A new beginning!
Tropes
- A Minor Kidroduction: The Cold Opening shows a young Akko (and Diana) attending Shiny Chariot’s magic show.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: A cockatrice in the Arcturus Forest is very huge.
- The Bait: Akko and Lotte unwillingly become this to the Cockatrice thanks to Sucy, who traps the two in order to lure it and get a feather from it.
- Basilisk and Cockatrice: Akko, Lotte, and Sucy encounter a huge cockatrice in the Arcturus Forest.
- Cold Opening: Like in the original short film, it starts with Chariot's show, before jumping forward 10 years later to the present day.
- Establishing Character Moment:
- Akko excitedly arriving at the town close to Luna Nova...and having no idea how to get there, which establishes her as bubbly, energetic, and clueless.
- Lotte offering Akko a ride to Luna Nova after some reluctance, which establishes her as kind and willing to reach out to those in need.
- Sucy's introduction in the anime has her using her potions against Akko, such as bringing a bird doll to life to peck her eye and turn ropes into snakes. She does this while not saying anything and maintaining a straight face, cementing her status as a stoic but mischievous prankster.
- The very first things Hannah and Barbara are shown doing is express displeasure towards the idea of a muggle joining Luna Nova and then mock Akko for her inability to fly and naivety upon meeting her, establishing them as haughty bullies.
- Early-Bird Cameo:
- Like in the original short film, Diana makes a cameo in the audience during Chariot's show.
- All side characters, Diana, Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka, appear during the matriculation ceremony.
- Face Plant: A double face plant in this case, as a rocky ride on the Leylines sends Akko flying face-first right into Sucy's own.
- Man-Eating Plant: At one point, the trio encounter (and narrowly escape from) a mandrake, a human-eating flower.
- Translation with an Agenda: Sucy instructs Akko to recite the spell “Kutchur Katela Flala” out loud, which summons the Cockatrice. As it turns out, “Kutchur Katela Flala” calls the giant bird stupid and invites it to eat the speaker; Sucy had just tricked Akko into being bait for the Cockatrice.
