Review: Witch Hat Atelier | Kamome Shirahama

Summary: 

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…

Bookstats: 
-Published in 2017
-Pages: 204
-Genre: fantasy manga

My opinion: 
This series is a beautifully drawn manga which touches on a lot of important subjects such as disability, classism and the pressures that come with daily life. The series follows Coco a young girl as she discovers the world of magic. She makes friends, learns from mentors en competes with rivals. The series is suitable for all ages and reminds me a lot of studio gihbli in the way they convey stories. The magic system and the world are unique but easy to learn and I had no trouble following it. I would give this series a 9/10 stars.
The series is not yet completed but that just gives you something to look forward to ;). As of writing this review there are still new books being translated and released. This year they also released a tv-series of the story, which is doing really well.

—Iris, 14 June 2026