Journal With Witch Ep. 8 “Wander”: Acceptance [Review]

Journal with Witch has Asa finally conclude her stages of grief with the final stage of acceptance in Ep. 8 “Wander”. It’s taken a while, but it makes sense since this is the death of her parents we’re talking about. It’s only natural that it would take a while before she finally processes that fact. We can only hope that she’s mentally in a better place after that acceptance.

Journal with Witch Ep. 8 “Wander”: Details in Brief

Journal with Witch Ep. 8 “Wander” is the eighth episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, and Ep. 7 here) of this slice of life comedy-drama anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Tomoko Yamashita.

Shuka (Durarara!!x2 Shō, 91 Days, Natsume’s Book of Friends: Fifth Season) is the animation studio behind this anime. Miyuki Oshiro is the director of this anime, with Kōhei Kiyasu as the writer, and Kensuke Ushio as the composer for the music.

Speaking of the music: the opening theme song for Journal with Witch is “Sonare” (ソナーレ) by Tomoo. Meanwhile, “Kotozute” (言伝; lit. ’Hearsay’) by Bialystocks is the ending theme song.

Synopsis

Alas, Journal with Witch is still an ongoing anime series. In fact, Ep. 8 “Wander” only just made its debut on February 22, 2026 exclusively on Crunchyroll. Thus, for those of you wishing to avoid spoilers, here’s the synopsis for this week’s episode from Crunchyroll below…which is the exact same synopsis as the previous episode:

“Introverted novelist Makio and her niece Asa learn to navigate grief, love, and the meaning of family.”

Journal with Witch Ep. 8 “Wander”: The Good

As you can tell by the title of this review, the best part about Journal with Witch Ep. 8 “Wander” is the fact that Asa (voiced by Fuko Mori (JP)) basically finishes going through the five stages of grief in this episode. See, throughout the previous episodes, Asa has been through those five stages, but not in the traditional order. She essentially starts with denial, and then wavers between anger, depression, and more denial in an odd cycle, skipping bargaining entirely. It’s this episode where she finally ends that cycle with acceptance, finally accepting the fact that her parents are dead amidst a flood of tears, with her new parental figure Makio (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro (JP)) giving her comfort there. It’s this story of grief that’s why this is one of the most underrated anime of the season.

All while this story runs concurrently with Makio discovering what it means to be family with her niece, especially when that family isn’t quite the traditional one Japanese culture expects its people to have. You can see it in this episode when Makio goes looking for Asa with not her husband, but with her boyfriend/fan Shingo Kasamachi (voiced by Junichi Suwabe (JP)) and her lawyer Kazunari Tōno (voiced by Takashi Kondō (JP)). They are definitely nowhere near the traditional Japanese family, but they still succeed in locating Asa and convincing her to come home. This makes that particular subplot feel like political commentary on how found family is still family.

Then of course, there’s the fact that Makio and Asa do talk about the conflict that’s been happening that’s why Asa skipped school and had been lying about it. Makio has been shown throughout the anime that she’s very much neurodivergent, with heavy implications that she’s on the autistic spectrum. And yet, she’s also shown to be a stable and responsible adult, which allows her to have a rational and sensible talk with the neurotypical but very emotionally volatile Asa, despite Asa’s constant attempts to hurt Makio emotionally. This too feels like political commentary on how neurodivergency does not prevent someone from being a responsible adult.

Oh, and kudos to the wolf being used as symbolism in this episode. Both for Makio’s lone wolf tendencies, and how wolves still need a pack/family to run with.

Journal with Witch Ep. 8 “Wander”: The Bad

Alas, my main issue with Ep. 8 “Wander” is still the fact that the animation quality is…not great. Again, the anime’s overall quality is perfectly adequate, with Shuka’s animation team turning to artistic depictions to make the anime look higher quality than it is, especially in terms of reflections on things like eyes and such. However, it can’t escape the fact that the overall quality is mediocre, especially compared to anime with much higher animation budgets.

Oh, and of course, this is not an action-packed anime. Journal with Witch is a slice of life anime about family and grief, not your typical shonen anime. If you want action and blood, then you’re going to have to look elsewhere.

Anime Recommendations

Fortunately, there exists many action-packed alternatives for you to enjoy. If you want blood and glory, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, and/or TRIGUN STARGAZE. However, if you want quieter anime just like this one, then you might also like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, and/or Hana-Kimi.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Journal with Witch? Tell us your grief-stricken thoughts in the comment section below.

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