10 Second Anime - Witch Craft Works - Episode 7

Witch Craft Works - Episode 7

We get some answers about Medusa and Ayaka Kagari's alliance, with the same set of circumstances told from many perspectives. Ayaka destroys the school, again, by the power of lovey-dovey devotion.

Witch Craft Works didn't leave us hanging for explanations for very long. It was obvious that Ayaka was hiding Medusa because she was a witness to the reawakening of White Princess Evermillion, and if her mother found out about that, she would know the seals have been broken, and their arrangement of protecting a peaceful high school life would also be broken. In most harem shows, the undeserving main character mewls about having a peaceful high school life, only to have that dream shattered by a parade of magical girls who all fall in love with him, as he is sucked into whatever drama these girls bring with them. Here, it's the magical bodyguard who wants to protect this peaceful high school setting, which is why Ayaka also won't let Kasumi the little sister drag Takamiya away from the city.

Medusa and Ayaka sign a contract, which lets the 5 tower witches and her stay in Ayaka's room, with the promise of melding Medusa's power with the Flame Witch when called upon. Through standard rom-com hijinks, the witches and Medusa are discovered by Mrs. Kagari, and Ayaka ends up fighting her mother with Medusa's power. However, Ayaka is no longer invincible, as the Evermillion mana supplied by Takamiya considers Medusa's magic to be a corruption, and her mother has no trouble overpowering her. That's when Takamiya uses a bit of his magic to switch places with Ayaka before Mrs. Kagari can bitch-slap the bejeezus out of her.

He wakes up in Ayaka's timeout cell, and it looks like she's spent some time there before. We also get to hear her familiars talk for the first time, and they sound like very submissive small pets, except when they feel a fight coming on. The cell is specially designed to prevent Ayaka from breaking out, so they're stuck for awhile as Ayaka explains how Medusa and the witches were in the house the entire time after her mansion was destroyed.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kagari is having a shogi match with her old, and still imprisoned, best friend Chronoire, and losing badly. Mrs. Kagari has the reputation of being the "Master Idiot Detective" because she's always jumping to the wrong conclusions. She figured Medusa was teaming up with her daughter because she wanted a strong successor. She didn't have a chance to find out about the appearance of Evermillion, because some other Crafting Witches took Medusa back to prison before Mrs. Kagari could interrogate her. She promptly escaped from those witches, so the wider community also doesn't know about the seals in Takamiya being broken. So far, only Takamiya, Medusa, the Five Tower Witches, Ayaka, and Mikage know. That last one still is a mystery to me.

Just when Mrs. Kagari thinks her own peaceful school life has returned, Ayaka and Takamiya blow up their prison cell. Part of the strange sense of proportion and perspective with these Witches is the devotion to the Japanese idea of the "penalty-game." Winners of duels and matches get to tell the loser what to do. This is how Medusa agreed to stay hidden in Ayaka's room, and this is how Ayaka figures she'll convince her mom to let them stay in school when she finds out the seals have been broken and Evermillion has appeared.

Well, they don't get that chance at a duel, because the Crafting Witches who had taken Medusa from Mrs. Kagari suddenly appear and tell her they're on their way now. Several hours after they've taken custody of her? I'm sure that detail has to do with how Medusa escaped. Mrs. Kagari gets pissed off again at those other Witches, she forgets to be angry at her daughter, and lets her and Takamiya go back home.

Later, we get an explanation of how Ayaka was able to break out of the cell: more of some shared intimacy with Takayima. Squee! She figured it was a kiss on the cheek that gave her a big boost of power when she broke out of Medusa's petrification spell, so she needs something more. Takamiya thinks it's going to be something more, alright. Eh? Just Ayaka doing the Japanese ear-cleaning ritual... Such a traditional young woman. Well, she obviously got a bang out of that.

From the closing credits, we see that the Kagari mansion is fully repaired, but it looks like Ayaka is going to be staying with the Takamiyas from now on. Along with the Five Tower Witches?! With Medusa escaping, and Mrs. Kagari not even bothering to interrogate those Five, she still does not know about the broken seal and Evermillion. I hope they don't keep us in the dark about Mikage for too long, either. I still don't know what his deal is, but maybe we'll get answers next episode.