The Witch and the Beast Offers an Interesting Take on Witches, but How is It as a Detective Anime?

The Witch and the Beast (Majo to Yajuu) spoilers ahead!

Summary:

• The last two episodes of The Witch and the Beast were dedicated to the investigation of mass murders.
• After the recent release of Episode 3, many viewers began to criticize the poorly done detective story.
• As the story progressed, we were given hints about the alleged killer.

The Witch and the Beast is a very dark novelty that offers an unusual take on witches. The main characters are trying to find the witch who cursed Guideau, so a significant part of the plot consists of detective elements.

The last two episodes were dedicated to the investigation of mass murders that the witch was supposed to be responsible for. However, many viewers did not like this plot because it was weak in terms of detective story.

Investigations in a fantasy world

Of course, The Witch and the Beast is primarily a fantasy story about a world where humans coexist with witches, mages, and other unusual creatures. Guideau and Ashaf are members of a magical organization. They are trying to counteract the effects of dark magic and find the witch who cursed Guideau and put him in a woman's body.

Since the search is the central theme of the story, there are many detective elements. Viewers are more likely to talk about the interesting duo of main characters who complement each other well, or the unusual view of witches as bloodthirsty and scary creatures, which has not been seen in anime for a long time.

As a detective story, The Witch and the Beast has rarely been talked about, even though every episode has featured mysteries and investigations. However, after the recent release of Episode 3, many viewers began to criticize the poorly done detective story.

Weak detective story

While the mystery of the first episode was only whether the witch presented was a bad one, the second and third episodes focused on a full-blown mass murder investigation in which a witch was presumably to blame.

As is often the case in detective stories, the culprits turned out to be family members of an important character.

Many did not like the motivation of the killers — the investigator's stepchildren were jealous of her with men, so they used the grimoire to commit the murders. The teenagers did not appear in the story until the finale, so the twist had no emotional impact.

However, if you look closely, you will notice some interesting details. As the plot progressed, we were hinted at the alleged killer in the scene in the bookstore when the heroine was talking about the book, as well as the moment when the killer attacked Guideau and Ashaf, or we were not shown Kiera's dead children.

These details went unnoticed by many because of the pacing and problems with the placement of accents.