The highly anticipated anime adaptation is finally here. I’ve seen people in the community call this the new Frieren so, of course, I had to give it a go.
Coco lives in a small village with her mom, where they run a tailoring business. One day, a group of people riding a pegasus carriage arrives to look at their crafts. Little does Coco know, she’s about to encounter a witch.
Witches aren’t born. They are made.
On one of Coco’s trips, she meets a mysterious vendor who sells her a picture book of magic and a wand (that’s also a pen, as Coco excitedly points out).
Curious about her discovery, Coco decides to try her hand at magic by following one of the spells in her picture book. Unaware of the dangers of what she’s doing, she causes a commotion in her home. Worse, she accidentally turns her mother to stone.
With no knowledge of how to undo what she’s done, Coco is taken in as an apprentice by the witch Qifrey. Under his guidance, she must learn magic, keep its secrets, and figure out how to turn her mother back.
I found the story quite rushed. It might be because I went into it looking for similarities to Frieren, given how often the two have been compared. I also frequently see Witch Hat Atelier alongside Dungeon Meshi in fan art, and even that story takes its time establishing its world and characters.
Perhaps those comparisons gave me the wrong expectations going in.
I’m still looking forward to reading more volumes of the series. I’m curious to see whether the story eventually settles into a pacing that works better for me—or whether this sense of being rushed will continue throughout.
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