The Witch and the Beast

Episode 7

While I doubt it bodes well that The Witch and the Beast went on hiatus for undisclosed reasons last week, it returns in top form this week. Maybe absence made my heart grow fonder because it felt like reconnecting with old friends when I saw Ashaf lure Guideau over by waving a bone at them. They're an odd couple of magical mercenaries tasked to handle all kinds of sorceress-induced horrors and my comfort characters.

I love that The Witch and the Beast embraces its goofy side. It doesn't have many “jokes,” but it instills plenty of fun through its characters' mannerisms, structural gags, and general magical weirdness. For instance, I laugh almost every time the demon sword speaks. He spends the whole episode begging bystanders to unsheath him, and the naked desperation in that transmutes his malice into hilarity. It feels like a running gag ripped out The Venture Bros.. Similarly, Helga manipulating her swords to make a Mary Poppins-esque escape umbrella/helicopter is brilliant. The writing doesn't call any undue attention to it either. It simply knows that the image alone is funny and lets that speak for itself.

It might feel like this brand of humor shouldn't mesh with The Witch and the Beast's dark fantasy setting, but it serves an important purpose. In this arc's case, it humanizes Helga and makes her a sympathetic co-protagonist. We've been told that witches are supposed to be feared, so if we find ourselves laughing at one instead, that forces us to reexamine that assumption. It's hard not to feel for Helga. There she is, thinking she's found hunk paradise, and the church goes behind her back and implicates her for serial murder. To make matters worse, her only companion is a talking sword who wants to bring about the end of days. And now she's stuck with the avowed witch-hater Guideau? Poor girl can't catch a break.

By the end of the episode, Helga becomes a compelling heroine in her own right. Despite her goofiness, she takes her duty as ward of the sword seriously and she's prepared to sacrifice herself to stop anyone from using Ashgan's demonic power. By contrast, we see all the lackeys in the Paladin Corps mutilate each other over the chance to wield the sword themselves. Helga is Frodo. And I suppose that makes Guideau Samwise in this situation? And now they have to rescue her from Shelob/creepy Executioner guy? Maybe the Lord of the Rings comparisons aren't one-to-one, but emulating those stories is a good way to endear me to these characters.

As far as the other plot developments go, it's no surprise that the Church's involvement turns sinister. Cugat doesn't seem like a bad guy, but he's woefully naive. The pristine public image of the Paladin Corps is precisely the kind of propaganda designed to obfuscate a secretive and regressive core. This isn't a one-to-one comparison but it's a bit like how Vatican II modernized Catholicism without addressing the institutional rot baked in over millennia. Religious or not, the accumulation and propagation of power trumps all else. Sure, it's a little on-the-nose for their secret upper echelon of witch hunters to be mask-wearing executioners with brainwashing powers, but The Witch and the Beast has never been one for subtlety.

Even separated, both Ashaf and Guideau are in good form this week, too. Ashaf's coolness clashes nicely with Cugat's iciness. It's fun watching him socratically guide Cugat to the conclusion that he's been played like a patsy. That is Ashaf's true power. He knows how to steer a conversation, a skill I'm sure he's honed even further thanks to Guideau's obstinance. And Guideau gets their fair share of ridiculous action scenes to play around in. These are nothing flashy, but they're a cut above The Witch and the Beast's dismal average. I like the emphasis on the absurd scale of Cugat's ice elemental abilities, as he summons and crashes a city-sized iceberg to stop two entire people. It's silly, and it's awesome.

In fact, silly and awesome are good descriptors of The Witch and the Beast's overall vibe. I thought it would be much edgier from the previews, but it's a refreshingly unpretentious slice of fantasy action with a good sense of humor about itself. And when it dips into gore and edginess, it does so with over-the-top camp. If you can look past the production woes, I think it's one of the most consistently fun anime airing this season.

Rating:

The Witch and the Beast is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasts. He can be your witch or your beast. Or none of the above if that's cool. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.