Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia (リトルウィッチアカデミア) is a Japanese anime franchise created by Yō 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 (ルーナノヴァ魔法学校, Rūna Nova Mahō Gakkō), 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a wonderful thing, while Luna Nova struggles for its continual existence because the general public regards wizardry as outdated.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 Triskellion 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 (secretly one of her Luna Nova teachers and the Rod's previous wielder) 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 Grand Triskellion due to her selfish ambitions. As a result, she schemes to unlock the Grand Triskellion 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.

Gallery

 * Manga covers