Journal With Witch Ep. 5 “Decide”: Posthumous Mother Issues [Review]

Journal with Witch brings up some serious posthumous mother issues for Asa and even Makio in Ep. 5 “Decide”. Because as it turns out: being dead doesn’t stop Asa’s mother from still giving her issues. Of course, Makio’s mother (and by extension: Asa’s grandmother) is still very much alive, but that doesn’t stop her from giving Makio some issues either.

Journal with Witch Ep. 5 “Decide”: Details in Brief

Journal with Witch Ep. 5 “Decide” is the fifth episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, and Ep. 4 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. 5 “Decide” only just made its debut on February 1, 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:

“Asa struggles to choose an extracurricluar activity as she recalls old memories of Minori.”

Journal with Witch Ep. 5 “Decide”: The Good

When you watch Journal with Witch Ep. 5 “Decide”, the first thing that hits you is the story about Asa (voiced by Fuko Mori (JP)) and her past relationship with her now very much deceased mother Minori (voiced by Sayaka Ohara (JP)). Much of that story is told via flashbacks, with some of it being told by present day reactions to what looks like audiovisual hallucinations of Minori. All with that story painting a very complex picture of Minori. Early on, Minori appears to have been a highly controlling parent. Not quite to abusive levels of control, but she does gently but firmly decided things for Asa as a kid, subtly pushing her to leave all decisions to her rather than let Asa make her own decisions.

But then, something happens years later. Minori seems to regret showing that level of control. She starts to push back against her own decisions, trying to get Asa to make her own decisions. But by then, the damage had already been done, leaving Asa in the present day with a very strong rebellious streak and a belief that parental figures would deny her everything because Minori had initially reacted very negatively to Asa’s rebellious phase. It creates the primary conflict of this story, resulting in a very complex narrative.

All this is happening alongside the story of Makio (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro (JP)) and her relationship with her own mother Kyōko (voiced by Mayumi Asano (JP)). There seems to be a pattern here, with Makio’s initial relationship with her mother being good before souring in later years, all with that relationship existing alongside her relationship with her now-deceased sister. However, unlike Minori, Kyoko is still very much alive, and thus, Makio has the chance to make amends with her mother. Honestly, it’s this complex web of relationships, both past and present, that’s why this is one of the best slice of life anime series of this season.

Journal with Witch Ep. 5 “Decide”: The Bad

Honestly, the one thing that holds Journal with Witch Ep. 5 “Decide” is the overall animation quality. Yes, it’s quite decent. Shuka’s animation team have made this anime look very good in spite of the lack of overall quality. All due to an emphasis on shadow and reflection quality, as well as making use of highly stylized animation with a wide variety of details, especially when Asa’s imagination runs wild, although not as much in this episode due to her being depressed much of the time. However, it doesn’t quite hide the fact that this anime overall has the animation quality of a niche anime series, which holds it back just a bit. It’s really the story that’s carrying this anime hard here.

Aside from that, this anime is definitely not for fans of action. This is a slice of life comedy-drama anime. This episode and the previous episodes are all completely devoid of action. If you want that, then you’re going to have to look elsewhere.

Anime Recommendations

Fortunately, there are action-packed anime series out there for those who wish to watch them. 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 if you want that. However, if you want more drama or even just a quieter anime, 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 slice of life anime thoughts in the comment section below.

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