Manga Review - 'Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition, Vol. 1' by Kamome Shirahama, Stephen Kohler (Translator), Lys Blakeslee (Letterer)

'Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition, Vol. 1'.

What a striking bundle of magic this series is - it really is like lightning in a bottle - in a manga tome.

So inspired, intriguing, creative and clever; it's an ingenious work of art. Of course the artwork itself is absolutely stunning and spectacular, rich and lush; it raises the bar far beyond that of typical manga. The colour illustrations are too gorgeous and extraordinary. They are breathtaking.

'Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition, Vol. 1' contains the first three manga volumes. It is like a giant, glorious spellbook, revealing a beautiful, fully realised and believable Tolkienesque fantasy world*. It is a world filled with amazing characters, magical creatures, action scenarios, mysteries, arcana, sigils, and spellcasting - that meticulously follows the rules of its own complex yet fun and enchanting magic system.

The reader will be as spellbound and awed as the protagonist, Coco, a young, "normal", magic-loving witch-in-training. We learn about the world of witches with her. Naïve, deeply flawed, persistent, charming and delightful, Coco is a true dreamer and heroine, and a hard worker and thinker, who you'll root for. She will keep going, keep trying, no matter how many mistakes she makes, and how guilt-ridden and depressed she becomes, underneath her smiles.

I love the friendship theme, too, and the message along the lines of the younger generation getting things done - what needs to be done - when the adults around them are, sadly, often useless, anxious, out-of-touch, and set in their ways, and in following outdated, traditional rules and laws.

For all my praises, however, I did lose interest a little towards the end of the 'Grimoire Edition, Vol. 1', but

only a little. I don't know, I just felt kind of underwhelmed by the omnibus's conclusion, and I thought a lot of characters ended up sidelined and not mattering much. In fact, a few characters seem to be forgotten about. But maybe it's an issue of needing to read the subsequent volumes, for a reinvigoration of plot and character progression (and page time).

The smooth, bold, ink-marked, sigil-marked, magically-drawn grimoire pages...

Coco and her fellow witch apprentice friends at the atelier - Agott, Tetia, and Richeh - are awesome. Female kid witches learning useful spells and collaborating together and saving lives is awesome. They're so sweet and adorable, and flawed but ultimately heroic. More of them together in the future, please!

And Coco's Brushbuddy is cute! More of him, the creature pet mascot, too!

'Witch Hat Atelier: Grimoire Edition, Vol. 1' - a big, warm, charm-casting, magical-hearted recommendation.

Fans of 'The Owl House', 'Little Witch Academia', and really any shōnen manga and anime - as 'Witch Hat Atelier' does share some conventions and character archetypes in common with those - should check it out.

What a wonderful, fairly-new fairy tale, fantasy and witchy manga series 'Witch Hat Atelier' by Kamome Shirahama is.

Now I just need to watch the anime adaptation, which came out this year.

For a brush-more detail, read my review of 'Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1', that I wrote seven years ago.

Final Score: 4/5

*Hex, even the shape and design of a witch's hat is important to their character and their allegiance in this world!