“Who is magic for?” the title of this week’s episode asks. It’s a question that perhaps ought to have a clear answer within the context of the story: it’s meant to be for others, to help them, and never to gather selfish power. Some spells are forbidden because they (presumably) cause harm or are too easily abused. That’s the entire point of the Pact. So why, then, is it so difficult for Agott to answer this question when Olruggio poses it?

It’s hardly a secret that Agott has been a divisive character thus far. And that’s fair; even armed with manga knowledge, I find her early actions range from unpleasant to outright cruel. Up to this point, anime-only viewers haven’t had a good grasp of what’s driving her, although if you think back after this week’s reveals, there have been hints. Agott’s drive to succeed isn’t just because she wants to be a good witch – there’s an intensity that makes her look selfish, and that drives her to ignore advice and kind gestures. Qifrey has tried to soothe these impulses with kindness, but that doesn’t really work on Agott. She’s a rules kind of girl, not one who benefits from gentle parenting.

Although Olly isn’t her teacher, he’s much better with her than Qifrey is. The way he handles the entire situation before things go even more sideways is fundamentally designed to have Agott understand by doing rather than book learning. He decides to allow Agott to accompany them; he’s the one who flat-out asks her who she’s learning magic for. He’s also the one who firmly puts her in her place by handing her his rings and telling her to go dry off the soaked travelers. Agott wanted this to be her shining moment, where she proves that she’s as capable as any adult. Olruggio makes it clear to her that this will not happen.

Watching Agott react to all of this makes a few things clear. She’s upset, but unlike with Qifrey, she just buckles down and does what she’s told. When Olly and Qifrey take Richeh and Tetia with them to check up and down the river, she’s shocked and upset, but she also doesn’t immediately swivel to blame Coco. While I’d hesitate to say that she understands now how different it is to be out of the atelier, she does seem to be slowly coming to that conclusion, even if it ends up being wrapped up in her past trauma. And when Custas ends up getting pinned beneath a boulder, and the adult humans turn to her for help, it all comes crashing down.

It says a lot that it’s Coco, not Agott, who saves Custas. There’s absolutely teamwork involved, which is important because it shows that Agott has learned from the dragon incident and is now able to put her own issues aside when something major is going on. But the entire situation also illustrates how Agott and Coco both cope with trauma. Coco, as we already know, picks herself up and keeps going. Her trauma becomes a goal; her pain a reason to move forward, and she even manages to look for joy along the way. Agott, on the other hand, curls around her pain, holding it tight like an anti-security blanket. People told her she wasn’t good enough? She’ll show them. Her mother thinks she’s not talented enough and won’t take her as an apprentice? She’ll find someone who will and prove her mother wrong. Agott’s short hair becomes a marker of her determination; she’s cut her family out. Coco mourns the loss of her family while Agott burns with rage at the loss of hers.

I don’t expect that getting more of Agott’s backstory or seeing her be a help to Coco rather than a hindrance will endear her to many people. She hasn’t quite earned it yet. But she does make more sense now, and she seems to have also come to feel a little more kindly towards Coco, who did, after all, manage to save Custas. But will she defend Coco from the Knights Moralis? That’s the most pressing question, especially since the knights were summoned to the riverbank not because of Coco’s spell, or even Agott’s distracting bird, but by Qifrey’s water sword. They’re very quick to blame Coco and Agott for everything they see upon arrival, too, instantly making assumptions about the entire situation. And okay, fair, they are law enforcement, but their job is, arguably, to ensure the laws are being followed, not make assumptions about who might have broken it.

You may remember that the Brimmed Cap said that they were giving their “apprentice” Coco a gift after the dragon labyrinth. Whatever that was, it’s almost certainly behind the malfunction of Coco’s spell, which turned the entire riverbank into sand rather than just the boulder. I can understand why they’d assume that either Agott or Coco was deliberately working with the Brimmed Caps, even if I don’t approve of their ridiculously swift jump to punishment.

But the spell that called them out there in the first place was Qifrey‘s. While I’d think that Olruggio would have said something if it really was forbidden magic, it just adds to the mystery surrounding him. What is Qifrey’s relationship to forbidden magic? And will the Knights Moralis decide that both he and Coco ought to be removed from the magic world? The end of this episode doesn’t give me a lot of faith in their judgment…

Rating:

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“Tezuka Osamu no Sensō” to recount Paper Fortress manga, Tezuka’s creative struggles in 1970s

The official website for manga pioneer Osamu Tezuka announced on Saturday that NHK is producing a live-action television special based on the creator’s autobiographical manga short “Paper Fortress” (“Kami no Toride”). The “Tezuka Osamu no Sensō” (Osamu Tezuka‘s War) special will premiere in August, and filming is scheduled to begin in May on the outskirts of the Kansai area.

The special will star Kengo Kōra (The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Shin Godzilla, Miss Hokusai) as Tezuka himself (left in photo above) and Konosuke Harada (Sabakan) as the “Paper Fortress” story’s protagonist Tetsurō Osamu (right in photo above).

The official website describes the story of the manga:

This manga is based on Osamu Tezuka‘s experiences in junior high school during World War II. The story follows Tetsuro Osamu, a junior high school student who continues to draw manga secretly despite it being prohibited during wartime. Due to this, he is sent to a special training camp by his instructor who considers him unpatriotic, and then forced to work at a munitions factory. At the factory, he accidentally reunites with Kyoko Okamoto, a female student he had encountered before. However, Kyoko, who dreams of becoming an opera singer, suffers severe injuries to her face during an air raid in Osaka.

The special will also draw inspiration from another of Tezuka’s autobiographical short stories, “God Father’s son” (“Godfather no Musko”) which follows Tezuka’s life as a student. In addition to the story set during World War II, the special will cover Tezuka’s life in 1970s, when he face the dual personal blows of his Mushi Productions anime studio’s bankruptcy and his manga series’ cancellation.

It was during this tumultuous period in the 1970s that Tezuka looked back at his wartime childhood and created both “God Father’s son” and “Paper Fortress.” The special will weave its narrative between both Tezuka’s own life in Tokyo in 1973 and his alter ego Tetsurō Osamu’s life in Osaka in 1945.

Wataru Suzuki (The Mystery Collection of Enmado Sara, Scarlet) is directing the special based on a script by Ryōko Kuwahara (Happiness comes from eating, sleeping and waiting).

Tezuka’s Phoenix (Hi no Tori) manga is inspiring a “live manga” performance titled Mangalogue: Hi no Tori that is running from April 22 to May 16 at the MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives’ Box1000 theaters. The Phoenix manga recently inspired a stage play that ran at Theatre West at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater in July 2024. The play was based on the manga’s “Karma” arc (“Hō-ō-hen,” or literally “Firebird Arc”).

Sources: Osamu Tezuka‘s official website, Comic Natalie

Animation ID announced on Tuesday that the light anime adaptation of SORAJIMA and Aminohada‘s With Vengeance, Sincerely, Your Broken Saintess (Kizu Darake Seijo Yori Hōfuku wo Komete) vertical-scrolling webtoon is premiering a second season in October. Animation ID also announced the returning cast members, new director, and returning staff members.

The returning cast members are:

Saya Fukase (Hyakki Yakou Shou, I Want You To Show Me Your Panties With a Disgusted Face Returns) is directing the anime at IMAGICA Infos / Imageworks Studio, replacing first season’s director Chisaki. Returning staff members include sound director Yūichi Imaizumi, Hiroki Nozaki and Airi Kobayashi for sound effects, music composer onoken, and Kazuya Takahashi overseeing the production.

The anime’s first season aired in July 2025 on tvk and CBC TV, and also streamed on various streaming services in Japan.

Pocket Comics releases the series in English, and it describes the story:

Rua is a saintess candidate who possesses the power of healing. But her ability had one flaw: she could only heal others by transferring their wounds onto herself. Because of this, others bullied her, calling her the “Fallen Saintess.” But it didn’t bother Rua because her best friend Arianne always stood up for her. One day, Rua’s crush, Commander Garrett, was on the brink of death from a beast attack. Rua healed him, which left her on the verge of death. When she woke up, she learned that all the credit was given to Arianne, and she finally saw her best friend’s true color. Devastated, Rua is lost and helpless when the second prince appears in front of her with a tempting offer. What would happen to Rua as she begins her new life as a villainess?

In Japan, the webtoon runs on comico. The series launched in August 2022 and in English in October 2022. The series’ main story ended in June 2025. The series has been releasing side story chapters since it ended, but announced in October that it will go on hiatus indefinitely.

A “light anime” features a simpler animation style that reduces production time and costs. Other “light anime” Animation ID has produced include Lockdown Zone: Level X, Maarui Kanojo to Zannen na Kareshi, Moriarty’s Perfect Crime, Kanagawa Elves, and Monster Eater.

Sources: Animation ID’s X/Twitter account, Comic Natalie