Synopsis

On her seventeenth birthday, witch apprentice Meg Raspberry was informed by her teacher, Faust, that she is afflicted with a curse that would make her die in a year. The only way Meg could prevent the curse from coming to pass is by using a seed of life, but to create it, she has to gather a thousand teardrops shed by people experiencing true joy.

Comments

Halimun Muhammad (The Indonesian Anime Times)

This first episode of Once Upon a Witch’s Death actually feels kind of like a mystery fiction, in the sense that the main character encounters a puzzle and gathers clues to uncover the answer to it. Sure, the mystery is as simple as what a girl’s late mother’s favorite flower is, and it’s certainly not hard for the audience to guess the answer themselves. But over the course of solving the mystery, Meg’s keen observation also uncovered details about the late mother that the husband and the daughter had not noticed before, bringing them catharsis from the regrets they were still having after that mother’s death. Here, I am reminded of Andrew Osmond’s review of Haruchika where he said that an often-overlooked part of detective fiction is that the detective acts as a healer to emotionally distressed people. With her attention to detail and her sensitivity to other people’s feelings and experiences, I’m looking forward to seeing if this is the direction that Meg’s journey to “open people’s hearts” (to borrow her teacher’s words) will take as the story goes on.

Facts and Figures

Alternative Title Aru Majo ga Shinu Made
Source material Novel by Saka
Cast Aina Suzuki as Snowy Owl
Atsumi Tanezaki as Mysterious Girl
Hina Yomiya as Sophie Hayter
Miharu Hanai as Carbuncle
Rumi Okubo as Fine Cavendish
Shizuka Ito as Inori
Yoko Hikasa as Eldora
Yoshiko Sakakibara as Faust
Yoshino Aoyama as Meg Raspberry
Director Atsushi Nigorikawa (Beast Tamer, A Destructive God Sits Next to Me)
Series Composition Keiichiro Oochi (Adachi and Shimamura, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten)
Character Design Yuki Shizuku
Opening Song
“Drops” by Maaya Sakamoto
Ending Song
“Hanasaku Michi de” by Aoi Teshima
Studio EMT Squared
Official Site arumajo-anime.com
Twitter @arumajo_anime
Broadcast Date 1 April 2025 (1430 GMT/2130 WIT/2330 JST)

Screenshots and Trailer

Screenshot from the reviewed anime episode showing the main character Meg being upset at the requirement to create the seed of life. Ghost hands effect can be seen in the shot.
©Saka/KADOKAWA/Once Upon a Witch’s Death Production Committee
Screenshot from the reviewed anime episode showing the main character Meg peeking into a shelf of herb jars seen from inside the shelf.
©Saka/KADOKAWA/Once Upon a Witch’s Death Production Committee
Screenshot from the reviewed anime episode showing main character Meg sitting on a couch with a little girl next to her holding a photo album while the little girl's father leans on the couch behind them. The shot is taken at a lower angle.
©Saka/KADOKAWA/Once Upon a Witch’s Death Production Committee
Screenshot from the reviewed anime episode showing a little girl hugged by her father, who has an expression of grief. The shot is taken from behind the girl and the background looks blank with backlit lighting. Some flower petals can be faintly seen drifting in the air,
©Saka/KADOKAWA/Once Upon a Witch’s Death Production Committee

The Indonesian Anime Times

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