REVIEW: ‘Witch Watch’ Episode 4 —”Kanshi Kazamatsuri, The Tengu”

Witch Watch Episode 4 brings back the goofy hijinks from the previous episodes in full force but also progresses the overarching narrative by introducing a brand new villain and a supporting character. While they successfully blend seamlessly into the narrative, the villain could have been introduced more engagingly.

Unlike previous episodes, Witch Watch Episode 4 is much more focused and properly introduces Kanshi Kazamatsuri (Kôhei Amasaki), the character the episode centers on. Like Nico (Rina Kawaguchi), Kanshi is a goofy and carefree, but his nature as a Tengu descendant, ancient birdlike demons, makes him feel animosity towards  Morihito (Ryota Suzuki). Morihito couldn’t care less about this rivalry but cares more about Kanshi’s sudden intrusion into Nico’s life as her new bodyguard. The episode shows how Nico and Kanshi have been friends for a while, and despite their annoyance with each other, he and Morihito have several character traits in common.

However, their interactions throughout the episode suggest otherwise, as they find several ways to be at each other’s throats. Their rapport is incredibly humorous regardless, thanks to several wacky events in the episode, especially Nico using magic to manipulate the characters to get closer artificially. This results in an oddly intimate yet hilarious scene.

What makes the interactions between Kanshi and Morihito more interesting is that Kanshi’s reservations toward Morihito are due to the history between Tengus and Ogres, which is backed by several folklores. Despite being one-sided, this animosity has been passed down through generations, specifically from Kanshi’s father, who is quite jealous of Ogres and their prominence in media like Demon Slayer. The dialogue is amusing, and it’s refreshing to see Kanshi’s real reasons clearly laid out.

Kanshi and Morihito must work together in Witch Watch Episode 4. 

The rest of the episode sees the introduction of a new faceless antagonist who takes over Nico’s clothes in an attempt to kidnap her. While the villain’s identity and intentions are not revealed, his actions force Kanshi and Morihito to work together to save her. They come up with a clever plan of using Kanshi’s Tengu powers to send Morihito flying, who then destroys Nico’s clothes.

While short, the sequence is fluid and well-animated, showcasing the character’s powers well. It’s unfortunate, however, that there weren’t any other opportunities for Bibury Animation Studios to show off its production skills. However, the facial expressions were comical enough to be entertaining.

Unfortunately, this event does little to help the overarching narrative, as Nico’s pursuer is still unknown. According to her mother’s vague prophetic message, the actual threat is still imminent. So far, this prophetic warning has succeeded in being a red herring in the last two episodes, but in interesting ways that trick both the characters and the audience. As such, seeing how the narrative develops further will be interesting.

“Kanshi Kazamatsuri, The Tengu” ends with Kanshi and Morihito playing Yu-Gi-Oh, making it the second blatant and unexpected anime reference in the episode. It also proves they can become friends despite their differences. All in all, Witch Watch Episode 4 is a fun and humorous episode that lacks some narrative depth. Hopefully, subsequent episodes will do a better job on this.

Witch Watch Episode 4 is available now on Netflix and Crunchyroll.

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