Luna lives with her many animal familiars in a mushroom (champignon) house deep in the Black Forest, where she spends her days making medicines for the nearby townsfolk, though they know it not. If they did, they wouldn’t use the medicine, no matter how effective it is at curing any and all ailments. That’s because wherever Luna steps, poisonous mushrooms sprout, while her touch rots flesh, and even her breath can kill. Luna is a black witch, after all. But what the townsfolk don’t realize is that all the poisons and toxins Luna releases whenever she is in town are actually theirs. You see, Luna has purification magic, and it condenses all the poisonous emotions, words, and actions lingering in the atmosphere into solid and gaseous form, filtering the air and lightening their hearts without their knowing it. But Luna’s not looking for compassion or understanding from the townsfolk; she just wants to make them happy and watch from a safe distance, without upsetting them. Then one day, she sees a beautiful boy, and later, when she draws his portrait at home, the paper boy comes to life. Is this the beginning of a new world of possibilities for the lonely black witch?
This double-episode premiere is an interesting one, in a ”mixed bag” kind of way. First off, you really do need to watch both episodes because together, they tell a complete, self-contained story that is clearly intended as a prologue for what is to come, assuming the final scene is anything to go by! Luna, who has spent centuries contented with her peaceful, if solitary life, awakens to human relationship and the deep emotions that well up as a result. It’s a tale with the feel of a tragedy, as conveyed powerfully in the mournful fairy tale tones of the score and OP, but it’s also tender, as reflected in the insert song that evokes a medieval romance. But it also pivots on a case of insta-love—out of necessity, no doubt, since this tale is setting up the series as a whole, but still, the speed and ardor of the romance is a bit unbelievable. Unless, of course, the whispers about the seductive powers of black witches really are true in this world, which would add a whole new level of heartbreak to the tale, since Luna is so pure-hearted a maiden (she really is kind! And she loves reading and drawing—best girl material there). Another reason to watch both episodes is that Luna herself doesn’t speak until the second one! Instead, her talking cow familiar and a narrator do all the talking for her, which is a bit frustrating. The animation is also a bit hit and miss in that the backgrounds are lush and striking, capturing that enchanted forest feel, but the character designs are a bit flat, though effort has been made with Luna’s outfits, which change each time she visits the town—a rare occurrence in anime! The pacing swings back and forth between a tad slow and rather quick (insta-love), never quite finding its feet, yet, when all is said and done, the two episodes do establish both the worldbuilding and character arc for Luna quite nicely. The series could build from here into a rewarding story; or it could continue to mute its lead and never quite give us a tale with any depth. I can’t tell! So…I’m on the fence. I’ll give it another episode at least, to see what it is this lengthy premiere has gone to the trouble of setting up.
Champignon Witch is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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