I wasn’t planning on writing a First Impressions post for Secrets of the Silent Witch but this premiere was a pleasant surprise for me and I had an opening since Netflix isn’t doing a simulcast for The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity as I had hoped.
Secrets of the Silent Witch is a fantasy anime revolving around its titular protagonist, the Silent Witch Monica Everett (Saya Aizawa). Monica’s title is attributed to her accomplishment in her unique ability to cast magic without the need of an incantation. It is also an amusingly befitting title as Monica perfected her unique craft because she has zero self-confidence and struggles to talk to anyone in public. Because of her abilities, Monica has become a member of the so-called Seven Sages though unlike the other members, she has largely withdrawn herself to researching at her secluded hut. The only times she really leaves her home is when duty calls, as demonstrated in the first episode when she protects a province from a powerful dragon.
Shortly after defeating the dragon and its minions, Monica is greeted by one of the other Sages, Louis Miller (Junichi Suwabe) and his humanoid familiar Rynzbelfeid (M.A.O). Louis explains that he’s been tasked with bodyguarding the second prince of the kingdom, Felix Arc Ridill (Shogo Sakata). What complicates the matter however is that, as a public figure, Louis can’t exactly infiltrate Felix’s school, Serendia Academy, to keep an eye on him. When he tries to spy remotely with a magical item, the item gets destroyed, leading Louis to assume that someone is aware of his job. Where Monica comes in is the fact that she’s the most unknown of the Seven Sages, making her perfect for as the prince’s bodyguard. Since the job involves people, Monica doesn’t actually want to take on the assignment but she’s too anxious to say no so she’s reluctantly roped into the role. Monica’s cover is that she’s an otome protagonist the adopted daughter of a Countess who now spends her days as a servant for the Count’s biological daughter after the Countess’s death. Coincidentally, Felix enlists the aid of the Count whose land Monica protected from the dragon. Both he and his daughter Isabel (Atsumi Tanezaki) are more than happy to help maintain Monica’s cover.
There’s not a whole lot to critique about this first episode. It’s almost entirely setup so a large chunk of time is spent worldbuilding and info dumping. The episode notably does not get to the actual school setting that the show will primarily take place in so you are going to have to contend with watching more to better gauge the show. Monica does make a decent impression as the relatable recluse and the episode gets some good humor out of her character, such as a running gag where the show cuts to her looking vacant and overwhelmed. I find Louis a little too condescending towards Monica’s insecurity though it is funny in some parts of the episode and it contrasts well with his otherwise gentlemanly appearance. There’s a funny bit of karma with the character where his wife Rosalie seemingly pays more attention to Monica after the poor girl “agrees” to help. By far, the most entertaining character so far is Isabel. Her adoration of Monica for saving her people and her task of acting as the villainess Monica’s abusive sister is a hilarious combo. I had a really good laugh when Isabela assures Monica that she’ll do her best in bullying her. That’s funny both in and out of context.
Outside of the story, this show looks pretty good so far. In particular, there’s some solid lighting in some scenes and some neat effects for the magic. I was actually a little surprised to learn that Studio Gokumi is animating this show. Gokumi has worked on a couple of shows I’ve enjoyed but their visual output generally feels cheap (to be fair though, that’s not necessarily their fault). Depending on how the rest of Silent Witch turns out, this could be one of their best looking TV anime to date.
Watch Secrets of the Silent Witch on Crunchyroll
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