English Dub Review: Once Upon a Witch’s Death “The People I Love”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Meg has mysterious nightmares about a lone witch floating above a destroyed city.

Our Take:

Meg’s latest venture in Aquamarine would’ve been a fitting conclusion to the show’s season, but it wound up giving us more questions than answers.  One such case is Meg’s childhood, in which she was left orphaned due to a magical disaster claiming the life of her mother.  This aspect is explored further in the season finale, where she learns from her dreams that the magical disaster wasn’t from a natural cause.  Instead, it was caused by the Witch of Demise, Eldora, who was last seen at the magic ceremony.  Aside from the warning about removing the curse and her role of purifying the Earth, Eldora has shrouded herself in mystery regarding whether she’s an ally or a threat to Meg’s journey.  Well, thanks to this episode, we finally have that answer: she’s both.

“The People I Love” delves deeper into Eldora’s background, including her “Witch of Demise” title, as she destroyed the country as revenge for her family’s death.  That country is also a military dictatorship, known as Orlov, which Eldora annihilated to prevent a war between humanity and magic users.  Of course, despite the latter being seen as a good deed, Eldora’s actions have brought calamity to those around her, hence her title “Witch of Demise.”  Eldora isn’t the antagonistic threat we assumed she would be, given her regret over her actions. However, she’s still responsible for the events that put Meg in this position, especially since they’re now considered sisters due to Faust raising Eldora.  This also resulted in the apprentice witch embarking on another chapter of her journey, where she strives to learn more about her past.

The tear-collecting quest still lingers amid the show’s formulaic structure, which involves the protagonist’s gradual strength and self-discovery.  However, the extent of its role in a potential second season remains unknown, as we have yet to receive an official announcement about its future as of today.  Regarding my experience with Once Upon a Witch’s Death, I’m surprisingly hoping that it does continue.  It may not have much magic to elevate its typical season structure due to the lack of focus on its “tears of joy” concept.  However, the elements outside of that, mainly Meg’s self-discovery and emotional farewell to Faust, were enjoyable enough to consider myself interested in Meg’s crucial adventure outside her hometown.