I’ve heard about this manga called Witch Hat Atelier a beautifully illustrated story about a girl who longs for magic in her life, with its exceptional manga panel for a while now, but never gave it a chance as I was reading other stuff! Well, now I decided to check it out myself!
“In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: she wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch … until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem …”
I will say, Witch Hat Atelier is a wholesome experience to read, and all the talk about this manga’s exceptionally great panels and art was true. However, that’s not all this manga has to offer! The most interesting part of this manga is the magic system and how it works in this world. It’s honestly the most creative magic system I’ve seen in the manga space, it’s not original but the approach on who can or cannot use magic makes it interesting. The drawing of sigils and symbols to create the magic is a wonderful way to do a power system and brings in an array of ways to showcase how these characters will face challenges.
Coco as a character is a joy to follow. Usually, the overly-happy characters tend to annoy me but when Coco gets hyped about anything magic, it’s done well. Overall, if you’re into the Ancient Magus Bride or Full Metal Alchemist then this one is worth checking out.
