Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches Anime Review

(Adapted from my MAL review)



Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had the power to switch bodies with someone else? No? How about the power of charm, telepathy, or seeing the future? Or maybe you've thought about invisibility, dreaming of traumatic events, or even erasing memories? Still not impressed? Well, what if you had to KISS someone in order to use one of those seven powers? Mm-hmm, I think I've caught your attention now.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my review of Yamada and the Seven Witches, also known in Japanese as Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo.

Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches is about Ryuu Yamada, a delinquent in his second year at Suzaku High School. One day, he accidentally falls down a flight of stairs, crashing into the school's top student, Urara Shiraishi, in the process. When Yamada regains consciousness, he discovers that he has switched bodies with Shiraishi. When they switch back, they discover that kissing causes them to switch bodies. It is later discovered that there are seven witches at Suzaku High School, each of them possessing a unique power. Together with the newly-revived Supernatural Studies Club, they set out to discover the identities of these seven witches.

Although I've never read the manga before, I've known about it for quite a while because of its popularity. That's why when the anime was announced, I jumped at the chance to watch it. I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped I would, but it still turned out to be a great anime in all other aspects.

The story is well put-together, and I liked that it focused on powers other than body swapping. Each of the characters were developed quite well, especially the witches. You cannot forget the main characters, though. Yamada was a fun character from beginning to end, and Shiraishi was quite an interesting one. The other members of the Supernatural Studies Club, Miyamura (the student council vice president), Itou (the supernatural-obsessed girl), and Tsubaki (a transfer student who is introduced later), each have their moments of brilliance or hilariousness.

The voice acting was done very well, and each voice actor fit their character as well as possible. I didn't care for the ending theme, "Candy Magic", that much, but I absolutely LOVE the opening, "Kuchizuke Diamond"! It's very catchy and well-sung; it's easily one of the best opening themes of the season where it aired. The best part of this anime, though, was the animation. It was so vivid and well-done!

Thinking about it, I wonder why I didn't enjoy Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches so much, because what is there not to like about it? I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the manga. Or maybe I should read the manga myself and see if the anime was any different from it? I don't know.

Grade: B

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