Witch Hat Atelier

An anime television series adaptation produced by Bug Films aired from April to June 2026. A second season has been announced. A spin-off manga series, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, started in Morning Two in November 2019. In 2020 and 2025, the series won the Harvey Award for the Best Manga category as well as the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia.

It is recorded as the work of Kamome Shirahama. Publication is recorded by Morning KC and Milky Way Ediciones. The recorded date of publication is 2016. It is associated with Japan. Recorded genres are fantasy anime and manga. The recorded subject matter is magic and magic school.

Witch Hat Atelier is set in a fictional, fantasy world, more specifically in the Zozah Peninsula, where magic can be performed by drawing magical runes with a special ink. Its use was common knowledge until a series of countless crises, wars and catastrophes led to the "Day of the Pact", when the Great Hall of Witches (魔法使いの大講堂, Mahōtsukai no Dai Kōdō) was established. From then on, only witches authorized by the Great Hall are allowed to perform magic or know how to use it, and their knowledge is kept a secret from the rest of the population, called the "unknowing". Any unknowing who discovers the truth or witches who break their rules have their memories about magic erased. Certain magical practices are also forbidden even amongst them due to the possible dangers it can cause, such as casting magic or drawing magical runes directly on the human body, with the exception of magic that erases memories, only allowed to protect their secret. The witches from the Great Hall have a pointed hat with no brims as a sign of loyalty towards their traditions and rules, while there is also a group of rogue witches who reject the rules of the Day of the Pact known as the Brimmed Caps (つばあり帽, Tsuba ari-bō) who act in secret, covering their faces with brimmed hats and using forbidden magic.

Coco is the kind and daydreaming daughter of a dressmaker who aspires to become a witch, despite being told that only innate magic users can practice and use magic. One day, she meets a witch named Qifrey and after she witnesses how he uses magic, Coco realizes that a book she previously bought from a masked witch was actually a book about magic, which she uses to accidentally cast a spell that encases her mother and house in crystals. Qifrey is tracking the Brimmed Cap behind the incident for his own agenda, and, as the only clue they have to restore her mother is a vague memory of the magic spell she cast, he takes Coco as his apprentice. She then starts learning magic under him alongside his three other female witch apprentices: Agott, Tetia, and Richeh, and supervised by Olruggio, another adult witch who is Qifrey's childhood friend. As Coco gets used to her new environment and develops her magic skills, the Brimmed Caps' interest on her grows, as they hope that she will help them revive the free use of magic.

According to series creator, Kamome Shirahama, the story "was sparked by a casual comment from a friend, who mentioned that the process of bringing an illustration into the world seemed just like magic." Having grown up with the works of Michael Ende and J. R. R. Tolkien, she had always wanted to try drawing high fantasy, as opposed to the bulk of popular fantasy at the time which she felt were mostly low fantasy works set in the real world or revolving around reincarnation. She cites The Lord of the Rings as one of the biggest influences on creating Witch Hat Atelier. She was also strongly inspired by shōjo fantasy manga such as Knights of Alfheim by Seika Nakayama, Crystal Dragon by Yūho Ashibe, and the works of Moto Hagio, Ryoko Yamagishi, and Kyōko Shitō. Due to Shirahama's background as an illustrator, the art style of the series leans closer to that seen in classic children's books than manga, while also drawing from Renaissance art, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, American comics, and bande dessinée. This, along with the original idea of art seeming like magic, also contributed to the art-based magic system of the series, in which magic is an ink-drawn precise system of glyphs, runes, and signs; protagonist Coco's journey has been likened to that of an amateur artist aiming to turn professional. Unlike most contemporaries, Shirahama draws the bulk of the series using wooden ink pens and other traditional tools on paper; she cites the antique appeal of analog art as well as her unfamiliarity with digital tools. The series has been consistently noted for the diversity of its cast and setting, along such axes as race, sexual orientation, and disability. Shirahama has stated that she sees this diversity as a natural thing and a reflection of the level of diversity she saw in works she grew up with, and is mindful to draw inspiration from a wide range of cultures and not overrepresent one specific region of the world.

Written and illustrated by Kamome Shirahama, Witch Hat Atelier started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning Two on July 22, 2016. The magazine ceased print publication and moved to a digital release starting on August 4, 2022. Kodansha has compiled its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on January 23, 2017. As of April 23, 2026, 16 volumes have been published. In North America, Kodansha USA announced the acquisition of the series in July 2018. The first volume was published on April 9, 2019. A spin-off manga series by Hiromi Sato, titled Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, started in Morning Two on November 22, 2019.

In April 2022, it was announced that the series would receive an anime adaptation. It was later revealed at Anime Expo 2024 to be a television series that is produced by Bug Films and directed by Ayumu Watanabe, with Jun Shinohara as the assistant director, Hiroaki Kojima as the producer, Hiroshi Seko handling the series composition, Kairi Unabara designing the characters, and Yuka Kitamura composing the music. The series was originally scheduled for 2025; however, it was later delayed due to the ability "to present the charm of the project at an even higher quality". It aired from April 6 to June 22, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Kaze no Anthem" (風のアンセム; 'Wind's Anthem'), performed by Eve feat. Suis of Yorushika. The ending theme songs, performed by Nakamura Hak, are "Tada Utsukushii Noroi" (ただ美しい呪い; lit. 'Just a Beautiful Curse') (episodes 2, 4, 6–7, 9 and 11–13); "Yoru ni Ukabu" (夜に浮かぶ; lit. 'Floating in the Night') (episodes 3 and 5), and "Hikari" (光り; lit. 'Light'). Crunchyroll is streaming the series worldwide outside of Asia, while Remow licensed it in Southeast Asia. After the airing of the first season finale, a second season was announced. Crunchyroll has secured its streaming rights.

A novel written by Jun Esaka, titled Witch Hat Atelier: Special Stories (小説 とんがり帽子のアトリエ スペシャルストーリーズ, Shōsetsu Tongari Bōshi no Atorie Supesharu Sutōrīzu), was released by Kodansha on November 21, 2025. Kodansha USA licensed the novel for English release in North America, and it is set to release in Q2 of 2027.