Raised by the Eternal Witch Faust, Meg Raspberry has dreamed of becoming a witch as great as her master. However, that dream crumbles when Faust tells her on her 17th birthday that she has one year left to live due to a congenial curse that will age her at a rapid rate when she turns 18.
Not all hope is lost, however. Faust tell her that she can break the curse by consuming the Seed of Life, but in order to do so, she must collect a thousand tears of joy in just a year in order to craft it.
I know they explain it comically, but it’s still a dick move to not tell someone they will die at 18 until there is only a year left. If you are looking for anime recommendations like Once Upon a Witch’s Death, head on down below.
Anime Like Once Upon a Witch’s Death
For Fans of Plucky Young Witches
Kobato
Sweet and friendly Kobato Hanato has a wish to go to a particular place. However, in order to get there, she has to help people in their time of distress. Each time she helps someone mend their broken heart, a small fragment is produced and goes into a special bottle. When that bottle is filled, her wish will be granted.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Kobato
- A girl is wandering around into other people’s stories because she is collecting a physical substance that comes from various emotions.
- Whimsical fantasy stories filled with emotion and catharsis
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Kobato
- Kobato isn’t about witches. The main character is a bit of a mix between an otherworlder and an angel.
- Kobato has the main character be the pinnacle of sweetness while Meg… isn’t.
- Kobato is about healing people’s hearts, which is not so different from Once Upon a Witch’s Death, but that does mean it focuses more on trauma and sad stories than the not always so sad Once Upon a Witch’s Death.
- Kobato has romance
Wandering Witch – The Journey of Elaina
Ever since she was a child, Elaina has been enamored by the stories in her favorite book. It tells the tale of Nike, a famous witch who enjoyed many great adventures around the world.
After becoming a fully-fledged witch herself, she departs, becoming entangled in a number of stories of those she meets around the world.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Wandering Witch
- Young witches with character flaws that sometimes makes them hard to love, but fun to watch.
- Witches wandering around, walking right into other people’s stories
- An interesting mix between cheerful stories and somewhat dark ones, all pretty emotional.
- Both Wandering Witch and Once Upon a Witch’s Death share a similar sort of fantasy world that is a combination of modern, quaint European, and also magical, but not everyone is magical either.
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Wandering Witch
- There is no threat of imminent death in Wandering Witch, she is just trying to hone her skills and grow.
- Wandering Witch is more about a journey whereas Once Upon a Witch’s Death is often about prowling around a singular town.
Little Witch Academia
Although Atsuko is an ordinary girl, she became enamored by witches and magic by a magic show she saw as a kid hosted by a witch named Shiny Chariot.
Now, she has aspires to be a witch, taking the first step by joining a renowned academy for witches called Luna Nova Academy.
Although she faces hardship as a first generation witch and fan of Shiny Chariot, whom many consider a fraud, she and her two friends do their best each new day.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Little Witch Academia
- Plucky young witches with character flaws and a spastic attitude
- Whimsical, emotional stories about friendship and various emotions
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Little Witch Academia
- Little Witch Academia is a “go to magic school” show, like Harry Potter, but cute anime girls.
- Little Witch Academia has plenty of smaller stories, but it is primarily driven by an overall linear plot.
- The witch in Little Witch Academia is a human without innate magical talent, so she’s actually not especially good at magic at times unlike Meg.
- Little Witch Academia is a very high energy series. Not always specifically in the action, but it does have more action that Once Upon a Witch’s Death.
The Flying Witch
The young Makoto Kowata is a witch, but her skills in magic leave something to be desired. To further train her craft, she moves to rural Aomori to live with her cousins.
This area, rich in nature, is the perfect place to commune with natural forces and hone her craft.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and The Flying Witch
- A young witch is honing her craft
- Whimsical stories about a world where magic exists, not everyone can do it, but also isn’t used for hardcore combat either.
- The main character wanders into other people’s stories
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and The Flying Witch
- Flying Witch is set specifically in our world, but there’s magic.
- Flying Witch is about a young witch heading to the country, so it is a rural-set story with far less characters and far more lovely natural visuals.
- Flying Witch is a more relaxed, iyashikei story with no threat of imminent death.
Iroduku – The World in Colors
In this world, there is only a small amount of magic left. Hitomi is a descendant of an old witch family who lost her emotions and ability to see color at a young age.
Feeling bad for her granddaughter, the great witch Kohaku sends her into the past where interactions with her young self and Kohaku’s friends will hopefully foster some growth in her granddaughter.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Iroduku
- Young, lightly adrift witch main character
- Her elderly mentor gives her a push into character growth
- Whimsical, emotional, often bittersweet stories with a plot fully focused on discovering and cherishing emotions.
- A similar type of world where magic is present, but life in the world is fairly normal if not more quaint.
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Iroduku
- Iroduku is about a girl who can’t see colors and has a hard time connecting with people being sent back in time by her grandmother to hang out with the younger version of her grandmother and her friends.
- Iroduku features a modern-like world where magic is on the verge of fading from the world. So it technically isn’t about witches as much as Once Upon a Witch’s Death is.
- Iroduku has a romantic element as well as a more linear plot
- The main character in Iroduku isn’t plucky like Meg, she is more demure and emotionally damaged.
For Fans of Bitter and Sweet Stories
Kino’s Journey
Accompanied by her talking motorcycle, Hermes, Kino travels through her mysterious world, spending only three days and two nights in each town. The idea is that three days is enough to learn almost everything about a place. This is the story of her journey.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Kino’s Journey
- Whimsical, emotional short stories in most episodes framed by a vague overall goal
- Interesting world that is grounded in reality but with light magic and fictional societies
- Main character that often wanders into people’s stories
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Kino’s Journey
- The main character in Kino’s Journey is less spastic and more of a quiet observer of the stories than an active participant like Meg is.
- There is a bit of magic in Kino’s Journey, but it very, very small and not a focus.
- Kino’s Journey is truly disconnected short stories about a girl on a journey, and the stories all often have some sort of moral or philosophical takeaway to them.
To Your Eternity
One day, an entity, for reasons unknown, threw an orb to Earth. With no emotion or identity, the orb is meant to gather sensations and is able to take the shape of things it encounters as it learns.
For many years, it was a rock, and then it became moss, and when a wolf took its last breath near it, it became the wolf. After wandering for some time, it met a boy. After a long struggle, the boy, too, took his last breath.
With human form, now the orb sets off on his never-ending journey where he will meet many new people and have many new experiences.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and To Your Eternity
- Whimsical, emotional, bittersweet stories
- Unique world with light magic and unique societies
- Main character that wanders into people’s stories
- Plots fully focused on emotions and what it means to be human with a very vague overall goal
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and To Your Eternity
- To Your Eternity follows an immortal, so it can span a long period. He also is learning what it means to be human, so he is not much of a character himself until far later.
- To Your Eternity’s stories often are multi-episode arcs, so you bond to the characters involved a lot more.
- To Your Eternity has more action as it goes on, but is still not really an action series.
- To Your Eternity has the more unique magical power system and world building.
- To Your Eternity can be devastatingly sad.
Somali and the Forest Guardian
With humanity all but extinct after severe prosecution, the world is ruled over by spirits and all manner of strange creatures.
One day, a golem that serves as guardian of the forest meets a young human girl.
She has no memory of her parents, but the golem decides to at least seek out other humans to return her.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Somali and the Forest Guardian
- Whimsical, emotional, bittersweet short stories
- Plots fully focused on emotions, connection, and what it means to be human/alive
- Main character that sometimes wanders into other people’s stories.
- Modern-seeming fantasy world laced with magical elements and creatures that all live normally
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Somali and the Forest Guardian
- Somali and the Forest Guardian follows a golem near the end of his life traveling with a human child, trying to find some humans to give her to.
- The main character in Somali is not especially expressive, which, combined with the setup, makes it particularly melancholy.
Violet Evergarden
After the Great War and her time in it came to an end, Violet Evergarden is adrift. Her purpose was once only battle, and now she must find a new one.
After recovering from the loss of her arms, Violet takes up a job at the CH Postal Services. Here she transcribes people’s thoughts into what should be emotional letters. While the “emotional” part seems to greatly escape her, she aims to learn how to move people with words.
Similarities Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Violet Evergarden
- Whimsical, emotional, bittersweet short stories
- Plots fully focused on emotions, connection, and what it means to be human
- Main character that sometimes wanders into other people’s stories.
- Similar sort of quaint European-style worlds with distinct fictional elements
Differences Between Once Upon a Witch’s Death and Violet Evergarden
- Violet Evergarden doesn’t feature magic, though it is lightly a fantasy steampunk sort of affair
- The main character in Violet Evergarden is learning about emotions because she was raised to not have them. Meg is learning about emotions to better cherish and appreciate them.
- Violet Evergarden gets involved in the stories of others for her job rather than just wandering into them or doing so in order to not die like Meg.
Do you have more anime recommendations like Once Upon a Witch’s Death? Let fans know in the comments section below.
