Very rarely do you come across a show that actually makes you think about gender differences by merely swapping the traditional roles. Witch Craft Works attempts to do such a thing with the male lead Takamiya depicted as weak and helpless compared to Kagari the fire witch who protects him. The success of this series will depend on how the latter is developed as a character, but this was definitely a good start.
This first episode made it a story of two princesses. Kagari is the princess of the school who must be protected from anyone who is not one of her fans. The other is Takamiya, the princess in Kagari’s mind who must be protected by the world of magic and witches he imminently finds himself in. I definitely liked how they made the two separate worlds clash whenever they came together. There’s no smooth transition there.
Seeing Takamiya take a beating repeatedly in this episode was actually important. He’s trapped in a gender role which requires him to act even if he doesn’t have the power to do so. He comes into conflict with one who has the power to do something in Kagari, but since she’s a woman he can’t fully bring himself to trust her. That’s the central conflict at the heart of this show; even more than the magical conflict between witch factions of which he now finds himself in the middle. I think it will be interesting to see how that all works out.
Finally, the ending theme involving the Tower Witch minions is the best ending theme I’ve heard in quite a while. At least it was one that I was willing to watch all the way through without the temptation to skip.
Lower Mid-Table 
I was really trying to ignore this season of anime, but I really like this concept. It’s tempting to pick up this series and test it out.
I think it will end up flaming out (pun intended) as they have to flesh out the larger cast. I’m sure I’ll revisit this show at some point again this season.
Most of this first episode left me cold, but a lot of that little weird stuff relating to what you wrote about made me more interested than I thought I would be by a longshot.
Also, these bullies sure are politically aware.
Politically aware bullies are the most dangerous bullies. Anyway, I can see how this can leave people feeling distant. It does kind of feel like weak lead character being angry for no reason after all.
I quite liked the way Takamiya was so focussed on Kagari’s hair, and other ideas of beauty being damaged, instead of looking at what was happening around him. On the other hand, Kagari isnt too fussed about her hair being singed – not that it makes any difference since she regenerates anyway – Takamiya focusses on the superficial ‘feminine’ aspects of Kagari instead of seeing her for what she is, an immensely strong Witch with far more power than he can imagine.
I also loved the ending.
Takamiya is just so caught up in his gender role that he ends up thinking that way. He’s trying to place her up on the same pedestal as the others in making her a princess when that is the last thing she wants from him. It makes the development of this relationship well worth watching going forward.