‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Creator Kamome Shirahama Reveals the Secrets of Her Enchanting Craft

***This article was written for the September issue of Animation Magazine (No. 361)***

“I really wanted to create something that didn’t exist, a story that’s basically for the child in me. So, while there are many magic-themed stories out there, I feel I’ve managed to create something that’s a little bit different from other entries in the field.”

— Creator Kamome Shirahama

The anime series Witch Hat Atelier (on Crunchyroll), an adaptation of Kamome Shirahama’s popular fantasy manga (published in English by Kodansha), is one of the biggest hits of 2026 on both sides of the Pacific.

Shirahama created a pastoral world where magic is restricted to hereditary clans, as though the ability to manipulate supernatural powers were dictated by a specific gene. Coco, a young girl in a rural village, is fascinated by magic but believes her humble origins preclude her from ever learning witchcraft. When Qifrey, a soft-spoken witch, visits the hamlet where she lives, Coco spies on him while he works. She discovers that magic is not an inborn talent but a skill that can be taught and learned.

When Coco attempts to copy his methods using a mysterious picture book she bought as a child, she inadvertently casts an evil spell that turns her mother to stone. Qifrey spirits her off to a cottage, where he begins training her with his three other young apprentices. If she studies long and hard enough, she may be able to undo the petrification spell and free her mother. The books and series are notable for a gentle art nouveau grace that enhances the designs of the characters and their surroundings.

Spellbound: ‘Witch Hat Atelier,’ which follows the adventures of a young girl named Coco who becomes a witch’s apprentice in a quaint village, is one of the most popular new anime series of the year.

Perfecting a Genre

Shirahama talked about her work during the recent Los Angeles Anime Expo, where Crunchyroll announced that a second season of Witch Hat Atelier was in production. Shirahama explained that her work grew out of her personal taste in reading — and a desire to improve the stories she read.

“I love stories about magic and have read a lot of them, but I’ve always felt a need to tinker with them — could this story be a little bit better like that?” she said. “I really wanted to create something that didn’t exist, a story that’s basically for the child in me. So, while there are many magic-themed stories out there, I feel I’ve managed to create something that’s a little bit different from other entries in the field.”

Coco is a naive heroine, uneducated and trusting. The filmmakers had to walk a fine line to suggest her natural intelligence and innocence without making her appear ignorant or stupid. “Coco’s certainly uneducated, but it’s not her fault,” Shirahama said. “It’s the way the world is set up. I try to be very aware of the situation she’s been placed in as I draw the story. The problem is not with Coco; the problem is with the system. I think I’ve been able to portray witches as a group of people that maybe shouldn’t be trusted completely: that helps to balance Coco’s situation in the books.”

Actor Rena Motomura, who provides Coco’s Japanese voice, also appeared at Anime Expo. She said, “When I’m acting as Coco, I don’t try to act like a young girl. There’s a quote in the series, ‘I don’t like it when adults consider children to be a life-form called “children.”’ I’m not thinking about what a child would do. A child is still a person: They’re trying to live in the moment and do the best thing they can. Coco gives her all with the information she’s been given. I try to be very straightforward, in the moment, looking directly at the person in front of her and dealing with whatever comes her way.”

Shirahama was a noted artist and illustrator before she began publishing Witch Hat Atelier in Morning Two magazine in 2016. She’s done covers and illustrations for Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Star Wars: Visions. Her work has been nominated for Eisner and Harvey awards in the U.S., as well as the Kodansha Manga Award and numerous other prizes in Japan. Her drawings reflect the influence of both Japanese and Western artists, including Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac and other illustrators from the so-called Golden Age of children’s books.

“I always thought I would love to see a manga that looked like novel illustrations, so I keep that in mind as I’m creating my works,” Shirahama explained. “In addition to Dulac and Rackham, I’ve been influenced by artists like Alphonse Mucha and the bande dessinée authors, Benoît Peeters and François Schuiten (The Obscure Cities). Among Japanese artists, the line art of Moto Hagio (Illusion of Gaia) and Otomo Katsuhiro (Akira) has inspired me greatly.”

For the animated series, the artists at Bug Films use effects that recall pop-up books and other illustrative flourishes to preserve the graceful sensibility of the manga. Shirahama worked closely with the studio artists to preserve the look and tone of her work. “The story follows the original manga, so there wasn’t much for me to do there. But any time they wanted to add dialogue that wasn’t in the original manga, I checked through it to make sure it fit,” she said. “I did give a lot of advice on the designs, including props and clothing — from what kind of thread is being used to what color is that cloth, to the buildings that exist in the world.”

Supernatural Appeal

When asked about the worldwide popularity Witch Hat Atelier has achieved, both women smiled before answering. “As a child, I loved magic, and I really wanted to become a magician or a witch,” Motomura replied. “Reading this story enhances my admiration for magic, but it also presents me with the possibility that maybe I could still do magic, so it’s a very loving story. I think that’s a sentiment shared by fans around the world.”

Shirahama concluded, “When I worked on the manga, I was thinking about the audience but not really dividing them by nation or race or anything else that might categorize people. I really just intended the story to be for anybody who loved magic and fantasy and who could empathize with me. I knew there were fans of magic around the world: Maybe that’s what helped carry this work across the globe.”

Witch Hat Atelier (13 episodes) premiered in Japan in April 2026. Crunchyroll streams the series (both Japanese-language and dubbed versions) exclusively in the U.S.