I came in with high expectations after hearing such good things about Witch Hat Atelier and somehow it still surpassed them! As a series opener, I’m incredibly impressed and eager for the next volume! Final Score: 4.85

What Worked Well For Me

My enjoyment can tank quickly when a fantasy series opens with a lot of lore dumps to set up the world and magic system, so I was incredibly impressed with how Shirahama handled this first volume! The magic system is truly top tier! It’s thorough without becoming overwhelming and the structure of how it’s taught and then most of it is used in the story shortly after kept me from feeling like I was being lectured at. I can already see the bigger, more political story brewing: the warring factions and the massive implications of what happens if/when the truth about magic gets out to the lay population. I also loved the moral ambiguity in this set up because I can already see how each of the factions are “right” about their stances.

Coco is adorable and genuinely smart! I’m not exactly sure what her age is, but I was really pleased to see how resourceful she is already instead of just telling me how smart she is. Her sweetness and optimism gave me a much younger Piranesi vibe. Qifrey is a fantastic mentor figure who clearly cares about his apprentices and I’m very curious to learn more about his history with the other witches. (Also… are we all a little in love with him? If not, pretend I didn’t say that...) As much as I loved Coco, I think Egott’s character setup is my favorite so far because I’m so excited to see where her character arc goes from here. Instead of casting her as the stereotypical “mean girl”, Shirahama gave her real depth! Yes, some of her behavior is because she is a literal child, but I can justify why she felt she needed to act this way even if I don’t agree with her at all!

The artwork was lovely and the pacing was handled really well for a volume that set up so much. I also really liked some of the small formatting choices like the thinner text outside of the speech bubbles for internal thoughts. I hadn’t seen that before and I really liked it! Also if anyone has any leads on how I can get my hands on a Brushbuddy… I need one in my life it was so stinkin’ cute!!

Where It Fell Short For Me

Besides the fact I have to wait 12 weeks for my library hold to come due for volume 2, pretty much no complaints here. I did notice a couple of typos or possible translation quirks, but nothing that pulled me out of the story. If I’m being nitpicky, there were a couple of illustrations I think I would have enjoyed more if they were in full color because I would be able to see the details better.

Final Thoughts, Opinions & Recommendations

I definitely get the hype with this one! I’m incredibly curious to see where this goes! I already see possible themes where the story line could go and this first volume gives me hope that the series will live up to my even higher expectations now! I’m usually not a fan of very young protagonists, but Coco and Qifrey are already healing my inner child! As someone who struggles with perfectionism in the sense I don’t try new things because I know I won’t be “perfect” immediately (or ever), how Qifrey handled Coco’s lessons was so sweet!

I want to be careful about spoilers, but there was one scene that I found very touching even though I don’t think it was intentional. Qifrey realized that Coco might have been struggling because of the tools she was using and he suggests that they find a better tool that suits her. As someone who would have really benefited from teachers realizing my need for and advocating for accommodations for me when I was a kid, this scene really touched me. It’s a small moment, but it was really moving to me/my inner child. It has taken me until adulthood to even start to “come around” about using accommodations for myself and I think if I would have read this as a child, that someone as smart as Coco also benefited from accommodations - it might have helped me sooner.

You Might Like This If: You had/have a crush on Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle (only kind of kidding), but if you enjoyed Howl’s Moving Castle I think you might find a lot to love here! There were also elements that reminded me of Piranesi and Frieren if those characters were children!

You Might NOT Like This If: You don’t like reading about child protagonists or very sugary sweet protagonists aren’t your thing.

My thanks to NetGalley & Kodansha comics for the complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

TL;DR

Would I Recommend it? Yes!! Would I Reread it? Maybe, but I do plan on watching the anime in the future! Would I Continue the Series/Read More From This Author? YES! I wish I had my hands on volume 2 right now!! Series Information: 1/14 of an on-going series (the English translations of volume 15 will be out in Dec 2026)

Star Score Breakdown

Personal Enjoyment: 5 Overall Execution: 5 Craft & Writing Quality: 4.75 Characters: 5 Plot: 4.75 Final Score: 4.85