I know that Halloween isn’t for another nine months, but screw it, I like Halloween and if we can still celebrate Christmas in January, then we can celebrate Halloween at any time. So, let us talk about witches in the media, as requested by mariofan14. There are a lot of witches out there. Some are seen as old green women with an evil mind, and the other are young and beautiful women who are good hearted, but a bit mischievous. So, before we start, a few rules. I am including witches from everything. Games, movies, anime, you name it. If it’s a witch, she’s there. Second, only from what I have seen. And lastly, only one per franchise. With that said, let us start the list
#10: Yukari Sendo from Rosario+Vampire
Uh…… oh boy…… this is a hard one…. Mainly because…. well, we’ll get there. Yukari is known as the smartest person in the school, despite being the youngest. Kinda like a magical version of Chiyo from Azumanga Daioh. But it gets hard to talk about her because…. well, other than the fact that I am not the biggest Rosario+Vampire fan, she is……. a fourteen year old girl used for fanservice, just as much as any other girl in the series. I mean, say what you want about Highschool of the Dead, but at least it knew when to stop sexualizing women when it got to a little girl. This is just too much. I could handle her being a bisexual, what with her trying to have a relationship between the two major characters, but making fanservice from a fourteen year old. No thank you. So, why is she on the list. Well, she is one of the more popular witches in anime, so that’s good enough for me…. Still though, REALLY JAPAN!?
#9: Blair from Soul Eater
OKAY! YES, I GET IT! SHE’S NOT A WITCH! Okay, so, I know that Blair is not a witch at all. She is actually a cat with the ability to transform into a human, and was mistaken as a witch by Soul and Maka. So, technically, she doesn’t belong on the list…. But just look at her. By appearance, she just screams witch. Not to mention, her spells, which allow her to create all kinds of pumpkin spells, including kamikaze pumpkins is just so amazing. Hell, she lives in a goddamn pumpkin. Soul Eater is considered the perfect anime for Halloween, and Blair is the perfect picture for that. Yeah, she may not be a witch, but she definitely has the potential.
(WARNING: SPOILERS FOR DISHONORED)
#8: Vera Moray from Dishonored
Finally, a real witch. No young witches and no imposters. Known as Granny Rags, she was once a rich woman who went on an expedition with her husband years ago, but once she returned, she had learned much about black magic from the Outsider and had become immortal, but at the cost of losing her sight and her sanity. Now she lives in a condemned house and is bullied by members of the Bottle Street Gang. When Corvo meets her, she tasks him with two side quests. The first is to kill the three gang members who wish to collect protection money, and the other is to infect the elixir still of the Bottle Street Gang with the rat plague, a deadly disease in Dishonored. Doing so increases the population of Weepers, people badly infected by the rat plague, making them insane and possibly murderous. And if all of that is done, You will find Granny Rags again in the Flooded District mission, where she is planning to cook and eat Slackjaw, the leader of the Bottle Street Gang, who you can choose to save if you wish to. It’s pretty interesting how they managed to put a witch into this game. Then again, this is a game where your character can teleport to different spots, see through walls, and slow time to a stop, so it isn’t too surprising.
#7: Chaos Witch Quelaag from Dark Souls
Though the boss fight with Quelaag was, in my opinion, kind of dull, I do admit, her back story (Like all things in Dark Souls) Is pretty interesting. Being the daughter of the Witch of Izalith, she had some spells of her own. However, during her mother spell to try and keep the First Flame alive, she, along with most of her family, were affected by the magic and corrupted, with her and her sister becoming spider-like monsters, with her upper body being above the entire spider. Quelaag has many different attacks, like a large flame sword, and can use her spider body to spit lava. She also has a pretty justified reason to kill people. She doesn’t seem to kill them for sadistic reasons, but seems to kill them in order to use their souls to ease the suffering of her sister. Sure, her fight was…. incredibly long and dull for me, but at least her story was worth something
#6: Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
Okay, I haven’t seen this movie in an incredibly long time, so bear with me. Maleficent is probably as evil as Disney villains gets. I thought Frollo was evil. While he is definitely the most evil human villain, Maleficent is the most evil period,what with her powers coming from Hell. Yes, HELL, in a Disney movie. Hey, after Fantasia with that Night on Bald Mountain thing, I’m not too surprised. Anyway, after not being invited to the christening, she pulls some kind of Dan Vs. crap and gets revenge, by cursing Sleeping Beauty (I forgot her name) to die at the age of sixteen, but one fairy is able to reverse it so instead of dying, she falls into a deep sleep and can only be awoken from true love’s first kiss. The usual cliche in old Disney movies. And after the curse is finally done, she then takes Prince Philip, Sleeping Beauty’s love interest, to her castle to keep him prisoner to keep the curse from breaking. And even then, with the help of the fairies, he manages to escape. And still, Maleficent refuses to let him escape, so she does the next best thing. She uses the powers of Hell (Seriously, HELL! IN A DISNEY MOVIE!) to become a dragon for Prince Philip to fight. And for once, a prince who isn’t totally useless. Only took them after Cinderella and especially Snow White for them to learn. Maleficent is one determine witch and I can see why she is one of the most feared villains in Disney films.
#5: Koume and Kotake from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This is a tie…. because shut up. Koume and Kotake are two sister witches who are the mothers of Ganondorf (Wrap your mind about how that works). Their basically one of the strongest of Ganondorf’s minions and are the bosses of the Spirit Temple. They’re first appearance is when you enter the Spirit Temple as young Link, where they are seen kidnapping Noboru. After which, you travel seven years in the future to find them again, and they have control over Noboru’s mind and use her as the dungeon mini-boss, which is an Iron Knuckle. After defeating them, you fight their boss, which starts off with them firing fire and ice at them. Koume will shoot fire while Kotake shoots ice. You need to use the mirror shield to reflect the opposite magic at one another of the witches. After that’s done, they will fuse together Dragon Ball Z style into the boss, Twinrova, where you now have to absorb three attacks of the same magic to shoot a beam of ice or fire to stun them and attack them with your sword. And once they're defeated, their death scene is kinda funny. If you played this game, you will know what I mean. For two 380 to 400 year old women, they sure put up a great fight for Ocarina of Time
#4: Gruntilda from Banjo-Kazooie
Oh, come on. Just look at her. She screams witch. The green warty skin, the huge hat, and she flies around on a broom. In the first game, her goal was to become more beautiful by stealing the beauty of Tooty, Banjo’s younger sister. In order to keep Banjo away, she would keep all of the Jiggies in other worlds, which Banjo would have to complete challenges to get. After a final battle with her, she fell to her death, but came back as a skeleton to defeat Banjo again, and this time, driving the HAG1, which is honestly one of the hardest final bosses in any game I have ever played. Yes, even more than Dark Souls. Because at least in Dark Souls, I was prepared for Gwyn’s powerful attacks. Here, all you can do is beat her before the poison gas kills you. And in Nuts and Bolts…. well, who cares. Nuts and Bolts was terrible. All I can say (Besides Nuts and Bolts sucks) is that Gruntilda easily makes an already great game even greater.
#3: Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz
Predictable entry is predictable. I mean, come on. She’s like Gruntilda, only she did it a couple decades first. Though, the Wicked Witch is a lot less silly and dimwitted and a lot more cruel and evil, as her name suggests. Her first appearance is actually kind of scary, what with her yelling and green skin, not to mention her red smoke that shows when she arrives. And she does quite a lot of things that are scary, like setting the Scarecrow on fire, and sending a swarm of Flying Monkeys to catch Dorry and her friends. And in the end, how does she die… water. Man, walking in the rain must be a real pain for the Wicked Witch. Oh well, a classic decision and no doubt a good one. Also, her role in the musical Wicked…………….. Never saw that, so no idea
#2: Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service
Man, do I love a good old Studio Ghibli movie. And Kiki’s Delivery Service is no exception. Kiki is probably the youngest witch on the list, just one year younger than Yukari, who leaves home to train as a witch with the help of her talking cat, Jiji. It’s like the Sabrina of anime (Also, I’ve never watched Sabrina, that’s why it’s not on the list). She also gains the notice of a nerdy kid named Tombo, who admires this sort of stuff….. wait a second- Anyway, she uses her flying broomstick to help make deliveries for Osono, who owns the bakery that Kiki is staying in. And then there is this huge thing at the end which I would rather not spoil. Yeah, I know it leaves this entry really short, but would you rather want spoilers to a very well recommended movie, or do you want a longer entry? …. Yeah, that’s what I thought. Kiki may not the best protagonist in a Studio Ghibli movie, but she is definitely up there.
#1: Bayonetta from Bayonetta
I HAD TO CHOOSE HER! I know she isn’t the greatest witch out there, but damn it, this is my list, so I say she is. Bayonetta is an umbra witch who specialises in the Bullet Arts and is the bearer to the Left Eye. After being awoken from her coffin that she was sleeping in for 500 years, she now fights angels from Paradiso, and tries to remember what she has forgotten after sleeping for so long. Bayonetta uses her Bullet Arts to fight with her melee attacks, as well as ranged attacks, which she fires lipstick bullets. She even has guns on the heels of her shoes. Her clothing is all made of her hair, and she is able to use her hair to attack enemies as well. She basically is able to use her hair for anything, but mostly killing angels. And let me tell you. The fact that there is now a sequel on the Wii U…… instant console purchase right there. Just instant. Also, Bayonetta is the best witch I’ve ever seen.
So, there you have it. Did you enjoy the list? Tell me what you thought of it. With that said, I will see you all next time
#10: Yukari Sendo from Rosario+Vampire
Uh…… oh boy…… this is a hard one…. Mainly because…. well, we’ll get there. Yukari is known as the smartest person in the school, despite being the youngest. Kinda like a magical version of Chiyo from Azumanga Daioh. But it gets hard to talk about her because…. well, other than the fact that I am not the biggest Rosario+Vampire fan, she is……. a fourteen year old girl used for fanservice, just as much as any other girl in the series. I mean, say what you want about Highschool of the Dead, but at least it knew when to stop sexualizing women when it got to a little girl. This is just too much. I could handle her being a bisexual, what with her trying to have a relationship between the two major characters, but making fanservice from a fourteen year old. No thank you. So, why is she on the list. Well, she is one of the more popular witches in anime, so that’s good enough for me…. Still though, REALLY JAPAN!?
#9: Blair from Soul Eater
OKAY! YES, I GET IT! SHE’S NOT A WITCH! Okay, so, I know that Blair is not a witch at all. She is actually a cat with the ability to transform into a human, and was mistaken as a witch by Soul and Maka. So, technically, she doesn’t belong on the list…. But just look at her. By appearance, she just screams witch. Not to mention, her spells, which allow her to create all kinds of pumpkin spells, including kamikaze pumpkins is just so amazing. Hell, she lives in a goddamn pumpkin. Soul Eater is considered the perfect anime for Halloween, and Blair is the perfect picture for that. Yeah, she may not be a witch, but she definitely has the potential.
(WARNING: SPOILERS FOR DISHONORED)
#8: Vera Moray from Dishonored
Finally, a real witch. No young witches and no imposters. Known as Granny Rags, she was once a rich woman who went on an expedition with her husband years ago, but once she returned, she had learned much about black magic from the Outsider and had become immortal, but at the cost of losing her sight and her sanity. Now she lives in a condemned house and is bullied by members of the Bottle Street Gang. When Corvo meets her, she tasks him with two side quests. The first is to kill the three gang members who wish to collect protection money, and the other is to infect the elixir still of the Bottle Street Gang with the rat plague, a deadly disease in Dishonored. Doing so increases the population of Weepers, people badly infected by the rat plague, making them insane and possibly murderous. And if all of that is done, You will find Granny Rags again in the Flooded District mission, where she is planning to cook and eat Slackjaw, the leader of the Bottle Street Gang, who you can choose to save if you wish to. It’s pretty interesting how they managed to put a witch into this game. Then again, this is a game where your character can teleport to different spots, see through walls, and slow time to a stop, so it isn’t too surprising.
#7: Chaos Witch Quelaag from Dark Souls
Though the boss fight with Quelaag was, in my opinion, kind of dull, I do admit, her back story (Like all things in Dark Souls) Is pretty interesting. Being the daughter of the Witch of Izalith, she had some spells of her own. However, during her mother spell to try and keep the First Flame alive, she, along with most of her family, were affected by the magic and corrupted, with her and her sister becoming spider-like monsters, with her upper body being above the entire spider. Quelaag has many different attacks, like a large flame sword, and can use her spider body to spit lava. She also has a pretty justified reason to kill people. She doesn’t seem to kill them for sadistic reasons, but seems to kill them in order to use their souls to ease the suffering of her sister. Sure, her fight was…. incredibly long and dull for me, but at least her story was worth something
#6: Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty
Okay, I haven’t seen this movie in an incredibly long time, so bear with me. Maleficent is probably as evil as Disney villains gets. I thought Frollo was evil. While he is definitely the most evil human villain, Maleficent is the most evil period,what with her powers coming from Hell. Yes, HELL, in a Disney movie. Hey, after Fantasia with that Night on Bald Mountain thing, I’m not too surprised. Anyway, after not being invited to the christening, she pulls some kind of Dan Vs. crap and gets revenge, by cursing Sleeping Beauty (I forgot her name) to die at the age of sixteen, but one fairy is able to reverse it so instead of dying, she falls into a deep sleep and can only be awoken from true love’s first kiss. The usual cliche in old Disney movies. And after the curse is finally done, she then takes Prince Philip, Sleeping Beauty’s love interest, to her castle to keep him prisoner to keep the curse from breaking. And even then, with the help of the fairies, he manages to escape. And still, Maleficent refuses to let him escape, so she does the next best thing. She uses the powers of Hell (Seriously, HELL! IN A DISNEY MOVIE!) to become a dragon for Prince Philip to fight. And for once, a prince who isn’t totally useless. Only took them after Cinderella and especially Snow White for them to learn. Maleficent is one determine witch and I can see why she is one of the most feared villains in Disney films.
#5: Koume and Kotake from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This is a tie…. because shut up. Koume and Kotake are two sister witches who are the mothers of Ganondorf (Wrap your mind about how that works). Their basically one of the strongest of Ganondorf’s minions and are the bosses of the Spirit Temple. They’re first appearance is when you enter the Spirit Temple as young Link, where they are seen kidnapping Noboru. After which, you travel seven years in the future to find them again, and they have control over Noboru’s mind and use her as the dungeon mini-boss, which is an Iron Knuckle. After defeating them, you fight their boss, which starts off with them firing fire and ice at them. Koume will shoot fire while Kotake shoots ice. You need to use the mirror shield to reflect the opposite magic at one another of the witches. After that’s done, they will fuse together Dragon Ball Z style into the boss, Twinrova, where you now have to absorb three attacks of the same magic to shoot a beam of ice or fire to stun them and attack them with your sword. And once they're defeated, their death scene is kinda funny. If you played this game, you will know what I mean. For two 380 to 400 year old women, they sure put up a great fight for Ocarina of Time
#4: Gruntilda from Banjo-Kazooie
Oh, come on. Just look at her. She screams witch. The green warty skin, the huge hat, and she flies around on a broom. In the first game, her goal was to become more beautiful by stealing the beauty of Tooty, Banjo’s younger sister. In order to keep Banjo away, she would keep all of the Jiggies in other worlds, which Banjo would have to complete challenges to get. After a final battle with her, she fell to her death, but came back as a skeleton to defeat Banjo again, and this time, driving the HAG1, which is honestly one of the hardest final bosses in any game I have ever played. Yes, even more than Dark Souls. Because at least in Dark Souls, I was prepared for Gwyn’s powerful attacks. Here, all you can do is beat her before the poison gas kills you. And in Nuts and Bolts…. well, who cares. Nuts and Bolts was terrible. All I can say (Besides Nuts and Bolts sucks) is that Gruntilda easily makes an already great game even greater.
#3: Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz
Predictable entry is predictable. I mean, come on. She’s like Gruntilda, only she did it a couple decades first. Though, the Wicked Witch is a lot less silly and dimwitted and a lot more cruel and evil, as her name suggests. Her first appearance is actually kind of scary, what with her yelling and green skin, not to mention her red smoke that shows when she arrives. And she does quite a lot of things that are scary, like setting the Scarecrow on fire, and sending a swarm of Flying Monkeys to catch Dorry and her friends. And in the end, how does she die… water. Man, walking in the rain must be a real pain for the Wicked Witch. Oh well, a classic decision and no doubt a good one. Also, her role in the musical Wicked…………….. Never saw that, so no idea
#2: Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service
Man, do I love a good old Studio Ghibli movie. And Kiki’s Delivery Service is no exception. Kiki is probably the youngest witch on the list, just one year younger than Yukari, who leaves home to train as a witch with the help of her talking cat, Jiji. It’s like the Sabrina of anime (Also, I’ve never watched Sabrina, that’s why it’s not on the list). She also gains the notice of a nerdy kid named Tombo, who admires this sort of stuff….. wait a second- Anyway, she uses her flying broomstick to help make deliveries for Osono, who owns the bakery that Kiki is staying in. And then there is this huge thing at the end which I would rather not spoil. Yeah, I know it leaves this entry really short, but would you rather want spoilers to a very well recommended movie, or do you want a longer entry? …. Yeah, that’s what I thought. Kiki may not the best protagonist in a Studio Ghibli movie, but she is definitely up there.
#1: Bayonetta from Bayonetta
I HAD TO CHOOSE HER! I know she isn’t the greatest witch out there, but damn it, this is my list, so I say she is. Bayonetta is an umbra witch who specialises in the Bullet Arts and is the bearer to the Left Eye. After being awoken from her coffin that she was sleeping in for 500 years, she now fights angels from Paradiso, and tries to remember what she has forgotten after sleeping for so long. Bayonetta uses her Bullet Arts to fight with her melee attacks, as well as ranged attacks, which she fires lipstick bullets. She even has guns on the heels of her shoes. Her clothing is all made of her hair, and she is able to use her hair to attack enemies as well. She basically is able to use her hair for anything, but mostly killing angels. And let me tell you. The fact that there is now a sequel on the Wii U…… instant console purchase right there. Just instant. Also, Bayonetta is the best witch I’ve ever seen.
So, there you have it. Did you enjoy the list? Tell me what you thought of it. With that said, I will see you all next time