Witch Hat Atelier ‒ Episode 7

“Who is magic for?” the title of this week's episode asks. It's a question that perhaps ought to have a clear answer within the context of the story: it's meant to be for others, to help them, and never to gather selfish power. Some spells are forbidden because they (presumably) cause harm or are too easily abused. That's the entire point of the Pact. So why, then, is it so difficult for Agott to answer this question when Olruggio poses it?

It's hardly a secret that Agott has been a divisive character thus far. And that's fair; even armed with manga knowledge, I find her early actions range from unpleasant to outright cruel. Up to this point, anime-only viewers haven't had a good grasp of what's driving her, although if you think back after this week's reveals, there have been hints. Agott's drive to succeed isn't just because she wants to be a good witch – there's an intensity that makes her look selfish, and that drives her to ignore advice and kind gestures. Qifrey has tried to soothe these impulses with kindness, but that doesn't really work on Agott. She's a rules kind of girl, not one who benefits from gentle parenting.

Although Olly isn't her teacher, he's much better with her than Qifrey is. The way he handles the entire situation before things go even more sideways is fundamentally designed to have Agott understand by doing rather than book learning. He decides to allow Agott to accompany them; he's the one who flat-out asks her who she's learning magic for. He's also the one who firmly puts her in her place by handing her his rings and telling her to go dry off the soaked travelers. Agott wanted this to be her shining moment, where she proves that she's as capable as any adult. Olruggio makes it clear to her that this will not happen.

Watching Agott react to all of this makes a few things clear. She's upset, but unlike with Qifrey, she just buckles down and does what she's told. When Olly and Qifrey take Richeh and Tetia with them to check up and down the river, she's shocked and upset, but she also doesn't immediately swivel to blame Coco. While I'd hesitate to say that she understands now how different it is to be out of the atelier, she does seem to be slowly coming to that conclusion, even if it ends up being wrapped up in her past trauma. And when Custas ends up getting pinned beneath a boulder, and the adult humans turn to her for help, it all comes crashing down.

It says a lot that it's Coco, not Agott, who saves Custas. There's absolutely teamwork involved, which is important because it shows that Agott has learned from the dragon incident and is now able to put her own issues aside when something major is going on. But the entire situation also illustrates how Agott and Coco both cope with trauma. Coco, as we already know, picks herself up and keeps going. Her trauma becomes a goal; her pain a reason to move forward, and she even manages to look for joy along the way. Agott, on the other hand, curls around her pain, holding it tight like an anti-security blanket. People told her she wasn't good enough? She'll show them. Her mother thinks she's not talented enough and won't take her as an apprentice? She'll find someone who will and prove her mother wrong. Agott's short hair becomes a marker of her determination; she's cut her family out. Coco mourns the loss of her family while Agott burns with rage at the loss of hers.

I don't expect that getting more of Agott's backstory or seeing her be a help to Coco rather than a hindrance will endear her to many people. She hasn't quite earned it yet. But she does make more sense now, and she seems to have also come to feel a little more kindly towards Coco, who did, after all, manage to save Custas. But will she defend Coco from the Knights Moralis? That's the most pressing question, especially since the knights were summoned to the riverbank not because of Coco's spell, or even Agott's distracting bird, but by Qifrey's water sword. They're very quick to blame Coco and Agott for everything they see upon arrival, too, instantly making assumptions about the entire situation. And okay, fair, they are law enforcement, but their job is, arguably, to ensure the laws are being followed, not make assumptions about who might have broken it.

You may remember that the Brimmed Cap said that they were giving their “apprentice” Coco a gift after the dragon labyrinth. Whatever that was, it's almost certainly behind the malfunction of Coco's spell, which turned the entire riverbank into sand rather than just the boulder. I can understand why they'd assume that either Agott or Coco was deliberately working with the Brimmed Caps, even if I don't approve of their ridiculously swift jump to punishment.

But the spell that called them out there in the first place was Qifrey's. While I'd think that Olruggio would have said something if it really was forbidden magic, it just adds to the mystery surrounding him. What is Qifrey's relationship to forbidden magic? And will the Knights Moralis decide that both he and Coco ought to be removed from the magic world? The end of this episode doesn't give me a lot of faith in their judgment…

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