Journal With Witch Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing”: Family Issues [Review]

Journal with Witch continues the drama and brings up some serious family issues in Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing”. Of course, much of it has to do with Asa’s deceased mother, who continues to haunt the narrative in an excellent depiction of posthumous characterization. If anything, the mother is haunting herself as much as she is haunting her daughter and her littler sister.

Journal with Witch Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing”: Details in Brief

Journal with Witch Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing” is the seventh episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, and Ep. 6 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. 7 “Leave In Writing” only just made its debut on February 15, 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:

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

Journal with Witch Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing”: The Good

The entire theme of Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing” is family and how a complicated family creates issues in a country as traditionalist as Japan. Granted, this was true even in previous episodes. However, this episode takes it to new heights by further exploring the character of Minori Kōdai (voiced by Sayaka Ohara (JP) in a most posthumous way. Indeed, the focus on her makes her the star of this episode as it explores her past and her relationships with her family and the people around her. All while giving us some new revelations about her, such as her not actually being married to her husband. That revelation makes you seriously wonder about her relationship with her not-husband and why he was so insistent on not marrying her. Ultimately, that question is left unanswered in this episode, but it gives you some food for thought.

As much food for thought as Asa (voiced by Fuko Mori (JP)) learning about a journal that her mother had planned to give her on her 20th birthday. A journal which her aunt Makio (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro (JP)) had been conflicted about due to its very nature. You can completely understand why Asa lost it over Makio keeping the journal from her, but at the same time, you can also understand why Makio was unsure about just giving the journal to her. Honor her departed sister’s wishes, or respect her niece’s autonomy and desire to know about her mother? Either way would’ve been quite morally complex, and unfortunately, it ended up being the former, which now seems like to result in Asa feeling quite alienated. We will just have to see what kind of fallout this results in.

On top of all of that, there’s also a fascinating subplot involving Asa’s BFF Emiri (voiced by Sumire Morohoshi (JP)). From the looks of it, the Tomatoes in-universe movie Makio loaned her helped her realize something about herself and her sexuality. We’ve no idea what the fictional movie is about, but judging by Emiri’s reaction to it, it’s got something to do with her lack of interest in dating men. We shall be following her story with great interest as well.

Journal with Witch Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing”: The Bad

Alas, the problem with Ep. 7 “Leave In Writing” continues to be the animation quality. Again, it’s not bad. It’s actually very artistically pleasing, with Shuka’s animation team pulling out the stops for the animation, including for the scene with Asa’s imagination causing her to view her depression as a bottomless pit in a desert. However, the overall quality of the anime remains…adequate. Merely adequate, but nowhere near as detailed as anime with a higher animation budget.

Oh, and there’s a distinct lack of action in this episode as well, which goes for the rest of Journal with Witch. This is not a shonen-style action anime. This is a josei-style comedy-drama and slice of life anime. If you want blood and fighting, then you’re going to have to look elsewhere.

Anime Recommendations

Fortunately, there are many other anime that delve into blood-soaked action galore. You can check out You can 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 for that. However, if you wish for quieter anime with a focus on drama, comedy, and all things slice of life, then you might also want to watch 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 slice-of-life anime thoughts in the comment section below.

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