Entertainment
Crunchyroll’s New Fantasy Anime Series Is Already One of Its Best
News of an anime adaptation of the popular manga Witch Hat Atelier made headlines in 2022. Initially scheduled for a 2025 premiere, the show was delayed to ensure “an even higher quality,” making fans more excited but also more anxious. Witch Hat Atelier has been one of the most highly anticipated Crunchyroll titles for a while, considering its production process and the name recognition of its source material.
However, the series not only meets the sky-high expectations set for it but also exceeds them in a few key ways. Fantasy anime is almost always a surefire bet, but there’s something special about Witch Hat Atelier, a sense of warmth and melancholy that makes it the perfect watch for any and every lover of the genre and the medium.
What Is ‘Witch Hat Atelier’ About?
Witch Hat Atelier tells the story of Coco (Rena Motomura), a young girl who lives with her dressmaker mother in a secluded home. Enthusiastic and hopeful, Coco is fascinated with magic and dreams of one day becoming a witch, but knows it’s impossible since only those with innate magic can perform it. She also has a mysterious book full of drawings and a wand given to her by a witch when she was a child.
Coco’s fate changes when she meets Master Qifrey (Natsuki Hanae), a witch who visits her home, leading to Coco discovering how he uses magic: by drawing signs using special ink. Realizing her book’s drawings are actually spells, and the wand is actually a pen, Coco begins replicating the drawings, accidentally petrifying her mother. Intrigued by the book’s contents, Qifrey agrees to take Coco as a student.
The show also stars the voice talents of Hibiku Yamamura, Kurumi Haruki, and Hika Tsukishiru as Agott, Tetia, and Richeh, three fellow students at Qifrey’s atelier. Witch Hat Atelier is based on the manga by Kamome Shirahama, with Ayumu Watanabe acting as director, Hiroshi Seko in charge of the script, Kairi Unabara as character designer, and Satoshi Nakano as chief animator.
‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Features Some of the Best Visuals in Anime
The Witch Hat Atelier manga earned considerable acclaim for its beautiful art style, and the anime adaptation lives up to its high standard. Indeed, this anime features some of the most striking and detailed visuals on television, joining the likes of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End among the shows that are currently elevating the medium to new, impressive heights. Many of Witch Hat Atelier‘s panoramic sequences are genuinely breathtaking, creating an immersive world that feels alive and full of magic.
From the jump, Witch Hat Atelier establishes itself as a visual marvel with a truly jaw-dropping sequence where Coco stands on the rooftop and the camera follows a pegasus carriage as it circles her humble home; everything, from the mountains to the tree tops and even the clouds to the winged horses, feels vibrant and almost tactile. A few scenes, like memories and some of the exposition, are presented in the style of a pop-up book, and the result is striking, both gorgeous and somewhat haunting. There’s a level of attention and care to the show that makes it all the more impressive, with shots that fans should be allowed to experience on the big screen.
The character animation flows naturally, whether it’s the lively, restless personality of Coco or the quiet, stoic approach of Agott. What truly amazes is the level of care in the characters’ movements — a sequence as simple as Coco tracing measurements in a piece of cloth becomes an outright ASMR session. There’s not a hint of stiffness here; every movement just glides across the screen, like butter sliding down a piece of warm toast. It all combines to create a true sense of coziness, the type of warmth that many crave in their anime but very few shows successfully offer.
Perhaps most impressively is how effectively Witch Hat Atelier builds its world from the ground up. Early in the premiere, Coco establishes her philosophy: magic is everywhere if we know where to look for it, and the show takes it as gospel. It effectively shows us everything from Coco’s perspective, and we discover the marvels of magic alongside her. Every scene drips with a sense of wonder, the innocence of a child just discovering the world and all its possibilities. In that way, Witch Hat Atelier echoes the spirit of Studio Ghibli movies, which convey a sense of awe and charm in every frame. Like the studio’s biggest masterpieces, Witch Hat Atelier reminds us that there is magic in being alive, even if we can’t use special ink to conjure spells.
‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Has the Perfect Protagonist
A story is only as good as its protagonist, and fortunately, Witch Hat Atelier features a perfect one. Coco is the ideal lead: she’s fallible, and her curiosity leads her to make serious mistakes, most notably petrifying her mother. As Qifrey’s student, she’s eager to please and learn but prone to overreactions, leading to the type of overblown visuals one would expect from an anime. Yet, Coco remains endearing, a classic hero on a journey of self-discovery. Crucially, she’s relatable, frustrating but never annoying, and it’s a breeze to be on this magic journey with her.
It’s wonderful that Coco is such a likable protagonist, because Witch Hat Atelier uses her to introduce many of its detailed worldbuilding blocks, and it can get somewhat tedious. Such an intricate world was always going to need considerable exposition to establish its boundaries, but the show should’ve taken a more subtle approach, especially when explaining how the magic system works. Instead, it opts for a dynamic where Qifrey has Coco repeat all the rules under the guise of teaching. It’s an effective but rather blunt ploy, and while it’s harmless for a few episodes, hopefully, we don’t have much more of that in the future. After all, many fantasy stories have been crushed under the weight of their own worldbuilding, and it’d be a shame to see that happen to Witch Hat Atelier.
Overall, Witch Hat Atelier is a perfect fantasy anime that hits the ground running. The visuals are among the best in current television, creating a sensory experience that will easily transport you into its world of charm, magic, and unforeseen dangers. For all its more obvious qualities, the real strength of Witch Hat Atelier lies in its message about self-discovery and perseverance, and the feelings it’s bound to evoke in its audience. There’s a warmth to it that recalls the comfort shows that are in short supply in this era of prestige TV. It’s the perfect mix of nostalgia and solace, pure hopecore in service of a riveting fantasy tale. Indeed, Witch Hat Atelier is a triumph of feeling, and it’s exactly that quality that makes it a must-watch anime for every fan.
Witch Hat Atelier premieres with its first two episodes April 6 on Crunchyroll.
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