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We watch anime for many reasons. Sometimes it’s to escape our stressful lives and enter an isekai fantasy world. Sometimes it’s to experience intense emotions of love that have been promised to us for a long time. And sometimes we want to just sit back and relax while we watch a white-haired witch going on pleasant adventures in a far-off land. That’s what you’ll get in the currently-airing Majo no Tabitabi, aka Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina.
A Relaxing Anime about a Wandering Witch
In a fantasy land where magic is commonplace, we follow Elaina, a young girl whose dream is to become a properly licensed witch. After passing her magic test with flying colors, she has difficulty finding a witch to take her on as an apprentice, but after some (amusing) tribulations, she’s able to learn the craft of magic from Flan, the Stardust Witch, who lives in the forest. Majo no Tabitabi then follows Elaina as she travels the land having various adventures.
Witches and magic have always been a big part of storytelling in anime and manga, going back to the 1960s. The fact that anything that can be imagined can be animated, plus the natural desire of girls watching TV to use magic the way the heroine of an anime they’re watching do, just as boys grew up wanting to pilot a Gundam just like Amuro Ray, make magic and witches a popular subject for creators.
The popularity of the magical girl genre got it to start from a surprising source: Bewitched, aka shown as Okusama wa Majo, which aired starting in 1966 and was the top-airing show. One of the things that attracted Mrs. J-List and me to each other was that we’d both grown up watching re-runs of Bewitched, and could have discussions about which actor for “Darling” (as the husband Darren was known in Japan) was the better one.
Three Reasons to Watch Majo no Tabitabi
First, the Wandering Witch is relaxing, with great characters who pop in and out of the story. Like other shows like Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense or Flying Witch, the show is designed to relax and heal us. This kind of soothing anime genre is known as iyashi-kei in Japanese, and it’s a great way to manage any stress or anxiety you have in your life.
Visually, it’s quite possibly the most beautiful series of the fall 2020 anime season. Elaina’s travels bring her to different lands, including large cities, whose industry is facilitated by magic, which I thought was a pretty cool visual concept. Of course, the voice actor staff is top-notch.
Finally, since focusing on anime opening themes is a perfectly valid way to approach new series, you’ll be happy to know that Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina has a great OP that will get you through the rest of 2020 with a smile on your face.
Thanks for reading this post on the wonderful Wandering Witch anime! Got any suggestions for topics or shows you’d like us to cover here? Tell us below, or on Twitter!
Great news! J-List has started our weeklong Cyber Sale, and this is the best time of the entire year for you to pick up awesome products from Japan! We’ve got two tiers this year: get an automatic $10 off orders of $100 or more, or $30 off $200 or more! No coupon to enter, it’s all automatic! So why not make a big order of in-stock anime figures, Japanese snacks, or naughty products now?
