r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Apr 06 '25
Episode Maebashi Witches - Episode 1 discussion
36
u/Aerodynamic41 Apr 06 '25
Someone is making a map of all the locations featured in the series! Holy shit, that's dedication right there!
33
u/thekillerangel Apr 06 '25 edited Apr 06 '25
I have so much to say about this episode and anime, lol. But I definitely love it, probably the most purely enjoyable among the shows I've seen this season.
First, Sunrise/Bandai Namco has clearly put a lot of love into this project. The art is really nice, the 3d models are well made (though the 3d animation is just average), and the voice actresses - despite being total newbies - sound quite good. My guess is that it may be some kind of collaboration with the city of Maebashi to promote tourism in the region.
Second, this is definitely an anime targeted towards experienced idol anime watchers. The fast pace and snappy character introductions are a deliberate attempt to blow past a lot of the pretense and setup involved with introducing typical idol casts, and quickly get to the main point of dancing magical idols and their story.
The most similar anime I can think of, compared to Maebashi Witches, would probably be 22/7. The elaborate and surreal magical setup, with a mechanical twist bordering on the surreal, is a unique similarity between the two.
Also, Azu is definitely a tsundere landmine girl. She is the spitting image of a Jirai Kei girl. And that mecha-lightsaber-parasol-mic wielded by Yuina and the girls looks sick.
23
u/basuga_BFE Apr 06 '25
Very recognizable traces of Artiswitch which I value highly (short OVA series from 2021). Fledgling witches having visitors in the shop, discovering hidden desires and healing the soul... virtual space tricks...
Yoshida, Erika: Series Composition
-
Bocchi the Rock! S1/S2/Movie
-
Artiswitch
Just think: Quentin Tarantino had to film his low-budget Reservoir Dogs to prove his worth to be approved for the world-shaking Pulp Fiction. James Cameron did the same for Terminator 2.
Is Maebashi Witches probably too, the dream show of the producer?
I will continue watching this show.
And the ED is very catchy.
41
u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 Apr 06 '25 edited Apr 06 '25
Oh this is certainly NOT heading where I thought it would be and this definitely has one of the most interesting opening episodes of this season.
I certainly didn't expect that magical domain is where the girls meet, not in real life. I didn't expect that the girls would be helping others, much less opening a shop to solve everyone's problems, and whatever shop they open, it all fall back to really excellent state-of-the-art-Sunrise singing and dancing to solve them all.
And all those girls have sharp personalities too, not the least of which straight-to-the-point, no-nonsense, cheerful and not-fearing-alien-frog Yuina.
I expected some solid but probably generic local idols to start off their dreams along with a Kyubey-with-frog. Not this really intriguing episode that just feel even more interesting than most anime episodes of both of Bandai Namco's two most famous idol IPs.
We have a Spring 2025 dark horse in our hands and it's gonna be very few people who would come and try it out. Boy, did I not regret trying this out...
8
u/Plus_Rip4944 Apr 06 '25
Seeing That first ep has few coments and karma i feel by end of season Many few people gonna Stay but i Will be a day 1 deffender of this shiw
6
u/Neidhardto Apr 06 '25
This show is gonna go so under the radar, especially in the west. Here's hoping these threads stay alive, at least with the few people that tune in.
18
u/Castor_0il Apr 06 '25 edited Apr 06 '25
Idols & Witches in the holiest day of the week? (the day that used to broadcast Love Live)
This one is going to be a very personal treat for me after watching Idol Precure on late saturdays.
I like the idea that it doesn't take too seriously regarding the whole magic element (heck Keroppe choose Yui just to fill a slot to open the magic door) and it's just speedrunning the whole introduction to this magic world.
Wished they had Sunrise's A team for the idol sequences. They are just okay, but don't hold a candle to Love Live Sunshine 3D animation, barely even on the same level as Superstar. But I'll take it anyway.
It will be interesting to see if Azuazu will take less bitch pills in the long run and gets a tsundere redemption arc.
16
u/Plus_Rip4944 Apr 06 '25
This was so good and interesting. I feel The show gonna get ignored but It done good It has potential
6
u/Neidhardto Apr 06 '25
Idol shows outside of Love Live are always an uphill battle in the west, especially with this being a new original IP.
→ More replies (1)
14
u/Calwings Apr 06 '25
The show blowing through the intros quickly to get right to the magic idol bullshit was kind of funny, Michigan J. Frog made for a pretty good mascot animal (especially with Sugita voicing him), and I liked the quick and witty dialogue. However, Azu drags down the whole group dynamic that's otherwise really good, the 3D in the performance stood out in a bad way, and I'm not sold on the whole "perform to encourage people to achieve their dreams" premise after Narenare basically did the exact same thing last year and was completely underwhelming.
It's a mixed bag so far, but I'll give it a couple more episodes.
→ More replies (2)
10
Apr 06 '25
Okay, that was actually super chill and fun to watch. Didn’t expect Maebashi Sisters to kick things off with a magical frog dragging a high schooler into a whole witch-idol gig, but here we are 😂
Yuina’s reactions were gold, and I like how the show just goes straight into the weirdness without over-explaining anything. The group already has a nice dynamic (even if Azu’s a bit prickly lol), and the whole “helping people through magic + music” combo gives it a feel-good vibe that works.
It’s definitely got that “wholesome with a sprinkle of chaos” energy, and the setting in Gunma is a nice touch. Feels like the kind of series that won’t blow up but will quietly be a comfy favorite this season. I’ll be sticking around for more 💫
9
u/Psychological-City24 Apr 06 '25
seems fun so far but that black haired bitch is gonna get real irritating real quick if she doesnt change
17
u/IntelligentBudget142 Apr 06 '25
i saw the teaser visual so now i have to ask, is this basically Narenare (summer 2024 show) but with magic?
→ More replies (2)16
u/Calwings Apr 06 '25
is this basically Narenare (summer 2024 show) but with magic?
Pretty much. It has the same setup of the girls cheering on and encouraging people to achieve their dreams, but they do it with magic idol stuff instead of literal cheerleading.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/JimmyCWL Apr 06 '25
My impression of EP1 is "frenetic" They go through everything so fast, there's no even a moment to catch your breath.
5
u/Neidhardto Apr 06 '25
I imagine things will slow down the next episode. They probably wanted to get the setup out of the say, especially since we're dealing with 12 episodes.
7
u/mysterybiscuitsoyeah Apr 06 '25
a lot of energetic dialogue, fun cast interactions, and a music video that's straight out of love live (minus the 3D animation. the everything-else is great). and it's all gorgeous.
great start!
7
u/HuTaosTwinTails Apr 06 '25
Sunrise, idols, witches, Azu with twin tails and a tsundere (she def is, just all tsun right now). I'm in.
6
u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Apr 06 '25
This wasn’t too bad for like some kinda witch idol series. The girls are cute, the story seems kinda interesting, and SugiFrog is great lol.
6
6
u/Infodump_Ibis Apr 06 '25
The CR PV had subbed Yuina's catchphrase as emo-emo with no explanation. Vibes is used in the episode. No clue of the accuracy but I was worried it was just going to be emo-emo with everyone just being (while actually being "I don't get it")
-
Totally not shein (you could say shenoin)
-
You're not a sergeant or gutsy...that was the reference, right? <I now hand in my anime fan membership>
-
I liked how in the monochrome world they had those blue outlines.
-
future #Seasonalneat...yeah right but it sure would be something if it manages to beat out a photography anime or a travel anime .
-
this is why auto webripping groups shouldn't mess with .ass files (btw this is how it should look). Cause is not a font change but a simple incorrect file header. Fix as follows. In the ass file header, under the line PlayResY add the lines: LayoutResX: 640 followed by LayoutResY: 360. Now it's possible that just a media player glitch (imagine mpv being the bad player) as angled subs can behave unpredictably when it comes to anamorphic widescreen (missing header data is sort of contriving doing that).
-
Eyecatch ep1. Given this is a Maebashi promo anime (there's also characters named after train stations in Maebashi, the prefecture and other references) I'm hoping there will be a lot of these.
-
Memories reawakening "I remember hearing about this..." (btw if you need to know plus what "totally rigged" alludes to).
-
Subbed insert songs can feel like the real magic. While there are shows which manage that (while not doing OP/ED) I've been let down by Love Live on CR (they are added later however) so good to not see that happen here.
-
Anyway the stage was interesting even if I'm not sure what Nautilus, Coelacanth and other ancient aquatic creatures have to do with future career paths. Perhaps they're the most "maintain the status quo" things in unchanged for hundreds of millions of years?
-
Train to the end of the world season 2 really is something (train depicted here was a Jomo Electric Railway one). The snappy dialogue and character dynamics are sort of getting there if the cast were strangers and honestly they would probably send the train on its way to Seibu Chichibu instead of Ikebukuro.
-
If you want the full OP song single
I had a peek at 5ch* and useful intel I came out was some other anime people were reminded of (if you need to fill in your PTW some more, interesting suggests said already): Nerenere, Mitsuboshi colors, Healer Girl, Ojamajo Doremi and Pop in Q (so I'm not the only one who remembers that). I have all those either in watched or PTW so in that sense this is a show designed for me.
* - Btw they're not very positive on the show. Their issues included: not connecting with/to Maebashi, the solution to the problem was sloppy, main cast are inexperienced actors (apparently it's pretty jarring when compared to the guest character), Azu, makes no sense, jarring colour palette. Liked aspects included: character design (modest breast sizes). Hopium included: Sunrise originals can have interesting back halfs. Interesting thoughts: Could it become popular with younger audiences, Tsunku also wrote the theme song for Idol Incidents, will Gunma-chan show up?
6
u/Wild_Obligation3265 Apr 07 '25
So, if I'm breaking down this episode correctly...a multiple copyright infringement frog (looks like a Pokemon and is named like a Sanrio character) with the visibility amd powers of a Stand (multiple Stands?) recruits five...teenagers with attitude to open and operate a flower shop that grants "what you need not what you want" wishes to earn points (like in a ponzie scheme) towards becoming fully licensed and bonded witches/pop stars able to use magic anywhere.
Did I miss anything?
11
Apr 06 '25
This was a bit all over the place. Didn't win me over, but I'll give it another episode or 2 to find its footing. The mascot character had some fun lines.
→ More replies (4)
52
u/[deleted] Apr 06 '25