I wouldn’t say this went in the direction of the dreaded “serious” episode. Witch Watch still has that test to pass. But this was at least a little more grounded than usual, and thematically consistent. There was no obvious three-chapter structure but a pretty consistent theme from start to finish. And that theme is love, most of it Nico’s for Moi. To the extent that couples in shounen that aren’t really romances can be, their being one eventually is a fait accompli. But for now we have to have uncertainty, as Moi fills the oblivious guy role with aplomb.

For starters, Nico makes a love charm (“not really a spell”) for a girl. This is seen by a guy named Ishii-kun, which leads to Nico developing a reputation as a love facilitator (though she thinks it’s something else). That’s nothing on Moi’s reputation though – he’s becoming the class idol. And he pretty much does GAR stuff as easily as falling out of bed, so the snowball effect is in full force. Interestingly Nico confides in Kan-chan about all this, and he betrays no sign of affection for her himself (which would more or less be expected in a series like this). In fact he tries to help her, though “help” has to be applied pretty loosely.

The ridiculous wind stunt represents about the limit of Kan’s ability to be of any use to Nico here, but he does keep trying. A field trip is coming up, and that’s where the real action is going to be. Especially as it has a tree which is supposedly a love tree (sit under it and eat lunch together and you’ll become a couple). Kan urges Nico to avail herself of the chance to confess her feelings, but she’ll have to get in line. Ishii wants to talk to her under the tree, and a girl Moi doesn’t even remember pulls him aside for a confession of her own.

To a large extent, this series is pretty much kids being goofuses, a Shinohara specialty. Ishii’s “confession” turns out to be a request – because now the rumor is spread that a love charm given under the tree has twice the power. The tree is quite the scene – like an airport arrival gate – and half the boys in school are after Nico for a charm. She flees, minimizing herself in order to hide and winding up in Moi’s pocket. Where she overhears the girl confessing to him, and him refusing her on the grounds that he has no idea who she is. By the end of this conversation it’s pretty clear Moi feels the same about Nico as she does about him, though he doesn’t know how to process that yet.

Another notable moment here is Moi having an encounter with a kid named Magami Keigo (played by Ishikawa Kaitou, so presumably important later). They have a nice bonding experience over their shared interest in European fashion – mod, to be precise, as Magami-kun is a big fan of The Who. He’s surprised when Moi turns out to know a bit about them himself (another layer of his nerdiness revealing itself) and there’s a whiff of “this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship” in all this.

As romcoms go, based on six episodes Witch Watch is one where the “com” side is the more engaging. I like Moi and Nico (really, I like all the characters so far well enough), and they’re undeniably a funny combo. But my instinct is this show will work better when it focuses on the slapstick side, both romantic and generally, rather than on the romance itself. As such this ep wasn’t quite as entertaining as the last few, but still effective enough at planting the seeds for future developments.