Coco Becomes a Witch's Apprentice in the Anime Film, Witch Hat Atelier

On Thursday, July 4th, BUG FILMS released a promotional video for their upcoming series Witch Hat Atelier during their panel at the 2024 Anime Expo.

Witch Hat Atelier is a critically acclaimed manga series by author and artist Kamome Shirahama. Her series has been running since 2016, and sold 4.5 million copies worldwide by October 2022. In 2020, Witch Hat Atelier won both a Harvey Award and an Eisner Award, for Best Manga and Best U.S. Edition of International Material, respectively.

The story follows Coco, a young dressmaker who lives with her mother in the countryside. Coco longs to be a witch, but has been told her entire life that only those born with the power of witches can become them. When a mysterious witch offers her a book of spells and an enchanted pen, she accidentally casts a spell that turns her mother to stone. In order to reverse the spell she's cast on her mother, Coco becomes a witch's apprentice.

The promotional video is an unvoiced demo of the style of animation they will aim for with the series. It features the fantastical backgrounds, vibrant colors, and expressive faces the original comic is known for, with a slick eye for action in the pacing.

The Witch Hat Atelier panel, held in the Diamond Ballroom at the JW Marriott downtown, featured special guests including Shirahama, anime director Ayumu Watanabe, and anime producer Hiroaki Kojima.

Coco Becomes a Witch's Apprentice in the Anime Film, Witch Hat Atelier

During the panel, Shirahama detailed her writing process. She said that she envisions animated scenes playing in her head, and tries to capture still frames on the page. She expressed her excitement that her series was finally receiving an animated series, saying, "Now, the readers will see what I see."