Young Chise has already encountered enough hardships that at just 15 years old, she decides selling herself to the highest bidder would be a step up for her. Lucky for her, it’s Elias Ainsworth who takes her home. As a magus, Elias desires an apprentice and finds interest in Chise being a Sleigh Beggy, a being with great magical potential but a short life span. Through magic instruction, the two emotionally-stunted individuals start to find themselves growing closer.

The diverse settings and characters mirror the unique places Elaina encounters along her journey. While Chise lives a sedentary life compared to Elaina, Elias takes Chise to many beautiful, magical places. The beautiful animation in both anime truly makes the magic feel alive and the settings other-worldly. And while beautiful, Mahoutsukai no Yome shares Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina’s penchant for combining visually stunning moments with a dark, unnerving story.

Princess Syalis is captured by the Demon Lord Tasogare in an attempt to demoralize the enemy country. Despite being a prisoner, Princess Syalis doesn’t have to deal with too much… except she can’t sleep! Being tired makes most people cranky but the little princess becomes terrifying! In her constant battle for good sleep, she ends up maiming many a demon but looks so cute while resting, the Demon Lord finds it hard to punish her… maybe tomorrow.

No journeys for this trapped princess but in the demon castle, she certainly gets up to trouble! The premise is simple enough, a princess is so desperate for sleep that her demon captors can’t manage to scare her, in turn making the demons the scared ones. Syalis’ self-centered actions could even shame Elaina. At least Elaina just refuses to help others while Syalis is using demons as hammers or ripping off soft parts of their bodies for better bedding. The two ladies share a similarly detached personality and even look similar.

Akko desires to be a witch like her idol Shiny Chariot, having been inspired by her from a young age. With this thought in mind, she throws herself into her studies and decides to attend the prestigious Luna Nova Magical Academy. Things are much harder than she thought they’d be, even earning herself a rival early on. But nothing will stop her from her dream of following in Shiny Chariot’s footsteps!

If you love cute witches, Little Witch Academia will have a witch for you! Akko and Elaina share an initial motivation to learn magic because of a powerful role model. While Elaina’s inspires her to travel the world, Akko’s leads her to a magical academy! Both young witches learn a lot on their journey to master their magic but Akko would certainly make for a friendlier companion. The range of the magical spells and different ways of utilizing magic really feel more similar to Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina in particular compared to other anime that mostly use magic as a weapon.

With many deaths in London being dragon-related, you would assume London to be in a state of near-constant panic. But thanks to dragons being invisible to most people and for the special protection force that contains them, most people have no idea. In Reverse London, Wing Bind exists to manage dragon populations without allowing casualties to humans. Not all witches and wizards are up to the task but money-and-merit-crazed Noel and Ninny certainly are!

Even as a team, Noel and Ninny are definitely looking out for number one, though they respect that in each other. Like Elaina, they see no point in putting themselves in harm’s way because it’s the ‘right’ thing to do. But where shelter or money or fame is involved, that’s a different matter. Their styles of magic are different but their ‘I’m so powerful, you’re beneath me’ attitudes are certainly similar.

Tao Yao is an incredible spirit doctor who is able to heal almost any spirit of almost any malady… if she’s interested. Accompanied by a young monk and little fox, she travels around heeding the calls of spirits who desperately need her medical assistance. She’s willing to do this in exchange for a promise that should she ever need it for her medicine, the spirit must be willing to give up any part of its body to Tao Yao. Traveling to where the most interesting call takes her, we never know what lies ahead for such a formidable woman.

Tao Yao does not make it a priority to help people without merit, just like our deal Elaina. Elaina’s magic is certainly more versatile that Tao Yao’s magic, but her ability to fight, heal, and peer into the minds of demons is also very impressive. Bai Yao Pu follows a similar format to Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina as they follow a powerful girl on a journey to nowhere in particular marching to the beat of her own drum. The spirits you meet often have tragic backstories or futures awaiting them which is also sadly similar to Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina. At least it seems both of these heroines with hard hearts can be moved to help under the right circumstances.

(Graphic Violence Warning)

When Kino finds herself too caught up in her own world, she steps out into the real world for a chance at new perspectives. With her trusty companion Hermes, a sentient motorcycle, the two travel to new places and meet interesting people with their particular, unique circumstances. Despite both their general curiosity, they only arrive as on-lookers and never get deeply involved in the situations they encounter. Now, if others insist on getting involved with her, Kino is prepared to bring out her guns to protect her wandering freedom.

If you love short stories through the lens of one interested but unaffected main character like in Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, you’ll enjoy Kino no Tabi. Kino doesn’t have magic but she does have two guns and amazing aim which definitely makes her fearsome. Neither Elaina nor Kino particularly likes fighting but they are both prepared to use force to protect their freedom. While Kino no Tabi seems light-hearted and whimsical as does Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina at first glance, the despairing condition of humanity combined with the main characters’ indifference provides a stark contrast.