Witch Hat Atelier Episode #04
Hunted and bewitched.
What They Say:
In a world where only witches can cast magic, they must avoid being seen by ordinary people while casting. While Coco does her chores, she daydreams of becoming a witch. When a young witch named Qifrey visits her village, Coco uncovers the “absolute secret,” becomes Qifrey’s apprentice, and begins her studies. This is the story of children who encounter despair, yet reach out toward hope.
E4 – Meetings in Kalhn
Qifrey takes Coco to the witches’ town of Kalhn, where she has an unexpected encounter.
The Review: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Upon gaining her new apprentice attire, Coco is right back to work learning the ropes of magic. Drawing sigils is more daunting than it would first appear. Attempting to get perfect lines without external tools is tricky to master and memorizing all of the patterns is tough. A full fledged witch needs to know their stuff without resorting to textbooks and references.
Qifrey decides it might be time for Coco to get a pen she feels most comfortable using and off they go, flying across the countryside to the nearest witch town, Kalhn.
Coco’s excitement at being in a town full of witches is contagious. It is a bustling hub of ateliers and workshops, with winding staircases and back alleys, and everywhere the peaked hats of witches. The destination of the group is the stationary store run by master Nolnoa. The girls aren’t very interest in listening to their teacher explain the town history to Coco, and there are several moments in this episode where Qifrey can barely contain his geekiness about the joy and wonder of his profession.
Continuing with the different accents for the English dub, Tartah and his grandfather sport Scottish-ish accents. The various witches we hear snippets of in the city also have British-flavored accents once again emphasizing that Coco ain’t from around here.
The store hosts a very important sort of tree at it’s center, which provides the sap which becomes the magical ink that witches use to actually do magic. The girls get a demonstration of how it is decanted. When it comes time for Coco to select a pen of her own she instead spots the witch who gave her the book with forbidden magic peaking at her through a window. Without saying anything to anyone she bolts from the store to give chase.
Coco’s impulsiveness is certainly her biggest weakness. That and her poor sense of self preservation. Tetia gives chases, with Richeh and the Brushbuddy following. They run into (in Coco’s case literally) Agott while in pursuit and she too follows. However, it was all a trap, and soon the girls find themselves in a M.C. Escher like maze stalked by a dragon.
The animation for this episode is just merely good. Not mind blowing. I’m a bit underwhelmed with the dragon, which still looks better than many anime dragons but still not as well animated as our brushbuddy friend.
Just when I was thinking that the Brimmed Hat that set Coco on this path might have been an illusion we get confirmation from Tartah, Nolnoa’s grandson, that he spotted the figure as well. Qifrey and Nolnoa are shocked that the illusive Brimmed Caps would walk among the peaked caps in the town so boldly and Qifrey immediately sets out to rescue his girls.
Agott was completely out of line with her trick on Coco in the previous episode and her attitude here does not improve when she suddenly finds herself in danger. She lashes out at Coco, snarling at her to stop attempting to do anything before she makes the situation even worse. (I’m sure she was already annoyed at not having her shoes to fly there under her own power.) Coco is left chastised, feeling like a complete failure. To be fair, she didn’t ask them to follow her. It’s a dark place to end the episode on.
In Summary:
While not as sharp looking as the previous episodes, this episode is the very definition of “Boy, that escalated quickly!” Coco is certainly going through the worst sort of growing pains learning to be a witch. It is as if the world is setting her up to fail, often through no fault except for her inexperience. Qifrey really should be keeping a closer eye on her, though I doubt he ever dreamed that the Brimmed Caps would have been luring her out to reclaim her for their own. Coco is more alone at the end of this episode than she ever has been, and that is perhaps the most dangerous position to be in.
Episode Grades: B +
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Kate O’Neil
http://www.fandompost.com/author/sonicbug/
Kate has a long history of leaving pieces of herself all over the internet, alighting upon fandom after fandom to briefly taste of its nectar before flitting away. She has accrued a collection of manga so large she believes her home may now have structural integrity issues. She also watches anime, plays video games, and occasionally writes and draws. You can also listen to her on the Fandom Post Radio podcast, available wherever fine podcasts are streamed.
