The Classroom of a Black Cat and a Witch — Episode 1

Content Warning: Fan service (primarily upskirting), Sexual harassment

What’s it about? Spica dreams of joining a magical academy only…she can’t use magic at all. With no resources, her chances at casting spells seems less than zero until she meets a talking black cat who is secretly a mage. Forming a pact, Spica begins her journey into the realm of magic, mystery, and morel

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In the world of Black Cat and a Witch where one young man, at seventeen, stands at the pinnacle of magic study and creation. That is, until he becomes a cat and meets a young woman who is desperate to learn magic but more likely to get herself killed in the process. 

Spica Virgo is a girl who loves magic and dreams of getting into the Royal Diana Academy to become a first-class magician like said famed seventeen-year-old magician, Claude Sirius. Only Claude is something of an infamous person now, having run away from defending the academy when cultists came and caused a nightmare of a mess a few years prior. Still, Spica dreams of the magician she knows she could become, and when her magically-inclined best friend Aria isn’t sexually harassing her, she has some support.

That is, until she meets a sassy talking cat who, in exchange for helping him with his curse, promises to teach her magic… 

The Classroom of a Black Cat and a Witch is outright uncomfortable from the start. We see more flashes of Spica’s underwear than any magic in the first five minutes, and her best friend is constantly sexually harassing her. That’s not to mention the fact that Spica immediately offers up her body in sexual service in exchange for magic. It’s just…very discomforting and absolutely not my idea of a fun time.

And sure, this is a romantic comedy but these jokes feel utterly dead on arrival. I don’t find anything “funny” in this being how we’re introduced to the world, and even when the show gets slightly more serious, it still leaves a bad taste on the tongue. This show is supposed to be a comedy, and yet it feels like it’s leaning on cheap sexual stunners instead of the moments where magic is weird and wacky. I’d rather more of the latter because I think it would make Black Cat and a Witch stand out, but then the weird sexualization of Spica kicks back in and I lose all interest in anything this show might have to offer.

The only “saving grace” here is Spica’s desire to become like Claude Sirius, who she deeply admires and finds strong. It also helps that Claude appealed and saved her during the aforementioned attack by cultists. And while her paw-erful cat magician master has his doubts, Spica ends up proving herself in the second half of the anime despite a completely sigh-worthy opening.

And yes, that includes Spica being commanded to kiss her cat master’s butthole. I’ll leave my thoughts there.

The Classroom of a Black Cat and a Witch is decidedly not my thing. I am no longer the adult that finds series adjacent to The Familiar of Zero funny or edgy-cool. I look for much more in anime, and while I’m sure there’s some underlining potential here, I’m not sticking around to find it. I just found this premiere so disappointing whether we’re talking about characterization, the general plot, or just the dynamic between Spica and Claude.

And it’s a shame because this could be so much more than it is, but as it stands, this anime premiere is ultimately lackluster, offering up cheap jokes and slapstick-ish comedy to form the foundation of Spica’s magical journey. Like always, I’m happy for those who have been awaiting this series’ adaptation, but for me…consider my magical journey done with this sentence.