Ever since her grandmother passed away, Rose, the “good Witch of the Lake,” has been brewing potions in a little hermitage all by herself. She’s able to get by just fine, but her heart aches for a man she met four years ago, Harij, who probably doesn’t even know she exists. This has been troubling her for a long time. However, the tide changes when he suddenly arrives at her doorstep, requesting a love potion. Rose doesn’t like the idea of him using the love potion on another woman—she’d like him to notice her instead—and, being a wise young lady, takes this opportunity to stall the process for as long as possible. Every time he brings her an exceedingly difficult-to-get ingredient, she sends him back on a mission for something just as rare. As Harij is starting to lose patience, Rose reflects on how much longer she can keep him busy. Will something special develop before the jig is up?

It looks like this will be a cute and cozy romcom to follow this season. The background art is very pleasant to look at, and I like the character design and voice acting as well. On the surface, some plot aspects might seem a bit troubling, though. Namely, what is Harij planning to do with that love potion, exactly? Rose is assuming the worst here, but from this episode it seems pretty likely that Harij has some kind of justifiable reason for it. If that is the case, that raises another question: How long can Rose keep stalling? These questions were on my mind. Harij seems like an honorable guy, so it’s not surprising that he’s often seen annoyed in this episode. Some of Rose’s requests are so ridiculous that he suspects that she is simply wasting his time here. Meanwhile, Rose is just trying to enjoy every second she can spend with him. What I appreciate about Rose is that, for better or worse, she’s not so uncomfortable around him that she filters every thought. She definitely just goes ahead and blurts out some slightly unhinged stuff sometimes, which leads to funny interactions. I have no idea how the status quo could continue for more than an episode or two, but I think I’ll keep watching, no matter what’s in store for these two.

Hello, I Am a Witch and My Crush Wants Me to Make a Love Potion! is streaming on Crunchyroll.