REVIEW: ‘The Witch And The Beast’ Episode 6 — “The Witch and the Demon Sword: Opening Act”

The Witch And The Beast (Majo to Yaju) Episode 6 is back to focusing on Ashraf (Toshiyuki Morikawa) and Guideau (You Taichi) at the start of its next case, “The Witch and the Demon Sword: Opening Act.” The duo takes on a different kind of mission after a series of murders where citizens have been torn to ribbons surfaces. While the other Witch of the Week episodes have focused on finding and solving witch crimes by taking out the perpetrator, The Witch And The Beast Episode 6 is about siding with the Witch.

Instead of fighting Helga Velvette, the descendent of Quena Velvette, one of the most powerful Witches in their world, they must save her. Members of the Order of Magical Resonance, Ashaf, and Guideau are on a mission that directly opposes the Paladin Corps. Mentioned in “The Witch’s Pastime” case, the Paladin Corps is the military arm of the Global Holy Church. Enforcers of “world peace,” the army works to extinguish witches when they find them, sometimes before committing a crime. Helga is one of these witches.

The duo works to help her escape the Paladin Corps only after confirming that Helga is no real threat. She lacks the cold heart to kill out of anything other than defense. Helga isn’t really who the Church is after. It’s the sword on her back. The Demon Sword Ashgan is a weapon that can end the world and just so happens to be strapped to Helga’s back. Even though Helga is one of the weakest Witches in the world, Ashgan is the strongest. Passed through the generations, Helga’s status as a part of the Velvette line of witches is the only reason she is in the Paladin Corps’s crosshairs.

The Witch And The Beast Episode 6 is an interesting one. It expands the series’s lore yet again, and it carves out the gray area in which everything exists. And it does so while the Paladin Corps’s castle in the sky hovers ominously. Supposedly good, everything about them screams villainy. Especially with the priest hovering in the corner

The Witch And The Beast Episode 6 is another fantastic animated adaptation of one of mangaka Kousuke Satake’s cases in the manga. It’s paced well, Ashaf and Guideau are perfectly complimentary in their differences, and ultimately it brings new artistic visuals to the series.

One of the best elements of the series is that Yokohama Animation Laboratory consistently uses new visual techniques and color schemes to show the series’s magic. The beauty and gothic nature of the series’ aesthetic is foundational. Still, the unique take on magic from the subsequently introduced characters builds the scale of the world.

We’ve seen alchemist books, necromancy, and human sacrifices with their own color palettes and elemental aesthetics. And now, with Helga, we see a Witch who can create blades from the world around her. Every fight in the series compliments the darkness of events, and it makes all the difference. There is a depth to the anime that is absolutely stunning.

The Witch And The Beast is a fantastically adapted case of the week series. The dark fantasy of the series builds on its beauty and world expertly. While there is too much exposition at times, the series expands every episode with purpose. The world isn’t big just to be big. Instead, the series’s scale is widened to show the complexity of morality in the series. The Paladin Corps aren’t the good guys. The Church isn’t the saving grace. Both have a creeping darkness that they hide from the public. The introduction of the episode captures that.

Moral complexity in The Witch And The Beast is one of its important characteristics. It goes hand in hand with magic. The rules have remained paramount in guiding how the Order of Magical Resonance takes on its cases. They find those who break taboos. But in Episode 6, the series also deals with those who enforce the rules. The Witch and The Beast Episode 6 is another stellar outing. It solidifies that the series is still a standout fantasy series that doesn’t use any of the tropes we’re used to the same way twice.

 The Witch And The Beast Episode 6 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.