Burn the Witch has an ambitious premise, but it's poorly executed. Besides unnecessarily dividing the film into three episodes, forcing out-of-place beginnings and endings that left the story disjointed, the core of the problem was mainly caused by the hype. After all, the work is by Tite Kubo , the creator of Bleach , a classic from the 2000s, lending credibility to the film but simultaneously highlighting its flaws.
The biggest problem with the film is the lack of explanation . Several anime take place in different worlds, which require development for the story to work, as Fire Force and Ascendance of a Bookworm do very well, but in BTW the viewer is thrown into the story ( which isn't necessarily a flaw ), with a brief explanation about the Wing Bind, the dragons... and that's it.
The first and only film ( as no sequels have yet been announced ) explains nothing about the world in which it takes place; the concept of front London and reverse London is confusing and underdeveloped. The characters Noel and Ninny are charismatic and work well together, but who are they? It's the first film and we know almost nothing about the protagonists .
Not counting Wing Bind , a company where wizards and witches work as protection agents against fantastical beings ( this was in the synopsis ). From this point on, nothing is well developed about WB, showing only a pseudo-story and some Bleach easter eggs
The characters are all interesting, some even mysterious, but they are shallow. Balgo Parks , the comic relief, is the typical childish character who always acts the same way. Macy Baljure , the trigger for the story, having a connection with Ninny and a unique personality, was the only character who was more developed in the film.
Animation
The anime has excellent animation; Studio Colorido ( A Whisker Away ) lives up to its name. Even the dragons, which are usually done with 3DCG to speed up production, were very well animated, but this level of animation quality is to be expected from a film.
Final considerations
Despite its flaws, the film Burn the Witch is far from boring , delivering funny scenes that blend well with the action sequences, and the characters' relationships are also very entertaining, leaving you wanting more. Even though the final solution was simple, the film opens doors to some mysteries and paths to be explored.
The film, inspired by Tite Kubo's manga of the same name, was directed by Tatsuro Kawano at Studio Colorido. The screenplay was by Ryomura Chinatsu, and the soundtrack was composed by Keiji Inai. BTW, it was released on October 2nd and is available on Crunchyroll .