-san. from Central Texas Since: Jul, 2009 Who's Vergo-san.

  It just bugs me a lot for irrational reasons. Suzy just. seems like a more meaningful name.

  Honestly I think I'm just disappointed this isn't a series. This could go on to be a lot more, with a lot better pacing. There's so much potential and it's lovely for what it is, but trying to flesh out an entire world and cast in 26 minutes is just too difficult to do. Hopefully this gets picked up as a series because I really liked what I saw, but everything would be even better if there was more time to flesh things out.

  I'm pretty sure the concept of Law having limits was a translation error. -Wanderlustwarrior

  Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

  Nyanpasu~

  Sucy is a better name than Suzy. It's less common and it sounds like "sushi."

  Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.

  Shota Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: Dancing with myself

  You "never thought you'd see traditional animation again"? . you should watch more anime in general!

  Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010 Gunpla is amazing!

  I meant traditional animation values (stretching and such) instead of shortcuts and CGI.

  kyun Since: Dec, 2010

  Well, they did do that in FLCL, Gurren Lagaan, and Panty and Stocking, all produced by GAINAX and all worked on by many of the same people working on this OVA. Did you see those?

  But yes, I would love to see more people doing this kind of animation! It's the kind I try to do to!

  edited 3rd Apr '13 12:13:33 PM by kyun

  Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

  Nyanpasu~

  So Oji-san no Lamp was beautiful, and Wasurenagumo was adorable but I have got to say I did not predict that. exact ending. Seriously, what even happened? Suzuri replaced Mizuki with the adorable spider-girl and Mizuki became one of the spider-mom's minions? I have no idea.

  edited 4th Apr '13 4:48:01 AM by Ruise

  Loves feel-good animation a whole lot.

  PhysicalStamina so i made a new avatar from Who's askin'? Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: It's so nice to be turned on again

  so i made a new avatar

  So I finally said "screw it" and watched the short (technically making this the first anime I've ever watched subbed), and it was pretty good. The animation and art style was spectacular, the story was nice, and I liked the characters as well.

  I'm not bouncing off the walls hoping for a series of this, but I'm not against one, either.

  Ruise Nyanpasu~ from your subconscious Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!

  

  The magical world of "Little Witch Academia" is reminiscent of the fantastical settings often found in Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Luna Nova Magical Academy is brought to life with vibrant colors and imaginative designs, creating a sense of wonder and adventure. The series also incorporates elements of comedy, which is a hallmark of Hanna-Barbera cartoons, making it both entertaining and lighthearted. In conclusion, "Little Witch Academia" draws inspiration from the storytelling techniques and animation style of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. It successfully weaves together elements of fantasy, adventure, and comedy to create a charming and captivating series. Whether you are a fan of anime or Hanna-Barbera cartoons, "Little Witch Academia" is definitely worth watching..

  Reviews for "The Enduring Popularity of Little Witch Academia: How Hanna and Barbera's Series Continues to Captivate Fans"

  1. John - 2/5 stars - I found "Little Witch Academia: Hanna and Barbera" to be quite disappointing. The story felt overly predictable and lacked any real depth. The characters were one-dimensional and their development felt rushed. Additionally, the animation quality was not up to par with the original series, with noticeable inconsistencies throughout. Overall, I was left underwhelmed and felt that the movie failed to capture the magic and charm of the original "Little Witch Academia" series.

  2. Sarah - 3/5 stars - While I had high hopes for "Little Witch Academia: Hanna and Barbera," I was ultimately let down. The plot lacked originality and felt like a rehashed version of previous storylines. The introduction of new characters was promising, but they were not given enough screen time to truly shine. The animation was decent, but it lacked the vibrant colors and attention to detail that made the original series so visually appealing. While not a complete disappointment, I expected more from this movie.

  3. Michael - 2/5 stars - As a fan of the original "Little Witch Academia" series, I was excited to watch "Hanna and Barbera." Unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The pacing of the movie felt off, with certain scenes dragging on unnecessarily while others felt rushed. The humor, which was one of the highlights of the series, fell flat in this movie. The jokes felt forced and lacked the wit and charm that I had come to expect. Overall, "Little Witch Academia: Hanna and Barbera" failed to capture the magic of the original series and left me feeling disappointed.

  Embracing Individuality in Little Witch Academia: Hanna and Barbera's Message of Acceptance