This review is mostly spoiler free I have seen many people compare Wandering Witch Elaina to the anime/light novel Kinos Journey and it is frankly quite insulting to KJ. This episodic series has no consistency and is painfully contradictory. I heard that this is partially because the original source was the authors first work but for anyone going into this series because you are a fan of episodic series such as Mushishi or Kinos Journey that flow smoothly between each episode/story... you better erase those expectations before watching this or steer clear of this anime altogether. The cohesive storytelling present in Mushishi or KJ is nowhere to be found in Wandering Witch Elaina. Taking after the awkward mash of varying quality in each episode Elaina has absolutely no consistent morals whatsoever. She canunder the pretense of staying neutral but breaks this vow immediately when there are big benefits for herself. She is taught humility and failure by her mentor and parents in the first episode and lovingly tosses it in the garbage on her way out. Character development is miserably nonexistent not just in that first episode but the entire show. Unlike Kino who recognizes that their judgment is not superior to other people Elaina fails to ever notice that her wisdom is most often harmful rather than helpful and honestly quite foolish. Elainas status as a witch seems to prevent her from being capable of critical thinking skills or selfimprovement. On the rare occasion that she does take a moment to question herself the episode is already finished and her memory is essentially reset by the next episode. In fact the only consistent element of this anime is Elainas inability to improve as a person in any way shape or form. I have seen some people argue that her character is intentionally unlikeable and that her conceited outlook is part of a complex or perhaps an underlying theme of selfdiscovery in the show but the problem is that the series does a poor job of conveying either of these messages... because these interpretations were completely off the mark. The spoiler reasons for Elainas inconsistent character I wont mention but the entire finale in general wouldve been better with more obvious foreshadowing and contrast early on considering it had about as much impact as a shitty isekai title. This isnt to say there were no good moments but for a show about expanding your views and world through experience there is a noticeable lack of learning or introspection from the protagonist because she already believes she has peaked as an individual. While some episodes have wonderful worldbuilding and concepts incorporated it is incredibly fleeting and the majority of the series feels dull instead of thoughtprovoking. All in all I fail to comprehend how or why such a series gained so much traction or popularity this season.