Little Witch Academia is a five chapter manga based on Little Witch Academia illustrated by Teri Terio.
The manga started as a one-shot released on Ultra Jump on August 19, 2013 to promote the then-recently released short film, which acted as a prequel to the first film that shows how Akko met her friends, as well as Diana and her Girl Posse.
From August 19, 2015 to November 20, 2015, to promote Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, Teri Terio would write four more chapters, which are primarily episodic in nature and focused on whether antics Akko and company get into.
The five chapters would later be compiled into a singular tankōbon in January 19, 2016.
The manga has never been released outside of Japan, though scanlations do exist online.
Not to be confused with the later manga by Keisuke Sato, which has its own page here.
Teri Terio's manga contains the following examples:
- Acquired Poison Immunity: This seems to run in the Manbavaran family. The fact that Garie and Sabi have not been immunized yet would be used to punish them for the troubles they caused.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Downplayed with Diana. While she was already an Jerkass in the short films, it's made clear she isn't all bad in spite of her attitude and that she has her good qualities, which she showcases in both films. In the manga though, she is much more openly mocking and cruel towards Akko in general (even outright harming her with a Faux Flame spell while laughing) and most of her good qualities are never showcased at any point across the manga.
- Alternate Continuity: While speculated to be set in the same universe as the short films but before their events, nothing within the manga itself indicates this.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Sucy sees Sabi and Garie as this. She does care for them nevertheless and saves them from Fluffy after the two have merged with it.
- Artistic License: Somehow, the gunpowder cannons of a pirate ship that has been underwater for hundreds of years can fire just fine as soon as the ship is brought to the surface. Then again, this is a pirate ship that's brought back to life by magic.
- Bathos: Professor Ursula, a.k.a. Shiny Chariot, reacts with shock to the news from her equally-shocked showbiz manager that the pattern papers to her iconic costume have been stolen, causing her to realize that the Shiny Chariot costume that was put on an online auction is a fake... and then a split second later, the belt of her genuine costume snaps because it no longer fits due to the weight she has gained over the years, causing her to realize that she needs to go on a diet.
- Batman Gambit: Sucy willingly lets the snake she came across earlier bite her and lets her two sisters and Fluffy merge with her, in order to poison Fluffy and free her sisters. It pays off. It helps that she has Acquired Poison Immunity, so she's not affected by the snake's venom.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The ordinary snake that is showcased at Marito's auction in Chapter 4 gets dismissed by Garie and Sabi as lame, but turned out useful later. It ended up becoming Sucy's familiar.
- Cool Airship: Lotte and Sucy travel to the Philippines via one in chapter 4.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- In Chapter 1, Akko challenges Diana to a magic duel between them. Unsurprising though, considering who she's facing, Diana wins the duel and defeats Akko with utter ease.
- Happens again in Chapter 2, Diana's golem casually destroys Akko's first, poorly-made one with a single punch. The latter didn't even get to do anything.
- A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 4 focuses entirely on Sucy and Lotte going to the former's hometown to obtain a familiar, with Akko only appearing at the beginning and end of the chapter.
- Demoted to Extra:
- The Shiny Rod only appears in flashbacks and does not get named at any point here.
- Happens to Akko in Chapter 4 where she only appears in the beginning and end of it.
- Dirty Old Man: The conman who tries to make a quick buck with forged Shiny Chariot costumes takes an opportunity to grope Diana and even taunts her for it.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The scene in which Gora-chan (a five years old Mandrake) gets pulled out and is hanging by a rope kind of looks like someone just got hanged. Lotte even remarks upon it.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Akko and Diana are shown to use laptops in the school library, which can come off as quite odd in hindsight given that Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade would later establish the "no modern technology on campus" rule.
- Chapter 4 has Akko imagine having a romantic encounter with a guy at one point, which clashes with later works such as Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time, which establishes Akko as having no interest in romance.
- Eyes Out of Sight: Mrs. Manbavaran's eyes are completely hidden behind her hair and are never shown once.
- Faux Flame: It’s quickly revealed after Akko got seemingly burnt by Diana with a flame spell that the flame spell was actually an illusion spell that gave off the impression of being burnt, with Akko’s burns fading away after a few minutes.
- I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: Subverted in chapter 5. Lotte originally starts off disliking fish due to having a fear of them stemming back from an encounter with dead fish as a child. However, she ends up reconsidering her stance on Fish upon eating Akko's sushi, which she ends up liking, only to end up disliking Fish again shortly after Akko gives Lotte the rest of the massive piles of sushi to eat after the former and Sucy ended up hating it.
- Imagine Spot: Akko has one imagining herself in various scenarios in the Philippines in Chapter 4, such as swimming in the emerald green waters, eating a ton of food, and having a romantic encounter with a guy.
- It Can Think: Lemmy the golem, unlike other golems, is smart enough to deduct on his own that Akko won't be able to use any magic for as long as he exists. He rectifies this problem by deliberately attacking Diana and her clique, forcing Akko to destroy him.
- Kick the Dog: After Diana finds Akko in chapter 2 after the latter ran away with Lemmy, she openly states to Akko that there is truly no hope for her and that she should give up on her dreams and go back home to Japan, which brings an already dejected Akko into downright tears, which Hannah and Barbara mock her for after locating the two.
- Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: While Sucy and her mother do share some similarities (such as being incredibly creepy), their personalities are incredibly different, with Mrs. Manbavaran being a far more serious and easily angered person compared to Sucy, who is a mischievous Deadpan Snarker. This was even brought up when asked by Lotte if her mom would get angry by her snake familiar, stating that while her mom is mom, she is her.
- Loose Canon: The manga has this status in regard to the original short films. While the manga can be enjoyed without watching the films and the events of the manga aren't acknowledged in the films. There's nothing in them that contradict the films or vice versa and they can be fitted into the film's canon without issue.
- Mushroom Samba: This happens to Akko after sniffing a poisonous mushroom in Chapter 5.
- Noblewoman's Laugh: Diana is shown to be laughing in this fashion after performing a Faux Flame spell on Akko in chapter 1.
- One-Hit Kill: Diana's golem casually destroys Akko's first golem with a single punch.
- Out of Focus: Diana, Hannah, and Barbara don't appear at all in Chapters 4 and 5.
- Pet the Dog: Sucy compliments Akko and admits she's got potential at the end of Chapter 1.
- Rivals Team Up: Akko and Diana end up temporarily teaming up in chapter 3 to defeat an old con man from selling fake Shiny Chariot outfits.
- Shout-Out: Chapter one has one to The Castle of Cagliostro, calling it The Castle of Count Sangelmi, maintaining the detail of it being an action flick about a thief where they fight on a clock tower.
- Stiff Upper Lip: Diana, Hannah, and Barbara's reaction to Akko blowing up the dormitory by accident is to simply remark upon it while watching from a distance and having tea.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Sucy, her mother and her sisters all look identical to each other and all of them have the same pale skin and pink hair.
- Stuff Blowing Up: Akko, upon gaining a huge but temporary power boost, accidentally causes a huge explosion that burns down much of the dormitory.
- Suicide by Cop: Lemmy the golem, upon realizing that his existence prevents Akko from being able to use magic at all, attacks Diana, Hannah, and Barbara against Akko's command to stand down, forcing her to destroy him by breaking the rune on his forehead.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Akko resurrects a dog in order to get it to pull out a Mandrake while she and Lotte are at a safe distance. It being an already rotten carcass, the zombie dog falls apart almost immediately.
- Vacation Episode: Chapter 4 has Lotte and Sucy travel to the Philippines for family matters, with Akko staying behind due to having to make up for her poor grades.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Lotte has an innate fear of fish thanks to an encounter she had with some dead fish in a market as a child.
