Little Witch Academia Episode 22 Review: Chariot and Croix

Oh my goodness! Little Witch Academia turned dark really quick! I was laughing during most of the episode; next thing I knew, I was in shock by the end! My prediction in my previous review that this’ll be a roller coaster ride ended up being correct! We really do need to hold on to our seats from now on!

Japanese Original Episode Title: シャリオとクロワ

Plot

Why is it that every time characters get interrupted when they’re about to say something important, they don’t insist and instead say ‘Let’s talk about it later,’ and then they aren’t able to mention it again because something bad happens? Ursula was about to tell her biggest secret to Akko, but then they got interrupted by Andrew’s request to meet up and give Akko back her hat! What’s more, international tensions were escalating because of the soccer match, and we’ve got Croix to blame for adding fuel to the fire, and something else equally serious!

Episode Highlights

Talking with Ursula: Seeing the exchange between Akko and Ursula, how Akko seemed to have kept apologizing to Ursula for the injuries she gained from saving her, and Ursula comforting her student, it brought such a warm fuzzy feeling in my heart! It’s just sad that Ursula never got to tell Akko that she’s actually Chariot! I knew it! At least Akko was able to learn about the seventh and final Word, which is pretty vague aside from the fact that it comes from her heart. Maybe it has something to do with Chariot’s catchphrase ‘A believing heart is your magic’ or something like that? Why wasn’t Chariot able to revive that Word anyhow?

Meeting with Andrew: You can probably just imagine how happy their whole meet-up made me! From getting annoyed with each other at one point to laughing together in the next, their relationship has really gone a long way! Plus, before it was just Akko helping Andrew out with her surprising antics and unconsciously giving him advice. He would have even just scoffed at the idea that showing the protesters magic and making them happy with it might help bring back peace. But now, Andrew himself gave her advice, even supporting her whimsical idea! All his encounters with Akko truly and slowly influenced his views. Let’s hope he manages to stand up for his own new ideals and become an ally for the witches!

Encountering Croix: Akko finally knows that Croix has been deceiving her all this time, and heard her grand schemes straight from her mouth as well! What surprised me, though, was how Croix responded to Akko knowing her secret! How could a professor, let alone a decent human being dare harm her student! Just how far gone is Croix? It’s a good thing that Akko’s a very athletic girl and quite quick on her feet! Plus, Ursula came and saved her, but ended up revealing her true identity. I knew her red hair would be seen, just like every other time she springs into action!

Revealing Chariot: Here I thought it was already a bad thing that Croix was the one who confirmed Ursula’s real identity to Akko. There’s something much worse, and this is probably something a lot of us didn’t expect, but that the famous Shiny Chariot, giver of dreams, was actually taking people’s dreams from them to use as her power source! Talk about ironic. Even more so the fact that the person who decided to be a witch because of her ended up becoming her victim! To think that Akko’s inability to fly had some deeper meaning to it, not just because her magical powers are close to none. This is so sad! Just previously Akko was convinced that her dear mentor was lying to her, but eventually decided to trust her fully. However now she discovers that the person she decided to believe in really was lying to her all this time. I guess that would also explain why Diana lost her magic when she was a child as mentioned in a previous episode. However, she did eventually gain it back. Will Akko be able to fly again someday, then? And what’s up with Chariot and the moon?

Themes & Trivia

Do it yourself: Lots of people have things they want to accomplish in life, but just let other people do the work for them instead of doing it themselves. Partly because they think they can’t do it better. Hence, it takes a long time for it to be achieved and they end up complaining. Or they just submit to the idea that nothing can be done about it. But here, Akko and Andrew have come to decide on doing things by themselves instead of relying on the adults. Let’s just hope they push through with it, especially Akko, whose belief in Chariot has been destroyed.

Gaining power: I actually never realized how Chariot, who most likely never had her own Sorcerer’s Stone during her performances, used magic all over the world! But why would she, who wanted people to believe in magic, take it from them just to fuel her shows? It certainly contrasts with Croix’s though, because if Chariot used dreams brought about by the happiness she gave, which is a positive thing, Croix banked on negative emotions which she also brought to people.

Comments

I’m incredibly glad the storytelling and animation for this episode were amazing! Just as expected for the climax! It even brought in the action that was beautifully animated, however short it was! I also totally loved the part where Croix was looking over the city with her cape flowing with the wind and the camera panning behind her!! Those were some good stuff!!

It’s a lie!!

Akko’s heart has been broken by her idol! What will happen to finding the final Word now, and most of all, her belief in Ursula? Will Croix succeed in her pursuit of power? So many questions we need answered now, but can only wait for in the episodes to come.

How did you feel about this episode? Those were a lot of shocking revelations, huh? I’m excited to hear your thoughts below! Check out our other anime reviews for Spring 2017 as well!

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