March 4th, 2018 
Charles Solomon 
A featherweight supernatural romantic farce, Yamada-kun and the 7 Witches (2015) turns the conventions of the popular anime genre of the harem comedy topsy-turvy. The original manga by Miki Yoshikawa, which sold almost four million copies, has been made into a live action series, as well as an animated one.
Students at Suzaku High dismiss Ryu Yamada (Newton Pittman) as the school’s resident delinquent: He gets into fights, flunks exams and sleeps during class. When he accidentally bumps into introverted honor student Urara Shiraishi (Mikaela Krantz), they tumble down a staircase together. Their lips touch without their realizing it, and when they come to, they’re inhabiting each others’ bodies.
Yamada discovers that Shiraishi is one of seven witches at the school, each of whom possesses a special power. But Yamada is not only immune to their powers, he takes on the abilities of whomever he kisses. Shiraishi switches bodies; bespectacled Meiko Otsuka (Michelle Rojas) is telepathic; Noa Takigawa (Alexis Tipton) can detect people’s past traumas. Yamada, a few other guys (who don’t possess powers because of their gender) and most of the witches join together in the Supernatural Studies Club—hoping to figure out what’s going on.
At least in anime and manga, Japanese teen-agers still regard their first kiss as a significant rite of passage, not something to be undertaken casually or with just anyone. So Yamada’s means of gaining abilities becomes even more problematic.
Since the debut of Tenchi Muyo! in 1992, the harem comedy has remained popular with otaku. A good-natured but unprepossessing guy finds himself surrounded by a group of attractive girls who vie for his affection—and kiss: the “Norse goddesses” who pursue Keiichi in Ah My Goddess. Tenchi proved to be the long-lost prince of the planet Jurai; Keiichi is a regular humans, but they’re both caring, likable characters. In 7 Witches, six of the girls aren’t really attracted to Yamada although they kiss him. He’s a friend with whom they brainstorm how to use whose powers against whom.
The plot of 7 Witches takes a lot of twists and turns—more than the filmmakers can really fit into 12 episodes—and the increasingly thorny problems can all be traced back to Haruma Yamazaki (Seth Magill), the sinister student body president. (There has to be something wrong with him: He writes with a quill pen.) As Yamada and his friends find the other witches, the characters multiply beyond what the flimsy storyline can support. Students appear, serve as the focus for one episode, then fade into the background until their powers are needed again. 7 Witches probably would have worked better if the story stretched over two seasons, instead of one.
Although it’s often funny, 7 Witches is very uneven. Director Seiki Takuno and his crew initially get lots of laughs from Yamada’s body switching with Shiraishi. In Your Name, Makoto Shinkai used a similar premise to explore questions of identity and gender roles. While it gives the two main characters an immediate bond, the gender bending in 7 Witches is closer in tone to Rumiko Takahashi’s slapstick hit Ranma ½: switching roles is just a vehicle for broad comedy.
Usually, harem comedies leave their fractious romances unresolved. Ranma and Akane are no closer to getting together than they were when the series began, more than 143 episodes ago. The girls are still chasing Tenchi and Keiichi. 7 Witches might have been more satisfying if the filmmakers had stuck to the template. Although it takes them several hours to resolve their problems and declare their mutual affection, any anime fan who watches the first episode will know the mismatched Yamada and Shiraishi are going to end up together.
Yamada-kun and the 7 Witches
Crunchyroll/Funimation: $64.98 4 discs, DVD and Blu-ray
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