Between the pages of Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier is an absolutely charming and enchanting tale of a curious young girl’s fascination with magic. In a world where the average human can’t use magic, Coco spends her days wondering what her life would be like if she could just cast a single spell. Whether it’s a flying chariot, or the sight of a witch itself, she does everything in her power to be around magic, no matter the cost.
When Coco meets Qifrey — a traveling witch — she takes it upon herself to spy on him as he uses his magic to fix a broken chariot, and comes to learn that magic is cast by drawing with pen and ink. She reflects on a childhood memory in which a street merchant sold her a notepad and a wand-shaped pen. With her curiosity taking hold, she quickly uncovers the secret that all witches carry: anyone — with the right tools — can cast a magic spell. Unfortunately for Coco, the spells she casts are forbidden, and turn her world upside down. A curse falls on her mother and her house, and the only way to set things right is to become an apprentice of Qifrey’s, and hopefully learn the magic needed to return her life to normal.
She sets off for Qifrey’s Atelier, and settles in with the other apprentices, including her cold roommate Agott. She goads Coco into a test that no beginner would be able to accomplish. Fortunately for Coco, her own skill in repairing clothing and cloth cutting, as well as the newfound confidence instilled in her by Qifrey, assists her in completing the test, and thus securing her place in the Atelier. As Qifrey, Coco, and the other apprentices head to the city to shop for supplies, Coco sees the street merchant who sold her the notebook and pen as a child, and chases after him. The other apprentices soon follow, and they come to discover — thanks to a looming, massive dragon — that they’ve been teleported out of the city entirely against their will.
Someone recommended Witch Hat Atelier to me a long time ago and I never got around to it until I saw it on a bookshelf in Waterstones. If I’m being honest, it didn’t really look like my cup of tea, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t order the next volume right after finishing this.
The magic system in Witch Hat Atelier is richly detailed. It uses the magic circle cliche a lot of fantasy stories tend to use, but details exactly what the markings mean and how they affect a spell. It also goes a step further, in that the better one’s penmanship is, the better their spells will be.
The art really drew me in above all else. This isn’t exactly an original story, although aspects of it and its execution are certainly welcome deviations from the cliche. The world Shirahama has crafted is reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films, specifically Howl’s Moving Castle and Earthsea, all while maintaining its own breathtaking charm. It’s the costumes, the landscape, the architecture. There are these little creatures that appear when Coco is doing the test Agott makes her take that remind me of Totoro and Spirited Away. There’s a scene where they’re in a magic shop, and it has this twisting, turning tree sprouting through the center of it, which sets the tone and ambiance so perfectly that you feel like you’re there.
There were a few things I wasn’t too keen on, such as how Coco was just allowed to become Qifrey’s apprentice. It’s explained early on in the book that humans who see how magic is cast have their memories erased. Now, it’s pretty clear that her ability to use these forbidden spells is obviously a key factor here, but it’s overdone having the main character be exempt from the rules of the world specifically to further the story.
More to the point, it is already decided that Coco will be Qifrey’s apprentice, even before the test. She basically shows Qifrey her success in completing it, and he just laughs it off and says she was already in, regardless of how she did.
All in all, perhaps it’s fitting that the magic in Witch Hat Atelier is based on pens and ink, because those very tools weaved a tale that itself is nothing short of magic. For volume 1 of Witch Hat Atelier, I give 8 out of 10 stars.
Witch Hat Atelier is published in English by Kodansha Comics. You can purchase Witch Hat Atelier at your local book and comic shops, or through online retailers. Purchasing a volume supports the creators and companies involved.
