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The Witch and the Beast
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Jan 11, 8:58 AM
#1

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Nov 2011
128050
Not going to lie, I think this was a really interesting start just from the story background and lore. This show has a serious vibe without cartoony humor. OP theme has a dark orchestra tone as well.

Guideau's character introduction gives off the no-nonsense vibe. Ashaf seems to be monitoring her as the two goes around the streets. Ashaf is also somewhat of a smooth talker and shows more personality than Guideau. First episode had some crazy bizarre moments like the giant shark monster coming out of nowhere. Show has alot potential imo. I hope we can find out much more about our two main leads.
Jan 11, 8:58 AM
#2

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Jul 2017
13508
Mangaka Kousuke Satake's only Seinen dark fantasy, adventure thriller series is quite highly revered, so the anime I'm expecting to ace that also.

Sokoninaru's OP is decent enough for a start.

The coffin-holding Ashaf and the feral girl Guideau having a business with a witch, finds someone affiliated with her, only to find a manbeast shark on the loose, for its hero of the Lady Witch Ione to subdue it, which attracts the duo's interest. And Guideau is not the kind of person who does not like witches, enough for Ashaf to relay his welcome wishes to them and vanish out of sight. Their mission: find the witch who had cursed the city over 400 years ago of a hellfire, which both Ashaf and Guideau unfortunately cannot be let themselves into Ione's mansion, which her servant Marie vehemently denies being a hero for everyone. That, with the clash of the anniversary of the witch, has irrefutable evidence that both Ashaf and Guideau are definitely on the right track of Ione being an evil witch.

That is what exactly Ione is targeting for: using her most prominent followers as keys, her grandmother having sealed the hellfire but getting blamed for the curse and murdered by the consensus, she's using the same power to release the seal of the hellfire after 120 years, taking her revenge on the people of current for the atrocities of the past. That, combined with Guideau's curse to find out how to remove a witch's curse, which comes in two ways: the kiss of a prince, or the reverse from a witch who planted the curse on the person...or the 3rd: to kiss a witch, which is what Guideau did, and unlocks Ashaf's coffin releasing Guideau in full armour. Too bad, Ione was not the witch that they both were looking for, and as the Order of Magical Resonance, they're going witch-hunting.

Looks like Yokohama Animation Lab cooked this one, similar to last season's Kingdom no Oukoku a.k.a The Kingdoms of Ruin, only that this show executed everything better. And hot damn, it delivered.
KANLen09Jan 17, 1:12 AM
Jan 11, 8:58 AM
#3

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Dec 2021
1731
Yokohama is making a comeback after the disaster that was Kingdoms of Ruin, and it looks like we're starting off on a better note this time around.

Ashaf is a soft-spoken man adorned with delicate features, carrying a coffin on his back and accompanied by an entourage of black crows. Guideau, on the other hand, is a feral and violent girl, equipped with long fangs and eyes resembling those of a beast. This ominous pair suddenly appears in a town under the spell of a witch—a ruler with magic flowing through her tattooed body, convincing the townsfolk that she's their hero. However, Ashaf and Guideau see through the deception. They abide by a single creed: "Wherever a witch goes, only curses and disasters follow."

It's kinda nice to switch things up with an anime that's not set in Japan for once. This one caught my eye; it looks pretty good, not gonna lie. Guideau's already winning me over—gotta love a badass girl in anime every now and then. And since it's coming from Yokohama, I'm thinking it won't be too shabby. I always dig it when a world has more going on than your typical anime setup.

Yokohama, you've got my attention for now. Just don't mess it up.


Jan 11, 9:56 AM
#4

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Apr 2016
18636
Well this was an interesting first episode wasn't it, some nice world building, introduction of THE witches ... and that they are not what might seem at first glance ... the main duo is also very interesting, i really like the visual presentation too, very victorian, but modern at the same time.

Quite brutal as well, was not expecting that, as i know nothing about the manga.
Jan 11, 10:10 AM
#5

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Dec 2017
704
I have to say if it maintains this quality throughout the season, this is definitely on it's way to be the AOTS. I had expectations but goddamn it surpassed it. I am not sure if they cut out the fights in between or the manga is the same, whichever it is, it was beautifully done. I'll take it even if it was done to cut out the costs.
karrotStickJan 11, 10:15 AM
❝Kabo-chan is ran by the MAL staff team and does not respond to individual comments made on her profile.❞
I was immensely devastated.
Jan 11, 10:17 AM
#6
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Equanimity

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Nov 2020
1382
Thread cleaned, please don't ask where you can watch/download the episode :)
Jan 11, 10:30 AM
#7
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Apr 2019
7
Love how detailed the art is.
Jan 11, 10:38 AM
#8
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Sep 2015
5966
So many questions but the biggest one would be what is Guideau's true gender (or original gender), since Guideau's true form seems to be masculine. I'm not fond of gender-swapping genre.
Jan 11, 10:39 AM
#9

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Jul 2020
1465
this was so beautiful and interesting, I've been looking forward to this and so far I'm not disappointed in the slightest
kinda reminds me of Undead Girl Murder Farce a bit
Jan 11, 10:41 AM

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Feb 2021
1443
Usually I decide to watch seasonal anime because I'm already familiar with the source material, recommendations or because I like the studio. But this one I started purely because the trailers looked cool asf.

The OP is really good, I can see it becoming better as I listen to it more.
If the fire was sealed 417 years ago, and the witches' grandmother did it, I guess this means that witches have a longer lifespan than regular humans.
So there is no third way of breaking a witches' curse? This seems really important to the story tho, I suppose it does exist.
This was really good! The story instantly got me interested. The art and animation look amazing too.
EmbientJan 11, 10:46 AM
Jan 11, 10:59 AM

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Jun 2016
308
Reply to Inexplicable
this was so beautiful and interesting, I've been looking forward to this and so far I'm not disappointed in the slightest
kinda reminds me of Undead Girl Murder Farce a bit
@Inexplicable It certainly has the same kind of vibes
Gift by Mimurona

Jan 11, 11:01 AM

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Jun 2016
308
A good start and an anime that I definitely want to keep watching. Ashaf is pretty calm and logical which I like to see that foils to how aggressive Guideau is. Interested to see more. Look forward to more episodes 👍
Gift by Mimurona

Jan 11, 11:06 AM

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Oct 2017
24195
That was pretty bland and boring. A mix of different popular, less popular tropes which doesn't seem much interesting to begin with and that gender bender is a major turn off on top of that. I was atleast gonna continue it otherwise but probably dropping it. There were some interesting elements but not enough to keep me onboard with the bodyswap/gender bender.
Jan 11, 11:10 AM
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Jun 2022
32
Well, this was mediocre. I knew they weren’t gonna match the manga art style but it is what it is. Only thing i like are guidau va and the character designs but it’s mostly still shots, bad sound design, fights have zero impact and is barely moving. Op song is good tho. 5/10
Jan 11, 11:18 AM

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Jun 2014
6978
The action certainly didn’t pull any punches, it was pretty brutal at times which I’m a fan of. I like the 2 leads so far and the setting caught my interest as well. It was obvious where the episode’s witch plot was going when all the girls gathered together, but I’ll definitely stick with this one to see where the overall story goes.
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Jan 11, 11:26 AM

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Jun 2013
4845
So they're originally a dude but using a girl's body because of the curse or what?
Jan 11, 11:30 AM
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Oct 2020
37
Axelucard said:
So they're originally a dude but using a girl's body because of the curse or what?

The curse trapped Guideau aka the beast in a girl’s body
Jan 11, 11:35 AM

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Jul 2022
65
I'm vibing on the dark and moody feel of this series, it's reminding me of Black Butler, Trinity Blood, Gungrave, Black Blood Brothers, and FMA. Multiple times in the first episode of Majuu I felt like it was hitting all the beats of FMA's first episode when they land in Liore..so I'm definitely not hating it out the gate.

Guideau's seiyuu has the perfect delinquent touches and Ashaf is very reminiscent of a Jotaro that dgaf. I cannot wait til the next episode.
Jan 11, 11:45 AM

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Dec 2017
704
Reply to Park_Pierce
Well, this was mediocre. I knew they weren’t gonna match the manga art style but it is what it is. Only thing i like are guidau va and the character designs but it’s mostly still shots, bad sound design, fights have zero impact and is barely moving. Op song is good tho. 5/10
Park_Pierce said:
bad sound design
No way you just called it bad. If anything the sound design was one of the best things in the episode.
❝Kabo-chan is ran by the MAL staff team and does not respond to individual comments made on her profile.❞
I was immensely devastated.
Jan 11, 11:45 AM
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Aug 2020
2511
ep 1 was good

animation,/ost/fight


nothing to complain, i can't wait to see the next one...
otakuweek on insta for News /recom etc

just have a look, you won't regret it...
Jan 11, 11:52 AM
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May 2015
47
Seems pretty solid. I am a little worried about the studio like many others, but I am optimistic that is will be much better than Kingdoms of Ruins was.
Jan 11, 11:58 AM

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Sep 2018
1969
I like this... despite the bits of explosive action, it has a sort of restrained feel to it, reflective of the continual restraint of Guideau.

Quantum ille canis est in fenestra
Jan 11, 12:00 PM

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Apr 2020
147
A really good first episode. Much better than I expected considering the studio and staff behind this anime. The animation wasn't bad at all
Jan 11, 12:05 PM
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Nov 2018
159
Reply to phantomfandom
So many questions but the biggest one would be what is Guideau's true gender (or original gender), since Guideau's true form seems to be masculine. I'm not fond of gender-swapping genre.
@phantomfandom well when he appeared with the original body the curse became very obvious
I'm not a fan of that stuff either tbh. Let's see how this goes...
Jan 11, 12:11 PM
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Jun 2022
32
Reply to karrotStick
Park_Pierce said:
bad sound design
No way you just called it bad. If anything the sound design was one of the best things in the episode.
@karrotStick Not a fan of bass-boosted type sound effects, explosions and shattering glass sounds quiet and suppressed.
Jan 11, 12:16 PM
Ero Ojisan

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Jun 2019
4962
This was a strong first episode for a series that I had little expectations for. The Witch and The Beast is shaping up to be another dark urban fantasy series like Undead Girl Murder Farce except this time we have a soft spoken male mage named Ashaf and a very violent girl named Guideau who was cursed by a witch. Their mission is to subdue the witches and take them back to The Order of the Magical Resonance. I wasn't expecting the third option to lift the witche's curse was to kiss the witch herself instead of killing the witch. In Guideau's case, kissing a witch releases the curse that was sealed in the girl's body into Ashaf's coffin in the form of a monster.

This may be one of the hidden gems of the season.
Jan 11, 12:20 PM

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Sep 2013
77
Nah... That looks clunky as hell. The characters look strange in some frames, and the whole sequence of scenes looks stiff. Considering the studio that's making this, I didn't have high hopes, but I'm still disappointed.
Jan 11, 12:31 PM

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Jan 2014
118
Good premiere episode. The mood is just right and there is a lot of mysteries to be solved. Let's see if the studio can keep it up this time.
Jan 11, 12:33 PM
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Jan 2022
28
Very good 1st episode. I don't know anything about this show just started watching it got to the the op thought the singing sounded familiar then saw that it was Sokoninaru and died. This is there first time doing an anime opening I think and I was like FINALLY. Love Sokoninaru and hope they do more openings of shows.


If you couldn't tell I LOVE Sokoninaru and I think you all should check them out.

Yes I realize I talked about Sokoninaru more than the show.
Jan 11, 12:36 PM

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Aug 2019
39
I knew this would be a bad adaptation but even knowing that this has been extremely disappointing, The sound section is completely out of place and is incapable of transmitting any type of emotion, and the artistic section, God they haven't even tried it. It looks awful and lacks any impact, for example when Guideau returns to his original body in the manga you can see the importance of the scene, but they haven't done any of that in the anime. The music clashes with the scene. The colors chosen are terrible. It doesn't even have a good angle.

But the truth is I don't know why I was disappointed or bothered, this was so obvious what would happen, I mean a studio that only makes shitty isekais and a director who has never worked with dark fantasy.......... How stupid of me to even thinking that this would have a minimum of quality
Jan 11, 12:46 PM
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Feb 2023
10
I think this anime is the dark horse in this season
Jan 11, 12:56 PM

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Jul 2014
784
It only took them 120 years for their organization to track down a witch who was operating in the open, that everyone in the city knew, yet somehow they had no information on.

He even smokes. Much edge, so cut! Edgy boi gasm!

At least this giant mess had a giant shark.
Jan 11, 1:26 PM
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Jul 2015
421
Not bad, but I like the manga slightly more. It feels just a tad darker and grittier. Also, Ashaf's voice could have been more androgynous ...
Jan 11, 1:41 PM

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Feb 2019
8213
Whew that’s how you hook me with a premiere. Dark fantasy, gritty, magic, magical organisation and a witch hunting quest across the world? I’m sold. This could fill that undead girl murder farce sized hole in my heart.

“For better or worse, you can’t judge people by their appearances” the citizens of this city definitely learnt that the hard way. Being rude to Aschaf and Guiddeau while praising the witch only for her to kill hundreds of them and try to wipe the town out lol.

Surprisingly good animation in this one. Wasn’t expecting such good sakuga from that opening fight, hope that keeps up. Very bloody and brutal action scenes. I’m guessing Guideau’s curse is some form of immortality? She kept coming back after taking what should’ve been fatal injuries.

The casket body is also interesting. Is that her real appearance or a magical puppet or what? Lot of cool intrigue behind this series. I like the two leads’ chemistry, the premise and world. Always a sucker for series with quests like this. I wonder what else they’ll encounter on their journey to break the witch’s curse
Marinate1016Jan 11, 1:47 PM
Jan 11, 1:52 PM

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Jan 2013
2253
1/10 smfdh because they shouldn't have restored their amputated limbs.
Jan 11, 2:04 PM
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Feb 2022
1
with high expectations in this new animation
Jan 11, 2:22 PM
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Mar 2020
136
Very good, waiting for second episode already ;o Pretty interesting and gets into the series quick.
Jan 11, 2:23 PM

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May 2018
10622
Interesting idea, but obviously the project lacked resources.
Jan 11, 2:28 PM
Pirate King
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Feb 2021
470
Looking forward to a great season
Jan 11, 2:34 PM
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Mar 2021
17
Joei-12 said:
I knew this would be a bad adaptation but even knowing that this has been extremely disappointing, The sound section is completely out of place and is incapable of transmitting any type of emotion, and the artistic section, God they haven't even tried it. It looks awful and lacks any impact, for example when Guideau returns to his original body in the manga you can see the importance of the scene, but they haven't done any of that in the anime. The music clashes with the scene. The colors chosen are terrible. It doesn't even have a good angle.

But the truth is I don't know why I was disappointed or bothered, this was so obvious what would happen, I mean a studio that only makes shitty isekais and a director who has never worked with dark fantasy.......... How stupid of me to even thinking that this would have a minimum of quality

Cant agree more😭 i was expecting the transformation to be much more of a spectacle instead of the flat punch we got. Atleast they didn’t shy away from the gore which is what i was most expecting.
Jan 11, 2:37 PM

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Nov 2016
31404
I want to like it because of the setting and Guideau's true form was going hard(I don't mind the edge to them). Sadly, it leaves much to be desired. I was hoping there would a real hook or a unique twist.

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Jan 11, 2:54 PM
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Nov 2020
1
Joei-12 said:
I knew this would be a bad adaptation but even knowing that this has been extremely disappointing, The sound section is completely out of place and is incapable of transmitting any type of emotion, and the artistic section, God they haven't even tried it. It looks awful and lacks any impact, for example when Guideau returns to his original body in the manga you can see the importance of the scene, but they haven't done any of that in the anime. The music clashes with the scene. The colors chosen are terrible. It doesn't even have a good angle.

But the truth is I don't know why I was disappointed or bothered, this was so obvious what would happen, I mean a studio that only makes shitty isekais and a director who has never worked with dark fantasy.......... How stupid of me to even thinking that this would have a minimum of quality
Literally this , and they also do a terrible job at transfer character expression ,body language and emotion which is a big part of why the manga is so good . It's soooo f*cking bad i immediately notice it in the first screen :
( In the manga when talking to the baker and the girl ashaf is trying to express friendliness and curiosity ,he lay down his elbow , put 1 of his hand in the pocket and lower down his head because they are shorter than him which is a thing you do when you is in a complete strange place meeting new people , and this i completely absent in the anime , the lack small detail happen so much i get annoy mid episode i start press skip 10s severe time to get through the pain .)
This may sound like a nitpick but those are the thing that build up the aura and personality of a character , Ashaf look and act wayyyy more chill , friendly and human in the manga , he get stressed and run as fast as he possible can to the building when he discover what will happen to the girl , he smile when he greeting someone he deemed friendly , he worry when the witch try to hurt the girl and he cant seem to protect her from it . We'll be here for days if i go over the detail of all the thing that the anime just skip over .
THE DETAIL is what truly make the manga so special , and the anime just miss the mark so bad on EVERY SINGLE F*CKING CHARACTER AND SCREEN.
It's just PAIN at this point . Another one of my favourite manga bite the dust . :(( iam dying in the inside please help me
PLEASE GO READ THE MANGA for your sake , it's a mile better than what we have here . ( and sorry if there are any spelling mistake , english isn't my first language)
Jan 11, 3:06 PM
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May 2018
166
Decided to watch this just because I saw it on the streaming website, didn't think much of it but I was not expecting such an interesting spin of events.
Jan 11, 3:13 PM
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Dec 2021
377
I'm tired and distracted, so not the best time to watch an episode 1. But this was decent, well animated and written pretty good. A solid 7/10 start.
Jan 11, 3:55 PM

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Nov 2021
475
Solid first episode, I'm intrigued. I'm glad they all got their hands and feet back too lmao
Jan 11, 4:08 PM

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Dec 2017
704
Reply to Park_Pierce
@karrotStick Not a fan of bass-boosted type sound effects, explosions and shattering glass sounds quiet and suppressed.
@Park_Pierce Really? I felt like the mostly silent noise was needed to achieve that charm and atmosphere it currently has.
❝Kabo-chan is ran by the MAL staff team and does not respond to individual comments made on her profile.❞
I was immensely devastated.
Jan 11, 4:20 PM
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May 2022
391
Heard the manga was good although I saw the studio beforehand and was pretty nervous. I guess it’s a bit of both. Content isn’t bad but this could have been handled better from a more capable studio. Reminds me of Magus Bride season 2 in that regard. It could get better or worse as it goes on
Jan 11, 5:26 PM

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Apr 2012
329
idk man, if what she said is true, i am kind of on her side
Jan 11, 5:34 PM

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Nov 2010
1181
Witches vs witch-haters? As far as watching this episode, I don't like both parties.
Jan 11, 5:38 PM
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Jul 2021
1
the mc and the story
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