I just finished Witch Hat Atelier, and I was left stunned. I started it thinking I’d watch it in the background while I studied, but that didn’t happen.
For those of you who were like me and didn’t know about this anime when it first came out, then let me give you the tea, without any spoilers.
First off (assuming you also found it recently; if not, please act like you did so I’m not alone here 🥲), we aren’t that far behind. It initially released in April this year, 2026. So we’re only behind by a couple of release seasons, which means we aren’t too late on the Witch Hat Atelier train. When it comes down to it, I’m just so glad I even found it because it left me shocked.
To give you some context, it’s about a girl who really wants to be a witch, but she wasn’t born one, so it’s just a dream to her. Until one day she meets a traveling magician, Qifrey. Not only is she excited to meet an actual magician, she also sees him perform magic which is usually hidden…for a reason. This leads to her learning a secret that no regular person is supposed to know. Her dreams may not be so far away.
Initially, I was like, “Oh, this sounds cute; I’ll put it on as a background show. Now if you like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Delicious in Dungeon, then this anime will be right up your alley. It has this calm vibe with hope and excitement for the main character. It will just leave you rooting for her. One episode turned into two, then three, and all of a sudden my notebook was closed, pushed to the side, and I was fully locked in. I don’t even know why I thought I’d be able to study while watching this. After 2 minutes, I realized this was not a background anime. The creator, Kamome Širahama, was not playing around with her first anime adaptation. Don’t let that fool you; she’s worked on the character design for anime like Star Wars: Visions and Kuro to Kin no Akanai Kagi, as well as some manga work. So when it came time for her to adapt her manga, she was not playing around. She has her foot on they neck from episode 1 all the way to the end credits of the last episode. The sad part is I did not want to be freed of it. It was that good.
From the start, I was amazed by the art and animation. Don’t get me wrong, I love my small-budget anime, but as soon as I finished the first episode, I knew Širahama was not messing around, and neither was the studio Bug Films, because they put moneyyyyyy behind these animations. I mean, it makes sense: Širahama first released the manga in 2016…10 years ago. Within that time, Witch Hat Atelier won the best manga award from the Harvey Awards in 2020, along with many others between 2018 and one pending right now for best seinen in 2026. So Bug Films can keep showering this anime with money because it is well deserved.
It is a bit surprising because Bug Films has only produced 1 other anime… Zom 100. Which was also beautiful but never got a season 2. So makes sense why Witch Hat Atelier was so beautiful, but with it being Bug Films second anime, can they stay consistent? Maybe because they don’t have a huge catalogue, they can concentrate funds easier 🤷🏾♀️. The thing is, this anime is not just amazingly beautiful; it’s also such a good story. I started it, and then all of a sudden it was done and the end screen popped up. The story flows so well and has a good balance of world-building and character building, while still moving the story forward. Which made it so saddening when I realized that I finished it. So of course I did what any other anime fan would do… I Googled to see if it has announced a season 2 yet because I would be so mad if I was taken on an amazing journey to be left on a cliffhanger. Luckilyyyyy, a season two will be coming out. Hopefully sooner rather than later. There is no release date yet, but as of June 29th, they are in production and post updates on their X page. I can’t wait for season 2, and this time I will not be late to the release.
So what did I learn from this?
1. When an anime looks this good, drop everything and pay attention because it will probably be an amazing anime. 
2. I want to see even more female creators because female manga writers almost always know how to create an amazing story (Witch Hat Atelier, Frienen, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Delicious in Dungeon, Yuri on Ice, Ouran High School Host Club, The Apothecary Diaries, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, and so much more, but there are just some of my favorites)
3. Don’t try to study and watch anime at the same time because I ended up having to re-read the same paragraph over and over 🤦🏾♀️ again before I just gave up and decided to study the next day.
Now let’s hope Bug Films keeps giving Witch Hat Atelier funding to continue showcasing stunning animations, amazing storylines, and gives Širahama the freedom to do what she does best and has been award for.
So will you be watching Witch Hat Atelier? 👀
