You probably remember W.I.T.C.H. as a kickass
animated series that was killed before its time. Following a team of magical girls in the vein
of Sailor Moon, W.I.T.C.H. told stories of friendship, fantasy, and Irma
being the best person who ever lived. (Irma) âHello, Will! Pink Poopy Perky Pumpkin!â Everything she says ages like wine. Whenever you hear discourse of W.I.T.C.H.,
itâs usually about how Disney was awful for refusing to continue it for a clearly
foreshadowed third season, how underrated it was, and also the occasional jab at Winx
Club, because, as Iâve said many times, magical girl shows just arenât allowed to
coexist I guess. The tiny me who wrote crossover fanfics of
Winx and W.I.T.C.H. is now currently hiding in the trenches trying not to get hit with
a fire arrow. So today, weâre gonna be exploring the history
of the W.I.T.C.H. franchise and what happened to it. Cool? Cool. Believe it or not, W.I.T.C.H. actually started as a comic. Much like how Sailor Moon began its life as
a manga, W.I.T.C.H. was created in Italy by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci, and
Barbara Canepa, and published in monthly issues by Disney Italy in April 2001. Why do all the anime-esque magical girl properties
start in either Italy or France? No oneâs sure, but we thank them for their
service nonetheless. Bellissimo! (Look, Iâm Italian trash, let me be proud
of one Italian achievement. Siamo un cacchio di caos. And you can tell thatâs true because our
word for âchaosâ... sounds like âcows.â The harbingers of the end.) The story follows five teenage girls: Will
Vandom; Irma Lair; Taranee Cook; Cornelia Hale; and Hay Lin. To no oneâs surprise, these girls have been
chosen as the new Guardians of the Veil, protectors of the known worlds who each wield one of
the four classic elements: Irma gets Water, Taranee gets Fire, Cornelia gets Earth, and
Hay Lin gets Air. What about Will? Well, she getsâŠ
*babbles in Will* Yeah, no one knows what she was saying back
then. More on her powers later. In the first story arc, the girls discover
a parallel world known as Meridian (for all the comic nerds, yes, Iâm aware that in
the comics, the world is called Metamoor while the city itself is Meridian. But most of the people here donât care about
the trivial stuff, so⊠F in the chat for the nerds). As it turns out, their friend Elyon is the
long lost princess of Meridian, whose brother Phobos is trying to hunt her down and take
her power so he can expand his tyranny across the entire universe. As you do when youâre a magical tyrant. The animated series, meanwhile, was produced
by SIP Animation, with ties to Jetix Europe, the Walt Disney Company, and France Télévisions. It ran from December 2004 to December 2006
in the U.S., where it aired on ABC Kids, and the Jetix blocks on ABC Family and Toon Disney. The showâs first season had the same fundamental
plot as the first comic arc, but changed details to help with the transition to a more episodic
format. The series only managed to adapt the first
two story arcs across two seasons, then ended for⊠reasons weâll get into later. The comics, meanwhile, continued across 139
issues (yes, 139) until its conclusion in October 2012, with eleven story arcs. Oh yeah, the comics covered a LOT more ground
in that time, including some cool power-ups in the seventh arc that unfortunately were
never seen by most audiences. And according to my research, were accompanied
by a severe decline in quality. Both in writing and art, oof. There have recently been calls to show W.I.T.C.H. the recognition many believe it deserved,
especially compared to the success and longevity of its contemporary and main rival Winx Club. Mostly sparked up by Fate: The Winx Saga being
a⊠flaming garbage can (video on that in the description and the cards, go check it
out). But this begs the question of⊠which W.I.T.C.H. deserves this chance? Should a reboot try to be more faithful to
the original comics, continue where the original animated series left off, or⊠do something
else entirely? Well to answer that, I think itâs best to
dive into the differences between these different versions, especially seeing as most fans of
the animated series probably didnât even know of the comicsâ existence, at least
initially. And where better to begin that analysis than
with the Guardians themselves? Hay Lin changed the least through the adaptation. In both versions, sheâs the fun-loving little
cinnamon roll who practically embodies innocence. Sheâs also an art nerd who loves painting
and especially coming up with new fashion designs. The fashion aspect was really played up during
the first season, along with her as one of the main sources of comic relief. âWait âtil you see him in his goth outfit!â âI canât command a rebellion dressed like
a parachute!â The comics, meanwhile, give her more time
to express her emotions and her connection to her family, most especially her grandmother
Yan Lin. In the comics, Yan Lin actually passes away
very early on in the first story arc. Though her spirit moves onto Kandrakar to
join the council, the Guardians donât learn this until the end of the first arc, and thereâs
even a funeral service for Yan Lin that⊠oh, it hits, fam. It could be argued the death was cut out to
keep the tone light, but⊠câmon, yâall. Itâs Disney. They love wrecking our hearts with death. Iâd say itâs more likely Yan Lin was kept
around so the group could have a mentor figure to keep their goals clear. Iâll talk about this more in the plot section,
but the girls are basically left to their own devices in the comics to figure out whatâs
going on, while in the show theyâre given a very clear mission from Day 1 and continually
informed. Whichever approach is better is up to preference,
but to help keep that predicament of the week structure going, it helped to keep Yang Lin
around as the girlsâ guide. That, and sheâs just so lovable. âIs it cuz my powers are finally mature
enough that Iâm worthy?â (Yan Lin) âNah! It was in the attic. I couldnât find it. Found my old tennis racket, too!â Next up, Will Vandom: leader of the Guardians,
Keeper of the Heart of Kandrakar, and resident redhead extraordinaire. Why did all the redheads become protagonists? Not sure, but Iâm certain itâs down to
either the sheer beauty of the color red that canât help but capture the eye in its fiery
uniqueness⊠or their lack of souls from bartering with the Devil. Your guess is as good as mine. And as someone who has a ginger friend, Iâm
allowed to say that. That all said, Will unfortunately is incredibly
generic in the animated series. Sheâs quirky at times and has a temper for
sure, but thatâs not much to work with, especially considering all the other fiery
redheads we see in animated media. She doesnât have a real arc of her own. The best thing sheâs got going for her are
her strained relationship with her mother, her romance with Matt, and her surprisingly
sharp leadership skills, but those first two donât really get to fully shine until season
2. Comic Will, however, is a far better representation
of someone who is incredibly awkward and insecure. Sheâs constantly doubting herself and her
abilities, blaming herself before sheâll blame anyone else when something goes wrong. The comics also are upfront about the rocky
but loving relationship between Will and her mother Susan. Willâs parents divorced before the story
began, and so she and her mother are moving to Heatherfield for a fresh start, and of
course, things are not going as well as they mightâve hoped. The comics feature moments where Susan is
trying to connect with Will and encourage her, and itâs nice to see moments of vulnerability
like this between parent and child. You donât really see this that often in
childrenâs or especially teen media. The parents may not know about the girlsâ
magical adventures (which actually would be a breath of fresh air), but theyâre still
very much involved in their lives in meaningful ways beyond being roadblocks for conflict. In the first season of the show, meanwhile,
Will and Susanâs relationship is a bit rocky, yes, but thereâs not nearly as much intriguing
conflict and struggle as there is in the comic. It isnât rooted in the divorce, the move,
or Willâs insecurities, but rather Will doing normal teen things like wanting more
independence and deciding that spending the night in an abandoned house that later gets
attacked by monsters is a better move than just staying home. This does improve with season 2, thankfully,
especially with the plot of Susan falling in love with Willâs history teacher Professor
Dean Collins. Itâs partly played for laughs, but there
are genuinely touching moments where Will is allowed to feel upset about this, especially
given it was kept a secret from her for a while, but then accepts it because she wants
her mother to be happy. âIâm tired of hating. And I really do want you to be happy.â âEven if itâs with your history teacher?â (Will) âWell, he did save your life. So yeah, I think I can cut him a break.â I wouldâve loved seeing this continue in
further seasons, specifically because Dean and Susan actually get married later on and
even have a bĂ©bĂ©. âWhere is bĂ©bĂ©âs chamber?â (Look Iâve been watching a lot of Schittâs
Creek lately, okay?). Will gets a little half-brother named⊠William. Okay, not the most creative name you couldâve
picked, but still cute. Especially when he starts displaying magical
powers. Because thatâs exactly what we need. A magical baby wreaking chaos. Now I wasnât gonna touch on the girlsâ
powers till later, but for Will itâs actually important to bring it up now given how radically
different they are between versions. Most fans of the show will remember Will not
getting her own element in the first season, only being able to fly, open and close Portals,
and throw tables at snakes. Oh, and also confuse everyone with random
babble. *babbles in Will*
In season 2, though, she finally got her own element: Quintessence. In the show, quintessence is explained as
life force. (Taranee) âThe ancient sages described it
exactly like electricity. They believed it could be found in lightning,
but they also called it âthe stuff of life,â like bioelectricity. Quintessence has the power to make things
come alive.â Itâs the energy which animates all living
things, manifesting as electricity. Itâs Force Lightning, they basically just
gave her Force Lightning. This gave Will lightning powers, the ability
to give life to inanimate objects, and the power to gossip with her calculator. (Sammy the Calculator) âPleased to meet
you!â âWild!â âYikes!â âIs it artificially intelligent?â âMore like stunningly intelligent!â In the comics, meanwhile, Willâs element
is Aether, which is a bit more focused on the life force aspect than Quintessence. Aether manifests as energy blasts, shields,
Willâs basically Scarlet Witch, but pink, itâs wild. Sheâs Fuchsia Witch, if you will. I donât know much about the later arcs,
but Will is using her powers offensively in the first arc, and presumably learns to wield
them better as it goes on. I assume the change was made because the writers
found lightning more visually unique than energy powers, and they also like to have
her give off a static charge whenever sheâs pissed, itâs adorable. But I wouldâve liked to see some combination. Especially given Willâs main color is pink. I know we were trying to make it more boy-friendly,
especially by giving Caleb a bigger role in the show, but a little pink never hurt anyone,
fam. Just give her pink lightning! Make her Proto-Nora! Irmaâs probably the one who was changed
the most between versions. Most fans will remember her as the snarky
one who was always ready to shoot down Corneliaâs ego before it went out of control, as well
as a loving person whose temper could get a bit out of hand, but ultimately owned up
to her shit. Lowkey âL is for Loserâ should be mandatory
viewing for everyone. âMy misery? Not so important right now. Whatâs important is making it up to Martin!â In the comics, meanwhile, sheâs far more
feminine and a bit immature. If I had to boil it down to basics, sheâs
essentially what Cornelia was in the show, just less uptight. Thereâs even a moment in the comics where
Irma uses her powers to age herself up to get a date with Andrew Hornby⊠(Irma) âHay Lin, never broadcast desperate.â âThereâs Andrew Hornby!â âWHERE?!â ⊠And winds up turning him into a frog. Whoops. Like Sailor Mars between the original Sailor
Moon manga and â90s anime, Show Irma and Comic Irma are essentially two different characters. Iâm always gonna be more partial to Show
Irma cuz I grew up with her, and also sheâs a snarky queen who tolerates no bullshit whomst
I stan. But I do see the appeal of Comic Irma, and
to her credit, she seems to have more depth to her character than Cornelia in the show. The only other difference worth bringing up
is that in the comics, Irmaâs father married her stepmother Anna⊠Anna⊠her name is Anna, Iâm re-recording
this and I still pronounced it wrong. Frozen is that ingrained in my brain, oh my
god. And Chris (not Kristoff) is Irmaâs little
half-brother. Compare this to the show, where Irmaâs got
a fully nuclear family. I definitely wouldâve preferred this stepfamily
angle, as stepfamilies could use some more positive representations in media. But Irmaâs family in the show doesnât
really get to do much in the first place, so eh. Oh she also has a turtle named Leafy in the
comics. This isnât important at all but I would
die for this turtle. Taranee, meanwhile, is the group nerd. Sheâs the smart one, the overachiever, and
also the one whoâs terrified of literally everything. âTaranee, I believe youâve always been
afraid of fire.â At least in the first season. We donât really have much to work with for
Taraneeâs story until season 2, where she becomes a more active, engaging character,
and also where we meet her family: her father Lionel, her mother Theresa, and her older
brother Peter. In the comics, Taraneeâs far more mellow,
and sheâs also new to Heatherfield like Will, so they wind up becoming buddies from
the start. In a way, Season 2 Taranee is a lot closer
to her comic counterpart. Harriyanna Hook talks more about Taraneeâs
odd depiction as part of the trend of how animated black characters were written in
the early 2000s, so I highly suggest you guys go check it out and listen to her perspective. But I did love Taranee by the second season,
with her falling for Nigel once he starts to become a better guy and ditching the school
bully Uriahâs crowd, and also with her complicated relationship with her mother. Theresa is very hard on Taranee and controlling,
mainly because sheâs skeptical of Taraneeâs judgment on whatâs best for her. (Theresa) âI donât want you seeing Nigel.â (Taranee) âWhat? Nigelâs a good guy! Trust me.â âI donât trust him! And your judgment is clearly suspect. He was tagging your initials!â This couldâve been explored given Theresa
is a judge, and especially being married to a black man like Lionel, sheâd be aware
of how the criminal justice system is systemically racist, putting even someone like Taranee
at greater risk of being put in harmâs way, while a white kid like Nigel could get away
with scott-free. But those discussions werenât as prominent
back in the early 2000s, and itâd be best to leave telling those stories to marginalized
creators who know and experience this day in and day out. And finally, Cornelia. As I mentioned earlier, Comic Irma had a lot
of Show Corneliaâs traits as the feminine, immature member of the group who doesnât
know when to stop talking. âPhobos has escaped! You have to get back here!â âUm, not that I wouldnât love to be fighting
evil right now⊠no, Mom, the black boots AND the red pumps! But Iâm like a billion miles away.â Comic Cornelia, by comparison, was the most
mature member of the group. She was popular, but she also stood up for
the underdog, and was basically the group mom. Sheâs a nurturer, which is in line with
her element as earth, compared to Show Cornelia whoâs absolutely disgusted by her element. Show Cornelia has her place, and she does
give Irma a lot to work with, but I do appreciate the maturity Comic Cornelia has to offer. Maybe Show Cornelia wouldâve become more
like Comic Cornelia as the show went on if we got more seasons, who knows? Interesting to note, Cornelia and Calebâs
relationship is very different between versions. Weâll get to Caleb later, but these two
are a hot mess in the show, but ultimately endgame. *âEnd Gameâ by Taylor Swift, youâre
welcome for this blessing* In the comics, meanwhile⊠well, Cornelia
has weird premonition dreams about Caleb before they even meet, and then when they do meet,
theyâre suddenly in love and rush a romance, but later on after some drama (and flower
death), she moves onto Taraneeâs brother Peter, and THEY ARE ADORABLE. So overall, the girls are very different between
versions. It seems a lot of these changes were made
to make them either more engaging in the show, or to give them more interesting dynamics
with each other. Thereâs depth to each girl thatâs missing
unfortunately, but Iâd say solely for the sake of Show Irma, it was worth it. âWho, us? But i thought--â âYou are now the Guardians
of the Infinite Dimensions.â âDoes that come with a raise?â Perhaps the most obvious difference between
each version is their art styles. The comicâs artwork is flowing and vibrant,
and legit looks like a Disney animated movie in comic book form. Thereâs so much life and charm in the panels
that helps carry the story. To my understanding, Elisabetta Gnone was
primarily just a writer, while Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa were the driving
forces behind the artwork. They were indeed the dream team. Unfortunately (for reasons weâll explore
later), Barbucci and Canepa left after suing Disney⊠yeah, that was wild. And as such, the art quality of the comics
eventually declined, as did the writing quality after Francesco Artibani, a writer who actually
helped co-write the very first issue, left along with them. Everyone get in the car, weâre saying screw
Disney! âGet in loser, weâre suing Disney!â Uh, that was⊠normally my Mean Girls voice
is better than that, wow! Okay! The show, meanwhile, went for a more anime-esque
aesthetic with sharper angles and more muted colors, presumably to make the animation process
easier, to appeal to boys because apparently vibrant colors are gay or something, and also
cuz⊠well, I like to think the creators also knew anime was on the rise, and it was
only a matter of time until it was fucking everywhere. Which was correct! I prefer the aesthetic of the early comics,
but the showâs artwork is still really good and gets the job done, and I do actually prefer
the design of certain environments in the show, like Phobosâ version of Meridian. I mean, just look at this castle. Someone give that architect an award. You know, assuming Phobos didn't immediately
feed that architect to Gargoyle. I will say, though, that while the comics
did manage to make all the charactersâ designs more memorable and interesting, and Iâd
also argue it succeeds in making the girls actually appear their age (something most
media in this genre tend to fail at), there are certain aspects the show did better, like
making the girlsâ Guardian forms less sexualized, with more coverage. Especially for Hay Lin. Like⊠what is this outfit? Sheâs a CHILD, what?! Now letâs get the nitpicky differences out
of the way, namely the Guardiansâ powers. Most fans will remember the new psychic powers
the girls got in the second season of the show:
âWhen we were in Kandrakar, the council lowered the Veil. All the mystic energy that was used to maintain
it had to go somewhere. So it flowed back into the Heart of Kandrakar,
and each of our Aurameres.â For Will, her technopathy; Irmaâs mind control;
Taraneeâs telepathy; Corneliaâs telekinesis; and Hay Linâs invisibility. âLook what I can do! Iâm like air, no one can see me! Unless I want them to!â This girl is a disaster, and I love her. Oh, theyâre all disasters, thatâs why
they were chosen. This upgrade in powers doesnât happen in
the comics. Will actually has her technopathy from the
start, and same for Irmaâs mind control. Several powers we see a bit of in the second
season were accessible to the girls from the start of the comics, but I assume they were
pushed off to keep them from seeing overpowered in the show in order for certain plots to
work, and also to allow room for growth long term. And in general in the comics, the girls seem
to display more psychic, passive powers. Like Hay Lin is shown to have the power of
psychometry, which is the ability to see the past of an object just by touching it. Will, meanwhile, had the power of invisibility
rather than Hay Lin. Not sure why, but⊠itâs there. Perhaps the biggest and most confusing difference
is whether the girls can fly. Believe it or not, despite all of them having
wings, only Hay Lin can fly in the comics given sheâs the Air Guardian. The wings are essentially just there for decoration. Compare this to the show where everyone can
fly, itâs just Hay Lin is the best at it. âWeâve got wings!â âThey canât be wings. If they were wings when we went like this,
weâd--â Which makes infinitely more sense, and opens
the door for more engaging fight scenes and makes traversing both worlds easier. In terms of plot, the first season is generally
the same as the first story arc. The fantastical world of Meridian has been
taken over by the evil Prince Phobos, and was quarantinedâoh, accidental COVID jokes
to cope with the world still being on fireâby the Veil. Neither version seems really consistent on
whether Phobos and the Veil have always existed, or whether theyâre both just recent incidents,
but⊠eh. Anyway, the Veil is crumbling at the seams
because of budgetary cuts at Kandrakar, and now the new Guardians must seal those openings,
called Portals, before evil oozes through and our world somehow gets worse. In the comics, there are said to only be Twelve
Portals, whereas in the show, the portals pop up all the time whenever the plot demands
it to make episodic plots easier. Most of season 1 follows episodic misadventures
where the girls see a problem, then do their job as interdimensional janitors as best they
can. (Hay Lin) âCan we keep it?!â âOh sure! Letâs be Guardians of the Veil AND raise
a wild, slimy, invisible pig!â One of the key differences in these plots,
aside from structure, is the role of Elyon. In both stories, Phobos is searching for his
long lost sister, who was taken to Earth when she was born to keep Phobos from absorbing
her powers, breaking through the Veil completely, and conquering the universe (ya know, tyrants). This sister turns out to be Elyon Brown, best
friend to Cornelia and perhaps the most underutilized element in the show. I will die bitter. In the show, Elyon doesnât really get a
proper introduction. Sheâs kind of a third wheel (or I guess
sixth wheel?). Sheâs always kinda being left out by the
main girls, but gets more time as the season goes on. Basically, itâs the opposite of what Winx
Club did with Roxy, except we actually address it. Cedric, Phobosâ right hand man (And possibly
consort? Gays can be tyrants too, equality yâall),
poses as a bookshop owner in Heatherfield in an attempt to find Phobosâ sister, befriending
Elyon in perhaps the creepiest, most predatory way possible. âOne day, there will be those who really
understand you.â âWell, I think you do.â âIâm so pleased you feel that way.â Iâd call Chris Hansen if he wasnât busy
being problematic, so I suppose Iâll have to kill this man myself. Where did I leave my bat? Elyon is more sympathetic in the show, portrayed
as a clueless victim whoâs been conned by her brother into thinking heâs a good guy
trying to protect her from the evils of Earth. Which honestly, given Earthâs track record,
Iâd believe him too, especially if he was that pretty. It makes sense and is compelling enough on
its own, but unfortunately Elyonâs lack of introduction, and especially her naivety
and lack of agency once sheâs in Meridian, make her more annoying than sympathetic. She displays some skepticism towards Phobos
from time to time, but it always gets washed away until the finale where sheâs tricked
into giving up her powers and then has to get saved. Girl, they literally creepily slid into frame,
and now youâre gonna sit on the big dramatic evil throne for them?! Girl! Oh my god. In the comics, meanwhile, Elyon has a stronger
introduction as an established member of this friend group who gets taken to Meridian at
the very beginning. Rather than be portrayed as a victim of Phobos,
sheâs instead the antagonist for a while, messing with the girlsâ heads and even assisting
in holding Taranee hostage at one point. As the arc goes on, she becomes more skeptical
of Phobos until she leaves on her own, joining the Rebellion and assisting in the final battle
against Phobos. I wouldâve enjoyed some of this agency in
the show, with Elyon leading some of the antagonistic efforts against the Guardians in the second
half, leading to her leaving Phobos on her own and helping in his demise, rather than
her being a hapless hostage who gets saved at the very end. Sheâs a bit better in the second season,
given Meridian gets some more time to shine, versus the second story arc of the comics
taking place almost exclusively on Earth and Kandrakar, but once we get 10 episodes in,
Elyon gets removed almost entirely with no real concern shown for the danger sheâs
in. And speaking of Meridianâs expansion, the
show really tried to make it a more fleshed out locale, which I do appreciate. Again, it helps expand this story arc into
a full season with episodic adventures, but also makes the world feel more real. Not a fan of how generic it feels in its medieval
European fantasy vibe, but thatâs more a problem with fantasy media in general than
this story in particular. Ooh, the land of dead old white people! Never seen that before! Some of my favorite additions include the
Infinite City, the Mage, the Tracker, Miranda, and Sandpit. Oh yeah, thereâs a living pit of quicksand
that eats people alive. âOh great! A wandering, man-eating sandpit!â This show is wild. Caleb, likewise, got his role majorly expanded,
as the show used the Rebellion as a way to create more plots for the Guardians to fight
back against Phobos. This was also because the creators wanted
to make the show more appealing to boys, and they figured giving Caleb a more prominent
role would allow boys to envision themselves as Caleb or have a male character to look
up to, kicking ass alongside the girls. Part of me wants to be cynical and go, âOf
course they thought the girls couldnât carry the whole story on their own.â Which⊠yeah, actually they did think that. Thatâs actually what a lot of people think. Theyâre like âBut what about the boys?â But the boys already have literally every
show by default. Let the girls have one thing, please. But honestly, I actually like Caleb in the
first season. Aside from the casual sexism, of course. âTell the men to stay strong, and the women
not to worry.â Youâre telling me the patriarchy exists
in Meridian too? In a world thatâs been historically ruled
by matriarchs until Phobos usurped the throne like a dick? Iâm just so tired of the binary gender system
existing as a default in every fantasy world. I mean, I get it, it was more necessary for
this time period in particular, but weâve moved past it. Destroy it. Get creative, people, go wild! In any case, Caleb helps give the Guardians
a more tangible connection to the stakes in Meridian, along with some cliché but admittedly
cute âHow do Earth people work?â humor. Itâs by the second season the show really
has no clue what to do with him, but weâll get to that a little bit later, once we talk
about the other addition the show made⊠Blunk. âWhat is THAT?! So much for finding cute boys.â Oh, here we go. Blunk is whatâs called a passling: a creature
thatâs able to sniff out Portals in the Veil and makes a living by selling off treasures
from Earth in Meridian. How have passlings been able to exist when
the Veil is just a recent creation? Who the fuck even knows! Practically, heâs a tool that allows the
Guardians, or other characters who donât have the Map of Portals, to more easily locate
Portals so conflict can happen. However, he also serves as comedic relief,
which⊠is a hit or miss depending on who you ask. For the most part, Iâm not a fan of Blunk
save for very sparse emotional moments. Especially cuz they have this running joke
on how Blunk loves garbage and hates being clean that can get old real fast. The only time it made me laugh was this joke. âIt smells like something died!â âNo, it smells like something died, came
back to life, fell in a vat of old cheese, and then died again!â But Iâve also had friends who really liked
Blunk, so it might just be me, so who the fuck even knows. In a weird way, though, heâs part of the
family, so I canât really bring myself to say I wish the show never created him. I just wish he got to do more than just a
plot device and comic relief prop. And Lord of the Rings reject, which⊠is
actually how Meridian as a whole feels. âBlunk not know what--â âHelp your friends. I sense they need you.â âBlunk will! Blunk promise! Blunk will help friends all the time!â âI sense they need you. NOW.â Back to Caleb, though, his storyâs actually
quite different between versions. In the show, he was born to the previous rebellion
leader, who we have to save later in the first season. Whoâs his mother? Well⊠weâll get there. Oh god. But I very much prefer his story in the comics. There, he was one of the Whisperers (alternatively
called Murmurers): floral entities created by Phobos to serve as his spies. Caleb was given life and rebelled against
Phobos, only to be killed and turned into a flower during the first arcâs climax. F in the chat⊠F for Flower. The disrespect. Canât even put flowers on his grave, whatâre
you gonna do? Put a flower on the grave of a flower? Thatâs like putting a corpse on the grave
of someone, oh my god. WHAT THE FUCK?! This actually serves as a huge conflict at
the start of the second arc (Caleb being a flower, I mean, not the disrespect I just
uttered), making Cornelia quit the Guardians and try to desperately bring him back. In the process, Caleb winds up becoming an
Altermere, an entity composed of all five elements, which awakens the Big Bad of the
second arc: Nerissa. And yes, the comics have a different definition
of Altermere from the show. Though now Iâm remembering âH is for Hunted,â
and Iâm gonna cry. F in the chat for Alt. Will, she deserved better. Better than Dead Flower Boi. Iâm not as familiar with Calebâs role
from here in the comics, but he seems to serve as a supporting character in Kandrakar from
time to time, and maybe even has a romance with Elyon after he and Cornelia break up? I mean I gotta admit, it does seem cute. A little weird, a little weird⊠but okay. In the comics, meanwhile, Caleb is actually
the son of Nerissa. *cackles in Nerissa* (Irma) âThat weirdo
laugh again!â Ooh, that sounds like Lion King. Nerissa, OOO. Nerissa had escaped her prison before the
show even began, posing as several different people on Meridian and planting the seeds
for her eventual conquest once Phobos was overthrown. I love basically all these changes, as they
make Nerissa a far more calculating, intimidating villain whoâs been plotting in the shadows
this entire time. The one change Iâm not too keen on, however,
is her posing as the Mage, and having Caleb with his father. âBut why?â They try to spin it as Nerissa giving the
Rebellion a future leader in Caleb, but they never have Nerissa manipulating Caleb during
the first season to lead him towards toppling Phobos. Itâs usually just, âOh! Iâm the Mage! Hereâs some advice. Now get out!â It feels like a last minute addition to keep
Caleb relevant and make Nerissa seem even more calculating, which⊠we really didnât
need either, but okay? (Caleb) âDid I win a prize, Ma?â âBaby needs a spanking!â Caleb feels so unnecessary in the second season
once the first 10 episodes are done. They keep him around given heâs the only
male character the boys can latch onto once Mattâs out of the picture, and also cuz
they wanna keep his romance with Cornelia going. But personally, I never found his inclusion
to add much to the story of season 2. That said, god I love season 2. This videoâs not about my love of season
2, but I have to say I vastly prefer the second season to the second story arc. That is how you radically change a story through
adaptation and wind up making it better. As for the first season, Iâd say both have
their strengths and weaknesses, with the comics doing better at selling Elyonâs character
and giving us gorgeous artwork, but the show being more enjoyable and streamlined overall. Personally, Iâll probably always pick the
show, which is one of the few cases of an adaptation being superior to its original
in my book. But goddamn do I wish the show had the comicsâ
art style. So remember how I mentioned that lawsuit earlier? Well, Disney actually pulled a dick move for
the creators. What else is new? In 2004, they attempted to sue Rainbow S.r.L.,
claiming that they plagiarized W.I.T.C.H. to create Winx Club, W.I.T.C.H.âs primary
rival at the time, because apparently magical girl properties arenât allowed to coexist
in peace. These claims were later rejected in August
after Rainbow successfully proved theyâd begun production on Winx Club all the way
back in 2001. And also because them both being magical girl
stories isnât enough to say theyâre exactly the same, Jesus Christ. This is reminding me of Lindsay Ellisâ video
on the Omegaverse lawsuit and all the chaos that came outta that. Iâll link those but itâs, god, copyright
is wild. The creators of W.I.T.C.H. weren't particularly happy about this, understandably. Canepa and Barbucci tried to sue Disney for
the rights to W.I.T.C.H., so they could continue publishing the series on their own, with co-writer
Artibani as a witness. And because the world is a cruel, awful, horrible
place where good goes to die, Disney won. Gnone remained onboard with the project, while
the others cut ties with Disney completely. This little rebellious trio actually went
on to work with Rainbow, all working together to create the Monster Allergy animated series
in 2006. So the W.I.T.C.H. franchise is basically stuck in legal limbo,
with most of the comic creators having left the original comic only three years in, which
does explain the heavy recycling of villains of Cedric and Phobos in the fourth and fifth
story arcs. The show, meanwhile, didnât seem to hit
it off with audiences as Disney hoped, and while there were indeed plans to adapt the
third story arc into a full season, a lack of serious interest from both writers and
investors meant it was probably best to end the project on a good note. And thatâs definitely a shame, because the
show writers actually managed to make a project that was both significantly different from
the source material, and damn good. Even better, in some aspects. If I had to explain my own thoughts as to
why W.I.T.C.H. didnât catch on like Winx Club, I think it mainly boils down to aesthetics. Although distribution was certainly a factor. Like, youâre gonna put it on Toon Disney? Who watches that?! Iâve mentioned in my Winx Club videos how
the showâs distinct art style, character designs, fashion, music, transformations,
and even setting helped it stand out from its contemporaries. What other show has kickass women with music
and technology powers set in a futuristic world that still has magic? Especially by the third season, the Magical
Universe felt alive and complex. By comparison, W.I.T.C.H.âs aesthetic feels
too generic, with a medieval fantasy world youâd expect from most fantasy stories. And while the designs are appealing, they
donât stand out nearly as well, and the cast just doesnât feel as compelling. Compare the Guardian outfits to the Magic
Winx forms, and youâll see what I mean. Thereâs also the fact that while Winx Club
embraces femininity as strength, W.I.T.C.H. seems a bit⊠unfocused? Maybe itâs not my place to say as an enby,
especially one who was assigned male at birth, but whenever people talk about these two properties,
they tend to talk about how they prefer W.I.T.C.H. not being overly girly, as though something
being more feminine makes it inherently bad? I think this need to appeal to boys through
the art style, writing, and character writing does make it harder to tell who W.I.T.C.H.
is for, versus something like Winx which has an incredibly strong identity and is never
afraid to embrace its femininity, much like its magical girl predecessor Sailor Moon. I mean even the â90s (Sailor Moon) anime
feels more weirdly feminine than W.I.T.C.H. Thatâs not to knock W.I.T.C.H.âs approach,
especially given the show, from my research, had a whole male production team, including
a director who was surprised he was just given the role given there were other directors
who knew the property better and were more interested. Itâs giving me Munehisa Sakai flashbacks
from my Sailor Moon Crystal video, jeez. But to their credit, they did deliver a genuinely
good product. I just also think their biases as cishet male
creators making a show about young women kinda shows. So yeah, thatâs the general story of W.I.T.C.H.
in a nutshell. I really enjoy it, and I most certainly love
the show for its writing, but Iâm also not surprised it faded into obscurity over time,
especially given how Disney burned its creators and drove them off. So while there have been calls to revive the
show, I donât think just picking up right where the old series left off would be the
right move. Nor am I suggesting a live action reboot,
please, god no. Please. Just keep it animated. Let things be animated, please? But I also wouldnât want a one-to-one recreation
of the comics, as not only did the comics have their own shortcomings and eventually
decline, but weâve seen through things like Sailor Moon Crystal that those types of reboots
are a hot mess. Iâd personally prefer a reboot more in the
vein of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (I need to talk about that more, oh my god). Something directed primarily by women and
marginalized folks who understand the charactersâ backgrounds first hand, and giving them free
reign with the source material to tell new stories. Though I would also like to see the vibrant,
magical art style of the comics kept intact, at least in some way. Just⊠please donât sexualize the girls. Please. Please donât do that, please? Anyways, if you enjoyed this video and would
like to see more content like this from me, then be sure to not only subscribe to the
channel, but also to ring that bell for notifications because YouTube hates creators, I cannot say
it enough. And if youâre willing and able, please consider
supporting myself and the channel over on Patreon for early videos, video scripts, and
access to the private Union of War Discord server. Iâm the Unicorn of War, andâŠ
*babbles in Will* No. I still donât know what sheâs saying here. We never will⊠fuck that was a pun. May it follow us to our fucking graves. *sigh* Record half of this today⊠oh I need
to stretch. Oh god. I canât believe⊠not only do I have to
re-record all this⊠um, fun story if you werenât aware. I was nearly done with this video, the W.I.T.C.H. video. It was nearly done with editing, and it was
going to be released the following weekend. And then disaster struck, oh lord. To make a long story short--
*âlong story shortâ by Taylor Swift* Donât look up new replacement devices for
your really old laptop on said old laptop, because the universe will troll you. And then suddenly your keyboard is filled
with caffeine, and everything has short circuited⊠it sounds so stupid on recap, because it is. But ugh. So I have a new device here, and this is the
first time Iâm recording with it for a video, this should be fun. Oh god. Iâm just grateful that most of my files
were safe. All book stuff is safe. External hard drive with all my footage is
safe, though I did have to get a new cable like that. Oh, sweet Jesus. Iâm probably not gonna put this at the start
of the video cuz thatâs way too long of an intro, but I will probably put it at the
very end for bloopers. So thatâs uh⊠OOF.
Why is Irma's top purple and not blue ? It's very strange to see her like that.
I think this video was great, you can see that Unicorn of War put a lot of care into it