Witch on the Holy Night: An Apprentice Magician

Witch on the Holy Night: An Apprentice Magician

A seemingly regular high-school student who is secretly learning magic is the focus of the anime film Witch on the Holy Night, set to release in 2026, by Japan’s Nippon Animation.

Aoko Aozaki is voiced by Haruka Tomatsu. Aoko is training in secret to become a full-fledged magician while also going to school to lead a “normal” life.

Alice Kuonji, voiced by Kana Hanazawa, is also in the supernatural world that Aoko is in.

Things begin to change for Aoko when she meets Soujyuro Shizuki, voiced by Yusuke Kobayashi.

The film is produced by ufotable and is based on TYPE-MOON’s acclaimed visual novel. It is released in theaters in Japan on November 20, 2026, and internationally in January 2027.

Aoko Aozaki Is Still an Apprentice

Aoko appears to be like any other high-school student, but that is far from the case.

Crunchyroll’s official description says that she is a magician that lives in the modern-day and is still an apprentice.

Being an apprentice means that she is still learning the responsibilities and skills of someone that is a full-fledged magician.

The journey of becoming an adult and the growth that comes with it is a main theme in the film.

Aoko is also on a journey to discovering her identity and what makes her who she is while also trying to discover the realm of magic.

There are many similarities between Witch on the Holy Night and the 2012 TYPE-MOON visual novel, so if people are finding Witch on the Holy Night through a web search, they will discover that it is an anime adaptation of the visual novel rather than a new, original story.

Kana Hanazawa as Alice Kuonji

Kana Hanazawa is back as Alice Kuonji.

Alice lives together with Aoko and holds a special position in her magical life.

Crunchyroll announced Hanazawa’s return together with Tomatsu and Kobayashi in May 2026, thus confirming that the principal voice actors of the main characters of the modern version of the visual novel will be back for the anime film.

Alice and Aoko are totally different in nature and deal with unusual situations in their life in a totally different manner.

The discrepancy is important to note because Aoko is still in the stage of apprenticeship and magic training living next to somebody who is thoroughly involved in the magical and supernatural world.

The current synopsis of the movie doesn’t give a complete account of the conflicts that occur between Alice and Aoko, therefore, details about their interactions shouldn’t be inferred from the complete version of the visual novel.

Yusuke Kobayashi as Soujyuro Shizuki

Crunchyroll’s international synopsis gives a very general account of Soujyuro’s arrival: Aoko meets a boy, and that’s where the story of the young witch begins.

The general tone of the account suggests that Soujyuro’s arrival disrupts the balance Aoko and Alice had previously.

Rotten Tomatoes describes the movie as beginning with Aoko living and training alongside Alice before meeting Soujyuro.

For the audience searching for information about the film using the ‘Movieblast App‘, these three characters form the confirmed central trio.

The movie’s marketing strategy is to deliberately not give a detailed account of how or when Soujyuro comes in contact with magic or what are the consequences of his arrival.

The original visual novel was created by Kinoko Nasu and published by TYPE-MOON for PC in Japan in 2012.

A remastered version extended its audience internationally, and featured voice actors from the cast returning for the movie.

The story is a part of TYPE-MOON’s larger body of works of fantasy. However, Witch on the Holy Night focuses on Aoko’s story, and does not require its audience to have prior knowledge of any other works to be able to enjoy the story.

That means the film can be enjoyed as an adaptation by fans of the series, as well as by new audience members who are meeting the characters for the first time.

ufoTable Produces the Animation

ufoTable is the production company for the animation.

Crunchyroll and Rotten Tomatoes list ufoTable, Aniplex and TYPE-MOON among the companies involved with the production.

The company’s body of work is heavily influenced with action, fantasy and sci-fi genres. This makes ufoTable a good choice to animate works with supernatural and magical elements, which this story deals with.

Promotional material released in 2026 focused on Aoko, Alice and Soujyuro, leaving out many of the larger, supernatural events in the movie.

Keeping these elements of surprise gives the story its impact.

A specific international runtime has not been consistently listed by the primary distributors.

Witch on the Holy Night opens worldwide in January, 2027.

The movie opens in Japan on November 20, 2026.

After that, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment distribute the movie internationally.

Brazil gets Witch on the Holy Night on January 28, 2027. U.S. and Canadian theaters get it on January 29, 2027.

The U.S. version will get the Japanese version and an English dub.

Although the world of Witch on the Holy Night is large and filled with magical creatures, Aoko lives a regular student life while also dealing with supernatural duties, which only a select few are able to see. One of these people is Soujyuro.

This makes Witch on the Holy Night a combination of a magical coming-of-age story and a fantasy adventure.