When was the last time you truly felt the wonders and magic of childhood? For some, it may have been just a few years ago – for others, much longer. As we grow up, our responsibilities naturally increase. At a certain point, work and chores become so time-consuming that we lose ourselves in daily routines. There's little time left to dream or explore the wonders of our imagination.
This isn’t the case for every adult, of course. Especially we – fans of printed worlds – hold onto the magic of imagination and wonder, either because we love it so much or because it brings us comfort. It's nice to escape the stressful and mundane reality to explore other worlds, fly with superheroes, or solve a crime alongside the world’s best detectives.
However, even we are not safe from this scary monster called ‘Growing Up’! Our stories and worlds grow with us – and so do the themes and plots.
Don’t get me wrong... I love morally grey stories and characters. They help us reflect on ourselves and the world around us. They challenge us to rethink our understanding of morality or reality itself. But if I spend too much time in these worlds, I tend to feel a bit burned out.
To help me feel better, I love to read stories that bring comfort through their wholesomeness. It doesn’t matter if it’s a slice-of-life, a romance, or a straight-up comedy. I just like to sit back once in a while and feel like a child again – laughing, giggling, and kicking my feet, as if I’m back in my childhood bedroom, waiting for my parents to send me to sleep because I was reading too much again.
Some of these stories succeed, while others do not. But one story that truly transported me back to childhood is Witch Hat Atelier… I’m going to make a bold claim – this manga takes the magic of my childhood, shaped by a certain famous boy with glasses and the legendary Studio Ghibli, combines them, and lifts that love of magic to a new level.
Yes, you heard me. Witch Hat Atelier is the best magical story I have ever read!
What is Witch Hat Atelier About?
Every magical story treats magic and the world around it differently. While magic and magicians in medieval stories are not a secret to the people around them, stories that center on magical beings in our modern world tend to create a parallel magical society that simply hides from us mortal beings. Witch Hat Atelier, despite its medieval setting, mixes these concepts.
Magic is real, and the whole world knows it exists. But magic is very picky about its users, and only a handful of people known as Witches can use it. Thankfully, Witches are selfless and use their magic to help others with various tasks like repairing or building. There are only a few rules Witches must follow to prevent magic from becoming corrupted. The most important rule is that no one can watch Witches perform their magic. Usually, no one questions this, as people are simply grateful for the help.
One day, Qifrey, a Witch Master, visits the small village where our protagonist Coco lives. Coco works as a tailor’s apprentice in her mother’s atelier. She is very talented at drawing precise lines and shapes. However, despite her talent, Coco has always dreamed of becoming a Witch. Even though everyone tells her it’s impossible because she wasn’t born into a Witch family, she never gives up on her dream.
When Qifrey is tasked with repairing something in Coco’s house, she – despite it being forbidden – watches the Witch Master perform his magic. He draws circles with different symbols inside them, and the magic happens!
After he leaves, she tries to draw the same symbols. Thanks to her drawing skills, it works very well. Suddenly, even though she’s not a Witch, a spell is cast. But instead of copying what Qifrey did, it turns everything around her into stone…
Qifrey senses the spell and intervenes. Despite his efforts, he is too late. Coco’s mother has been turned to stone. Qifrey is not allowed to reverse it because Coco accidentally cast a forbidden spell. Any spell that can change a person is prohibited – and that also means recasting it to reverse the effect is forbidden.
The casting of the spell by Coco is not only a violation but also reveals that there are secrets around magic and its users. Now Qifrey is confronted with a choice: Does he erase Coco’s memories, like the protocol says, and leave her behind as an orphan, or does he take her in as one of his students at his own atelier to help her find a cure for her mother? This choice may not only reshape Coco’s life, but also could lead her down a rabbit hole to the dark truth behind magic…
The ongoing series by Kamome Shirahama is recommended for readers 10 and upward. However, I think that all ages above 10 can enjoy this masterpiece due to its wholesome cast, thrilling story and gripping mystery, which I will get to later on. In my opinion though, the best thing about this series, and what we should talk about first, is definitely the art – which I mean in two different ways.
The Art of Witch Hat Atelier Is Magical – Literally and Figuratively!
What makes Witch Hat Atelier so special to me is how unique and creative the magic system is. Other magic systems usually rely on wands or words to cast spells.
In Witch Hat Atelier, spells are cast by drawing different symbols that dictate the element, direction, and shape. The spell is then activated by enclosing it in a perfect circle.
This means the magic system not only requires precise drawings to ensure the correct casting but also allows for a great deal of creativity.
I don't want to spoil too much, but just imagine what happens if you draw a circle with the element "air" and strong upward arrows on a pair of shoes… Gosh, I could dream for hours about all the possibilities!
The amazing thing is that this magic system is not just a gimmick or used occasionally to show off a clever idea. Magic is used often, and the creativity it allows leads to amazing storylines and incredible solutions to problems. It never gets boring and also challenges readers to think of their own possible solutions.
The art of Witch Hat Atelier is not only amazing because of its magic system but also in a literal sense. The mangaka, Kamome Shirahama, is one of the most talented artists I have ever encountered – and I do not exaggerate.
Her art is not only cute and magical but also clean and thoughtful. Every detail seems planned and serves a world-building or narrative function.
The characters are recognizable, and their designs are unique while still staying true to their respective settings.
Every piece of artwork looks like she took her time and put her whole self into it. Sometimes, it even feels a bit shameful to flip the pages because every panel deserves to be gazed at for hours.
Each page, although drawn in black and white, feels alive and bursting with color. I sometimes forget I'm reading a black-and-white manga because the pages pull me in so completely.
And finally, her paneling is something I have rarely seen before. She rethinks how comics work and plays with paneling as if she were a magician herself. The panels are never the same and are used for storytelling in a way that feels like pure magic.
Side note to myself: Stop gazing at this panel and keep writing this article - please!
Witch Hat Atelier Makes the Magic of a Childhood Classic Better!
Speaking of feeling magic while reading…
I grew up reading a lot. Whether it was a comic, a manga, or even just a book—if you handed me a great story set in a fantastic world, I was sold!
So it's no surprise that, like many others from my generation and the one before, I grew up reading the story of a young wizard with glasses.
However, with every new book of this childhood classic, I found the story becoming worse and worse. I enjoyed the wholesome first book, where we were transported into a new world with its own kind of magic to explore alongside the protagonist.
But with each new installment, the story grew increasingly dark, and the magic turned into a mere plot device rather than something truly magical.
Additionally, nowadays the series is overshadowed by a lot of controversy, making it difficult for some people to enjoy their beloved world of magic.
I was always looking for something that could reignite my passion for magic, fantastical beasts, and wholesome stories – until I finally found Witch Hat Atelier.
This story is exactly what I always yearned for: wholesome stories with a great cast, a main character who explores a new side of the world alongside us, fantastical beasts, and magic that doesn’t turn into a plot device but stays magical throughout.
Don’t get me wrong… Witch Hat Atelier still presents a beautiful conspiracy and mystery surrounding its world and magic – and that’s always fun.
What it does well, compared to other magical stories, is that it doesn’t lose itself in the conspiracy. Magic stays in the foreground and doesn’t simply become a tool for battles or problem-solving.
The passion for magic that Coco brings into this world is what truly drives the story, and the creativity pulls you in without ever letting go.
Witch Hat Atelier Is a Studio Ghibli Movie Turned Manga!
Nonetheless, this classic wasn’t the only thing that brought back magic from my childhood – which I dearly miss.
Once again, like many others my age, I grew up watching the Studio Ghibli movies.
Gosh, I need to transfer my love for these movies into an article too, so I’ll keep this short.
Everyone who has watched these movies knows how each part transports you into a magical world. Wonderful animation, soothing atmospheres, heavenly music, fantastical settings, and incredibly unique stories leave you with a feeling of comfort and a sense of inspiration.
It truly feels like Studio Ghibli movies represent what animation is all about – a team of talented artists pouring their souls into something unique and creating a masterpiece by building new worlds and capturing the beauty of our own.
Once I had watched all of these movies, I was left with a yearning for more… but there was nothing like them – until I finally found Witch Hat Atelier.
This world and this story truly feel like they could have been a Studio Ghibli masterpiece.
Not only does Kamome Shirahama’s incredibly beautiful art capture the magic of our world and another one – much like those classic movies – but it also truly feels animated.
This is something you can’t really explain until you experience it yourself. It feels like reading magical ink on magical paper that comes to life in your mind.
That doesn’t mean Kamome Shirahama simply copied the art of Studio Ghibli.
In fact, they don’t really look alike. When people say this is like a Studio Ghibli story, they mean the way this mangaka captures real-life magic, much like those classic films.
It is incredible that decades after experiencing my first Studio Ghibli movie, and years after watching my last, I can finally feel the magic of my childhood again…
The Magic of My Childhood Is Finally Back!
Witch Hat Atelier is for sure one of my favorite manga of all time. Not only is it a wholesome story with a gripping mystery, but the art is incredibly gorgeous as well. If one day I fulfill my wish of having my own library, I will definitely put up a few panels of this masterpiece!
The story, the characters, the art, and the panels all feel like the magic of childhood was resurrected while still being its own thing!
Thus, it is definitely well-deserved that this story won the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material in 2020!
I am also very happy that the anime has already been announced for this year (2025), which will introduce more people to this masterpiece. I hope they truly capture the magic from the pages onto our screens with beautiful animation and music.
Nonetheless, I feel like this will be a classic case of: watch the anime and read the manga too.
Either way, now is the perfect time to get into this series – before the manga are sold out everywhere – because people will love this story so much.
Whenever I get back into reading this manga, I feel warm and comfortable. It feels like lying in my childhood bed, with the sun lighting up my book while the birds outside play music for my story.
I don’t just say this because it sounds dramatic – I truly mean it: this story will bring back the feeling of your childhood classics!
If you want to read this ongoing series right now, you can pick up all 13 current volumes right here:
- Witch Hat Atelier 01
- Witch Hat Atelier 02
- Witch Hat Atelier 03
- Witch Hat Atelier 04
- Witch Hat Atelier 05
- Witch Hat Atelier 06
- Witch Hat Atelier 07
- Witch Hat Atelier 08
- Witch Hat Atelier 09
- Witch Hat Atelier 10
- Witch Hat Atelier 11
- Witch Hat Atelier 12
- Witch Hat Atelier 13
If you are a fan of box sets, you can get the first one right here (it also works well as a beautiful gift for friends and family):
If you want to become a magician in your own kitchen, you may find the spin-off series Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen interesting!
In it, the two teachers we meet in the series cook magical meals while their students are asleep. The series also contains recipes, so you can cook these magical meals yourself!
