Release That Witch anime boosts novel readership by 2000%
The adaptation is close to a 5 on Crunchyroll, and a petition with nearly 10,000 signatures asks for a continuation
Juan Castillo Published: 
The Release That Witch anime has pulled off something few Chinese adaptations manage: getting the source material back on the sales charts. According to TechWeb, the Qidian novel has seen its readership multiply twentyfold since the series premiered, and on April 29 it returned to the platform's top 10 bestsellers.
That's no small feat. This is a novel that ended in 2019 and is suddenly competing with ongoing titles again. The adaptation has worked as an engine for rereading and discovery: those who watched the anime went straight to the source.
A 4.9 on Crunchyroll and an international petition
The anime premiered internationally on Crunchyroll, after airing first on iQIYI and Tencent Anime in China. Bilibili will add it in the coming days. The numbers from the first season explain the buzz.
On Crunchyroll, more than 17,800 users have rated the series 4.9 out of 5. On IMDb, it holds an 8.6. Those figures place the adaptation among the highest-rated Chinese animated series in the West in recent years.
Three characters from the anime against a backdrop of fire and destruction.The community's push hasn't stopped at ratings. On Change.org, a petition titled "Support continuation of Release That Witch anime" has gathered nearly 10,000 signatures. On Reddit, the r/ReleaseThatWitch subreddit has organized to ask people to leave comments on Crunchyroll and YouTube. The logic is simple: if platforms see demand, there will be a second season.
And the demand is there. The novel was already a phenomenon before the anime, with over 140 million accumulated reads on WebNovel, Qidian's international platform. It's one of the most-read Chinese titles outside China.
What Release That Witch is about
The story starts with a modern engineer who wakes up in a medieval world with magic. Instead of swords and prophecies, the protagonist applies the scientific method: he uses his knowledge to change the fate of witches, persecuted by the local church, and along the way kicks off an industrial revolution.
Scene from the anime 'Release That Witch' in a castle setting.Er Mu's novel was published on Qidian between 2016 and 2019. It spans 3.37 million characters, with over 500,000 recommendation votes during its serialization and 50,000 favorites. It's not a minor work: it's deposited in the National Library of China and the Shanghai Library.
The manga had already paved the way. In 2019 it arrived on Tapas in North America and on Renta! in Japan, with a good reception. The anime didn't start from zero: there was an international base of readers waiting for it.
Cover of the novel 'Release That Witch' with information about its author and ratings.What's happening now is proof that a well-received adaptation can revive a finished work. The novel returned to the top spot on Qidian's fantasy and completed works charts. It's not a one-off bounce: it's the direct effect of the anime.
The petition keeps gaining signatures. With those numbers on Crunchyroll and a mobilized community, a second season doesn't seem crazy.
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