The Verdict
Witch Hat Atelier S1 was truly beautiful.
The only annoying thing was Coco’s overly cartoonish reactions. I know it’s supposed to make her look cute, but it was overused.
Everything else about the anime was great. The artwork and animation were beautiful. The characters were engaging. The conflicts were set up very well. The magic system was well designed.
I don’t anticipate being able to wait a couple of years for the next season. I will probably pick up the manga at some point, especially given the sort of cliffhanger we have been left with.
The Use of Limitations
Unpredictable Outcomes
A common way to adhere to Sanderson’s Second Law is to make magic cause more problems than it solves. The inciting incident of this story involves a magical accident, and the reason for Coco’s journey is to reverse the accident. On one occasion, Coco produces a spell far stronger than anticipated and lands in trouble. And in the final episode, an antagonist uses a spell that manifests unpredictably. Much of the drama is about dealing with the consequences of magic.
Physical Requirements
The requirement of special ink and proper drawing impose hurdles upon the mages. They have to draw the necessary symbols and circumscribe them. Any imperfection in the drawing—crooked lines, lines of wrong lengths, unfinished circles—alter the effect brought forth by the spell.
Regulations
The mages (pointed caps) are not allowed to engage with forbidden magic, including healing magic, and any type of magic that requires drawing on the body. They are not allowed to interact with the brimmed caps (the antagonists), who are more capable because they do not have such restrictions.
What Next?
Coco’s journey will continue to be the focus. But the other atelier characters, specially Agott and Richeh, have interesting skills and personalities too. I am curious to see how they develop.
We need more context around why certain kinds of magic were banned. In particular, why was healing banned. Enough of the brimmed caps’ narrative has been presented to show it’s not all black and white; the Knights Moralis might not be entirely faultless here. The brimmed caps may be acting like magical criminals, but the knights are rather tyrannical in their ways.
Qifrey is an interesting case. Despite having a design similar to those of Kakashi or Gojo Satoru, it is not clear if he is that strong a character. He is hiding some sharingan-style secret behind the eye he covers with a dark lens. He has some greyness to his character. He is not a tailwagging puppy obeying the commands of the ruling order. He is capable of certain dark magic as well. Very interested to see how things develop for him, more so than even for Coco.