Finished reading the 1st volume & I can't say I want to read more. I'm surprised this is a seinen manga. Feels more like a shoujo for early teens. I'm not the target audience for this kind of story. I didn't find it appealing or entertaining. It was a drag to read through and I found myself skimming through the boring world-building details.

The only saving grace was the beautiful artwork. The mangaka gives a masterclass in creative panel composition and the art has obvious influences from Moebius (in my eyes at least). A lot of work has been put in the conception & execution of the detailed artwork. Well done! Apparently, she is a design graduate and that does show in her art.

Shame the story is so boring. It would probably look very interesting as an anime. I wish she'd drop it and try her hand at something different. I would read another work from her without a doubt.

This is the story a “I reincarnated into a novel” the MC reincarnates to.

The novel’s MC is a generic, “I was a normal girl with a normal family, until my mom died and I realised I was the chosen one?! I’ll do whatever I can bring her back! (not really caring after like 2 episodes, no mourning, nothing), oh?! The evil guys really want me on their team! And despite the fact that I just learned about this skill yesterday, I’m already doing stuff almost none of my colleagues can! I’m such a clutz, haha.

She could be the perfect fake good guy in a reincarnation story, manipulating everyone into liking her and protecting her, because no way the whole law enforcement in the damn town, scared shitless of the beginning of a new war torn era, would accept this moron in their society because she said “magic very pretty like me” and some random magic teacher got tricked into taking her in.

Even less so when her magic is full of bad guy’s vibes.

No matter how pretty the art is, it can’t distract me enough from the shit storytelling and characters, and if you’re defending the teacher it’s just because he has hot privilege shut up. I’m just waiting for the actual MC of the story to appear, some random extra would have more spice than this bland girl.

Hot garbage, some characters tried to kill mc and told her horrid things, and she’s like, “lol it ok”.

Wanna read an actually good fantasy? Read delicious in dungeon, world exploration? Read Heterogenia Linguistico, wanna read actual good characters in fantasy? Read Saijaku Teima wa Gomi Hiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita. I’ll give you options so you don’t feel so starved for content you feel forced to read this.

After botanyrobot took over proofreading in chapter 36, and especially after chapter 39 when onge left translating, the translation quality really went down.

The wording and phrasing became needlessly complicated and showy. The speech and dialogues became artificial and unrealistic. And there was no longer any flow to the reading experience.
Imagine having to pause and backtrack every few sentences to understand what the translation is even trying to convey, or pause in frustration every few bubbles at the misuse of punctuation and the unnatural flow of sentences.

What really sucks, and why I'm frustrated, is that the earlier translation was actually great! But to see and experience the quality just unexpectedly sinking like this... it's really a shame.

Great manga though

I honestly really enjoyed picking this up at the library - it's a relatively light read despite some early tragedies and there are some well written details about disability representation and learning pedagogy that set apart this series.

It can't go by without saying but Witch Hat Atelier knocks it out of the park on the art. The details on clothes, glyphs, shifting landscapes, and character design is honestly really memorable even considering we all have preconceived notions of what a "witch should look like". I like how the series plays around with the witch hat symbology and even turns the classic brimmed hat witch trope on its head a bit. This is really a series to grab a print copy if you can because the PANELING and storyboarding is truly something that elevates its already impressive art to the next level. So many of the panels are so intentional and really underscore how much the mangaka understands about only imbuing one action per square; there are some of the most creative panel designs I've seen in a long while.

I do think where the series stumbles a bit is how it builds tension and elevates the plot. I have nothing against a series taking its time to situate characters and the stakes, but it feels sort of all the same when the danger should be graver than ever especially in the more recent arcs. The series also feels like one that has set itself up well with well rounded characters but somehow there is a lack of interpersonal development a lot of the time. I loved seeing Agathe come around to Coco and begrudgingly accepting her as a rival/classmate, but most of that foiling doesn't get utilized upon as much as I think it should. Qifrey as our wizened professor is also probably the most easily likeable character but there's something unsatisfying when so many of the plot points rest with him. But I think the ensemble cast works well in a lot of situations and even though many follow classic archetypes, none of it ever feels grating. None of the plot points have been surprising per say - and part of that is how Witch Hat Atelier sets up in a very hero's journey type saga, but if we want to lean into that it seems time to play up things like prophecies and precedents and much more lore.

One of my other minor favorite things about this series is how pointed its framing is about education and how we learn. We find out early on that most people understand witches as being "born" but anyone can be a witch theoretically. So much of the wider man vs society conflicts in Witch Hat Atelier rest on the cognitive dissonance that Coco faces regarding her guilt towards her mom and also her being one of the "chosen witches" when so magic could improve so many others' lives. Even those who have grown up around magic, like Tartar are denied its privileges due to small physical imperfections like his eyes. Adapting magic and tools to help one better survive in the world - and recognizing that for some these tools are the difference between flourishing and despair is an especially poignant epiphany in a series that can gloss over some tragic consequences. These obvious moral and ethical ramifications add a slightly more nuanced layer to a series that could be so much breezier.

Witch Hat Atelier has the bones of a heartfelt and honestly very socially just series and I look forward to how the series realizes its promises.

As you can probably tell from the front cover already, the art in this is very detailed, and remains high quality consistently throughout the volumes; it's a pleasure to see in that sense.

Others have pointed out (i partially agree) that the story takes a backseat to the art, but it's not bad per se. If anything, at times it feels like a slice of life (developing the main and side characters; the witches of the atelier and their companions) with a seinen (questioning the role of magic in the world, it's potential to improve the life of its inhabitants against the risk of mass destruction both to people and the environment).

If the story doesn't catch your attention, or the art isn't enough to compensate for it, this might not be for you. But if there's a chance you can look past the -not so complex- plot, you'll enjoy the time spent reading this.

This manga is about a small community of witches that wields and guards the secrets of magic and an outsider girl that gets to be part of it.

The art is quite nice and unique, and overall mood fits this piece very well.

I read up to 13th chapter for now, it's a fun manga but one thing that really bothers me is that it's story driven too much, some of the actions the characters take are really out of place. Pretty early on the MC gets put in a dangerous situation by a character that had no place doing it and after the events unfold nothing really happens because of it, it gets glossed over and the MC doesn't have any hard feeling for it.

The magic system has some problems as well, it's a little similar to Fullmetal Alchemist, but it's too shallow sadly. The main idea is that you draw symbols on paper and once you complete them with a circle it activates magic, you need a special ink to do it but that's it, which gives you pretty much infinite energy if you would like, considering that's a thing it's pretty weird that the world seems to be stuck in medieval times.

Overall if it weren't for some of the characters it could have been a lot better, the saving grace is the art but the score it has everywhere is way over the top.

6/10

... Last updated on January 31st, 2020, 3:47am

really, one of a kind, in every sense possible.

After a somewhat cliched and decent start I got completely put off when a fellow apprentice tries to kill off the MC and she does not even get scolded for it, Coco doesn't even seam to mind "oh, you tried to get rid of me?, Don't worry about it, I certainly don't care". I just don't like stories where people don't act accordingly to the situation and actions.
Other than that, for such a heavy setting, converting your own mother into stone, the story and art is rather childish and the MC seams to remember her every now and then but otherwise keeps her innocent and childish personality... What was the setting for then if it doesn't bring along a personality change?

... Last updated on June 9th, 2019, 8:05am

this one really stands out as a japanese manga... because it doesnt look like one.

Mostly it doesnt feel manga to me, it has lots of influences from american and european comics, the art style reminds alot to creators of old like sergi toppi, actually even the way the story is paced and crafted its just like the european and amercian style of some works from 100 years ago, i dont know if the author got these influences or grew up with western works but i would say, it seems so.

said that it still has some things that remember manga, like in the cuteness and such.

Good things:

- the art, its just stunning, not just the details, but the compositions and its design, its both stunning and smartly done, and its actually what really makes me wana keep reading

- the worldbuilding, its very interesting to see all the things the author show that can be done with magic and how the characters use the magic to interact with their environment, there is an eye for physics and careful thought you dont always see in 1 week manga updates.

the story, it has its strong points, they speak about life as creators and the struggles this little whichs go through, and the challenges of what it means to study a difficult craft and be in an environent wwith people you dont always have a good time with, there is psycological depth here and there

---

Bad things

- the art, ironically, the art its also a drawback, the quality is way too constant and monotous, almost like robotic at some point of how good it is, its stunning yeah, but at the same time the quality stops to surprise you and becomes way too stiff.

- the characters, their not exactly amazing... their kinda dull actually, mostly a bunch of kids who are like cotton candy with their problems, and a teacher who is very kind and good, he seems to have a secret and dark past... that i have the feeling its not gonna surprise me...

- the story, all feels very traditional, very monotonous, almost like the author likes old fashioned stories and makes a point to stick to the tradition, maybe if you never read a comic about magic youll love it, for me its just more of the same and way too correct, so correct it hurts the brain.

The only thing truly exceptional about this is the art and explanations. It's actually ridiculous and amazing at the same time that someone would go through such lengths to draw a manga. It's indeed like an artbook, for better or worse, with so many small details. The explanations are also very thorough, we get to understand everything the mc comes to understand, how magic works and every process of it. It's pretty rare, but honestly it can be a bit unnecessary as well, so it's not always something good when done to such great lengths.

This manga just didn't appeal to me for various reasons. The first is the art. The second is the explanations. The third is the characters and the fourth is the flawed logic of the whole thing. The art feels lifeless and dead as a result of giving it too many details. It doesn't feel vibrant, it gives me more of a feeling where I'm looking at pretty pictures in an artbook than an actual story. It's nice to look at but makes it very hard to immerself oneself.

The explanations are nice, but it's often overdone, going beyond what is necessesary or reasonable. I don't want to know every little detail about witchcraft from the basics, after all, I'm not here to learn witchcraft, I'm here to read a story. While this makes it engaging in a way and lets you immerse yourself into this fantasy witch world, it does so in a way I don't appreciate as I find it kinda tedious and boring at times when things are explained in such excruciating detail about the witch powers, methods and rules. Maybe if you gave me this in a audio book format to listen to while doing something else such as working, it might hit home much, much better.

The characters here are kinda dull for my tastes. Some of them feel alive, but at the same time doesn't. I also don't like that kid who essentially endangered the mc's life without permission for no other reason than "I don't like you because you didn't grow up with magic as you're not even as skilled as me". The lack of punishment and weight of it all from the teacher made it even worse, it's as if it didn't matter at all, instead it's somehow the mc's fault that she didn't know better. That he even left a kid to test/teach an absolute newbie as he went on her merry way to get some stuff made it even worse, is he retarded?

I also can't get behind the mc's happy-go-lucky attitude. You essentially killed your own mother and everyone else in the house, albeit by mistake, yet you get over it that quickly and have no negative feelings against magic after that experience? Come on. I get that she believes she can reverse it if she becomes skilled enough, but there's so many unsure parts that should cause worry and at the very least you shouldn't just jump into learning magic with eyes glimmering instantly. She's also way too naive, but I can understand that from her age, I never really liked child mcs in the first place, well, at least not those who act like children(let's be honest, almost no "children" in anime/manga/novels truly act like children, not even a bit except perhaps being a bit immature and acting without thinking, which is just as normal in adults), it's very hard or impossible to relate to, especially when you're an adult male that has no urge whatsoever to become a parent, ever.

Now we come to the flaws in the plot overall. I just don't feel like this setting is even remotely realistic, at least not enough for a manga that clearly prides itself on trying to be realistic both in art and writing(as realistic as you can get in a fantasy world). So, magic is actually usable by everyone and everything as long as they have some ink and paper and knows a few symbols, be it males or males, I don't doubt that even animals can use it if they somehow develop the ability to draw, the mc managed to draw produce magic after imitating some symbols messily and tracing a magic spell in a book. Yet no one knows that this is the case even though everyone in the world knew this a while ago since it was extremely widespread and used in wars and everything else, even now it's not like the common populace are devoid of magic, nope, there's magic everywhere you look, be it magic drawings, constructs, ponds etc, that people wouldn't somehow find out is impossible. Sure, mass specific memory erasure magic, maybe that's what happened? Not that it seems witches in this story are capable of something like that. Also, it's not as if wars would stop just because normal people couldn't use magic anymore, especially not since normal people can clearly use magic with the help of the many witches, there are also "enemy" witches which would help anyway, so stupid. Then we come to the laws of this magic world. It seems that it's absolutely prohibited to use any magic on a witch's body. Like, tattooing in a magic circle which can help greatly. That seems really stupid, especially in a medieval world like this, the author should just say that messing with life is prohibited instead, like resurrecting the dead, that's much more realistic. Well, maybe there's an explanation later on for that, I didn't last for more than roughly two volumes before I decided that it was too much of a pain to keep on reading.

In the first place, the very motivations of the magic teacher is flawed. He's going to keep her there and teache her to be a witch becuase she's the only lead? What only lead? Surely there must be other leads since they know of these mysterious "evil" witches. Even if not, I don't see how a helpless, naive girl that has no magic knowledge would act as a proper lead, she doesn't even have the book anymore because, for some reason, the magic teacher came at the very last millisecond and couldn't do anything but grasp her? Really, if he wanted leads, he would grasp the book, not her. There's also no reason for him coming so late that he can't even grasp the book which would take about half a second more, they managed to get out fairly easily, why would she risk her life for an unknown girl anyway? Sure, the girl might remember some of the contents of the book, but I don't see how she's useful beyond that. It's not as if he, the magic teacher, even planned on teaching her before well after he grasped her. I get headaches from stuff like this.

So, this manga has very pretty art and thorough explanations, but it lacks in pretty much every other department. I couldn't enjoy it at all because I simply didn't like the mood(it felt a bit gloomy and dull) of this thing or how it flowed, neither did I get fond of any of the characters. If the things I dislike sounds like pros rather than cons to you, you could always give it a try. I can easily see why some people would love this with all their heart and it is also apparent in the comments. I could especially think that if you're really into witchcraft and want a relatively realistic and good depiction of it all and the journey to become a witch, you will love this. I never had that hobby though, I'm more of a wizard/warrior guy, hahaha. Using your body or a staff as a medium along with spells or thoughts is just much more interesting than drawing things with ink.

... Last updated on October 24th, 2018, 5:24am