This review on Majo no tabitabi Chapter 9 contains spoilers. If you haven't seen the chapters, we recommend that you do so and then go back to read the review.
Majo no Tabitabi - Chapter 9: A deep suffering from the past
Elaina is hungry and destitute in the clock city of Rostofl, a situation that changes when an advertisement ends on her thanks to the wind. The ad is looking for a witch who is ready to win a large amount of money in a short period of time. Without hesitation, Elaina meets Estelle who 'Lavender witch'. Who tells you the details of the work and who gets the reward depends on the end results.
The job is to travel 10 years in the past to prevent the parents of Estelle's best friend Selena from being murdered and to avoid having little Selena in hand in the future. However, since Estelle will be using all of her magic, she needs another witch so she can have a little magic if needed. So Estelle and Elaina go back in time.
Only an hour to avoid a tragedy, the two witches set out. Complete the first step of the plan and remove Selena's parents from the tragic scene. What Estelle fulfills. While Elaina would wait near the house to catch the thief. However, things don't go as planned and Estelle begins to fight someone. As Elaina next to the 'Lavender witch'realizes the horrific scene and the truth behind all of this tragic story. Estelle does the job very differently than planned and loses all memories of Selena.
Bright spot in a tragedy?
In all honesty, there are so many things that have shaped me in different ways on this episode that I don't know where to start. However, I think it would be best to start with the plot of the story that has been adapted in Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9. A story that tells us about Selena's tragedy and her relationship with the killer of the second ward.
First of all, you have to remember it Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9 was announced as the "darkest" episode, so that explicit contents of the chapter were warned. So my personal standards were pretty high previous episodes They had already shown that flowers and happiness can be a catalyst for tragedy.
Now let's talk about the conspiracy. I have to admit that I was delighted with Elaina's first conversation with Estelle from the start. And the main factor that attracted me (without hearing the whole conversation) was that the job involved "revenge". Both witches searched for the Second Ward killer so that Estelle could fulfill her vengeance and let go of the pain of the past over the death of her best friend. Once again I couldn't have been wrong. Estella wanted to save her best friend, not revenge. That gave an interesting twist to the story I had already imagined.
In the course of the plot, however, details were also revealed that even Estelle could not have imagined. Abuse, mistreatment, lying ... Selena lived in a house that was destroyed and rotten to the core. Situation that led her to become her future self, the assassin of the second district. A fairly realistic case that surely countless people have gone through in the real world over time. I don't even doubt the ending was similar to that of mine in some cases Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9, with a little boy with a broken mentality.
A story that impressed me because it's raw and so realistic at the same time. Although I cannot fully compare both cases as there is magic in one case and not in the other. Referring to its fantasy part and its realistic part.
In any case, the explicit content warning was executed before the output Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9? In all honesty, I would have preferred if they hadn't informed me until I started watching the episode. With a great announcement within the animation that the warning was at the beginning of the chapter if the duration was acceptable (approx. 20 seconds). Anyway and as I mentioned earlier Majo no tabitabi He had already shown that even the most beautiful and hopeful things can end bitterly.
I don't think it lived up to my expectations, but it didn't disappoint at all. I think it was almost at one with my personal expectations for Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9.
Two witches, one murderer
A point that I also think was very central Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9 was the close relationship between the characters and the tragedy. Carrying great emotional weight throughout the episode, from the beginning with Estelle, who wanted to save her best friend, to the end with the 'Lavender witch'with no memory of Selena or what happened.
Estelle I'm looking at one of the characters with the best development in such a short time. Showing pain, sadness, frustration, nerves, affection, hope, regret, hatred and many other feelings and emotions Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9. But the one that I consider the most remarkable of her is, without a doubt, the complicated situation that she had to go through twice, the first with regret, the second with feelings that I can understand, but every time I imagine it I feel a big lump in my throat.
Difficult decisions require a strong will. I think it's a phrase that fits Estelle perfectly, especially before you learn the truth behind the Second Ward killer.
However, it wasn't just her who was emotionally affected Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9, dear Elaina. Something I appreciate about the story because until now Elaina has always stayed on the side when a difficult situation arises. Just to be a spectator or not even to be. A mentality that showed that Elaina is still 18 years old and has not matured enough. A mentality that again proved to be his greatest weakness. See from the front row how it will come to a time when you have to make a choice, no matter how difficult it may be.
Highlight Elaina's weaknesses in different ways. But mainly his mental weakness. Something he has always had in his days as a budding witch apprentice since the series began. And that I thought Fran-Sensei had already shown it back then. But I only noticed that I had to admit myself after looking through it several times. Find a meaning that may not have been wanted.
A weakness that I hope Elaina is much more present in the upcoming chapters, although there are few left this season Majo no tabitabi. Everything to see a greater character development in the protagonist.
Details on Majo no Tabitabi - Chapter 9
There is no doubt that Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9 is psychologically shocking. However, it's not just the tragic plot of the episode that got me excited. Likewise, the details I wanted to know more about, as well as the assembly technicians.
Starting with the fact that they mentioned more about the "price / sacrifice" a witch can make in exchange for magic. Something that had completely caught my attention since the first clues on the series. Although in the end it all depends on the amount of magic each person has and the amount that is required for the "spell" in question. I realized that the amount of magic depends on what is being sacrificed. I imagine the more it is necessary to live, the more magic it will grant.
Of course, I also had more doubts about this subject and magic in general. What defines the amount of magic needed for each "spell"? Are only magicians able to "sacrifice" something to create more magic? By that I mean if an ordinary civilian could choose to "sacrifice" something of their own to have magical compatibility overnight. The typical cliché of sacrificing your "humanity" for more power and so on.
The technical details of Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9 was pretty successful. Both in animation and in musicalization. Although I felt the animation was a bit "censored" in the gore parts. Not full censorship (which I fully appreciate), but I mean the lack of detail that any of the scenes and moments the blood was entangled in could have been. I think it could have been better, but it's not bad at all.
My favorite technical detail in Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9 has more to do with the sound area. Which I thought was flawless throughout the episode and set every scene perfectly to get even more into the already interesting story. Mostly gloomy.
That's why I'm so sure of that Majo no tabitabi - Chapter 9 is my favorite episode of the series. A title that I believe cannot be taken away, even if all of the witches shown so far appear in a beach episode full of fan service. Although it may be denied by another story with a plot that manages to captivate me like this one.
By the way, even if Estelle remembered everything that happened on the time travel, I couldn't accept a single coin as a reward for the work. As I think it's obvious it was a huge mistake that left a very bad taste in the mouth. The goal of the trip was to save Selena in order to create an alternate future in which she would thrive happily. So the trip could be viewed as a total failure ... it could be. Well, now one would just have to go further back in time to save Selena from her father's first abuse and thus avoid the fall of the dominoes.