Sometimes, you just crave a comedy that embraces the absurd. While clever humor has its place, there’s a special artistry to crafting truly brilliant stupidity. If a joke is too lowbrow, it risks falling flat, eliciting eye-rolls instead of laughter. Thankfully, The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch masterfully avoids this pitfall. Its brand of silliness feels almost scientifically engineered for maximum comedic effect.
The premise of The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch is deceptively simple. Alyssa, a witch who’s casually over 200 years old (voiced by Aoi Koga), discovers a baby abandoned in the forest. With no parents in sight, Alyssa takes the child in and decides to raise her. Fast forward sixteen years, and that baby is now Viola (Nana Mizuki), a young woman whose appearance and stature often lead people to mistake Alyssa for the child. While magic is present in their world, the real magic of this anime lies in the quirky personalities of the people and creatures that populate Alyssa and Viola’s wonderfully chaotic lives, ensuring their days are anything but ordinary.
Alyssa and Viola in The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch anime
Adapted from Piroya’s manga, the anime adopts a sitcom-like structure for its storytelling. While some episodes might subtly build upon past events, each episode largely stands alone. This episodic nature makes The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch incredibly easy to pick up and watch. New viewers can jump in at any point and quickly grasp the characters and their dynamics without feeling lost. And crucially, this anime is outrageously funny.
Earlier, I mentioned the “art of stupidity,” and this series is a true masterclass in it. Whether the plot revolves around mischievous butt fairies, cookies hilariously resembling poop, or colossal, elf-devouring monsters, the narrative consistently delivers joke after joke. Many comedies struggle to land even half of their humor, but The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch achieves comedic gold with almost every gag. This isn’t just dumb humor; it’s brilliantly dumb. There were moments when I genuinely had to pause the show because I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe!
Fennel and Grind visiting Alyssa in The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch
Episode five perfectly exemplifies this comedic genius. Alyssa receives a visit from her elf friend Fennel (Takayuki Kondo) and orc buddy Grind (Daisuke Ono) while Viola, ever the overprotective daughter, is out. As Fennel tries his best to flirt with Alyssa, Grind constantly steers the conversation towards his fascination with attractive elf women and Fennel’s hometown. This leads to a series of side-splitting, fantasy-world-demolishing revelations about elderly elves, the laziness of Fennel’s townspeople, and even more poop jokes. Every setup and punchline is expertly crafted, the jokes flowing seamlessly and hitting their comedic targets with precision.
But let’s talk about what might be the absolute best element of The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch: Phoenix (Takaya Hashi). What could have been a throwaway summoning gag has evolved into arguably the funniest animal character of 2023. From his endearingly goofy appearance to his sleep-inducing melody ability and his hilarious transformation into a parakeet after eating questionable food, Phoenix consistently steals every scene he’s in. He’s so good, you almost expect a 90s sitcom laugh track to erupt every time he enters a room.
Phoenix in parakeet form in The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch anime
Surprisingly, even within this fast-paced comedic whirlwind, there’s room for genuine heart. Alyssa’s deep love for Viola, and Viola’s reciprocal affection, are palpable. Flashbacks to Viola’s infancy highlight the challenges Alyssa faced raising her, with heartwarming glimpses of support from her friends during tough times. One episode featuring the Sandman (Takaya Kuroda) even concludes with surprisingly practical advice on improving sleep habits. Even the episode centered on butt fairies reveals a touching underlying motivation for one fairy’s rebellion against a nobleman’s daughter’s arranged marriage.
This blend of humor and heart is further amplified by the exceptional voice cast. Koga imbues Alyssa with a charmingly sweet and slightly panicky personality, perfectly enhancing every punchline. Mizuki portrays Viola as both endearing and alluring, her eccentric nature amplifying the already chaotic events. And Hashi’s Phoenix, with his elegant voice, is a masterstroke of comedic casting, his aristocratic vocabulary hilariously clashing with his dorky and sometimes jealous tendencies.
Viola and Alyssa enjoying daily life in The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch
Studio A-Real, primarily known for their supporting animation work on series like Attack on Titan and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, steps into the spotlight with The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch. They’ve done a commendable job of translating Piroya’s original manga art style to animation. While some action sequences might appear slightly less polished, the visuals truly shine when emphasizing comedic moments. The anime is also vibrant and colorful, particularly during spellcasting or moments of utter chaos involving our main characters.
Composer Miyu Nakamura adopts a minimalist approach to the soundtrack, which surprisingly works well. The whimsical toy piano melodies effectively heighten the silliness, and even the brief eyecatch jingles feel like a playful nod to Seinfeld‘s iconic bass slaps. Mizuki herself performs the opening theme, “Sugar Doughnuts,” a delightful song about the bond between mother and daughter that perfectly captures Alyssa and Viola’s relationship. angela takes a different route with the ending theme “Welcome!”, delivering a catchy 1930s swing jazz tune that’s easily one of the year’s most memorable anisongs.
In conclusion, we all need an anime that allows us to switch off our brains and simply enjoy. The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch is precisely that show. It might not possess the intellectual humor of KonoSuba or Nichijou, but it wholeheartedly embraces its own brand of carefully crafted stupidity, aiming for comedic gold – and consistently hitting the mark. Thanks to its brilliant jokes, fantastic voice cast, and punchlines that often come completely out of left field, you might tune in for a moment, but The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch will undoubtedly charm you into staying for the unfolding madness.
Story: Script: Animation: Voice Acting: Soundtrack: Final Grade (not an average):
The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch is available for streaming on Crunchyroll, licensed by Crunchyroll. This review is based on episodes 1-8, with promotional consideration provided by Crunchyroll.
