Witch Hat Atelier 5
by Kamome Shirahama
2020
In the previous volume of Witch Hat Atelier, student witches Agott and Richeh went to take the test that would let them use magic in public, where they can't allow anyone to see how spells are cast. The test involved wearing magic disguises and ushering the annual migration of adorable little penguin griffins though a cursed maze. They were joined by Euini, a student witch from another atelier who has series self-esteem problems. The test was interrupted by the witches who use forbidden magic (identifiable by their brimmed caps, in contrast to the brimless conical hats everyone else wears.) The test proctor was injured, and Euini got tattooed with a sigil that turned him into a wolf creature!
In volume 5, we start out with almost everyone separated. Richeh is completing the test because witch-kind owes it to the penguins to help with their migration, since witches are the ones who put a giant cursed maze in the path of their migration route. Richeh seems to complete her emotional revelation from last time, and figures out a way to reconcile her longstanding desire to be true to herself with the reality that she needs to learn more spells if she wants to be successful.
Coco, Tetia, and their teacher, master witch Qifrey and up in a cavern full of what remains of the society that built the maze. Specifically, what remains is all the people who were turned to gold as punishment for being old, disabled, immigrants, or just opposed to their community's policy of magical punishment. Ironically, they're all that's left, because they're effectively immortal. They want to kill all witches, and manage to injure Qifrey before Coco and Tetia convince them to stop.
In volume 5, we start out with almost everyone separated. Richeh is completing the test because witch-kind owes it to the penguins to help with their migration, since witches are the ones who put a giant cursed maze in the path of their migration route. Richeh seems to complete her emotional revelation from last time, and figures out a way to reconcile her longstanding desire to be true to herself with the reality that she needs to learn more spells if she wants to be successful.
Coco, Tetia, and their teacher, master witch Qifrey and up in a cavern full of what remains of the society that built the maze. Specifically, what remains is all the people who were turned to gold as punishment for being old, disabled, immigrants, or just opposed to their community's policy of magical punishment. Ironically, they're all that's left, because they're effectively immortal. They want to kill all witches, and manage to injure Qifrey before Coco and Tetia convince them to stop.
The gold people ask the girls a riddle, regarding the one thing they don't have down here in the cavern. I'm pretty sure the answer is 'death,' but Coco guesses comfort, because she is heavily invested in the idea that people who've been transformed by magic (like her mom) can be saved. She offers them a simple warming spell as a form of comfort, but the people who've been turned to gold find a way to use her spell that's more in line with my thought about the riddle.
Agott tries to avoid getting killed by the brimmed-cap witch who is just a cloak and hat, and manages to get herself and the injured test proctor back to Coco, Tetia, and Qifrey. Agott spied the cloak witch talking to the masked witch who's caused so many problems so far, and learns that they consider Coco to be their best ambassador for reintroducing forbidden magic to witch-kind. Qifrey fights the cloak-and-hat witch, and manages to learn his secret. He also poses an interesting question - do you know a brimmed-cap witch who looks just like me? The cloaked witch says no. My guess is that it's the masked witch. Whether they are twins or clones or what is my next question!
While Qifrey is distracted, the masked witch and Euini in his wolf form arrive at the girls' location. Coco tries drawing a reversing sigil onto Euini's skin atop the tattoo that transformed him. The girls are all a little worried this skirts the line of being forbidden, but normal sigils are usually beneficial and can be disrupted by breaking the surface of the drawing - there's no rule about this reversal technique because no one's needed it before, and thus no one else has thought of it. Coco is an inventor! So there's no rule - yet - against using her invented technique.
Agott tries to avoid getting killed by the brimmed-cap witch who is just a cloak and hat, and manages to get herself and the injured test proctor back to Coco, Tetia, and Qifrey. Agott spied the cloak witch talking to the masked witch who's caused so many problems so far, and learns that they consider Coco to be their best ambassador for reintroducing forbidden magic to witch-kind. Qifrey fights the cloak-and-hat witch, and manages to learn his secret. He also poses an interesting question - do you know a brimmed-cap witch who looks just like me? The cloaked witch says no. My guess is that it's the masked witch. Whether they are twins or clones or what is my next question!
While Qifrey is distracted, the masked witch and Euini in his wolf form arrive at the girls' location. Coco tries drawing a reversing sigil onto Euini's skin atop the tattoo that transformed him. The girls are all a little worried this skirts the line of being forbidden, but normal sigils are usually beneficial and can be disrupted by breaking the surface of the drawing - there's no rule about this reversal technique because no one's needed it before, and thus no one else has thought of it. Coco is an inventor! So there's no rule - yet - against using her invented technique.
Unfortunately, although this restores Euini's human consciousness, it leaves his body unaffected. The masked witch taunts them with a necklace that will reverse the spell if only Coco will agree to come learn more forbidden magic. The girls manage to steal the necklace, and the test proctor saves the day by offering to adopt and hide Euini so that he won't have his mind erased (or worse!) by the Knights Moralis now that he's a living forbidden spell.
The two brimmed hat witches decide to escape while they have the chance. Euini and the test proctor sneak away to begin a new life in hiding. Qifrey and his students emerge from the cursed maze to find the leader of the Knights Moralis waiting for them. He knows that the brimmed hat witches were there, and he wants Qifrey's whole atelier to accompany him to the witches' central government building now. This is dangerous for everyone, especially Coco, since if the Knights knew the truth, they'd rather erase her memory and send her back to being a tailor than allow her to continue learning magic to try to save her mom.
The two brimmed hat witches decide to escape while they have the chance. Euini and the test proctor sneak away to begin a new life in hiding. Qifrey and his students emerge from the cursed maze to find the leader of the Knights Moralis waiting for them. He knows that the brimmed hat witches were there, and he wants Qifrey's whole atelier to accompany him to the witches' central government building now. This is dangerous for everyone, especially Coco, since if the Knights knew the truth, they'd rather erase her memory and send her back to being a tailor than allow her to continue learning magic to try to save her mom.
Witch Hat Atelier is obviously a a very adventurous, plot-driven narrative, but I remain impressed by two aspects of Shirahama's storytelling. First, this is comic intended to be accessible to kids and teenagers, and in the foreground, both the art, and the life-philosophies espoused by the main characters tend to be optimistic and, for lack of a better word, 'cozy.' But at the same time, Shirahama doesn't shy away from depicting real emotions of fear and sadness. Coco's optimism is a conscious choice about how to respond to trauma, not the naive expression of a young life that's been free from trouble.
Second, while the broad strokes of the plot follow traditional schoolyard tropes - studying and tests, trips to town, troubles with poor mentors or self-doubt - but each character's actions reflect both her own approach to life, and her journey to becoming a better, more mature person. Agott is proud of her skill, but slowly learns to appreciate others' abilities; Richeh wants to create everything anew, but realizes she has to understand tradition before she can build on it. The characters are dynamic, and their actions are specific to themselves, not generic to the needs of the plot, which I really appreciate.
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