Streaming: Funimation
Episodes: 12
Source: Light Novel
Summary: As a young girl, Elaina reads stories of a traveling witch’s adventures. She asks her parents if she can become a witch too. If she studies hard and tries her best, her mother says, then she might become a witch someday. Elaina works hard and practices her skills, then becomes the youngest student ever to pass the magic exam. She just needs to find a witch who will take her as an apprentice so that she can be acknowledged as a full witch within society. Unfortunately, the local witches aren’t interested in dealing with a young prodigy, and Elaina worries that she’ll never complete her training.
She’s tipped off to the existence of a mysterious new witch who’s taken up residence in the local forest – Fran, the Stardust Witch. Elaina assumes she’ll have the same trouble with this newcomer, but surprisingly Fran offers to take her on as an apprentice. Elaina looks forward to honing her skills even further, but as the weeks go by her only tasks seem to be running errands and dealing with Fran’s immediate needs. Just as Elaina is about to flip her lid, Fran challenges her to a duel. Elaina is handed a quick defeat, and it’s then that she learns the truth; Fran was hired by Elaina’s parents to teach her a lesson about humility and learning to deal with and accept failure. Now that Elaina has felt failure firsthand for the first time in her life, the Stardust Witch can begin to pass on her teachings in earnest. After a year, Elaina has nothing more to learn and is acknowledged as Elaina, the Ashen Witch. Some time later, she sets off on a journey, much like the witch who inspired her as a child.