JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – THE DAWN OF THE WITCH (THE CONTINUATION OF ZERO) – MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The Dawn of The Witch

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

Studio Tezuka Productions

Hello my friends. Welcome to another entry of my blog

Let me tell a little anecdote. Some months ago, I watch an anime, called The Grimoire of Zero,

At first, I confused it with The Familiar of Zero, and that is where I decided to watch the first two episodes. I ended up liking the adventures of Zero and Mercenary, but since then I have a lot of questions about these two characters, and I forgot about it for other series, but some months ago, a sequel from The Grimoire of Zero came out, and after watch the first episode, I decided to talk about it.

Now… Behold…

But before I start, I must ask you the question:

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy.

Now, let’s get magical with The Dawn of The Witch.

PREMISE

Based on the light novels, written by Kakeru Kobashiri, The Dawn of the Witch, or, Mahōtsukai Reimeiki (魔法使い黎明期), tells the story of Saybil, a young man with no memories of his past life; one day, he meets a mysterious witch, which we then realise is Zero herself, and invites him to a new life. This new life is being a student at the Royal Academy of Magic at Wenias. Three years later, he is the worst student of the Academy. One day he is summoned by the headmistress of the school, Albus, who, reluctantly, takes him to a travel with a legendary witch, Loux Krystas, to a new journey; with them, two more members are going to the journey, Holt, the best student at the school, and Kudo, a lizard Beastfallen (a fusion between human and beast).

But which are the reasons of this journey? All what is now is that Loux wants to meet our protagonist Zero, or at least discover the book that the latter book.

The Dawn of the Witch is available at Crunchyroll.

Mahōtsukai Reimeiki was released five years after the release of the anime of The Grimoire of Zero, being released on April 8th, 2022, and as of May, it has released eight episodes. And according to Myanimelist.com, it will have 12 episodes, which for me is kind of disappointing, because I have the same feeling as with Majo no Tabitabi – the first season has interesting material, but it needs a second season for more, for I have the wish of more.

Anyway, Kakeru Kobashiri started publishing The Dawn of the Witch from August, 2018, almost a year after finishing the eleven volumes of The Grimoire of Zero. Also, the anime has a pretty interesting cast, including Miho Okasaki, Sayumi Suzushiro, and Yumiri Hanamori as Zero.

STORY

I am going to start saying that unlike The Grimoire of Zero, which was animated by White Fox (Steins;Gate, Re: Zero), The Dawn of the Witch was produced by Tezuka Productions, studio that produced Adachi and Shimamura, to which I recently did a review, here is the link for those interested.

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – ADACHI AND SHIMAMURA (THE SHOW OF YASHIRO CHIKAMA)

So of course the animation will be different, more detailed and with a better use of the shadow.

And I liked it. The animation is fantastic, and it’s definitely one of the strongest elements of the anime. And what about the rest of the episode?

In the beginning, we see Saybil without any memory of his previous life, until Zero meets him and helps him to enrol at the Royal Academy of Magic. Shortly afterwards, three years pass and we discover that Saybil is struggling on his student. At this point, I felt that I missed some backstory; I was expecting to get more about his difficulties and his personality, because I didn’t find the character very interesting. Aloof, cold and practically self-absorbed. I have gotten better impressions from characters like Kirito and Naofumi Iwatani, the former is generic, but at least I was witness of how the context of the conflict shaped him, and with Naofumi was even better.

If I got more flashbacks about the previous life about Saybil at the school, I will be more satisfied about him.

And then we meet Loux, who at first I found annoying, but luckily the character improves throughout the episode. And then Holt.

Her character was very likeable and hooked me immediately. But I couldn’t help to notice the resemblance with Shiden Iida, from 86: Eighty-Six.

But luckily, after, Saybil, Loux and Holt leave the Royal Academy to travel at the orders of Albus, the story starts to get interesting, because this is where we start to know a bit more about the characters, in small detail, but enough to start well, for instance, Saybil reveals that we can use magic, but is afraid to do it so, because he can lost control of it. In the case of Kudo, despite of being brash and a Beastfallen, he is loyal to his friends, and Holt has a lot of secrets that she sometimes hides on her smile.

In other words, the first episode starts with a very rushed rhythm, but then it recovers the timing and starts to establish, little by little the story, very similar to the first episode of The Grimoire of Zero.

I will be waiting for the next episodes to know more about this story.

CHARACTERS

Despite of what I said about the characters, I find them with very defined personalities. And at least the first episode gives us their motivations, Saybil wants to learn to control his magic and more about his past; Holt has more secrets and she is fond to travel with Loux. The latter is eager to know more about the grimoire of zero, and Kudo wants to protect his friends.

With this last characters, I remind me a lot of Mercenary, from The Grimoire of Zero, but I will not reveal lot of him, otherwise, I will go into spoilers.

But… what really surprised me was the change on Zero. Yeah. I said that I only watch the first episode of The Dawn of the Witch, but I casually looked images of Zero, from both The Grimoire of Zero and The Dawn of the Witch.

From Grimoire.

To Dawn.

And because of her, and Mercenary, I am more curious to know how many years have passed between the two stories.

Thanks Zero. My curiosity went from Zero and now is a Hero for Zero.

I don;’t even know why I even said that. I better start watching the anime now before my brain goes zero.

CONCLUSION

The Dawn of the Witch is a great story for those who enjoyed The Grimoire of Zero. But those who hadn’t they might find it a bit confusing in many elements. Still, it manages to be its own thing.

And I probably will enjoy it more after I watch the other episodes. I hope that happens, but if you are a fan of Kakeru Kobashiri, this is definitely for you.

Until then…

I want to show my love for the witches with my gallery of the best witches from anime, manga, light novels and games.

And of course…

Mona… the Witch of the best, cutest, most perfect derriere of all Genshin Impact.

Ok… No more mention of that. I promise.

See you soon, and have a nice night or day.

MY TOP WAIFUS OF 2021 – PART II (A LOT TO CHOOSE FROM)

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another entry of my blog.

Like I said the other day, I am ready to publish all the entries that I wanted to write for months. My top waifus of 2021. Thanks for those who read my Part I, and as I mentioned before, 2021 was a bigger year regarding female characters than in 2020, so that means I still have a lot of waifu that catch my heart.

Now, according to Wikipedia, waifu means A fictional character from non-live-action visual media (typically an anime, manga or video game) to whom one is attracted or whom one considers their ideal significant other.^[

I put this definition because I want to make sure that I am following correctly the definition of Waifu, because to me, I consider attractive a female character enough to be a Waifu through four simple elements.

1. Her appearance
2. Her personality
3. Her actions
4. Her contributions to the story

I know that including the definition of waifu is unnecessary, but I wanted to clarify that; now, let’s move on. This is My Top Waifu of 2021 – Part II

But first, I have a honorable mention that if I do not mention, I will explode, and that is…

MONA MEGISTUS (GENSHIN IMPACT)

Her character bio is pretty straight-forward. A young, powerful astrologist that takes up the residence in Monstadt, with exceptional water magic skills, but that is pretty modest regarding money due to her pride, for Mona refuses to use astrology for income.

I know there are a lot of powerful characters in Genshin Impact, and… I have never played the game itself.

But I have two very good reasons to mention her. The first one…

THE BEST, CUTEST, MOST PERFECT DERRIERE OF ALL GENSHIN IMPACT

Yes. I already said that. No regrets.

But also… her Japanese voice. Because I know that she is voiced by Konomi Kohara, and that is what left an impact on me. I am… a bit crazy about Mona Megistus because of that, more than with Fischl, or Klee, or Lumine herself, or even Paimon. I never expected that. But that was enough to hook me in.

But like i said, I never played Genshin Impact, so I do not know more about Mona, aside from what just wrote, and that is why she is merely an honorable… Big honorable mention.

Now… let’s go with the true waifus. Speaking of Konomi Kohara.

1. ROXY MIGURDIA (MUSHOKU TENSEI)

When our main protagonist, Rudeus Greyrat, shows great prodigy with magic, his parents, Zenith and Paul, hire a tutor for him, and that is Roxy Migurdia, a young water magician from the Migurd race that likes to travel around the world. She spends almost two years training Rudy, and both create a close friendship, and a true love for the Greyrat family.

Humm. Water, and Konomi Kohara…

Coincidence?

Okay. That’s the last time I am mentioning Mona Megistus.

In other words. Rudy is what he is, a powerful magician, thanks to Roxy. Honestly Roxy displays a great amount of wisdom, compassion and curiosity that makes her so special, along with her character design. And the fantastic job of Konomi Kohara gives more life to her, combining innocence and maturity beyond her years. No wonder she is one of the most popular characters from Mushoku Tensei.

But what makes Roxy so compelling is her sad backstory, the same one that the anime adapted extremely well. I am not going to spoilers, but trust me, the more you see the anime, the more you realise how charming Roxy is, and that is why she is one of my Top Waifu of 2021.

Speaking of witches…

2. SAYA (WANDERING WITCH: THE JOURNEY OF ELAINA)

Technically, I should not be mentioning The Journey of Elaina, for it was released in 2020, but since I started watch the anime the previous year, I am making an exception.

Anyway, Saya is a witch apprentice from a Far Land of the East. Separated from her sister, she meets Elaina on episode 2, begging the latter to train her so she can pass the magic exam. After that, we discover that Saya lied to Elaina, forcing the Ashen Witch to stay together due to her loneliness; and after some wake-up call, Elaina gives Saya her spare hat, her friendship, and the confidence to pass the exam and become a witch.

The reason why I am choosing Saya over Elaina is because I relate more with her than with the Ashen Witch, because I understand the fear of failure, and the anxiety of having to do things by yourself most of the time. Of course that does not justify most of her acts on Episode 2, but Saya is not a bad person. In fact, is one of the most human characters of Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, something that is a lot to say.

And in every episode, you see Saya’s evolution as a witch, so you feel happy for her. And… despite her awful obsession with Elaina, Saya is possibly the best character of the series, even better than Elaina and Amnesia, at least from my perspective.

So heed my words, Jougi Shiraishi-sensei… Please do a spin-off with Saya.

3. Kang Sae-byeok, a.k.a. Player 067 (Squid Game)

Kang Sae-byeok, played by HoYeon Jung, is a North Korean defector that made it to South Korea with her little brother, Kang Cheol, but her true problems only started when she arrived to Seoul, because her brother has to stay in an orphanage, her mother is still in North Korea, and the broker that she hired for getting her out betrayed her. So she participates in the Squid Game for getting a house and protect her family.

Okay. Another character we can sympathise with, because she reflects every tragedy that North Korean defectors have to go through when escaping their country, but also, most of us learnt through Kang Sae-byeok that many defectors never are accepted in South Korea. And the performance of HoYeon Jung is outstanding, to the point that you believe that Kang Sae-byeok really exists, even though she does not.

Furthermore, her relationship with the main protagonist, Seong Gi-hun, has a lot of development through the first season, from a violent girl that trust no one to someone that values friendship and understand she is not alone.

Han Mi-nyeo is also a great character, but for now, I choose Kang Sae-byeok for what she is – strong, meticulous, intelligent, perhaps a bit brash, for all that, along with how well-written she is, we have one of the best characters of all of Squid Game.

4. Jeanne (The Case Study of Vanitas)

The Hellfire Witch is a very capable fighter that had to annihilate other vampires during the Hundred Years War. Some time after the war ended, she became the bodyguard of Lucius Oriflamme, the nephew of the Chevalier of Ruthven, but after some encounters with our favourite vampire, Vanitas, she is very conflicted between killing him and loving him. Because yes…

She feels easily aroused by Vanitas’ blood.

I still need to talk about Vanitas no Carte, but I will when the time comes. Nevertheless, if there is one character that really hooked my heart, more than Vanitas himself, that is Jeanne. Because beneath her badass persona and her relentless strength, we see a sweet soul with a very tragic past that feel in love with him; and every time they are together, her chemistry is simply one of the best elements in all the story. Jeanne is strong, but also beautiful, conflicted and loyal, and for me, the moments together with Vanitas were a big surprise.

Seriously… Get married and be bloodily ever after

For me, if Jeanne made me root for VaniJeanne rather than Vanoé, she has something really special.

5. U-1196 (CELLS AT WORK: CODE BLACK)

How can I forget of U-1196?

She is a Neutrophil cell that has to fight violent germs, viruses and bacterias in a really unhealthy body that drinks and smokes, and in every fight, she puts all her strength and soul to defend the body, earning the respect and trust of her fellow Neutrophil Cells and of the Red Blood Cell known as AA2153.

She indeed is a really attractive, reliable partner. I think my description and her design was more than enough to prove that she is my waifu, in fact, she can easily surpass AE3803 as the best female character of Cells at Work! (But not the platelets), at least in my opinion.

And her uniform adds a lot of appeal, indeed.

Already I said it. No regrets.

And the reason is because she knows how to balance her badass size with her human size with both her Neutrophil sisters and with AA2153, the scenes with both of them is among the best among Code Black!!!, and with the path of the anime, you grow to know her and love her with her scenes.

Excellent balance between beauty, humanity and strength. I feel Cured because of her.

CONCLUSION

Wow!!! More wonderful waifu from the last 2021.

And yet, I still have to do the Part III, because I enjoyed a lot watching these beautiful female characters. Probably this is only my opinion, but I am surprised of how many great, or at least, decent characters that can become waifu. Or perhaps it is because I am not too demanding.

Anyway. Tell me what you think about Part II, I hope you guys like it. And stay tuned for Part III.

See you soon!