Atelier of Witch Hat: Das Geheimnis der Hexen, Band 9

とんがり帽子のアトリエ [Tongari Bōshi no Atelier] #9

by Kamome Shirahama, Antje Bockel (translator)

Eine Hexe wird man nicht, eine Hexe ist man - und zwar von Geburt an!

Die junge Coco wurde nicht als Hexe geboren, aber ihren Traum vom Zaubern gibt sie deswegen noch lange nicht auf. Als eines Tages unerwartet ein Zauberer in ihr Dorf kommt, kann sie ihr Glück kaum fassen. Sie folgt ihm auf Schritt und Tritt, und begeht einen tragischen Fehler...

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Magic

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2021

About the author

Kamome Shirahama (白浜鴎) is a Japanese manga artist.

Reviews

[rain]

im so amazed by the way this manga makes me feel blissfully happy one moment and thoroughly distraught the next. nobody's doing it like kamome shirahama.

[may ➹]

felt a little less cohesive/complete comparing to other volumes, but I absolutely loved the introduction of the grey shades of the debate about forbidden magic and who these magic laws serve

[DianaRose]

i fear whimsy is going to occur a lot less, and the themes of darkness that have lurked in the shadows throughout the series will take the front center stage for a while…

[Rebecca]

The theme this time is "blame." Who is to blame for the laws that kept Tartah and Coco from helping Custas to walk on his own again? Why is there such a drive to blame the victims of other assaults, as happened to Luluci in her apprentice days? Is it as black-and-white as everyone makes it out to be? Shirahama is canny enough not to paint all of these cases with the same brush, because the answer isn't likely to be clear-cut at all when the chips are all down.

[Livresse de Lola]

J’ai dévoré ce tome ! J’ai aimé voir toutes ces inventions magiques et suivre l’intrigue dans ce festival qui fait rêver. Le traitement des agressions sexuelles est fait avec une extrême justesse qui m’a réchauffée le cœur et a apporté une nouvelle dimension à ce manga.

C’est toujours aussi doux et cocooning mais les questionnements de Coco me laissent pleine de questions sur l’évolution de ce personnage par la suite.

En tout cas : j’ai hâte !

[Igel :)]

AMAZING!!!!! THE ART IS GORGEOUS , THE CHARACTERS ARE COMPLEX, THE MAGIC SYSTEM IS SO UNIQUE AND CREATIV, THE STORY IS INTERESTING AND ALSO DIVES INTO DEEP TOPICS!!! I LOVE ALL THE VOLUMES SO MUCH , BUT THIS ONE WAS THE BEST SO FAR! 🥹 THIS SERIES GETS BETTER WITH EVERY VOLUME!!! 🥹🥹🥹💗💗

[𑣲⋆Bonnie (vacation)]

I love that this series gives the characters room to discuss morality. Often times there is no right answer. If there was life wouldn’t be so complicated, gritty, and nuanced. The way this has been getting to the main characters more and more over the course of the series is so bitterly realistic. This stuff just eats away at you, especially when you’re young.

This volume also contains mentions of sexual assault. The subject is handled with the utmost care and tact in my opinion. There’s also a content warning before it starts and tells you exactly where to skip to if you choose to which I appreciated.

This volume is extremely morally complex, showing two sides of the coin: the worst and best of ‘forbidden’ magic. Now I just have to wait for the next three volumes to come to the library so I can see what happens next.

[Rod Brown]

The first half of the book is a boring slog as the regular cast just chatters at each other as they get ready for a big festival and then we cut to gloomy political conversations between knights, head witches, and a king.

The noodling finally gives way to some more dramatic events, first with a flashback story about sexual harassment and victim shaming that put me in mind of First Aid Kit's You Are the Problem Here. The closing pages finally started to directly and violently address the big lie and hoax behind the nature of witches around which the whole society is built. I wouldn't mind seeing the series push harder into that area.

[Brooke]

A stunning Silver Eve filled with visual delights as well as plot action and character work. Some featured moments were with Ollie, Custas, and the Knights Moralis take-down.

5⭐️💫🌟✨☀️

[Maia]

Art-wise, this is one of my favorite manga series of all time. I also adore the main cast of little witch students and their teachers. However, the series has introduced so many side characters at this point that I'm having a hard time remembering who they all are and having any emotional investment in them from volume to volume. I wish the would stick a bit more closely to Coco and her education, because all of the fantasy politics might lose me.

[Alexa (Alexa Loves Books)]

2025 Review: There are some really fun, lighter parts to this tale (the Golden Eve and Silver Eve festivals look really fun!) but this volume is a reminder of the heavier parts of this story. I do think we’re getting to point where we’re questioning how the world’s rules are set up, and the ethics behind sharing/not sharing knowledge.

Also find it interesting/nice that there’s a chapter marked with a trigger warning too! That’s thoughtful.

2022 Review: I just love this manga series a whole lot.

[b. ♡]

every volume of witch hat atelier is a gift and this might be my favorite volume so far

the suspense building up, the moral dilemmas of a world where magic exists but not everyone has equal access to its powers, the discussions on sexual assault and victim blaming, the subtle foreshadowing and intricate character development

kamome shirahama >>>>>>

[Elena Coorie]

Como siempre, una de las mejores historias de magia que he leído. Mi colección favorita de lejos.

[ami]

forgot just how much i loved this volume despite it stressing me out like crazy... #coustashivemind

[agi]

coustas let me give you a little forehead kissy come on come here mwah

[Strawberry Books]

Je veux la suite 😭😭❤

[Lucille]

Je suis impressionnée, vraiment un tome qui me donne envie de discuter de tout les sujets abordés et la manière dont ça a été fait ! En plus beaucoup d'éléments qui viennent étoffer l'univers/le worldbuilding.

[Rodger’s Reads]

5 ⭐️ oooh the meta plot thickens…. 👀👀

[Khael]

This was SO good oml, I was not aware that there was sa representation in this series but they executed it really well, not romanticizing it whatsoever. I feel so bad for both Luluci and Custas. I also really love how Custas gives off a lot of bird vibes, it suits him a lot.

[Lucía Cafeína]

4.5 <3
No puedo con la belleza de cada ilustración, de cada diseño de personaje, es que AHHHHHH <3 de lo más precioso que he visto.
Por otro lado, cada vez nos vamos sumergiendo más en la oscuridad, en los problemas, y en el drama que se avecina y estoy que me muerdo las uñas.

[Manoek (manoeksbooknook)]

4,5 ⭐

[erin ★]

bresom ou quoi le pays des sorcières??? (j'adore)

[lost in epilogue | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ .]

shit is getting real 🫨

[Mary Catelli]

They go to the fair. Spoilers ahead for the earlier ones.

Some Coco being amazed, some the girls showing off their contraptions -- Agott is forbidden to use hers in the procession -- an interlude involving the king and politics, and another with a Knight Moralis -- and Coco's past, and the recruitment of Custas in the last volume, have some immense plot consequences.

[Colleen Earle]

This is the first book in this series that hasn’t been a 5 star for me. It’s a set up book which is fine, but it means that we don’t get as much character development and fun times.
Looking forward to the next volume!

[No']

Encore un super tome ! L'histoire continue de gagner en maturité tandis que l'intrigue s'épaissit. Un chapitre est consacré à la question d'agression sexuelle dans le cadre du milieu professionnel, et je l'ai trouvé écrit et illustré avec efficacité et sensibilité.

[trecepecas]

no me voy a cansar de repetir lo mucho que me gusta este manga. Aborda problemáticas reales y son bien ejecutadas. Es queer, cozy, emocionante, muestra las dos caras de la moneda, los distintos puntos de vista de los brujos y no-brujos, etcétera. Me encanta.

[Emily]

oh this one just stepped the series up to a new LEVEL

[emma!]

chat we’re cooked

[Kel]

the kids aren't alright 🥲