Brief Summary
This video is an analysis of the music in the anime series "Little Witch Academia," focusing on the main theme and its variations. It explores how the composer, Michiru Oshima, uses musical techniques to represent the story's themes of magic, dreams, and perseverance. The analysis covers the structure of the main theme, its harmonic and melodic content, and how it is adapted in different contexts throughout the series to convey various emotions and narrative elements.
- The main theme represents Akko's journey and aspirations.
- Oshima uses musical techniques like chromaticism and diatonicism to depict magic and whimsy.
- Variations of the main theme are used to convey different emotions and narrative contexts.
The video starts with a personal anecdote about discovering "Little Witch Academia" and its composer, Michiru Oshima. The speaker recalls watching the first OVA and being immediately impressed by the music. The speaker expresses his deep appreciation for Oshima's work and the joy the series brings him, placing it in his top 10 anime.
"Little Witch Academia" began as a short film to train Trigger studio's talent, later gaining a crowdfunded sequel and a Netflix-produced anime series. Trigger and Gainax are known for original anime content with over-the-top antics integrated into a storyline. While not as impactful as "Kill la Kill" or "Gainax's Girl," it remains a personal favorite of the speaker due to the enjoyment it provides, largely attributed to Oshima's music. Oshima is admired for her stylistic versatility and ability to compose for film, games, and concerts. The speaker first heard her music in "Blast of Tempest," appreciating its full orchestral soundtrack, and has since followed her chamber work, including pieces for string quartet, Hilary Han's violin piece, and her work on the early 2000s "Godzilla" films, as well as various anime soundtracks.
The analysis begins with "Chariot's Theme," which serves as the main theme for the series. The piece opens with a trail in the high woodwinds and violins, followed by rapid diatonic runs from the strings and harp. The high and low strings play in opposing wave-like motions, converging as the trail ascends a half step, adding brightness and playfulness through chromaticism. Trombones and double basses introduce the show's main motif with a slow, rising four-note melody. This section transitions through various keys, including E flat major, A flat major, D flat major, F major, G flat over A flat G minor, and C major, filled with chromatic and diatonic runs in the woodwinds and strings, mirroring the magic show's bursting spells. The excessive chromaticism and diatonicism without a stable key represent the whimsical nature of the events and the unfolding story.
The main motif opens in F mixolydian, using the flat six to add character to the call-and-response melody. A rising figure in the brass melody moves from C to the C an octave above, answered by a slight rise and fall that lands back on the same higher C. This four-bar phrase is simple and memorable, keeping the rising and falling melody recognizable across different keys and tempos. The call and response allows for variations in the responses, maintaining the general melodic shape. In the fourth line, the phrase shifts from a repetition of the second line to a different falling pattern, extending it by two measures to land on an F major chord with a C on top. This new pattern plays with the circle of fifths, using the flat seven to pivot to D-flat major or A flat mixolydian briefly before returning to F mixolydian. The strings then take over.
The brass melody represents the spectacle of magic and Akko's dream of moving people's hearts. The rising and falling melody shows the uneven path she will take. The use of F mixolydian indicates the difficulties Akko will face as she enters an unknown world from a non-magical background. Despite her stumbles, the music always returns to the tonic F major chord, showing her resilience. The strings take the forefront, slowing the music and making it more dramatic, shifting into A flat major as the snares and double basses push the melody forward. The melody rises and falls, gradually getting higher, with Oshima using slash chords to obscure the key. Cadences and pivots create instability, representing Akko facing trials and adapting to new situations. Secondary dominance and melodic voice leading are used to pivot into new keys. The final section features a powerful rising figure from the strings, reintroducing the brass. The full orchestra swells and quickly winds down. The strings build out of the silence with chromaticism, leading to a climactic moment where the main motif is reintroduced at half speed, closing with a powerful swell.
While technically Chariot's theme, the piece serves as the main theme for the series, representing Akko's journey to become a witch worthy of inheriting the Shiny Rod. Akko's admiration for Chariot allows the piece to remind her why she pushes forward. Oshima wrote the music to sound triumphant and fitting in a magical world.
This version is a simple reduction from full orchestra to a mellow piano solo. Given the title and Oshima's familiarity with film scoring, using a piano solo to represent memories is straightforward. Aside from a few different harmonies in the left hand, this piece is similar to the full orchestra version, without the ornamentations and emphases. While not particularly special on its own, it is important for comparison with a similar version later on.
This is a marching version that gives the impression of working or training, thanks to the steady snare rhythm and bass line. It plays when Akko becomes Constance's assistant, helping her develop her airship for the Wild Hunt. The music accompanies a montage of Akko carrying out tasks while Constance builds the ship, capturing the show's goofy aesthetic with a parade-like tuba line and woodwind flutters. The slower breakdown section from the original is replaced with a Celtic-inspired marching melody on the strings and something more chromatic in the woodwinds.
This version has two distinct halves, often played separately to fit the scenes. The darker half features strings and flute playing in dissonant minor intervals, with a bass line moving chromatically to remove tonal stability. The rising motif plays a minor sixth interval, followed by a minor third, creating a spooky sound. Unlike the original's bright perfect fourth to perfect fifth, this pattern settles on a tritone. The second half is bright and hopeful, befitting the title. It plays when Akko and Andrew find the Fountain of Polaris, after which Ursula explains that the fountain only accepts the wishes of a worthy witch. Akko, who only sees a vision of Chariot's journey, expresses her desire to become like her. Emotional strings support Akko's goal, with the lower strings delaying their entrance until the full weight of her dream is felt. The horn carries the weight upward, matching her resolve, and the full orchestra comes together on an upward harp gliss, driving home Akko's determination.
This track, unexpected from Oshima, is fitting for a lighthearted traveling scene, featuring acoustic guitars to capture an organic sound related to human connections. The portability of the instrument associates it with traveling or camping. Oddly, it doesn't play when Akko and Susie travel to Lante's hometown in Finland, but instead as a barely heard radio song in Susie's dream when Akko hitchhikes to Susie's memory theater.
This is another piano reduction, but it conveys a much darker, lonelier sound. Contrary to what the title might imply, the darkness relates to Akko's inability to perform magic and the toll it takes on her. It plays when Akko argues with Ursula and after Croix reveals why Akko can't fly or control her magic, leaving her in shock and confusion. The response to the rising four-note motif immediately falls back down, conveying a sense of loss. The strings add a heavier emotional toll, driving home the fact that Akko's dream was taken away by Chariot.
This piece utilizes another important theme of the show before transitioning into the main theme. The melody following the piano intro sounds similar to the main theme but takes a gentler approach. Originally the credit roll track for the first OVA, it has a more atmospheric sound. This explains its easy transition into the main theme, as the credit roll piece needs to relate to the overall work. The main theme relates to Akko and her journey, while this secondary theme relates to the Seven Words of Arcturus, tying Akko's and Chariot's journey to achieve their dreams together. This is why this theme is quoted in Ursula's theme, though obscured by the humor of the track.
The speaker concludes by stating that "Little Witch Academia" embodies beauty and simplicity, making it a personal favorite due to its fun and emotional engagement. Oshima's soundtrack plays a huge role in the show's quality. The speaker encourages viewers to share their thoughts on "Little Witch Academia" and Oshima's soundtrack in the comments. He also invites viewers to like the video, subscribe to the channel for more anime theme analyses, and support him on Patreon for access to transcriptions and other exclusive content.
Transcript
Full transcript of “The Magical Music of Little Witch Academia || Setting the Tone”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 picture this it's april 12th 2015. you've finished your exams for the semester and are about to go on summer break working your easy seasonal warehouse job while joining your first few indie game projects as a composer you've been watching anime for about two years now and this kickstarter campaign pops up in your news feed huh you think this looks kind of cute and fun and hey this is the studio that made kill a kill i should see what the first one was all about so you pull it up on some pirate site close about a thousand ads and click play not realizing you're about to be introduced to one of your favorite franchises and familiarized with one of your absolute favorite composers no there wasn't anything funny about that story it's just the oddly specific memory i have of it and the best way to introduce today's topic
0:59 so without further ado let's begin [Music] little witch academia is basically the little anime ip that could what started out as a short film to train and showcase trigger studio's batch of fresh talent went on to gain a fully crowdfunded sequel film resulting in a green light for a two core anime series produced by netflix two years later trigger as well as its predecessor gainax are known for making a lot of anime original content with a style that relies on goofy over-the-top antics that somehow finds a way of tying in a storyline that integrates the ridiculous elements into it without seeming all over the place while little witch academia wasn't a series that managed to leave as big a mark as kill a kill or gainax's girl logon it was the last show i watched
1:46 that managed to leave the void in me and it sits safely in my top 10 list purely out of the joy and enjoyment it brings me and of course a huge reason for this enjoyment is due to the music oshima mijiru is probably my favorite modern composer and someone whose stylistic versatility and ability to write and arrange incredible music for film games and concert just leaves me an om the first time i heard her music was for the series blast of tempest which was the first anime series i had watched with a soundtrack written and recorded with a full orchestra from there i was hooked and ended up finding oshima's chamber work for string quartet violin piece for hillary han and most notably her work on the early 2000s godzilla films not to mention all of her anime soundtracks as well and when i went blindly into the
2:32 original little witch academia and heard those first few orchestra notes i knew exactly what was happening and i could not have been more ready to have my mind blown in both the first ova and the series first episode the story begins with akko as a child watching the magic show put on by the performing witch shiny chariot the theme that plays is almost the same in both but we'll take a look at the series version as it focuses on the more developed storyline [Music] the piece opens with a trail on the high woodwinds and violins quickly followed by rapid diatonic runs up and down an octave from the strings and harp the high strings and low strings play in opposing wave-like motions coming together in unison as the trail steps up
3:19 a half step this half step upwards gives the music a brighter sound and also subtly shows off the playfulness of the music through the use of chromaticism at the same time the trombones and double basses give us our first taste of the show's main motif with a slow rising four note melody [Music] this leads into a second introductory section jumping from e flat major up to a flat major albeit briefly as it quickly moves to d flat major then to f major g flat over a flat g minor and closing out with c major to transition into the main motif the musical texture is filled with chromatic and diatonic runs in the woodwinds and strings matching the events of the magic show as chariot's spells
4:05 burst and flutter around the audience the excessive chromaticism and diatonicism without a stable key to hold the music to demonstrates not just a clever sonic representation of magic but also the whimsical nature of the events in front of us as well as the story yet to unfold [Music] [Applause] the main motif itself opens in the key of f mixolydian utilizing the flat six to add a bit more character to the fairly simple colon response style melody first we have a rising figure and the brass melody moving from c to the c and octave above this is answered by a slight rise and fall that lands back on the same higher c the call repeats once more and the response comes slightly altered from
4:51 before but still lands back on that same [Music] c [Music] [Applause] [Music] this four bar phrase is both simple and singable keeping the rising and falling melody in our heads so that we recognize it regardless of the key or tempo the call and response also allows for variation in the responses so long as they match the general melodic shape that moves slightly upwards before falling back down something we'll find in future iterations of the theme as the melodic phrase comes into the fourth line it shifts from an expected repetition of the second line and instead plays an entirely different falling pattern extending it by two extra measures to ultimately land on that same conclusive
5:39 f major chord with the c on top [Music] in this new pattern oshima is playing around with the circle of fifths the first two beats utilizing the flat seven to pivot down to d-flat major or more specifically to a flat mixolydian this only lasts for a brief moment however as we quickly rise back up into the familiar f mixolydian from before and the strings take over for the next section and while the explanation sounds a bit complex the actual technique at play is a simple diatonic pivot step downward and back up on a broader scale we can also see that the call and response pattern occurs on two levels with the single measure melodic lines being more detailed chunks that make up the larger two bar phrases both levels working in a sort of a b a c pattern
6:25 having the brass take the melody for this first section is a simple representation of the spectacle of magic akko dreams of becoming a witch who can move people's hearts with her magic and the rising and falling melody shows the uneven path that she will have to take using a non-standard key f mixolydian can help us understand that akko will have difficulties from the very beginning of her journey as she enters a world entirely unknown to her and from a non-magical background and most importantly we can see that while akko might stumble and miss her mark she always pulls through somehow as can be heard as the music always makes its way back to the tonic f major chord at the end of each phrase coming into the next section with the strings at the forefront the pacing of the music slows down and becomes more dramatic shifting into a flat major as the snares
7:11 and double basses push the melody forward as before the melody takes on a rising and falling pattern though this time it gradually gets higher as the music progresses but rather than simply rising in stepwise motion or another simple figure oshima uses slash chords to obscure which key we're in for nearly the entire section we can see this in the first two measures where the cadence from d flat over f moves to a flat over e flat where the e flat sounds like the tonic chord because of the presence of a flat and c in the supporting instruments this a flat over e flat is used as a pivot where e flat becomes the new tonic as we move up to c minor over g
7:56 turning the d flat into a d natural over these two bars for a very unstable sound [Music] [Applause] thanks to the crunchy dissonance of the d natural against our e-flat major the transition to g-flat over d-flat is entirely welcome despite both of those being outside of our implied e-flat key as well as hinting at the shift in tonality coming up in the next phrase this then circles back into a series of chords that would lead us to believe that we will return to our tonic e flat but instead leaves us suspended on the dominant b-flat and transitions into the key of d-flat major to do it all over
8:41 again in a new key we can think of this section as a representation of akko facing the many trials ahead of her filled with missteps and unforeseen events all the while dealing with more dramatic elements that come into play later on in the series each time she passes one trial another comes flying towards her leaving her disoriented and forcing her to adapt quickly to the new situation much like how new keys are quickly introduced shortly after their previous ones utilizing secondary dominance and no shortage of clever melodic voice leading to pivot into the new key the final section of the piece comes in with a powerful rising figure from the strings to reintroduce the brass at the end of the phrase the full orchestra swells and blasts out a short series of powerful notes and is just as quick to wind down
9:28 soon after [Music] the strings softly build out of the silence using a cheeky bit of chromaticism to hold our attention right up until the final climactic moment where the main motif is reintroduced at half speed and closes out with a powerful swell from the orchestra though this is technically classified as chariot's theme the piece serves as the main theme for the series as a whole making it more meaningful as akko's theme as we follow her journey to become a witch worthy of inheriting clown click clams the shiny rod we also understand that while it is technically chariot's theme akko's undying admiration of and aspiration to become a witch-like chariot
10:14 allows the piece to serve as an atmospheric reminder of why akko chooses to push forward throughout the series and while i can interpret the musical structure to fit the narrative fairly well this piece of music was written back when all that existed of little witch academia was a single 26 minute standalone episode so really the best explanation is that oshima simply wrote a piece of fantastic music that was meant to sound triumphant and fitting in a magical world and now that most of the technical explanations are out of the way let's see how this fun little call-in response is used in various places and contexts throughout the rest of the series this one is about as simple a reduction
11:02 as you can get going from full orchestra down to a mellow piano solo given the title of the track and ultima's familiarity with film scoring utilizing a piano solo to represent memories is about as straightforward as you can get aside from a few different harmonies in the left hand this piece is more or less the same as the full orchestra version without all the ornamentations and emphases that made the original so grandiose while this one isn't particularly special on its own keep it in mind as we'll be covering a similar version with an entirely different feeling later on [Music] this is a fun marching version that gives off the impression of working or training thanks to the steady snare rhythm and bass line for me
11:48 the most notable moment when this plays in the show is when akko strong-arms her way into becoming constance's assistant helping her develop her airship in preparation for the wild hunt this plays over a montage of akko carrying out various tasks while constance is hard at work building and developing the ship matching the girl's workflow while still managing to capture the show's overall goofy aesthetic with the parade-like tuba line and woodwind flutters and as befits the more upbeat pacing of this track the slower breakdown section from the original is replaced with what sounds like a celtic inspired marching melody on the strings and then something a little more chromatic and
12:39 goofy in the woodwinds this version has two distinctly different halves which tend to be played separately from one another to fit the opposing nature of how they sound into the scenes where each makes the most sense atmospherically what you just heard in the example was the much darker half the strings in flute playing in extremely dissonant minor intervals as well as having a bass line moving chromatically to remove any stability from a tonal center the first two instances of the familiar rising motif plays a minor sixth interval followed by a minor third for a spooky ominous sound unlike the original's bright and stable perfect fourth to perfect fifth this pattern settles on the least classically resolving sound of a tritone between e flat a and the higher e flat a perfect way to unsettle any listeners outside of
13:25 a jazz context of which this piece very much is not and this is the second half an unexpectedly bright and hopeful melody much more befitting of the title it was given one of the first times we hear this in the show is when akko and andrew find the fountain of polaris after which ursula explains to akko that the fountain will only accept the wishes of a witch it deems worthy akko to whom the fountain granted only a vision of chariot's journey to becoming an admirable witch tearfully expresses how she wants to become like her with the emotional strings playing to support the seemingly unreasonable goal akko has set for herself the lower strings delay their entrance until the
14:10 full weight of akko's dream can really be felt the horn carrying the weight upward to match her resolve and the full orchestra coming together on an upwards harp gliss to really drive home that akko is determined to do whatever it takes to make her dream a [Music] reality to be perfectly honest i wasn't expecting this kind of a track from otima but it's exactly the kind of music you'd expect for a lighthearted traveling shot and it certainly isn't the first of its kind in an anime soundtrack acoustic guitars are often used to
14:56 capture an organic sound relating to humans or human connections and because they're such a portable instrument they can easily be associated with traveling or camping oddly enough this track doesn't play when accolade and susie actually take a trip to lante's hometown in finland but instead for about five seconds as a barely heard radio song in susie's dream when akko hitchhikes to susie's memory [Music] theater and thank god i remembered there was a car scene in that episode or i would have been searching for a long time to find this piece like i mentioned before the simplicity of the motif allows for the response portion of the cullen response
15:42 melody to change slightly from what we know while still being recognizable as a variation on the main theme here we have another piano reduction however this one is completely different from the one we heard earlier conveying a much darker lonelier sound contrary to what the title might imply especially in a show about magic and chasing dreams the darkness of the piece relates far more to akko's inability to properly perform magic and the constant toll it takes on her mind and emotions we hear this track when ako argues with ursula and also after kroy reveals why akko can't fly or control her magic
16:27 leaving akko in a state of shock and confusion as she tries to come to terms with the cruel irony that the dream she had been chasing all along was actually the reason she wouldn't be able to achieve it we can hear this sense of loss in the response to the usual rising four note motif as it wastes no time in immediately falling back down the strings that come in to take over the melody only serve as a heavier emotional toll to really drive home the fact that akko's dream what kept her going this whole time was taken away from her by none other than chariot and her live [Music] performance for the final example but not the final usage of the theme in the soundtrack
17:13 this piece utilizes another one of the important themes of the show before transitioning into the main theme what we hear following the piano intro is a melody that sounds somewhat similar to the theme we've grown used to but takes a much gentler approach in its rising and falling melody this was originally the credit roll track for the first ova and so it has a much more atmospheric sound than the main theme we've grown used to this also explains why it is so easily able to transition into the main theme as the credit roll piece would need to be related to the overall work where the main theme is related to akko and her journey to becoming an admirable witch this secondary theme is related to the seven words of arcturus tying akkos and by definition chariots journey to achieve their dreams thus tying both themes together as a fully
17:59 related piece of music made up of both themes this is also the reason we hear this theme quoted in ursula's theme though it is obscured by the humor of the track ultimately analyzing this secondary theme would take a whole second video so perhaps we'll save that for another time little which academia is very much what i consider to be beauty and simplicity and the reason i consider it to be one of my favorite animes basically boils down to the fact that it's a lot of fun and keeps me emotionally engaged oshima's soundtrack plays a huge role in what makes this show such an amazing piece of work and while i can't say that i wouldn't have enjoyed the show if someone else had composed for it i don't think it would be sitting quite so high in my enjoyment list so let me know what you guys thought of little witch academia and oshima's soundtrack down in the comment section below and if you enjoyed the analysis
18:45 and you want to hear me talk about more iconic anime themes make sure to like the video and subscribe to my channel and if you want access to all the transcriptions i've made across all of my videos make sure to support me over on patreon where you'll have access to these as well as a lot of other exclusive goodies thanks as always for watching and i will see you in the next one [Music] you
