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Mar 25, 2014
Witch Craft Works (WCW) was something of a dark horse for me. I was neither expecting to watch it, or even think that I would enjoy it once I actually started. Time, as it seems, has proven me wrong in both regards.
Story: 6
The story to WCW is simple and not very complex, and is by no means the strong suit to this magic-endowed action/comedy. However, it is paced well enough, and crafted well enough to get you drawn in to what might happen next.
Art: 8
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The artistic part to WCW is easily one of the noticeably better parts to this anime, with well-designed backgrounds, character designs, effects and 3D animated inserts that don't look like a kitten thrown in a lion's den. Most of the backgrounds are strikingly beautiful, while others are rather plain, but all of the art fits well and has a great color palate.
Sound: 8
Sound design, music and voice acting is another good point to this show. WCW puts its interesting OST to good use, and manages to accompany its scenes well without standing out too much. The voice acting I think could use some work with some of the minor characters, but overall the cast did a good performance, fitting in with the style of their characters fairly well.
Character: 8
Now to the characters. I really like the centric characters to this story, and while a few of them might not be very unique, I find them endearing. Expect for one, that is. My main beef with this show's character lists is how they handled the main character. For the most part, Takamiya felt like he was just a tool to advance the story, and there weren't very many times were I felt like he was actually doing something, which is rather disappointing considering he is the 'main' character. Alternatively, Kagari was a very good character. Serious to the point of being funny, she represents, in my mind, the core feeling of WCW and why I found it so enjoyable. Another favorite character of mine is Weekend, who is a good example of a weak-but-dangerous villain.
Overall & Enjoyment: 8
There are many elements that WCW does plenty well: Art, Sound and Characters are done better than the rest, if I say so myself. Fantastic backdrops and some good-quality artworks accents the odd and not very serious tone that the story creates, with sound adding on to the oddity that is Witch Craft Works. Overall, I found it to be a surprisingly enjoyable show. Serious humor (one of my favorite kinds) and the enjoyable ridiculousness of this show is something that I definitely ask of you to try.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 2, 2014
The Fate/Zero Counsel Specials are something that are to be watched after finishing the entirety of Fate/Zero, doing so otherwise may bring about confusion or spoil events to come.
The story to these 6 specials is very simple, and is not the main focus to these more lightly-toned, comedic and 'educational' episodes. However, it was designed simply enough to be enjoyable so the viewer can enjoy the comedy while not being too lost in the hints towards the 'plot' of the specials, the over-arcing story of the main series, and the series that Fate/Zero Prequels, Fate/Stay Night. Overall, the story gets
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a 6; On its own it would leave much to be desired, but it fulfills its roll adequately, and giving the viewer a bit more than they would expect.
The art is fairly similar to the main series, but lower quality animation for the most part. However, this less photo-realistic style suits this special quite well by having the familiarity of the main series while adapting a chibi-style for educational parts and allowing comedic expressions and elements while keeping that beautiful ufotable style. Overall, the art gets a 9 in my book; Keeping, for the most part, the high-quality character designs and backgrounds from the main series while sneaking in minor changes to fit the lighter tones of the special gives it high marks, but the directing style is a little lackluster.
The sound design and soundtrack (the little that is used) is of equal quality to the main series, which was a surprise to me. It was a pleasant surprise as you might imagine, and the inclusion of some of the OST of Fate/Zero added that right atmosphere at the right times, and the general sound effects were high quality. The sound quality gets a 10; The high quality of the effects, the excellent performance of the Seiyuus and the inclusion and good timing of the main series's OST made the sound a very strong pillar of quality in this special.
The characters for this part were a little bit tricky. Although similar in look to the characters we know from the main series, they also had to be altered a bit to fit in the more light-hearted and comedic style special. Only 4 servants appear, along with the mysterious student Zecchan and instructor Irisviel von Einzbern, but each of them were well crafted, having their own quips and contributions to the serious-humor of this special. However, since this series was very short, it did not leave much time nor leave much space for the characters to develop, only leap across points. With all that being accounted for, the Character part gets a 7; Good adaptations of the characters we knew into a lighter-toned mini-series, and a new character that has a good base, all of which complemented each other quite well.
In all, this series is a very nice short series to watch after finishing the 2-cour Fate/Zero. However, if you are looking for something more akin to the tonality of Fate/Zero, it would be better to place those expectations asides while watching this. Fate/Zero: Onegai! Einzbern Soudanshitsu is mostly a somewhat comedic special that focuses on answering some possible questions you may have raised during the series, all the while explaining the troubles of a few of the characters from the main show. If you are looking to spend some time having a few chuckles, this special does deliver, even if you don't have questions about the Holy Grail Wars. In all, if you enjoyed Fate/Zero and had some questions and/or wanted to see a slightly more comedic take on a handful of its characters, then this is certainly something you could enjoy.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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