Justin: We last left off Witch Hat Atelier in dire straits — a member of the Brimmed Caps sabotaged the second test, Euini is now a beast and Qifrey, Tetia and Coco have to fight off numerous amounts of Romonons turned to stone. It doesn’t get better in volume 5: despite his strength, Qifrey’s injury leaves him weak to fend off all the gold statues, and Agott’s quest to repay Euini for saving her only leads her to ponder why this is all happening. She soon quickly learns it all centers around Coco.
Coco, however, still has much to learn about it all herself.
Despite gorgeously drawn battles taking place throughout Witch Hat Atelier volume 5, the subtle moments shine almost every time. This isn’t a knock on Qifrey showcasing his power when he flushed out the mastermind inside the Serpentback Cave of Cape Romonon; it’s more that, when drawings of Richeh’s past and how that informed her original mentality and also her determination to find a balance that suits her due to everything happening now is shown, it simply strikes a chord with me. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done in manga before, but Shirahama’s art is beautiful and filled with such detail that those parts stick out to me the most.
It also is a great way to tell a story, which is what happens when one splash page juxtaposes Coco’s witch attire with one as a brimmed cap. At that point we officially meet Iguin, the mysterious one-eyed specter that essentially brought Coco into the world of witches. Iguin tells her the only way to save Euini is to use forbidden magic, and then we get hit with Coco in both costumes. It’s just wonderfully done, and makes you wonder how Coco will learn to make the right choice in the end.
Of course, it seems obvious she should be with the witches, correct? At this point for sure, but there are teases as to what her future could be. Aside from the splash page, throughout the series she’s been exposed to the wonder and terror of magic. Not just from the Brimmed Caps — it’s also her learning about the rules of witches, the heavy-handed rules by the Knights of Moralis, etc. She doesn’t know the cost of forbidden magic — which is shown in this volume — but still practicing the craft, she has much to learn. Based on how this volume ends, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to her and what she’ll eventually learn.
Despite pondering about Coco’s future, volume 5 mostly delves into the rest of the cast. We see Tetia shine when she not only helps Qifrey but aids Coco and Agott as they try to find a way to save Euini. We also see how Euini and Richeh, who don’t seem similar at all, share some common traits. As suspected, as powerful as forbidden magic is there are likely drawbacks that certainly will be shown the more this series goes on.
But the big thing aside from Coco’s future is Qifrey and his problems with the Brimmed Caps. Based on his words with one of them, it appears there’s someone out there that looks like him. A.k.a a doppelgänger? Who? I wonder if we can put two and two together now if this is true. There still needs to be a more concrete reason for his vendetta, enough to lie to people and take Coco in because of her interaction with one of them, but it does feel like the pieces to his particular puzzle are starting to come together.
Witch Hat Atelier continues to be a lovely manga, and volume 5 adds to its charm as an all-ages work. Looking forward to what Coco and the rest of the cast will be up to. The wait will be long however…
Justin’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Helen: While Kamome Shirahama’s series has always been a literal story about magic, it’s also always been a metaphor for being an artist.
The moments have always been there, like how Coco initially has more skill drawing clean lines when she uses an implement similar to what she used to measure cloth than a traditional pen, but the test that some of the apprentices have been taking these past two volumes really brings that metaphor to the forefront. Richeh comes to Qifrey’s atelier from another where she wasn’t allowed to have any variation or flexibility in her spells (even the paneling is stiffer than usual), something that Qifrey doesn’t have an issue with, but Richeh is obviously still smarting from her previous scoldings and continuing to work on much of her magic secretly.
This test truly has been great for her since it’s allowing her to not just know but also see that there is a place in the world for the unique spells she develops and even for her talent of drawing teeny-tiny spell circles. All of this makes me think that Kamome herself must truly love drawing, if her lifelong art and art style of paying careful attention to every detail weren’t a giveaway for those emotions first.
As the second test comes to an end we get a brief glimpse of the larger witch society and, since the group is all taken in for questioning after the unexpected appearance of Brimmed Caps, it seems like we’ll be seeing more of that shortly. They certainly appear to be sticks in the mud, people who should be threatened not by Coco’s connection to the brimmed caps but by the way she, and her fellow apprentices, threaten to blow away all of the old ideas with new spells and uses.
Perhaps that stuffiness is part of the reason why Qifrey moved out to form his own atelier, although his actions in this volume more or less confirm that he has a very personal connection to the brimmed hats and that’s why he’s trying to hunt them down. My speculation is that he had a close relative, possibly a brother, join the group and that it’s likely connected to Qifrey’s perpetually covered eye. Hopefully it won’t be too long before Kamome gives us more hints about his past!
Helen’s Rating: 4 out of 5