Summary
The following contains spoilers for The Witch and the Beast, Episode 3 – “The Witch’s Pastime: Final Act”, and Episode 4 – “Beauty and Death: Opening Act”, streaming onCrunchyroll.
Among the many anime series currently running as part of a packed Winter 2024 season,The Witch and the Beastis earning its reputation for being one of the darker and more adult-oriented series of the group. The planned 12-episode launch of Kousuke Satake’s 2016 manga release opened up with a bang, captivating the audience with violence, drama, and a few laughs along the way. Episodes 3 and 4 wrapped up one side story while opening up a new mission, leaving fans with a beautiful link between the two.
In Episode 2, titled “The Witch’s Pastime: Opening Act”, the audience is introduced to Keira, a mage who is charged with the investigation of the violent crimes of the local witch. With Guideau and Ashaf arriving at the scene, her outlook on the case has never appeared more positive until now. As the death toll continues to rise, so too does her ambition of bringing the case to a close.
Keira’s Revenge Examined
Towards the end ofThe Witch and the Beast’s Episode 2, Keira gains two new allies in Guideau and Ashaf. The trio is a good combination of brains and brawn, and while their goals don’t match up equally, their end game is the same – find the witch. Uniting as allies for the sole purpose of putting an end to the case, the team of mages and cursed spirit are faced with a difficult challenge.
Due to Ashaf’s quick thinking, the crew determines that the victims appear to be close to Keira, with everyone who shares a link to her eventually becoming targeted by the witch. This revelation is confirmed when Guideau and Ashaf are led into an attack of purple smoke and explosions, due to the belief that their work with Keira is creating a bond. It’s at this moment that Keira re-tells her story of the loss of her two sons, following a mysterious explosion back at her home.
The death toll not only included her two boys, but her magic teacher and boyfriend as well. During their investigation, Keira’s boyfriend is struck by an object, decapitating his head directly in front of the barrier Keira put up for protection. Her blood-curling scream is evident enough of how much this case has taken a toll on her mental health, but the accumulated losses only fuel her desire to bring down the witch, even if it is for the purpose of revenge.
There is a heart-warming, yet cold, conversation between Guideau and Keira, directly following the latter’s dismissal of revenge and how it leads to nothing positive. Guideau’s outlook on the matter is far more sinister, yet grounded in reality – if revenge leads to the closing of a chapter, how could it be bad?
The First Truly Shocking Moment
Up until Episode 3,the mission for Guideau and Ashafhas remained the same – track down the witch, reverse Guideau’s curse, and kill the witch. The case of The Witch’s Pastime is a peculiar one, as the city’s mayor refuses to call in the international Paladin Corps, despite the rising threat. This thought isn’t lost on Ashaf, who finds it alarming that a witch who is causing massive damage to the city isn’t being considered dangerous enough to warrant the utmost care.
Hot on her trail, the team of Keira, Ashaf, and Guideau follow the witch to an abandoned mansion, thanks to Ashaf’s vision of the circling crows nearby. Upon their arrival, Guideau’s pre-emptive attack is thwarted when she realises there are not one, but two threats. To make matters worse, they’re not witches after all, but young boys with mage-like abilities. Once their appearance is made clear, a chilling revelation sweeps over Keira when she realises the two boys are her sons, presumed to be dead in the house fire.
The boys, who are in fact still alive, gained magical abilities when they discovered a pair of grimoire books. These novels grant the wielder powers to the same level of a witch, but require sacrifices in order to keep the host alive. The audience learns that Keira is the adoptive mother of the two boys, and a heart-shattering moment involves Keira killing the two boys she once wished to raise. Although she promised to show them love and help them learn what it means to be loved, she couldn’t save them in the end.
The Idea of Necromancy Adds Chilling Element
Episode 4, titled “Beauty and Death: Opening Act”, the audience is introduced to the element of necromancy, magic used to bring the dead back to life. Whilenecromancy exists outside the world ofThe Witch and the Beast, the rules are significantly different and come with their own set of pros and cons. A deceased person can be brought back to life, but under the consent of the person prior to their demise, or from a member close to them. The previously-deceased individual must also receive routine maintenance in order to remain of sound mind, otherwise they risk losing it and becoming unhinged.
The knowledge that Ashaf and Guideau are not equipped to handle this type of case is the perfect introduction to two new characters of The Order of Magical Resonance; Phanora and Johan. The duo provides a different approach to teamwork, with Phanora being the dominant lead and Johan, the assistant who is willing to do whatever it takes to please his master. Unfortunately, this leads to him becoming a casualty in their battle with the city’s necromancer, and his life is risked to deal with the troubled necromancer.
The arrival of Phanora and Johan is a great way to give Ashaf and Guideau a break from the spotlight, and let them escape the possibility of becoming too stale after four episodes of constant witch hunting. The audience is now left with a looming threat of a necromancer whose goal is not yet known, a member of The Order of Magical Resonance left in a lifeless state, and Phanora to pick up the pieces and organize a way out of it. The final act of this arc will proove whether necromancy will have a lasting power inThe Witch and the Beast, or if it’s just a flash in the pan and a distraction from the primary plot of the series.
