First Impression: Witch Hat Atelier

Coco loves magic. Magic is vibrant and helpful. When she was a child, she bought a picture book and “magic wand” (from a street vendor who is the definition of “sketchy”) and dreamed of becoming a witch. Unfortunately, only those born with magic can become witches—everyone knows that. However, a chance encounter with a witch named Qifrey, who visits Coco’s mom’s fabric shop, gives Coco the chance to see how magic is actually performed. Spying on him from hiding, she learns the great secret of how witches do magic—and shortly thereafter figures out how to do it herself. But Coco quickly discovers that magic is not all benign, and tragedy strikes! Now, separated from all she knows and loves, Coco is forced to walk a dangerous life in an unknown world, and her only hope to save herself and others lies in mastering not only magic itself but also the great moral questions over how people should use it…

This is the first time that I, an inveterate preferrer of subs, ever remember wishing that the subs were not there—so that I could enjoy the glorious art and animation even more! Witch Hat Atelier has hands down the best animation of the Spring 2026 season. And if that were all it had going for it, the beautiful images alone would be well worth the price of admission. But WHA is so much more: a unique fantasy with superb worldbuilding, and one of the best coming-of-age stories in the anime/manga sphere. Speaking of manga, I’ve greatly enjoyed the first fifteen volumes of the WHA series, and have been immensely looking forward to seeing it on screen—and Studio Bug does not disappoint! Scenes and details are expanded to great effect, the music is on point (with a Celtic feel that reminds one of The Ancient Magus’ Bride), and the trailer for the dub has actually persuaded me to give that a try. Oh, and the main narrative weaves seamlessly in and out of lovely animated pop-up books throughout both episodes so far—yes, two full episodes have been released together! And while I adored episode 1, the second installment blew me away repeatedly, most memorably with the moment that Agott (Coco’s roommate) appears.

But enough gushing over the superficial aspects of WHA. What really makes the story work is how it handles the moral themes it engages in a nuanced way. For example, the good witches—guardians of law and order, protectors of the people from the misuse of magic—have already set themselves up as hypocrites, undercutting their authority: For all their rules forbidding magic that directly affects people’s bodies and minds as “evil,” they’ve allowed an exception, Memory Erasure, because it’s useful in keeping the secrets of who can do magic and how it is done. (And as the story progresses, their opponents—while not exactly good people—will make some thought-provoking arguments.) In short, Coco’s coming of age never involves anything black and white: There’s no “power of friendship” that can save the day, no “adults are always right/wrong” principle to make it easy to know when to listen to authority figures, no easy answers at all. Actions have consequences, even if one didn’t mean them—and yet, one’s intentions still matter. Growing up means acknowledging these complexities and learning how to live in such a world, and Witch Hat Atelier refuses time and again to take the easy way out. And that is what makes it truly great. This is going to be one of the best anime of the year—I guarantee it.

Witch Hat Atelier is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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