Witch Hat Atelier

As of this review, there are 12 volumes out.

This one has been on my radar for a long time; I first read Chapter 1 in an issue I got on Free Comic Book Day years and years ago, but I didn't get around to reading it until seeing, of all things, a Tumblr post about how well Witch Hat Atelier handles the topic of disability in worldbuilding. That piqued my interest once again, and here I am 60+ chapters later, wishing I didn't have to wait for more.

The chapters vary in length based on what they cover, obviously. Some chapters in between major story beats are about as short as you'd except, but those important chapters are sometimes long enough to cover an entire episode of anime. However, the pacing is immaculate; the story is constructed in a way that you can hardly tell where the chapter breaks are. There aren't really any perceivable arcs, minus the one location we're in now, but even so, it feels like a natural progression of the story instead of finishing off one mostly self-contained story and moving onto the next one. It's very organic, and feels more like a novel than a manga.

The world and its rules are both expertly laid out and tantalizing. The world is so interesting because of its multi-faceted nature; the witch side, and the ever-present commoner side. Each side has major influence on how the other operates, and the author does an excellent job of portraying this symbiotic relationship in many ways throughout the story. The rules are fed to us in the most engaging way possible; Coco, the main character is an audience surrogate, so none of the exposition feels out of place. We learn the very basics of what magic is, then we learn more as it becomes relevant. The rules never feel contrived or made up on the spot; they've always been that way, and they make sense based on what we've learned before. I've scarcely seen worldbuilding done this well before.

Much like the world in which they live, the characters are also multi-faceted and realistic. A lot of them have more going on underneath the face they show to others, and some secrets still haven't been brought to light yet. When characters make decisions, their actions make sense, and they have consequences, good or bad, that affect the way the story moves forward. It's so easy to see how the world of Witch Hat Atelier has changed as a result of Coco entering it, but when you think about how it would be had she not, you realize this was always going to happen because of those pulling the strings behind the scenes. This is why the plot moves along in such a natural way; instead of story chunks that center around a specific location or villain or struggle, Witch Hat's story is almost entirely derived from the results of the actions of the characters, and it's a refreshing change of pace from what you typically see in anime and manga.

And this is all without even mentioning the artwork. Yes, the style is so lovely and warm, but what stands out to me is the way the artist plays with the panels. There are a handful of moments that stand out, from the characters drawing the panels and resting on them as if they were in the scene, to the artist drawing as if the pages were flipping themselves and making a board game into a two-page spread. It's so charming, and the little things the artist and writer do elevate the experience of reading that much more.

I've definitely found my new favourite manga, a story I can't wait to keep reading and rereading because it's so engaging, cute, dark, and so much more.