Anime: Flying Witch

I found Flying Witch to be pointless, plotless and sickly-sweet, and I liked Non Non Biyori. It seems that the makers thought that if they threw some absurb magical elements into some comfy slice of life, they'd have a winner. But the 12 episodes I watched never gelled, and instead felt like exposition. Most of the magic came off as insincere and smug, as if the writers thought that they were so very, very clever. The music was simple-minded, repetitive and pure saccharine. There were some good aspects, such as the art direction, and the characters were reasonably well-developed and likeable, but without any real plot or explanation, the watcher is left wanting more.

Makoto is a witch in training who moves in with her relatives to further her training. If you're looking for a true slice of life with a light sprinkling of magic, Flying Witch may be up your alley. It shares the feel-good family interactions seen in shows like Minami Ke. However, it lacks a comical equivalent of Kana and doesn't have any semblance of romance. This show literally goes nowhere. If you're like me and need some semblance of story or character development, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Animation:
This show has some pretty impressive, detailed backgrounds. Whether in a local pedestrian mall, a garage shed, or walking outdoors, the characters are surrounded by vivid, meticulously-drawn scenery. If you like majestic mountains, green crop fields, and rustic towns, then this is your kind of scenery. Backgrounds aside, the show is standard fare. It's drawn in a bright but low-saturated palette, which fits the peaceful yet plain feel of the story. There is your standard fare 3D CGI used in all the vehicles and trains but luckily they're only used in a few scenes. The characters themselves are well drawn but actually look humorously plain sometimes compared to the detailed scenery. The show involves a lot of spiritual beings visiting the household so expect some rather odd looking characters- your reactions will probably be similar to that of Chinatsu. I actually think the best drawn character here is actually the cat Chito, who seems to have more personality than our rather boring male cousin, Kei.

There is pretty much no action in this rather peaceful show. Likewise, despite there being a witch on a broom in a miniskirt, the camera keeps things clean.

Sound:
The light, guitar-backed op fits both the scenery and pacing of the show; it's a fair and relatively catchy melody. The ED, by contrast, has a much richer instrumentation and is sung by our main heroines. The BGM is rather playful in tonality, it relies heavily on brass instruments, plucked strings, and occasionally piano. It serves its role better than in your typical show and some tunes will become familiar by the end of the show.
The primary VAs are relatively fresh. Minami Shinoda does a great job giving Makoto a gentle yet eager personality; she makes pulling out weeds very entertaining. I can't really say the same for our male protagonist- Shinsuke Sugawara's character is just plain boring- his voice gives him a rather dull character that never seems to be phased by anything. The show is, however, supported by a lot of veterans cast in secondary roles. You have Ai Kayano and Ari Ozawa voicing witch familiars (they don't actually speak words) and Kikuko Inoue voicing the residence's mom, her performance outright puts a lot of the other characters to shame.

Story:
There isn't that much to say for this category. The show basically has a bunch of interesting characters visiting the country residence and showcases a bunch of interactions between the cast. For instance, a good portion of one episode consists of multiple characters individually following the cat Chito while a large portion of another episode has our cast picking wild vegetables. There is actually a bit of educational material here in a similar vein to Silver Spoon but obviously to a lesser degree.
The show is pretty episodic overall with just a few exceptions, and there isn't really any central plot or story progression. There's a bit of light comedy but otherwise it's just a lot of nice, peaceful scenes and interactions.

Character:
The show focuses on Makoto, her elder sister, and her cousin. There isn't a lot of background on many of the characters; the show focuses more on just interactions. I wouldn't expect much in the form of romantic developments or even dynamic characters; other than Chinatsu, the other characters are pretty much the same all the way through.

There are some particularly interesting supporting characters, such as Inukai, but the majority of the interactions are simple conversations and occasional visits by unique spirits. Chinatsu and Akane (Makoto's sister who bears no family resemblance) are the main entertainers of the show; they have vibrant personalities, but aren't particularly deep.

Value:
I didn't really have that many expectations coming into this show and it pretty much matched my expectations. It is a nice, peaceful show with a lot of calming scenery. If that's what you're into then by all means dig in. As for me, there wasn't much entertainment value out of it due to the various reasons listed above.