Witch Watch Episode 1 Lives Up To Expectations With Great Comedy And Animation

Witch Watch is one of the most anticipated anime of the Spring 2025 Season. As with virtually every adaptation of a Shonen Jump series, there are many expectations that this one will eventually become a hit.

Currently available on many streaming platforms, can Witch Watch live up to the hype? Well, the series is off to a great start, and it can potentially attract a large audience, especially those who enjoyed Dandadan a few months ago.

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The Clumsiest Witch Is Back In Town

The story starts by introducing Morihito Otogi, who we soon learn is a strong ogre, even though he avoids hitting back when some thugs beat him up. His father then tells him that he will become Nico Wakatsuki’s familiar — Nico left with her mother a few years before to train as a witch, but she is now returning to town.

Although Morihito doesn’t seem to be happy about it, he ends up accepting the role. Well, at least in this case, being a familiar is more like being her bodyguard. Actually, there’s more to it than that. Nico’s mother used her powers to foresee her daughter’s future, and disaster is coming her way. To protect her from disaster, they decided that Morihito should become her familiar — and, of course, apparently Nico doesn’t know anything about this prophecy.

Morihito remembers that she used to accidentally put him in danger when she tried to use magic. Well, now she’s back as a “full witch”… or almost that. Actually, Nico still needs to improve her techniques, so her magic usually doesn’t work as expected, because not only does she need to train more, but she’s also quite clumsy.

In fact, every time she uses a spell in Episode 1, something goes wrong. The humor works quite well, at least for those who enjoy Kenta Shinohara’s (Sket Dance, Astra Lost in Space) style. Nico making herself as thin as paper and the spell to make things (or people) lighter are some of the best moments of the episode.

It’s Not Only About Training, We’ve Got Romance Too

After Nico is back, she and Morihito go out shopping. He comments that since she is still training, it would be better for her to avoid going out and revealing her identity as a witch, as it could lead to trouble. However, Nico replies that magic is supposed to be used to help others, and that it is by connecting with people that she will improve her skills.

What’s great about this part is that it already addresses potential issues — the audience could wonder if it wouldn’t be better for Nico to just stay home, so the series establishes that she can’t do that because it would be pointless.

It’s very clear from the beginning that Nico has a crush on her childhood friend, and it seems that Morihito may have similar feelings. So, in some sense, Witch Watch could captivate a similar audience to Dandadan — that’s probably what GKIDS, Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu are betting on.

Starting Off With Good Animation

According to the preview, Nico and Morihito will go to high school in the next episode, and Nico will probably get them into trouble. While the prophecy leaves room for a more serious development, it seems that the series will follow a comedic slice-of-life tone for a while.

This kind of story is usually easier to animate, as it doesn’t require much focus on creating astonishing action scenes. The animation in the first episode was good and lived up to expectations for the series.

Great Opening Sequence By Megumi Ishitani

Witch Watch also gave some surprises to the fans: the opening sequence, which is amazing, was directed by Megumi Ishitani (One Piece Fan Letter). She posted on social media that Taniguchi, the producer of the series, invited her and Toei let her temporarily work at Bibury Anime Studios to direct the storyboard of the opening.

With the opening theme by YOASOBI and the opening sequence by Ishitani, Witch Watch is a strong candidate to become the “opening of the year” and get a lot of attention. Let’s see what awaits us this season.

WITCH WATCH

Release Date

April 6, 2025

Network

TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC

• 

  Rina Kawaguchi

  Nico Wakatsuki (voice)

• 

  Ryota Suzuki

  Morihito Otogi (voice)

• 

  Kohei Amasaki

  Kanshi Kazamatsuri (voice)

• 

  Kaito Ishikawa

  Magami Keigo (voice)