Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier will be available to purchase physically and digitally tomorrow. But what about this manga has gotten people interested in it? Well, it may start with the art…but as Kodansha Comics editor Ajani Oloye explains, that’s just one of the things that makes this work something to look forward to:
TheOASG: In one sentence, how would you describe what Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier is all about?
Ajani Oloye: Following your dreams, overcoming obstacles, and the magic and accessibility of art, all in an exquisitely rendered world of witches.
There’s a ton of areas to focus on, but I think the one thing that has caught my attention is the art — how does Shirahama’s drawings impact the storytelling of this manga?
Her art gives the story a unique vitality and supplements its fantasy and fairy-tail-like atmosphere. Compared to what most people may understand as manga style, the author uses significantly less screen tones, and mostly relies on lines/hatching to express shading and volume. Her style is also clearly influenced by European styles. Her line quality reminds me of Moebius and she has a very art nouveau look to it—some of her single illustrations are reminiscent of Mucha and Klimt in composition and their use of geometry as design motifs.
In the context of this being “manga”, her artistic choices give the world and its characters an otherworldliness that actually work to make things more believable and “alive”.
How would you describe Coco as she lives in a world that houses powerful witches and dragons, but she can’t cast any magic?
There’s a palpable tension between her achingly strong passion for magic/witchery and the harsh reality that being a witch is impossible for her. However, this changes drastically after the events of the first chapter (I don’t want to spoil anything).
What was the one thing that surprised you the most as you’ve worked on this manga?
So far, I’m really surprised by the planning that went into the “contraptions” (magic-based devices/accessories). I sometimes read comics, particularly long-running shōnen, where it feels like they’ve run out of ideas at a certain point and they’re kind of winging it on world-building and other details. From what I’ve read so far, I think Shirahama has fleshed out the whole story and the world in incredible detail, and the contraptions clearly reflect that. They make sense on a surface level, and then you get a deeper explanation that makes you go, “Oh, yeah, totally…”
Finally, what should readers expect when they check out Witch Hat Atelier?
Expect to enter a world with a refreshing take on magic, and expect to be taken by the beautiful illustrations as well as the trials and tribulations of the story’s protagonist.