Kamitsubaki City Under Construction: Witchling Part 1

Seven years after a catastrophe leveled civilization, Kamitsubaki City rises from the ashes — a gleaming, tech-heavy metropolis that's almost rebuilt. Almost, because now there are Tesseractors, monstrous things born from human malice and desire, tearing through the districts. The only defense? Five girls called Witchlings who fight these creatures by singing. Not metaphorically — their voices are literally weapons. This TV special serves as the opening chapter (Episode 0, technically) for the larger Kamitsubaki City story. You meet Kafu, the reckless one from District Zero; Rime, composed but fragile from District One; Haru, the optimist; Sekai, who people worship as a living goddess; and Koko, an amnesiac who switches between cool detachment and childlike wonder. Each district has its own feel, and the world-building is surprisingly layered for a single episode. The 3D animation style takes some getting used to, but it works with the sci-fi setting and lets the musical combat sequences hit differently. If you liked how Symphogear turned singing into battle mechanics, or how Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song wove music into its emotional core, this is playing in that same space — post-apocalyptic hope filtered through vocal power. The tone walks a line between earnest and intense without tipping into either extreme. It's a prologue, so don't expect full resolution, but as a setup for what's coming, it does its job well and leaves you curious about where these five end up.