REVIEW: ‘Witch Watch’ Episode 5 — “My Student Is My Favorite Fan Artist/My Tummy Is Tender Today/Cat Scout”

Witch Watch Episode 5 focuses solely on entertaining viewers with more wacky gimmicks and hijinks seen in previous episodes. However, unlike previous episodes, the events in Episode 5 are less substantial, and Bibury Animation Studios fails to amaze with its animation prowess.

Witch Watch Episode 5 starts with the shy but intense Ms. Yuri Makuwa, Nico’s homeroom teacher. In previous episodes, she has already been established as a mega Otaku and a passionate anime and manga fan. Despite trying to hide this fact from her students, she discovers one of them is her favorite fan artist.

“My Student is My Favorite Artist” is dedicated to Ms. Makuwa nerding out about her favorite Shonen manga. What’s impressive about her inner monologue is its intense and descriptive nature. It’s clear she’s well-versed in all the intricacies of both the manga and the community, so much so that she can know which specific artist her student is.

What’s more impressive is how the inner monologue adequately replicates how an intense fan thinks about their favorite medium and series. These traits are clearly seen in Ms. Makuwa. The first part of Witch Watch Episode 5 ends with her finally caving in and revealing her fondness for a specific manga to her student. They bond, and the two share their love for the series. While not much happens in the first third of the episode, it still does a great job of highlighting a major side character and all her peculiarities in a humorous way.

Witch Watch Episode 5 features more wackiness but doesn’t move things forward.

While more eventful, the next part of Witch Watch Episode 5 doesn’t stray far from the wacky trajectory of the first. “My Tummy Is Tender Today” sees Nico (Rina Kawaguchi) using her magic to help her meek classmate Hara, who wants to poop while avoiding the teasing eyes of others. What could’ve been solved with a little self-confidence and maturity becomes a whole slapstick ordeal where Nico casts a spell on him that allows him to hide his presence, but only when he’s making a specific hand gesture.

This devolves into Hara trying to avoid gazing eyes in an attempt to use the bathroom in peace. From avoiding a tough and observant PE coach to having bathroom issues, this short but hilarious sequence of events succeeded in being incredibly funny, even if it provided nothing else to the overarching narrative.

It proves the series has no shortage of wacky characters and that, at its core, Witch Watch is a gag series. However, it at least drives home the point that Nico intends to help as many people as possible with her magic, and her magic getting stronger after the ordeal means it’ll be worth it in the end.

“Cat Scout” sees the introduction of a new witch for the first time, Nemu Miyao (Tomori Kusunoki). She’s your typical Tsundere type who refuses to be honest with herself. The little we know about her is that she’s from an elite mage family, lives in the next town, and is quite egotistical. Despite this, she’s actually going after Morihito (Ryota Suzuki) to be her familiar, and instead of asking him directly, she turns herself into a cat. This leads to more tomfoolery, with Nemu trying to avoid others while falling deeper in love with Morihito, whom she clearly has always had a crush on.

We are introduced to a new witch, and she’s ripe for exploration.

Unlike the previous stories in Witch Watch Episode 5, the final one affects the overarching narrative by introducing a new recurring character. True to the goofy nature of the series, she’s just as weird as the rest of the other characters so far. However, it is a bit disappointing that the most eventful part of the episode only sees the new character use transformation magic to act silly, and nothing more. While other episodes before this showcased magic in a more entertaining and engaging way, Witch Watch Episode 5 only uses it for laughs, which, while successful in being funny, isn’t enough to carry the entire episode.

Witch Watch Episode 5 also fails to showcase the impressive animation sequences seen in previous episodes. Bibury Animation Studios only had to animate the characters’ goofy movements in this episode, and while they’re fine in their own right, they aren’t very eye-catching or mesmerizing. A more eventful episode would showcase the studio’s skills, but the last few episodes have yet to do that.

While Witch Watch Episode 5 doesn’t contribute much to the overarching narrative, it still introduces a mainstay character and succeeds at entertaining with its hilarious hijinks. Now that more characters are introduced, subsequent episodes will be more interesting, and hopefully, they’ll be more narratively engaging as well.

Witch Watch Episode 5 is available now on Netflix and Crunchyroll.

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