# Witch Hat Atelier

Witch Hat Atelier (Japanese: とんがり帽子のアトリエ, Hepburn: Tongari Bōshi no Atorie) is a Japanese fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Kamome Shirahama. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning Two [ja] since July 2016, with its chapters collected in 13 tankōbon volumes as of February 2024. The series follows a girl named Coco, who dreams of being a witch in a world where only those born with magical abilities are able to become witches. However, after meeting a witch named Qifrey, Coco's dream begins to come true.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Bug Films is set to premiere in 2025. A spin-off series, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, started in Morning Two in November 2019.
By July 2024, Witch Hat Atelier had over 5.5 million copies in circulation, including over 540,000 copies in print in English. In 2020, the series was the winner of the Harvey Award for the Best Manga category as well as the joint winner of the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.

## Plot

Coco is a kind and daydreaming daughter of a dressmaker who aspires to become a witch; however because only innate magical users can practice and use magic, she has to give up on her dream. One day she meets a witch named Qifrey and after she witnesses how he uses magic (by drawing magical runes and using magical ink), Coco accidentally casts a spell that turns her mother to stone.
As Coco does not know which magic spell she cast and Qifrey is tracking the sinister coven that could be behind the incident, he takes Coco as his apprentice in order to undo the spell and allow her to fulfill her dream. As it is gradually revealed, the coven in question—the Brimmed Caps—have taken an extraordinary interest in Coco, hoping that she will help them revive the free use of magic, which was outlawed because of the atrocities committed with it in past times, with some of their repercussions still enduring in Coco's world. Because rune magic can be effectively made by everyone, the Assembly carefully watches over any abuse of it, even going so far as to erase the memories of any uninitiated (called "Outsiders") when they discover this secret. Thus, as Coco immerses herself into this new, wondrous world, a sinister plot begins to thicken around her.

## Characters
### Qifrey's Atelier
#### Coco (ココ, Koko)

    A bright, blondish-green haired, optimistic young girl and dressmaker's daughter who dreams of becoming a witch, and sees her wish fulfilled at the horrid cost of her mother getting turned to stone. Subsequently, she is taken in by Qifrey and, instead of having her memory erased, is allowed to learn the ways of rune magic, which gains her a dubious reputation in the magic community. While initially clumsy and naive, she is very enthusiastic about learning all she can about magic, and with her background as an Outsider, she is able to conceive highly creative ways of using her new-found knowledge.

#### Qifrey (キーフリー, Kīfurī)

    A reclusive witch and magic teacher with white hair who specializes in water magic. His atelier is a haven for child witches who are considered outcasts because they did not—or refused to—fit into the rigid structures of the old established schools. While it is partly out of kindness that he takes Coco in, he has also taken note of the Brimmed Caps' designs on her. In fact, he holds a very personal grudge against the Brimmed Caps ever since his childhood, where they used him in a fell ritual that took away his right eye (which he now keeps covered by his hair) and the memory of his former life. As a result of their attempts to prevent him from tracking his tormentors, he distanced himself from the Assembly, returning only for necessities. In his pursuit for vengeance, Qifrey is ruthless enough to employ forbidden memory erasing magic to prevent any hindrance.

#### Agott (アガット, Agatto)

    A black-haired girl from the renowned Arklaum family, one of the houses who established the vow to keep the magic arts a secret to the general populace. Agott was cast out during her test for apprenticeship when malicious rumors surfaced that the magic she was to present at her trial was plagiarized. Upon becoming Qifrey's student, she became a bitter loner, obsessed with perfecting her magic skills under her own power, and distanced herself from the other students. Still, her precision in drawing rune circles makes her very popular with her schoolmates, who often approach her for help or advice.
    Upon first meeting Coco, Agott initially treats her with scorn, even sending her off to a demanding test even though Coco had no practical experience with magic yet. However, owing to Coco's sincerity and imagination in devising new ways of employing magic, Agott gradually comes out of her shell and begins regarding Coco as a dear friend and equal.

#### Tetia (テティア)

    A bright, bubbly and constantly upbeat girl with pink curly hair. Her greatest desire is to make people happy with her magic.

#### Richeh (リチェ, Riche)

    A gloomy, distant-looking young girl with long sky blue hair and a stubborn personality who is skilled in crystal magic and specialized in drawing very small rune circles. She became withdrawn when her beloved older brother Riliphin was the only person to appreciate her magic, and since refused to learn any new magic or submit to authority. Under Coco's encouragement and a magical test where she and her friends were imperilled by the Brimmed Caps, she decided to move on and learn more magic to help her friends.

#### Olruggio (オルーギオ, Orūgio)

    A blackhaired witch living as a partner and supervisor for the Assembly (a "Watchful Eye") at Qifrey's atelier. Despite his gruff demeanor, he is actually a caring soul, and the magical items he creates are commonly meant to increase the comfort of their users. He specializes in magic creating fire, light and heat. He is from Ghodrey, City of Magic in the north.

#### Brushbuddy (フデムシ, Fudemushi, "Brushbug")

    A fluffy caterpillar-like creature who attaches itself to Coco during her test for apprenticeship (mainly due to his species' love for the smell of magical inks) and henceforth resides at Qifrey's atelier as a pet. It is frequently hinted that he has an intelligence and persona as complex as a human's.

### Brimmed Cap Group

The Brimmed Cap Group (つば付きキャップグループ, Tsubatsuki Kyappu Gurūpu), or simply the Brimmed Caps (つば付きキャップ, Tsubatsuki Kyappu), is a coven of rogue witches who reject the rules of the Day of the Pact and uses Forbidden Magic like offensive magic and body changing magic, along with the forbidden act of making spell tattoos on their own bodies, or the bodies of others. Their name comes from their hats which have long brims or other ornaments to cover their faces, as opposed to the Pointed Caps, whose cap-brims are pinned up. Some members like Iguin and Sasaran express an interest in having Coco become a practitioner of forbidden magic, claiming to be a "child of hope". Their exact structure and motivations are mostly unknown, but it seems that they organize into big groups and then divide into smaller groups to conduct their plans. There are some Brimmed Caps with the likes of Ininia, Restys and Custas are not shown to have an alliance with Iguin and his faction until much later.

#### Iguin (イグイーン, Iguīn)

    A high-ranking member—and possibly the leader—of the Brimmed Caps, who characteristically wears a cone hat with a face mask shaped like an eye. Iguin is the one who gave Coco the spellbook which ultimately became responsible for turning her mother into stone, and it is hinted that he sees a potential in her which would allow the reintroduction of forbidden magic into everyday life.

#### Custas (クスタス, Kusutasu)

    A young minstrel who had his legs permanently disabled in an accident that Coco and Agott rescued him from. He has come to befriend Tartah, and wished to learn all he can about apothecary from him in order to restore his legs. However, Ininia tells him a partial truth about the true nature of witches' magic, making him join the Brimmed Caps, become one of Restys' apprentices, and turning on Coco and Tartah.

#### Sasaran (ササラン)

    A Brimmed Cap who experimented with transformation magic which failed, giving him a feline appearance. In order to hide this, and to intimidate his victims, he has taken to remote-control an empty cloak and hat to impersonate his presence, leading to his nickname "Empty Cloak Witch".

#### Ininia (イニニア)

    An adolescent Brimmed Cap apprentice disguised as a regular witch, and Restys' apprentice.

#### Master Restys (レスティス, Resutisu)

    A Brimmed Cap witch who converses with their apprentice Ininia through her staff.

### The Witches' Assembly

The Witches' Assembly (魔女の集会, Majo no Shūkai) is the institution in Coco's world which governs the use of magic, its spreading (by regulating the enlistment and advancement of apprentices) and the maintenance of its secrecy. The seat of the Assembly is located in an underwater city called the Great Hall, which can only be reached by a certain stairwell descending into the depths of the earth, as well as special magic. This community is financed by the Five Kingdoms of the Zozah Peninsula, in exchange for freely serving the people in times of great need. However, the Assembly is endeavoring to remain neutral in the realms' politics.

#### Alaira (アライラ, Araira)

    A dark-skinned senior witch and one of Qifrey's best friends, even after he left the Assembly to strike out on his own.

#### Beldaruit (ベルダルート, Berudarūto)

    Known by the title "Wise in Teachings", Beldaruit is a high mage and member of the Three Wise Ones, the Assembly's ruling council. Suffering from brittle bones, he utilizes a walking chair for locomotion, and likes to cloak his presence with illusions. His playful and seemingly scatter-brained personality hide a sharp intellect. He was once Qifrey's teacher and thus knows about his faults, and has offered to teach Coco to keep her out of her tutor's plotting against the Brimmed Caps.

#### Vinanna (ヴィナンナ, Vu~inan'na)

    The current Wise in Principles. Founder and captain of the Knights Moralis.

#### Lagrah (ラグラ, Ragura)

    The new Wise in Friendships, the High Council's diplomat and successor of the previous sage Engendale after the latter's disgrace.

#### Sinocia (シノーシア, Shinōshia)

    A friendly and caring witch physician residing in the Great Hall. Because any magic directly applied to a living body—including healing magic—is considered forbidden lore, she is limited to using conventional healing methods to treat her patients.

#### Kukrow (クックロウ, Kukkurou)

    A disparaging, irresponsible sorcerer and Euini's former mentor.

#### Riliphin (リリフィン, Ririfin)

    Richeh's older brother and currently Beldaruit's assistant.

#### Adina Arklaum (アディナ・アークロム, Adina Ākuromu)

    Agott's mother and Chief Librarian in the Tower of Tomes, the Assembly's main magical library.

#### Atwert (アトワート, Atowāto)

    Galga's lover, who later takes him in as his apprentice after Galga has had his memories erased.

#### Hiehart (ハイハート, Haihāto)

    A dark-skinned male witch who hero-worships Olruggio.

#### Jujy (ジュジー, Jūjī)

    Hiehart's dark-skinned, sassy young witch apprentice.

#### Loroga Roenton (ロロガ・ロエントン, Roroga Roenton)

    A young witch apprentice and a former peer of Agott who is deeply jealous of her talents.

### The Knights Moralis

Also known as the Order of Moral Spellcasting, the Knights Moralis (魔警騎士団, Makei Kishi-dan) is a subsidiary agency to the Assembly—specifically, its law enforcement branch. Its members are assigned to track any abuse of magic and hunt down perpetrators and victims for memory erasure.

#### Easthies (イースヒース, Īsuhīsu)

    The stern, dispassionate, by-the-book field deputy captain of the Knight Moralis.

#### Luluci (ルルシィ, Rurushi~i)

    A leading member of the Knights Moralis, who is quietly stern but—contrary to some of her colleagues—moderate-minded. When she was young, Luluci and her best friend Eryenne were victims of a sexual assault by a local lord, which was brushed off by her master, who was friends with the offender and was later arrested for it by the Assembly, prompting her to join the Knights. The sight of others getting similarly abused is the only thing which can break down her usually serene facade.

#### Utowin (ウトウィン, Utou~in)

    A brash, easy-going member of the Knights Moralis whose attitude masks a lingering feeling of self-deprecation. He is from Ghodrey, City of Magic in the north, like Olruggio.

#### Galga (ガルガ, Garuga)

    A member of the Knights Moralis, and Atwert's lover. Appearing aloof, he is really a quiet and simple man. He had his mind wiped permanently by Ininia and was about to be exiled by the Wise Ones to a solitary island called Adanlee, whereupon Atwert takes him in as his apprentice to care for him.

#### Ekoh (エコー, Ekō) and Etlan (エトラン, Etoran)

    Twin juvenile Knight apprentices who have yet to take their profession seriously.

### Others
#### Nolnoa (ノルノア, Norunoa)

    An elderly maker of magical stationery (pens and inks) residing in the town of Kalhn.

#### Tartah (タータ, Tāta)

    Nolnoa's young assistant in the shop. He suffers from silverwash, a rare sight condition which makes him effectively colorblind and thus initially unable to use magic because certain effects rely on inks differentiated by their color. After Coco helps him by teaching him magic with which to circumvent his disability, he begins forming a crush on her.

#### Euini (ユイニィ, Yuini)

    A nervous young witch apprentice, and originally Kukrow's student. During an advancement test in which some of Qifrey's students were also participating, he is kidnapped by the Brimmed Caps, who etch a magical sigil into his skin, permanently turning him into a scaled wolf. However, with the help of Coco, Agott and Richeh, he receives a talisman which reverses the transformation while worn. Because his tattoo makes him eligible for mind erasure by the Knights Moralis—despite his victimization—he has gone underground with Alaira, who has become his new tutor. He has also formed a bond with Richeh, which has become her primary motivation to expand her studies in order to help him.

#### Dagda (ダグダ, Daguda)

    A wandering minstrel and Custas' foster father. He originally died, but was bestowed with a Time Reversal Tattoo which reset his life and memories.

#### King Deanreldy Ezrest (ディンレルディ・エズレスト, Dinrerudi Ezuresuto)

    The head of the royal family and the sovereign ruler of the Zozah Peninsula.

#### Prince Eoleo Ezrest (エオウレオウ・エズレスト, Eoureou Ezuresuto)

    The king's young son and heir to the throne, who adores magic but, due to his social rank, is forbidden from getting into closer contact with it. He keeps a black Brushbuddy as a pet.

#### Queen Zayamaia Ezrest (ザヤマイア・エズレスト, Zayamaia Ezuresuto)

    The matriarch of the Ezrest royal family. She is the loving wife of King Deanreldy and is pregnant.

#### Engendale (エンゲンディル, Engendiru)

    An elderly male witch and the former Wise in Friendships who was apprehended by the Knights Moralis for his illicit use of magic for personal profit. Instead of having his memory erased, he was imprisoned by the Witches' Assembly.

## Production

According to Shirahama in the afterword to volume 1, the "story was sparked by a casual comment from a friend, who mentioned that the process of bringing an illustration into the world seemed just like magic." Having grown up with the works of Michael Ende and J. R. R. Tolkien, she had always wanted to try drawing high fantasy, as opposed to the bulk of popular fantasy at the time which she felt were mostly low fantasy works set in the real world or revolving around reincarnation. She cites The Lord of the Rings as one of the biggest influences on Witch Hat Atelier. She was also strongly inspired by shōjo fantasy manga such as Knights of Alfheim  [ja] by Seika Nakayama [ja], Crystal Dragon by Yūho Ashibe [ja], and the works of Moto Hagio, Ryoko Yamagishi, and Kyōko Shitō [ja].
Due to Shirahama's background as an illustrator, the artstyle of the series leans closer to that seen in classic children's books than manga, while also drawing from Renaissance art, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, American comics, and bandes dessinées. This, along with the original idea of art seeming like magic, also contributed to the art-based magic system of the series, in which magic is an ink-drawn precise system of glyphs, runes, and signs; protagonist Coco's journey has been likened to that of an amateur artist aiming to turn professional. Unlike most contemporaries, Shirahama draws the bulk of the series using wooden ink pens and other traditional tools on paper; she cites the antique appeal of analog art as well as her unfamiliarity with digital tools.
The series has been consistently noted for the diversity of its cast and setting, along such axes as race, sexual orientation, and disability. Shirahama has stated that she sees this diversity as a natural thing and a reflection of the level of diversity she saw in works she grew up with, and is mindful to draw inspiration from a wide range of cultures and not overrepresent one specific region of the world.

## Media
### Manga

Written and illustrated by Kamome Shirahama, Witch Hat Atelier started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning Two [ja] on July 22, 2016. The magazine ceased print publication and moved to a digital release starting on August 4, 2022. Kodansha has compiled its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on January 23, 2017. As of February 22, 2024, 13 volumes have been published.
In North America, Kodansha USA announced the acquisition of the series in July 2018. The first volume was published on April 9, 2019.
A spin-off manga series by Hiromi Satō, titled Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, started in Morning Two on November 22, 2019.

#### Volumes

| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
| 1 | January 23, 2017 | 978-4-06-388690-0 | April 9, 2019 | 978-1-63236-770-9 |
| Chapters 1–5 |||||
| 2 | August 23, 2017 | 978-4-06-510138-4 978-4-06-510203-9 (LE) | June 25, 2019 | 978-1-63236-804-1 |
| Chapters 6–11 |||||
| 3 | February 23, 2018 | 978-4-06-510930-4 978-4-06-510894-9 (LE) | August 27, 2019 | 978-1-63236-805-8 |
| Chapters 12–17 |||||
| 4 | September 21, 2018 | 978-4-06-512681-3 978-4-06-511766-8 (LE) | November 12, 2019 | 978-1-63236-860-7 |
| Chapters 18–23 Bonus Chapter (1) |||||
| 5 | May 23, 2019 | 978-4-06-515597-4 978-4-06-515598-1 (LE) | March 17, 2020 | 978-1-63236-929-1 |
| Chapters 24–29 |||||
| 6 | November 21, 2019 | 978-4-06-517778-5 978-4-06-517909-3 (LE) | September 15, 2020 | 978-1-64651-010-8 |
| Chapters 30–35 Bonus Chapter (2) |||||
| 7 | May 22, 2020 | 978-4-06-519266-5 978-4-06-520266-1 (LE) | February 2, 2021 | 978-1-64651-078-8 |
| Chapters 36–40 |||||
| 8 | December 23, 2020 | 978-4-06-521625-5 978-4-06-521626-2 (LE) | September 28, 2021 | 978-1-64651-269-0 |
| Chapters 41–45 Bonus Chapter (3) |||||
| 9 | July 21, 2021 | 978-4-06-524100-4 978-4-06-524098-4 (LE) | June 21, 2022 | 978-1-64651-447-2 |
| Chapters 46–51 |||||
| 10 | April 21, 2022 | 978-4-06-527412-5 | November 29, 2022 | 978-1-64651-618-6 |
| Chapters 52–57 |||||
| 11 | October 21, 2022 | 978-4-06-529605-9 978-4-06-529604-2 (LE) | September 12, 2023 | 978-1-64651-745-9 |
| Chapters 58–62 Bonus Chapter (4) |||||
| 12 | June 22, 2023 | 978-4-06-531969-7 978-4-06-531829-4 (LE) | May 21, 2024 | 979-8-88877-079-5 |
| Chapters 63–68 Bonus Chapter (5) |||||
| 13 | February 22, 2024 | 978-4-06-534652-5 978-4-06-534727-0 (LE) | January 14, 2025 | 979-8-88877-330-7 |
| Chapters 69–75 |||||

#### Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

* Chapters 76–85

### Anime

In April 2022, it was announced that the series will receive an anime adaptation. It was later revealed at Anime Expo 2024 to be a television series that will be produced by Bug Films and directed by Ayumu Watanabe, with Hiroaki Kojima as the producer and Kairi Unabara as the character designer. Yūka Kitamura, best known for the original soundtrack on FromSoftware video games like Dark Souls III, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring, will be the composer. The series is set to premiere in 2025. Crunchyroll will stream the series worldwide outside of Asia.

## Reception

The manga had 700,000 copies in circulation by July 2018; 1 million copies in circulation by September 2018; over 2.5 million copies in circulation by April 2022; over 4.5 million copies in circulation by October 2022; and over 5.5 million copies in circulation by July 2024.
The series ranked sixth on Kono Manga ga Sugoi!'s top 20 manga for male readers 2018. The manga was nominated for the 11th Manga Taishō awards in 2018. It ranked first on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics" by the Honya Club website in 2018. The manga was nominated for the 42nd and 44th Kodansha Manga Award in the General category in 2018 and 2020 respectively. It was nominated for the French 12th ACBD's Prix Asie de la Critique 2018.
In 2019, Witch Hat Atelier won the Korean Ridibooks Comic Award 2019' Next Manga Award. The series has won four French awards: the "Daruma d'or manga" at the Japan Expo Awards 2019; the 2019 Mangawa Prize for best seinen manga; the Grand Prize of the 2019 "Les Mordus du Manga" award; and the Babelio 2020 award in the manga category. It won the Spanish Manga Barcelona award for the seinen category in 2018, 2022 and 2023. The series was also picked as a nominee for "Best Youth Comic" at the 46th Angoulême International Comics Festival held in 2019. Witch Hat Atelier was chosen as one of the Best Manga at the Comic-Con International Best & Worst Manga of 2019.
In 2020, Witch Hat Atelier was one of the manga titles that ranked on the "Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens" by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association, and ranked again on the 2021 list. Along with Taiyō Matsumoto's Cats of the Louvre, the series won the 2020 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material in the Asia category for Kodansha USA's English release. In 2020, the series won the Harvey Awards for the Best Manga category. The English release translation by Stephen Kohler and the lettering by Lys Blakeslee won the Japan Society and Anime NYC's first American Manga Awards in the Best Translation and Best Lettering categories, respectively, in 2024. The series was nominated for the Harvey Awards in the Best Manga category in the same year.
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network rated the first two volumes an "A−". Silverman praised the series for its world, story, characters and artwork, and concluded that "this is one tale you don't want to miss". Writing for Barnes & Noble, Kelly Chiu listed the series on her list of "The Perfect Manga Matches for 10 Studio Ghibli Movies", and recommended the series to fans of Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away. American animator Dana Terrace endorsed the manga series on her Twitter account after receiving fan art from Shirahama of her recently-concluded animated series The Owl House, describing Witch Hat Atelier as a "magical, queer, heart-racing story of empathy and self discovery".