Status Updates From Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 4

i'm sorry. is this bonus implying that brushbuddy is the one writing this manga. shirahama is brushbuddy confirmed
that was adorable and not at all how i expected the brushbuddy's internal monologue to sound but i am obsessed

and our curiosity and anticipation is immediately rewarded with clear confirmation that qifrey is in fact hiding something with those glasses!!!!! does that have anything to do with his grudge against the brimmed caps? did they take his eye? or curse it somehow? did he do something to it himself? i love when one answer uncovers 15 new questions

(cont.)
so to see her arm reaching from the bottom of the page OVER the confines of the panel really puts the reader in her position and makes me think that that IS the intention. obviously shirahama is building a lot of intrigue with qifrey, so i think it's only natural for readers to feel a real sense of anticipation there, only magnified by the fourth wall (panel) break

i've noticed a couple more of these panels that break the fourth wall and seem to come off the page with their composition, but not all of them stick out with potential deeper meaning like this one does. maybe it's just my bias, but i feel like i AM coco's hand reaching out to take off qifrey's glasses bc i think he's clearly hiding something under there (cont.)

no. no no nononono
i thought his design and awkward/self-effacing mannerisms reminded me of jean-jacques from the case study of vanitas AND NOW HE'S BEEN TURNED INTO A FUCKING BEAST????????? this is cruel this is awful i am horrified they have to save him right????? somehow???????

it's volume FOUR and agott has already been singled out and used as bait to hurt coco and tempt her to the dark side mmmmhmmmm i've read enough shonen to know that that's THE sign of thinly veiled gay shit

the way my heart sank and i thought i was gonna have to eat my words immediately after commenting on agott's progress with her bigotry. but NOPE my girl is a badass and is not about to backslide so easily

it wasn't nearly as literal as it could've been (definitely for the best) but so far at least, it does seem like all 3 of the kids had to overcome their personal closed-mindedness and arrogance in order to pass the test. agott is using the shoes coco made for her, richeh is using some of euini's pre-made, "correct" spells, and euini no longer assumes that everyone is laughing at him when he struggles

this extra reaction panel from qifrey absolutely supports my reading of the panel from the previous page, which is that he looks EXCITED at the thought of brimmed caps crashing the test. there's a glimmer in his wide eyes and the slightest hint of a smile that looks almost manic. but it's when he sees coco's fear and anxiety that he snaps out of it and back into teacher mode

olruggio making a point to give qifrey one of the snugstones he made bc he was worried about everyone and agott using the sylph shoes coco remade for her is...........an interesting parallel (gay)

he's discovered the concept of pen names and anonymously created art wow i'm so proud of him
i cannot comment on the rest of his arc bc it hits way too close to home!!!! i was him at 13 and part of me still is and might always be

AGOTT CALLING BACK TO COCO'S PHILOSOPHY OKAYYYYYY
also i cannot hate or judge euini even a little bit bc i fear i am him!!! shoutout to all my type a rule-followers who just wanna get a good grade on the test okay (and who can blame him with the horrible teacher he has?????)

"as the water in a blocked stream begins to cloud, so too did stagnate the closed nation of romonon" BARS
this quote is also making me realize that agott is not the only close-minded individual who could stand to grow from this specific test. richeh might also need this push to realize that if she continues to close herself off from growing at all, even if it's uncomfortable, she may become bitter and turn on herself