Plot: In a world where only witches can cast magic, they must avoid being seen by ordinary people while casting. While Coco does her chores, she daydreams of becoming a witch. When a young witch named Qifrey visits her village, Coco uncovers the “absolute secret,” becomes Qifrey’s apprentice, and begins her studies.
Review: When I was young, I believed in magic. Without too much investigation, I became convinced that Muppets operated by sheer will, their movements and speech the result of conjuring animation with unknown forces. I didn’t know about the puppeteers. The raised sets. The back pain. Eventually, magic became an unattainable bit of whimsy, confined to cinema and to magicians who obscured their tricks. In Coco’s world, magic is a secret, something ordinary people cannot be allowed to touch, lest we all pay for the consequences.
Director Ayumu Watanabe‘s adaptation of Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier is like a fairy tale come to life, with Coco’s journey marked by redemption, curiosity, and temptation. She wants to learn magic fast, to undo the damage she’s caused by accidentally casting a forbidden spell. She’s an ordinary girl, but the witch who takes her on as an apprentice, Qifrey, believes she can achieve far more. Together, alongside a group of other young witches-in-training, Coco and Qifrey work to uncover the origin of the book Coco used to cast the taboo spell.
The overall look of Witch Hat Altelier is compelling and beautiful. I meant it when I said the show looks like a fairy tale book come to life, with animation sequences that rival the attention to detail of a Studio Ghibli feature. The bulk of Witch Hat‘s design is clean, serene, and tranquil. However, Wantanabe peppers the show’s overall look with sequences that mimic the manga’s art, giving something back to fans while treating audiences to a different style, tone, and almost woodcut look. The change is not subtle, but fleeting, becoming a fun visual treat that gives specific lore drops a unique presentation.
I immediately took to Coco (voiced by Rena Motomura), whose desire to explore magic is admirable and genuine. She desperately wants to be a part of the mysterious world beyond the veil of ordinary understanding. Still, when she finally gets a taste and the spell backfires, Coco can’t help but feel ashamed and afraid. This reluctance leads to Coco having a challenging relationship with magic, both as an ordinary person and someone whose previous attempt at creating magic caused harm. To fix her mistake, she’ll need to learn, but the odds, and even those meant to show her the way forward, are keeping things from her. All these elements make Coco a fun character to follow throughout the story, making her journey complicated and fraught with self-doubt.
Meanwhile, Mr. Qifrey reminds me of Howl (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), from Howl’s Moving Castle, but with soft-touch professor energy. He’s stern with Coco, but fair. She’s meddling in things beyond her understanding, and that makes her dangerous. Instead of taking a hard approach to her education, Qifrey trusts Coco and instructs his other students, Agott (Hibiku Yamamura), Tetia (Kurumi Haruk), and Richeh (Hika Tsukishiro), to aid her in her studies. It’s a nice change of pace when compared to the well-trodden trope of “reluctant professor begrudingly trains inept student.”
It’s early in the series, though I could envision myself as a fan of Agott, Tetia, and Richeh. Each young witch-in-training brings something different to the table. Agott is moody and competitive, but also temperate and aware of his experience over Coco. Agott’s jealousy and distrust of Coco will eventually lead to something tragic, but I don’t know that for certain. On the other hand, Tetia is a ball of energy who adores the idea of having a new student in the house. She wants to ask questions, shout, play, eat good food, and share her love of magic. I couldn’t help but warm to her right away. Then there’s Richeh, my favorite of the bunch. Richeh is your prototypical sleepy/goth character. She’s laid back, always sounds like she’s half-awake, and her dialogue is a mixture of keen observation and low-key snark. I often find myself drawn to this type of character. They make me laugh, and they’re usually hiding more power than they let on. I can’t wait to see what Richeh can do.
Witch Hat Altelier is off to a fantastic start. The story is tragic and intriguing, while the art is gorgeous, comforting, and engaging. I like that the animators add “a little extra sauce” to the presentation for more dynamic sequences, but reserve the added flair for select moments. It’s not too much of a good thing. It’s just right. Makes it special when it happens. As long as the animation remains on point and the story continues to grow in spellbinding ways, I could see Witch Hat Altelier becoming a fan favorite among anime fans, much like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is becoming a big part of conversations this year. More, please!
