It’s outright my favourite manga, it manages to avoid most of the issues fantasy manga tend to fall into nowadays and it’s remarkably mature and well-thought out in how it approaches a lot of its subject matter. It’s also just a delight of a work when you analyse it.

Since you’re quite early I’ll go over one of the simpler things I had fun considering: the magic system! Without going too in depth, it functions as an allegory for several things at once, most notably art. Obviously the magic is drawn, but it goes further as the way that the witches relate to their magic is the same way artists relate to their art; they develop styles and preferences, they have to work around their lack of skill in certain areas to produce their art, the way people talk about it, etc…

But it also doubles as an allegory for scientific progress, one of the forbidden magics is medical, after all. And there’s this lovely tension between the two. I’d go further but to really explain my thoughts requires a lot of later context.

It’s a lovely series, and I adore it.

I love Witch Hat Atelier and I’m glad I’m not the only one. I think it’s a great story and the way magic is conceptualized is very unique and intuitive to me. The politics surrounding the story is also so intriguing and mysterious, since it is yet to be revealed (the brim hats?! Fucking wild). The art style is also refreshing as it’s quite different compared to a lot of mainstream anime/manga. I follow the author on twitter and seeing her ink the pages is so mesmerizing but also shows how much work goes into each drawing.

Every volume that is released keeps me on my toes. Right now I am fully caught up in the physical volumes, and have pre-ordered the next one which comes out next year. Also, I believe I saw on twitter that it is getting an anime adaptation which is very exciting, I would love to see its art style in motion.

In conclusion, the kids are the sweetest and deserve the world; I hope Qifrey and Olruggio kiss.