I changed in November 2022 when I read the first volume of Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama. I distinctly remember finishing the book and finding construction paper to make my own hat in the likeness of Coco’s that day. Several years later I put together a full cosplay as Coco to accompany my Japanese Culture Club students to a comic con replete with a homemade brush baby and a sigil on the bottom of my shoes. And several years after that, I have collected every volume of the original series, every volume of the spinoff of Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, and a hardcover beauty called The Art of Witch Hat Atelier gifted by my son.

A few of my students asked the other week if I had watched the anime, which I knew had dropped on Crunchyroll. I told them about my reluctance to watch it (as with any book that I’m enamored with) because I love the original too much to have it mutilated by another format. I also know that the reviews have been positive.

Fast forward to Saturday night of a long weekend and I did it, I started watching the anime. I instantly fell in love. I said I would pace myself. There were eight episodes available and I now know that there are a planned thirteen total to drop by the end of June. What did I do? By Sunday afternoon I had watched all eight and yearn for more. Luckily I only have to wait about 24 hours for episode nine.

Let me break it down. The groundwork that Shirahama created with the series about a girl wishing to be a witch and ultimately being pulled into the orbit of witches by a witch named Qifrey at an atelier for apprentice witches was the start. Then the anime adaptation takes the imaginative creativity of Shirahama’s world and personifies it with color, cuteness, and attention to detail. I was absorbed on the screen for each scene in addition to the opening credits that use a visual paper folding that wows. Each chapter was a feast. The animation and the writing are unparalleled. If you haven’t been swept up into the orbit of the series in print or anime, here is your sign to start.

I’m going to be falling asleep envisioning my own ability to create sigils to make magic. Join me. I’m under the spell of Witch Hat Atelier.