Witch Hat Atelier 7
by Kamome Shirahama
2021
In the previous volume of Witch Hat Atelier, the girls took a make-up exam after Agott and Richeh's public magic use exam was interrupted by the Brimmed Cap witches, the ones who use forbidden magic. Their teacher, Master Qifrey, was unconscious in the hospital after being injured while protecting his students. At the end of the exam, Master Bel, who was Qifrey's own teacher, invited Coco to come live in the great tower at the bottom of the ocean, where she'll be safe from the Brimmed Caps ... and from Qifrey? But why would he say that?
Now, in volume 7, we find out several secrets of Qifrey's past, and learn more about his opposition to the Brimmed Caps, and his pledge to help Coco return her mom from being turned to stone. This volume feels like a turning point in the series. There's a little forward motion, but most of what happens this volume is in flashbacks. We learn more about what's happened so far, and also get some setup and preparation for what's likely to happen next.
We learn that as a child, Qifrey was a victim of the Brimmed Cap witches. They stole his eye, erased his memories, and buried him alive in a coffin. Master Bel found him, and instead of returning him to ordinary life as the witches' law demands, adopted him as his apprentice - just as grown up Qifrey has done for Coco. But for a long time, Qifrey was absolutely driven in searching for the Brimmed Caps, which is why Bel and Qifrey's friend (and his atelier's monitor) Olruggio are worried. They both fear that he's just using Coco as a clue in his lifelong quest for revenge, rather than genuinely working for her best interests. (Incidentally, if they've been friends since their student days, then Ruggio is a TERRIBLE choice to actually monitor Qifrey's atelier for abuse or misconduct!)
As a reader, I have to say I have concerns about Qifrey myself. He seems to be an excellent teacher, and to care greatly for his students. But he also erased a memory from the wand master, supposedly to protect Coco after she accidentally used cursed ink the Brimmed Caps gave her. And now he erases a memory from Olruggio. It seems possible that he does have a secret agenda, that he is using Coco and the other girls, and that the way he acts with them is indeed an act. Or, maybe he is as nice as he seems to be, he is doing his best to teach and prepare them, and the couple now crimes he's committed really have been to protect the kids. I want Qifrey to be as nice as he seems to be, but among fictional characters and real people alike, 'nice' can sometimes turn out to be nothing more than a disguise. Time will tell...
Coco has a crisis of her own in this volume, because she's really starting to doubt that her mom can be saved by following the rules of magic that the rest of the witches all follow. Specifically, those laws forbid magic that affects the body - which is why there's no healing magic, and lots of devices to help people do things rather than spells that directly give them some ability - and the laws require erasing the memory of anyone who performs forbidden magic, as well as anyone who's the victim of it.
The legal plan Coco is following, this volume reminds us, is two-part. She's studying magic so she can learn enough to create a reversal spell. And also, by passing her exams, she'll earn a prize given to all graduating witches, a copy of any book on the planet, courtesy of the Tower of Tomes, which will let her find the spellbook she unknowingly copied the petrification sigil from. The only way to draw a reversal symbol is to know exactly what the original looked like.
Qifrey tries to reassure Coco that this plan will work. But Coco's crisis, her fear, is that the legal plan won't work. And if not, she'll have to make a choice. Is she willing to use forbidden magic herself to save her mother? Or really, is she willing to let her mom stay turned to stone just to obey a law she only knows about because someone else broke it by creating the petrification spell? It's a fear Coco doesn't dare verbalize to anyone, no matter how much she thinks she trusts them, though you can see she's almost bursting with the desire to confess her dilemma to an adult.
The volume ends with the students, Qifrey, and Olrggio all arriving back home at the atelier. Tartah, the wand master's grandson, arrives too. There's about to be a festival in town, and (although I expected he was going to ask Coco on a date) he wants all the girls to join him in operating a booth.
Now, in volume 7, we find out several secrets of Qifrey's past, and learn more about his opposition to the Brimmed Caps, and his pledge to help Coco return her mom from being turned to stone. This volume feels like a turning point in the series. There's a little forward motion, but most of what happens this volume is in flashbacks. We learn more about what's happened so far, and also get some setup and preparation for what's likely to happen next.
We learn that as a child, Qifrey was a victim of the Brimmed Cap witches. They stole his eye, erased his memories, and buried him alive in a coffin. Master Bel found him, and instead of returning him to ordinary life as the witches' law demands, adopted him as his apprentice - just as grown up Qifrey has done for Coco. But for a long time, Qifrey was absolutely driven in searching for the Brimmed Caps, which is why Bel and Qifrey's friend (and his atelier's monitor) Olruggio are worried. They both fear that he's just using Coco as a clue in his lifelong quest for revenge, rather than genuinely working for her best interests. (Incidentally, if they've been friends since their student days, then Ruggio is a TERRIBLE choice to actually monitor Qifrey's atelier for abuse or misconduct!)
As a reader, I have to say I have concerns about Qifrey myself. He seems to be an excellent teacher, and to care greatly for his students. But he also erased a memory from the wand master, supposedly to protect Coco after she accidentally used cursed ink the Brimmed Caps gave her. And now he erases a memory from Olruggio. It seems possible that he does have a secret agenda, that he is using Coco and the other girls, and that the way he acts with them is indeed an act. Or, maybe he is as nice as he seems to be, he is doing his best to teach and prepare them, and the couple now crimes he's committed really have been to protect the kids. I want Qifrey to be as nice as he seems to be, but among fictional characters and real people alike, 'nice' can sometimes turn out to be nothing more than a disguise. Time will tell...
Coco has a crisis of her own in this volume, because she's really starting to doubt that her mom can be saved by following the rules of magic that the rest of the witches all follow. Specifically, those laws forbid magic that affects the body - which is why there's no healing magic, and lots of devices to help people do things rather than spells that directly give them some ability - and the laws require erasing the memory of anyone who performs forbidden magic, as well as anyone who's the victim of it.
The legal plan Coco is following, this volume reminds us, is two-part. She's studying magic so she can learn enough to create a reversal spell. And also, by passing her exams, she'll earn a prize given to all graduating witches, a copy of any book on the planet, courtesy of the Tower of Tomes, which will let her find the spellbook she unknowingly copied the petrification sigil from. The only way to draw a reversal symbol is to know exactly what the original looked like.
Qifrey tries to reassure Coco that this plan will work. But Coco's crisis, her fear, is that the legal plan won't work. And if not, she'll have to make a choice. Is she willing to use forbidden magic herself to save her mother? Or really, is she willing to let her mom stay turned to stone just to obey a law she only knows about because someone else broke it by creating the petrification spell? It's a fear Coco doesn't dare verbalize to anyone, no matter how much she thinks she trusts them, though you can see she's almost bursting with the desire to confess her dilemma to an adult.
The volume ends with the students, Qifrey, and Olrggio all arriving back home at the atelier. Tartah, the wand master's grandson, arrives too. There's about to be a festival in town, and (although I expected he was going to ask Coco on a date) he wants all the girls to join him in operating a booth.
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