Witch Hat Atelier

Kamome Shirahama

Witch Hat Atelier vol. 1
Release date: April 9th, 2019

SYNOPSIS:

A beautifully-illustrated story about a girl who longs for magic in her life and learns that, on the inside, she already is what she wishes she could be. Reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, this lushly-drawn story has captured the hearts of fantasy fans worldwide.

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem…

REVIEW:

This book definitely reminiscent of Studio Ghibli films Kiki’s Delivery Service and a dash of Howl’s Moving Castle but also a little bit of Harry Potter. If you like any of those then I believe that you would enjoy this one.

Coco isn’t raised a witch though & her initial knowledge exacts a high price. I loved that Coco has a unique approach to the ways that she thinks about and executes her actions. I’m not a hundred percent sure how I feel about Qifrey – he sort of has a Howl vibe going on but it’s a little bit weird that all the students he’s in charge of are girls. His relationships with them does seem parental so far though – thankfully.

The art in this book is, quite honestly, amazing. It makes me wish that some of my very favorite fantasy books were series of manga instead. I would love to see them visually.

I’m excited to see what happens in the next book and where Coco’s journey leads her. For everyone that’s longed for magic in their lives, this is a wholesome and beautiful book about just that – an ordinary person finding their way to magic.