Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1

Great start to this series! The art style is simply stunning!

We are following Coco, who has always dreamed of being a witch. But she believed that witches are born, not made, and therefore that she will never get the opportunity to learn. Her meeting with Qifrey, mysterious master and witch passing through her village, changes her perception of the world and sets her on her magical path after all, albeit at a greater cost than she would have imagined.

I was a really nice read! It's got a wonderful whimsical feeling, and Coco is quite fun to follow around. She's a full-on magic geek, getting excited about every new discovery, which feels very relatable as readers who discover this world ourselves at the same time! The setting got the magic academy vibes, and while much of this has been done before, then environment feels coherent and well-developed. This world's magic is written-based, which adds originality to the concept, and allows Coco to bring in her own strengths as a seamstress in innovative ways. I'm most intrigued by master Qifrey, however. He's certainly mysterious, he seems to be a bit of a rebel, but he's also somewhat of an airhead when it comes to teaching.

This series seems to have the potential for more depth and development, and we got to see glimpses of that already. From what I can tell in this first volume, it reads well for its age range. All in all, I quite enjoyed this one, the visuals are fantastic, and I am looking forward to continuing with the series!

This is one of the strongest opening volumes of a manga I've read in recent memory. The setting is immersive, the story starts and unfolds organically, each character is memorable and defined with plenty of backstory to explore and room to grow, and the art is jaw-droppingly gorgeous throughout. If this is what I can expect from future volumes, Witch Hat Atelier might be on its way to being one of my favorite manga I've ever read.