Izetta: The Last Witch | |
終末のイゼッタ (Shūmatsu no Izetta) | |
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Genre | |
Anime television series | |
Directed by | Masaya Fujimori |
Produced by | Tatsuya Yamaguchi Shin'ichiro Ozawa |
Written by | Hiroyuki Yoshino |
Music by | Michiru |
Studio | Ajia-do Animation Works |
Licensed by | |
Original network | AT-X, Tokyo MX, Sun TV, BS11 |
Original run | October 1, 2016 – December 17, 2016 |
Episodes | 12 |
Izetta: The Last Witch (終末のイゼッタ, Shūmatsu no Izetta, lit. Izetta of the End, also transcribed in German as Izetta, Die Letzte Hexe) is a 2016 Japanese fantasy anime television series. The project was announced through the opening of an official website and a video on June 10, 2016. [4] The series, produced by Ajia-do Animation Works and directed by Masaya Fujimori, aired from October 1 [5] [6] [7] to December 17, 2016.
Set in an alternate Earth on the eve of the Second World War, the story follows Izetta, the last surviving member of a clan of witches that possesses the ability to magically manipulate any object that they touch. Izetta pledges to help protect Princess Finé and the tiny Alpine country of Eylstadt from invasion by the imperialistic forces of Germania. [8]
Eylstadt is a small, alpine duchy whose capital is Landsbruck. The country's location is based on what is western Austria today consisting of the states Tyrol and Vorarlberg, and its capital based on Innsbruck. The motto of its national flag reads "Ich bin tapfer und bin fromm" (literal translation: "I am valiant and am pious"). Their military equipment is patterned largely after the French Army's from the time between World War I and II. Germania intends to conquer Eylstadt simply to open a shorter road to their ally, the Romulus Federation, enabling a joint invasion of the Mediterranean and Africa.
Germania is a powerful military country based on Nazi Germany, although it is portrayed as a monarchical empire similar to the pre-war German Empire. Its capital bears the name Neu-Berlin, and its appearance is patterned after Albert Speer's designs for Hitler's new " World Capital Germania". Its military standard is a diagonally shifted Balkenkreuz with a short dagger blade replacing one of its arms. The vast majority of its armor and equipment are identical to the pre- and early-WWII Wehrmacht, including the Panzer III, Panzer IV, Heinkel He 111, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Junkers Ju 87, Karabiner 98k rifles, MP40 submachine guns, etc. Its victory parole is "Sieg Reich" (derived from real Nazi Germany's " Sieg Heil"), but it is not entirely clear whether it's supposed to mean "Sieg [für das] Reich"/"Sieg [dem] Reich" (both "Victory [for the] Reich") or "siegreich" ("victorious").
The series, produced by Ajia-do Animation Works, aired in Japan from October 1 to December 17, 2016. The series was simulcast by Crunchyroll, [11] [12] with Funimation streamed an English dub from October 19, 2016. [13] The opening theme is "Cross the Line" by Akino with bless4, while the ending theme is "Hikaru Aru Basho e" (光ある場所へ, To a Place With Light) by May'n.
No. | Official English title
[a] Japanese and German titles |
Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Beginning of the War" Transliteration: "Tatakai no Hajimari." ( Japanese: たたかいのはじまり (Der Anfang der Schlacht)) | October 1, 2016 | |
In the neutral country of Westria during a time of war, Ortfiné "Finé" Fredericka von Eylstadt, the princess of the small country of Eylstadt, is being pursued by Germanian soldiers on a train. While hiding in one of the carriages, Finé finds a mysterious capsule, opening a few of the locks before she and her escorts are forced to jump from the train. Later, Finé meets up with Britannian Lord Redford to try gain his country's support against the impending Germanian invasion on her homeland. Unfortunately they receive news that Germanian forces have already begun invading Eylstadt, and Finé is captured by Germanian soldiers. While she is escorted by plane towards the capital, Neu-Berlin, the capsule from earlier opens up, revealing a witch named Izetta, whom Finé remembers from her childhood. Using her abilities, Izetta destroys the plane, before finding an anti-tank rifle among the debris. Riding it, she flies over to catch Finé, before flying both of them to safety. | |||
2 | "Scars and Gunfire" Transliteration: "Kizuato to, Jūsei to" ( Japanese: 傷跡と、銃声と (Mit Narben und Schüssen)) | October 8, 2016 | |
Izetta tries to get Finé to safety to treat injuries she received during the struggle on the plane, and she is forced to use some of her magic to destroy some pursuing Germanian fighter planes. After Izetta runs low on magic, Finé uses the rifle they are riding to drive off the remaining plane before they both fall into the forest below. They continue on foot, where they come across a group of Eylstadtian soldiers who lost Fort Schweizen to the Germanians. While the medic treats Finé's injuries, Izetta recalls how she first met Finé, who befriended her despite knowing she was a witch; the last of her kind. Recalling how Finé once saved her life, Izetta declines Finé's request to flee to safety and instead offers to help protect her country. | |||
3 | "The Sword in the Heavens" Transliteration: "Amakakeru Tsurugi" ( Japanese: 天翔ける剣 (Das Schwert des Himmels)) | October 15, 2016 | |
On the front lines of Coenenberg, the Eylstadtian army, including a young soldier named Jonas, are almost helpless against the oncoming Germanian forces as they attack with bomber planes and a platoon of tanks. The soldiers at the castle request to join the fight, but Finé stops them after learning that the Coenenberg garrison soldiers are putting their lives on the line simply to buy time for civilians to evacuate. Just as another squadron of Germanian planes prepares to attack, Izetta arrives on the scene, using her magic on lances and swords to stop the enemy planes and tanks. Seeing Izetta's determination to protect her country, Finé encourages the other soldiers in Coenenberg to support her, leading them to victory against the Germanian forces. The Eylstadtian army celebrate the return of the White Witch and sings a rousing rendition of their national anthem. Later Finé's father, the archduke, who is bedridden, is informed about Finé's safety and Izetta's deeds just before he passes away. | |||
4 | "The Secret of the Witch" Transliteration: "Majo no Himitsu" ( Japanese: 魔女の秘密 (Das Geheimnis der Hexe)) | October 22, 2016 | |
Finé goes to Eylstadt's capital, Landsbruck, to mourn the death of her father. Meanwhile General Grosskopf reports to the Germanian Emperor, Otto, about their defeat at Coenenberg at the hands of Izetta. In the morning Izetta awakes in the Archduke's castle, under the care of maid Lotte and Finé's skeptical bodyguard Lady Bianca. Finé calls Izetta before her cabinet to explain why she cannot use magic at any time. Izetta reveals that a witch's power is drawn from ley lines beneath the earth, not in places such as Landsbruck with few or no ley lines. The cabinet decide to keep this secret confidential, telling only reporter Elvira Friedman who is hired to publicly promote Izetta as the legendary Eylstadt White Witch during Finé's upcoming coronation. Izetta recalls her grandmother telling her that a secret of the witches lies under a nearby abandoned castle. Bianca takes Izetta to investigate, managing to find a ley line map in a hidden room. During their return, Izetta explains to Bianca how Finé saved her from superstitious villagers and they agree to become comrades. On the day of the coronation, Izetta encourages Finé to work towards bringing peace to not only Eylstadt, but the entire world. | |||
5 | "A False Miracle" Transliteration: "Itsuwari no Kiseki" ( Japanese: 偽りの奇跡 (Das falsche Wunder)) | October 29, 2016 | |
During Finé's coronation as Archduchess at the White Witch's castle, Izetta and her powers are presented to the world. Izetta then launches retaliatory strikes against the Germanian occupation forces as part of a calculated gamble to cower Germania from making any further invasion attempts. Berkmann, having advised the Emperor to let him analyse the situation, interviews Air Force Captain Basler about his experience with Izetta's powers and concludes that the witch must have her limits. When the Germanians launch an assault through a mountain pass not covered by the ley lines, Finé and Müller set a plan in motion to cover up this critical weakness. Izetta warns the Germainan forces against proceeding, and using Bianca's Royal Guard as hidden snipers and planted explosives to simulate Izetta's magic, the attack is repelled and the enemy force abandon their advance. Soon afterwards while trying to retrieve his family photo from a brook, young soldier Jonas accidentally overhears a conversation between Müller and General Schneider about the ruse. Jonas is discovered and barely manages to get away, but Müller finds the photograph floating in the water. | |||
6 | "On a Quiet Day..." Transliteration: "Odayakana hi ni" ( Japanese: 穏やかな日に (An einem ruhigen Tag...)) | November 5, 2016 | |
In Germania, Berkmann begins preparing the first stages of his plan to counter Izetta by consulting the head of the Imperial Technology Arsenal's Design Division 9 for its top secret weapon developments. On the first peaceful day since the beginning of the invasion, Finé, Izetta, Bianca and Lotte try their best to enjoy this rare quiet time and the few everyday luxuries left to them, even by sneaking into a café Finé has "secretly" visited in the past to indulge on its famous cherry pie (only to discover to her embarrassment that the café owners and the palace guard have known about this pastime all along!). Afterwards, Müller asks Finé for her permission to leave the country and attend a conference held by the governments allied against Germania, in order to spur them into another foray into Germanian territory. Finé decides to attend the conference personally, along with Izetta, and the two girls depart for Britannia. In the meantime, Jonas confides his knowledge about Izetta's weakness to a sergeant in his platoon, who is secretly Captain Lorenz, a Germanian spy. When Lorenz attempts to force Jonas to talk, he is chased off by Müller and Koontz, and Jonas is shot by Müller to keep the vital information secret. | |||
7 | "The Battle of Sognefjord" Transliteration: "Sogunefyordo kaise" ( Japanese: ソグネフィヨルド海戦 (Die Seeschlacht im Sognefjord)) | November 12, 2016 | |
After Finé and Izetta arrive in Britannia, they try to enlist the Allies' aid for Eylstadt by offering them a demonstration of Izetta's power. A new but still uncompleted Germanian aircraft carrier, the Drachenfels, has gone into hiding at Sognefjord in the country of Nord, and Finé proposes that Izetta should sink the ship before it becomes fully operational. However, thanks to the Germanian spy network, Berkmann has become aware of the plan and prepared an ambush for Izetta, using the ship as bait. The fact that ley lines and non-magical areas intersect within the fjord hampers Izetta's freedom of movement; while she takes out the carrier, her occasional lack of control over her powers during the battle confirms Berkmann's suspicions about her possible weakness. Certain that the secret to this lies within the old capital's castle of the White Witch, he proposes to send in his own spy to investigate, but to his surprise Rickert volunteers himself for this mission. | |||
8 | "A Cruel Fairy Tale" Transliteration: "Zankokuna otogibanashi" ( Japanese: 残酷なおとぎ話 (Das grausame Märchen)) | November 19, 2016 | |
Rickert lands in Eylstadt and makes his way to the Weisse Hexe's castle to rendezvous with Lorenz, who is still hunted by Müller and the Royal Guard. Rickert and Lorenz penetrate the secret chamber using a blood sample taken from Izetta during her earlier captivity. They photograph the ley line map, but the blood also releases a strange red stone from a hidden niche. They are both caught and eliminated by the Royal Guard, but another Germanian spy recovers their findings. Meanwhile, at a masked ball in Lord Redford's castle, Finé and Izetta encounter Berkmann and a strange girl, who suddenly bites Izetta on the lips and drains a small portion of her blood before they slip away. Afterwards, Stanley, the Atlantan Foreign Secretary, informs the two girls that due to Izetta's achievement at Sognefjord, he will recommend to his President that troops be sent to the European theatre. However, he also secretly proposes to his President to invade Eylstadt as well in order to eliminate the potential threat he sees in Izetta. | |||
9 | "The Sellun Corridor Burns" Transliteration: "Zerun kairō moe" ( Japanese: ゼルン回廊、燃ゆ (Der Sellun-Korridor brennt nieder)) | November 26, 2016 | |
Three months following Izetta and Finé's return from Britannia, things have remained calm in Eylstadt, although the young witch and the Archduchess continue to assist the anti-Germanian forces in Europe as best they can while the Allies prepare to move in from the north. Soon the Germanians attempt another advance into the principality, but employing a feint, they lure Izetta to the western border at Coenenberg while commencing their actual attack at Sellun, the eastern line of defense. Izetta is rushed to the battlefield, but there she encounters a formidable adversary: Sophie, a young witch in the service of the Germanians and a clone of the original Weisse Hexe. When Sophie fails to dissuade Izetta from pursuing her current course, she uses the magic stone stolen from the Weisse Hexe's secret chamber to neutralize Izetta's connection to the ley lines. With its greatest asset defeated and captured by the enemy, Eylstadt is left helpless before the Germanian strikes, and its capital, Landsbruck falls in a matter of hours. | |||
10 | "The Iron Hammer of the Witch" Transliteration: "Majo no tettsui" ( Japanese: 魔女の鉄槌 (Der eiserne Hammer der Hexe)) | December 3, 2016 | |
As Landsbruck falls to the Germanians and Sophie takes out any remaining nests of organized military resistance, the high-ranking Eylstadtian officials, including Finé, escape through a tunnel. In Germania, Sophie and Berkmann are congratulated by Otto for their efforts, but Berkmann is shunted out of the Design Division. The Emperor, with the odds now greatly in his favor, now sets out to conquer the rest of the world. Meanwhile at Sellun, where Izetta has been taken captive, Eylstadtian troops and the Royal Guard execute an ambush and successfully retrieve Izetta. A month later, Izetta awakens in an underground hideout which is now being used as Eylstadt's capital, where Finé and Müller reveal to her that their ancestors were directly involved in the Weisse Hexe legend: The prince's wife was Finé's ancestor, and Müller's family worked with Finé's family to sell out the Witch. When Izetta continues to show her determination to fight for Finé's sake, despite Finè's deep regrets and the grievous injuries Sophie has inflicted on her, Müller surprisingly presents her with the other half of Sophie's magic stone. | |||
11 | "Finé" Transliteration: "Fīne" ( Japanese: フィーネ (Finé)) | December 10, 2016 | |
Sieghard Müller delivers the other half of the Weisse Hexe's magic stone to Izetta which he has kept hidden since the death of the White Witch. Although dismissed from the Witch Project by Emperor Otto, Berkmann and the Germanians pay a visit to the Weisse Hexe's shrine in the old royal castle and Rickert's grave. The Germanians find where Archduchess Finé is hiding and Germanian SS troops invade the secret bunker where their cruel commander forces Finé to surrender. Suddenly Izetta employs the magic stone to drive the attackers off, despite the danger the artefact poses to her. After ascertaining that Otto had him marked for elimination, Berkmann kills the commander and surrenders to the Eylstadtians. He then gives them highly confidential information about Emperor Otto's new secret missile weapon, which, empowered and controlled by Sophie's magic, is soon to be unleashed on Landsbruck as an example to force the world's nations to surrender. In order to stop Otto's plan, Finé travels to the Germanian led conference in Westria while Izetta leaves to engage Sophie in a fight to prevent the weapon's launch; but both find Sophie and the Germanians are prepared for them. | |||
12 | "Izetta" Transliteration: "Izetta" ( Japanese: イゼッタ (Izetta)) | December 17, 2016 | |
Izetta and Sophie engage in an all-out duel of magic as the missile is prepared for launch. Meanwhile Müller and Bianca try their best to get Archduchess Finé to the conference while Berkmann initiates a discreet getaway. Müller sacrifices his life while creating a diversion, allowing Finé and Bianca to reach the dignitaries and forestall their nations' unconditional surrender to Germania. Izetta draws Sophie away from the missile base to prevent the launch, but in frustration the Germanians activate another of Sophie's clones in an attempt to launch the missile anyway. Izetta drains away all the magic from around the world, stopping the missile, defeating Sophie and foiling Otto's dreams of world conquest, and at the same time ending all magic on Earth and her life as a witch. The war eventually comes to an end when the Allies under Atlanta's leadership invade Europe and Otto commits suicide. The series ends with Finé continuing her work towards world peace and regularly visiting Izetta, who has survived the final ordeal, in her new cottage erected on the same spot where she and Finé first met as children. |