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This anime is an underrated gem that I hope will receive better ratings as time goes on. This has been an anime I can really enjoy.

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Story Score – 8

The story is relatively straightforward. Finé is the only daughter to the Archduke of Elystadt and Izetta is the titular last witch known to walk the earth. Izetta and Finé are childhood friends who after a series of events reencounter each other after being separated for so long. Izetta wishes to do what she can to protect Finé’s country of Elystadt from the Germanian invasion while Finé does what she can to help Izetta anyway she can, ... so Izetta can survive. The chemistry and bond these two share are a driving force of this show, and it is definitely one of the strongest points.

In addition to that, we also get to see some of the behind the scenes things in wars, such as the political, military strategy, and propaganda side. As in the real world, politics in this story can make things quite difficult. I also appreciated that they utilize actual strategy in this story rather than simply have Izetta fight the enemy head on every time. In regards to the propaganda side, it sort of reminded me of “Captain America: The First Avenger,” except Izetta actually showed off her powers against the real enemy rather than trying to sell bonds.

The anime makes pretty good use of foreshadowing, specifically visual foreshadowing. A little more than I think some people might give it credit for. These are just some instances, so I’m sure there are plenty more.

During the first episode, we see what appears to be magical energy flowing towards Izetta during the flashback scene and when she is awakening. In episodes two and three, it establishes that there appear to not only be limits to Izetta’s powers but fluctuations to it as well. Those signs firmly foreshadow the revelation Izetta’s power doesn’t come from within but from the magical energy in ley lines outside. As Izetta explains in the fourth episode, she can only tap into her magical abilities if there are ley lines, but if there aren’t any, she is more or less a normal human.

I’ve seen some people complain about the use of spies in this story, but I think some people don’t realize that the spies were foreshadowed from the very first sequence. In the first episode, the Germanains were aware of Finé being on the train. That alone foreshadows there were most likely spies in Elystadt. Additionally, one of the smug Germanain officers who holds a gun to Finé’s head in the first episode, brags about the Germanian spy network. He obviously wasn’t lying about it. Since Germania was planning on invading multiple nations, I would be surprised if Germania sent out spies into every country as sleeper agents. It would explain why they were effective in taking care of some of them. Not to mention, making use of spies has been a valid tactic that countries have used for a very long time.

One type of foreshadowing that might go into spoiler territory would be one that foreshadows a certain character’s fate. During battle, one character sees one of his fellow soldiers die in some manner and he eventually suffers the same fate. It is due to that sneak foreshadowing that I think certain other characters fates for the end of the series have been foreshadowed as well, and we might look back on certain scenes with a ‘harsher in hindsight’ look.

There is also a very noticeable foreshadowing regarding the ending of Izetta. I won't go into details about it, but I think in hindsight, it visually gave us a pretty decent explanation for why certain things ended the way it did. It is one of those endings when you look back on it, it seems much better than you initially thought. Izetta really does a much better job with visual foreshadowing than some people give the series credit for.

There are a few instances where there is some fanservice that seem a little out of place. While I don’t really have an issue with it, I can understand why some people do. However, the fanservice scenes are usually pretty tame or relatively short. At worse they are a minor annoyance.

Additionally, due to this being a twelve episode series, I feel like it prevented Izetta from being able to fully explore its potential. At the end of Episode 8, it set things up for at least two major plotlines that would have been awesome to explore. While one of those plotlines were utilized and the other was regulated to the side, I think it would have been far better for the series to have had the episodes to fully utilize both those plotlines. Additionally, I think we could have had more episodes of Izetta fighting various Germanian units if we had more time.

Basically, I think this is an unfortunate case of the current climate of the anime industry. It is likely the anime company wouldn't have been able to get more episodes than 12, and they had to decide from the start to end it with just one cour. They did a great job with what they had, but it would have been even better if they could have gotten more.

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Character Score – 8

The main characters of this anime are Izetta and Finé. These two prove in the first two episodes alone that they are capable, likable, and strong female protagonists that you want to root for. They maintain that likability throughout the series. The chemistry between the two is wonderful. The two characters consistently carry the series throughout the twelve episode run.

In the first episode, Finé takes the center stage, and she establishes herself as being pretty intelligent. During the train sequence, she doesn’t solely focus on her bodyguards to protect her nor is she one of those whiny royal brats who says she doesn’t need help. Instead, she works with her bodyguards, and she ultimately figures out how they initially escape. Finé also proves to be quite political and understands her place as a princess. She is ready and willing to put everything on the table to protect her people, including offering herself for a political marriage.

Izetta proves herself to be a wonderful protagonist to root for as well. Her loyalty towards Finé is understandable considering what Finé did for Izetta as a child. Izetta’s powers as mentioned before are great, but she is not invincible. What I like is that while Izetta is loyal to Finé and Finé clearly has the stronger personality of the two, Izetta isn’t completely dependent on her either. Izetta is capable of making her own decisions.

Decisions that Finé and Izetta make during the series have been perfectly inline for their characters. For example, when Finé originally doesn’t want Izetta to help her fight Germania, I realized this was fitting for the characterization the first episode established. Finé proved to have a political mind and tries to think in the long term, such as making sure there were possible heirs for the throne before offering herself up for a political marriage. She understood that if Izetta used her power it would expose her existence to the world and not just Germania and Elystadt. Getting involved could very well put a target on the back of Izetta’s head both during and after the war. After Izetta makes her decision, Finé respects the decision and does her best to help Izetta anyway she can.

Izetta actually does go through some character development in the series. It is subtle, but it is there. Izetta has major self-worth issues at the beginning of the series, but they seem to lessen a little as it goes on. She also proves to be quite assertive at time as well. Although, I’m sure it is mostly due to her feeling useful. Izetta was also somewhat nervous when talking to people or being introduced to new people. However, she does seem slightly more comfortable around people, and she is less nervous talking to new people as shown in Episode Seven. She also has a major moment in Episode Eleven that is very satisfying, but I won't go into details about because it'd be too spoilery.

As mentioned before, I love the bond between Izetta and Finé. I consider it a highlight of the series. Personally, with all the moments they share, I hope they become romantically involved. It seems like they should, and it feels like it too. They have so much chemistry that I've been a shipper for these two from the very start.

In regards to supporting characters, certain criticisms about the supporting characters lacking development does have some merit. We are introduced to a decent number of supporting characters in the first few episodes. Their personalities do receive some characterization, but we don’t learn too much about them. They seem likable, but they lack the development or characterization that makes me want to care about them like I care about Izetta or Finé. While I do wish they developed the supporting cast more, I suppose having strong main characters that don’t aren’t overshadowed by others is fine with me. However, there are still some standouts for the supporting cast.

For the first few episodes, I found Seig to be the most interesting supporting character because of his character development, his logical thinking, and his willingness to engage in morally questionable activity. While he did do a major slip up in Episode 5, I believe he did make up for it rather quickly. Additionally, the fact he showed some regret for his morally questionable activity does show some dimension to the character. The later episodes develop his character further, and we can really see the similarities and contrasts between him and Berkman.

Of the antagonists, Berkman does prove to be relatively interesting. Rather than having people say he is intelligent, he proves to be intelligent. Through logic and noticing clues, he is capable of piecing together a fair number of things, namely as a potential weakness in Izetta’s power. I do appreciate having an antagonist who is intelligent, and there are valid reasons for him to come to his conclusions. Similar to Seig, he does extremely morally questionable things, but unlike Seig, he seems to enjoy them a little. We also learn that while Seig and him are very similar, there are more than a few differences between them due to who they truly are in the inside.

Episodes Seven and Eight do seem to partly address the issues regarding a lack of development in the supporting cast. During the seventh episode, we get introduced to a new supporting character Gromon, who quickly establishes himself as a character that fans can like. The fact he seems like a shipper for Izetta and Finé helps. Despite being a one episode wonder, he proves to be far more useful to Izetta than a majority of the other characters have been over the series.

In Episode Seven, there is a scene with Bassler and Rickert playing poker with other Germanian soldiers. Personally, I like that we got a scene with characters on the antagonist side doing something other than planning and preparing for war related activities. It shows some humanization on the Germanians similar to how we’ve seen characters on the protagonist side having downtime. It also further establishes the Germanians aren’t simply evil. They can have similarities to the protagonists, but they happen to be on opposite sides.

The eighth episode provides us with a day in the limelight for a few supporting characters as well with them taking more of the center stage while Izetta and Finé are more on the side. I liked how the plot can progress without their direct involvement or in some cases the plot progressed because of their earlier actions. Anyway, I found that episode enjoyable because it felt like things that have been building up are paying off.

During the concluding episodes of the series, we get to see a few other characters make major contributions to the plot as well and/or interact more with the main characters. I'm glad we got to see some more development and fleshing out for the supporting characters toward the end. However, I think it would have been done much better if we had more episodes to allow them to be fleshed out.

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Art Score – 10

Personally, I found the art style to be very appealing back from the promotional artwork and the previews. The series proper doesn’t disappoint. The opening and ending themes have great artwork. The characters generally are well designed and appealing. They do a fine job animating the environment and the action sequences. The final battle was very well done.

While there have been some potential weaknesses in the artwork, I do believe that will be taken care of in the Blu-ray. That seems to be the general practice to improve the artwork in the Blu-ray release of anime.

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Sound Score – 10

The music for the opening, ending, and OST are great. They are very fitting for the scenes and atmosphere of the series. The voice acting for the original Japanese cast along with the English dub produced by Funimation have been fitting for their voices. While the Japanese version seems to have better voice acting, I think the English voice actors do a stellar job. Additionally, I’ve noticed some slight script alterations between the Japanese version and the English dub, and I actually think the localization team did a good job changing certain things to make them sound better.

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Enjoyment Score – 10

During the series run, I’ve watched every episode in both English sub and English dub format shortly after it has become available. I remember how I would always look forward to the next episode every Saturday. I was saddened when the show came to an end, but I'm glad it had a relatively conclusive ending. I hope others will enjoy it as well. As I stated, I think this series is underrated, and I hope there will be some vindication overtime.