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Synopsis

Alice, a young human magic officianado falls into a mystical world, as schoolgirls are wont to do. In spite of being arrested and locked up by some witch trainees, Shiela and Eva, she has a pretty good outlook on the situation because above all Alice believes magic should be used to make people happy and a world with magic should be a happy world.

Impressions

The first thing you notice about Tweeny Witches is the character designs, which are unconventional in terms of modern anime. Characters tend to be more cartoonish, not in a heavy-black-outline Powerpuff Girl sort of manner but with less detail than the average anime characters. Frankly, in an anime landscape brimming with bright Mahoromatic and Onegai! Teacher style art, this is a welcome change.

Even more unconventional is the scene composition. Quite often, the “camera” frames an odd portion of the scene, like a speaker’s knees, for no apparent reason. Combine this with a deft mingling of CG animation and you end up with an unexpectedly inventive eight-minutes of anime.

The episodes are fast-paced and fast-talking, featuring Alice’s brash confidence (no kawaii protagonist here), Shiela’s aloof professionalism, and Eva’s ditzy charm as they face the dangers of this magical world.

Even if the main plot—which seems to be vaguely collection-oriented (you know, capture the monsters, Shikon shards, Clow Cards, etc.)—doesn’t grab your attention, the show is worthwhile for its novel and sophisticated sense of composition and artistry.

- 2004-07-25 01:49 -