The Witch and the Beast (2024): A Dark Fantasy Anime Review

The Witch and the Beast

Sometimes, the most unlikely pair can become the best team. Take it from me: I never thought I’d become such a great fit with my partner, who seemingly came out of nowhere and changed my life for the better. So whether that someone works so well alongside you or tugs at your heartstrings, be ready to give people a chance while maintaining healthy boundaries. If things go well, you’ll have an irreplaceable friend or partner or learn a valuable life lesson that will mold you into a stronger person. Either way, never forget your objectives and drive because that is where your individuality lies...

“The Witch and the Beast," also known as “Majo to Yajuu," is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 12th of January till the 5th of April in Winter 2024. It was produced by TBS, Kodansha, DAX Production, NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan, BS11, Crunchyroll, Nichion, and MAGNET and brought to life by Studio Yokohama Animation Laboratory. The central staff behind it included Oowada Tomoyuki, Kurosu Nobuhiko, Tanaka Junichirou, and Kashimura Emi as producers. This series of 24-minute episodes featured the genres of action and fantasy alongside the themes of adult cast, gore, and urban fantasy. Targeted at the Seinen demographic, it received a rating of R-17+ for its violence and profanity and was even released on Blu-ray in two volumes from the 29th of May to the 26th of June, 2024.

The series is based on the same manga title, “Majo no Kimagure,” or “Witch and Whim." It is the work of author and artist Satake Kousuke, whose work spanned ten volumes from the 5th of November 2016 till the 22nd of January 2023 and is currently on hiatus. It was serialized in Young Magazine (Monthly) and featured a one-shot in Volume 6 titled “Majo no Kimagure (Witch and Whim).” It went on a two-month hiatus starting on the 22nd of January 2023 due to the author's poor health, and it was extended indefinitely following an official announcement on the 22nd of March 2023. The series was published in English via Kodansha USA on the 27th of October 2020 and in Italian via Panini Comics on the 16th of February 2023.

The story centers around the feral and tempestuous Guideau, who was cursed by a witch and is now tenaciously searching for the culprit so that she may have her sweet revenge. To do so, she ends up joining the Order of Magical Resonance, which is an organization dealing with anything and everything that has a connection to magic. Even so, it is a two-way street: the Order only agrees to work with her under the condition that she helps them solve the myriad of magic-related cases occurring throughout the world. This is why a suave and mysterious mage from the Order named Ashaf accompanies her to complete their missions successfully. As the duo traverses the land while searching for the unknown witch, their shared experiences within this fantastical world of magic become more and more peculiar daily; the more they advance, the more mysterious things get...

The Witch and the Beast is a genuinely good series that falls flat in certain departments, but it is still worth watching, depending on your preferences. It has good story progression, exciting characters that grow on you with each episode, awesome fights in which you can feel the weight, decent world-building, and solid foundations set for future seasons. Therein lies the most significant issue: this show is just there to set up a potential Season 2. It doesn’t necessarily have a slow start either because it successfully captures and concludes a number of short story arcs consecutively where certain intriguing mysteries get solved. Still, the whole plot is getting side-tracked every single time.

To break it down, the first two episodes cover what is said in the synopsis and establish a central storyline, where Guideau partners with Ashaf to find that one witch, but she does not know what said witch even looks like. It’s not that she doesn’t know her target either, so let’s just say they have a “complicated relationship.” Regardless, this main girl can narrow down the field, remove the curse, and return to the powerful body Ashaf carries in a coffin. On their journey, they run into multiple witches, collect clues, and get closer to their ultimate target while leading to a climactic end.

All of this happens with intermittent short arcs everywhere, thus the side-tracking. While all these side stories are very interesting and eventful, helping to establish the concepts and rules of their world, like the use of magic, it does so little to progress the central storyline. Props to my favorite side story about a necromancer, though; we get to see a completely different type of magic and how it is done! Anyway, the only things that happen in the main plot are that they meet and deal with many witches and magic types and bend the rules of the curse to see what Guideu's original form is like. The fast-paced series features great world-building regarding the Witches and the Order alongside everyday life. Meanwhile, all their work to find THE witch is wasted, and we don’t get answers to the most significant questions. In simpler terms, this season has an enormous build-up with little to no pay-off.

In the character department, my biggest gripe is that there’s little to no reason to like or care about Guideau. We know almost nothing about her or her motivations outside of regaining her original body. Meanwhile, Ashaf just stays an enigma from start to finish. However, the supporting characters are far more built upon; we learn more about them than the leading duo, and I was honestly more invested in those short-lived personalities. The leading duo shows no character development either, because what exactly can they develop when the base characters barely exist? Even the climactic scenes lack emotional depth and meaning, making their battle and struggle less impactful. They are just mysteries, and we are expected to deal with them, so there’s little room to empathize within this season.

The art and animation department is better in comparison. The art style is superb, featuring an 1800s European style with a slight Steampunk aesthetic, precisely what you’d expect from the promotional material, and every drawing is just badass and marvelous. All the character designs are solid, each oozing their unique style and being memorable. The backgrounds have the same dark and grim feel, aiding the worldbuilding. The animation is mediocre, though, because this show is full of action scenes, and you feel it when the budget constraint tapped into some. One moment, you’ll see a superb action scene staying entirely faithful to the genre and is badass in every way, but another time, you’ll see a lackluster and watered-down fight where the animation just doesn’t keep up. Most confrontations have poor direction or strained budgets, ending up with very stiff and static action that is incoherent and bland. There were moments when they just put in a colored splash page from the manga instead of animating the action scene.

I can only speak about the sound and music department if I mention the significant character interactions. While they are one-dimensional and show no growth, Ashaf and Guideau are still fun to watch onscreen. Ashaf is the cool, calm, and collected guy who won’t let anything shake him, while Guideau is the shrewd, loud, angry girl who just wants to punch everything, and the voice actors portray them perfectly! Ashaf is her voice of reason, calming her and keeping her focused on the task at hand, all while bantering 24/7, which I really enjoyed. Despite the dry material they had to work with, props to Taichi You and Morikawa Toshiyuki for bringing the duo to life. Even the English Dubb is decent here, where every VA matches their character perfectly. The sound effects and OSTs held very true to the action and supernatural genres, enhancing otherwise bland moments into something you can sit through without rage quitting. The opening theme is "Soumonka" by Sokoninaru, and the ending is "Hikari no Trill" by Yoshino Nanjou, both staying true to dark and serious themes. The latter is more chill and works well as an outro from the hectic series.

Overall, The Witch and the Beast is a mediocre to decent show. It starts well, but the quality across all departments drops over time outside of the VAs. While the side stories and world-building therein are amazingly done, the lack of main plotline progression pulls this show down, and the leading duo’s motivations remain a mystery even by the end, which is sad. What it does well is establishing the foundations for Season 2, and there’s much potential there IF it ever happens. Even so, this is an enjoyable show for fans of the genres and themes tackled. I honestly enjoyed the character interactions and the leading duo’s consistent bantering!