Witch Hat Atelier 1×8 and 1×9 Review – “The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis” and “A Nightmare Stained in Black”

Witch Hat Atelier anime season 1 episode 8, titled ‘The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis’, and episode 9, titled ‘A Nightmare Stained in Black’, expanded the lore while also having Qifrey bite off more than he could chew during his hunt for the Brimmed Hat Witches.

With Coco likely being responsible for casting a spell that turned the riverbanks into sand and evaporated a large portion of the river, ‘The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis’ was all about Easthies appearing on the scene with his team to handle the situation. As far as the Knights Moralis were concerned, their modus operandi was ‘act-now-and-ask-questions-never.’

Easthies wasn’t interested in hearing Coco or the rest of the young witch apprentices trying to plead Coco’s case. Coco was found at the scene of the crime. So, she needed to be punished. Also, it didn’t help that the Knights Moralis pinned Coco as the rumored Outsider who recently caused a powerful spell and had been placed under Qifrey’s tutelage. The Knights of Moralis had free rein to wipe the memories of anyone they chose to protect the hierarchy and secrets of the magical world. And that had led to the Knights, especially Easthies, being drunk on power.

I mean, the moment a bunch of grown adults start targeting little kids to uphold their idea of justice or whatever, I can’t help but see them as losers. Now, to be fair, Coco was kind of responsible for the situation at the river, but the way the Knights Moralis decided to handle the accident was indeed loser behavior.

Seeing Qifrey pull his enchanted water sword against Easthies was cool. It was a very risky move, but it did a lot to show how far Qifrey was willing to go to protect his apprentices. Qifrey was obviously not a fan of how the Knights of Moralis conducted themselves. There was history there, which I would like to learn more about.

Easthies backed down because he couldn’t see any signs of forbidden magic on Coco. Olruggio’s presence also helped. Easthies was also reminded that magic was to be used to help the people still present at the riverbank, rather than wasting time picking a fight with other witches and apprentices. But you can tell this won’t be the last we have seen of Easthies. I’m looking forward to Qifrey and the girls butting heads with the Knights down the road. Having beef with a 12-year-old. Easthies is such a loser. Ha!

As for what actually happened, I had been wondering if Coco unknowingly cast a powerful spell due to the Brimmed Hat’s influence or if someone else appeared to cast said spell in secret. It’s revealed that Coco had indeed cast the spell to turn a giant rock into sand. However, the issue was the Conjuring Ink she had used. Turns out, the Brimmed Hat Witch had given Coco a bottle of ink possessing their blood. Not only that, but whatever the Brimmed Hat Witch added to their glass bottle would be replicated in Coco’s bottle without anyone being none the wiser.

It was an interesting way to have Coco cast a spell without her mind being tampered with and without her having trouble remembering what she had drawn. The Conjuring Ink was so powerful that a simple blinding spell drawn by Qifrey knocked him off his feet in Nolnoa’s shop.

The scene in which Qifrey had Nolnoa examine the Conjuring Ink unfolded in a deliciously surprising way. We had just seen Qifrey roll his eyes at the Knights Moralis wanting to erase people’s memories willy-nilly. However, when faced with preventing Nolnoa from reporting to the Great Hall about the true nature of the Conjuring Ink, Qifrey proceeded to erase the old man’s memories. I’m so here for the layered messiness Qifrey has been demonstrating. Qifrey’s supposed to be a good guy. But he’s thankfully not all black and white, with the narrative allowing him to be one of the most interesting Teacher-like main characters I have seen in magical anime.

All of Qifrey’s little lies and bending the rules whenever he saw fit are likely going to bite his butt. And I can’t wait to see his reaction when that happens. Tartah’s already questioning Nolnoa’s inability to remember the strange, blinding light.

Another reveal in ‘The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis’ dealt with Coco being told by Tartah that he had a visual condition called Silverwash eyes. Such a condition meant that Tartah only saw the world in shades of silver, preventing him from becoming a witch. Poor boy. As Qifrey put it, the witches responsible for creating the laws of witchcraft were very strict when it came to making accommodations. I’m unsure if there will be a time when Tartah will manage to cast a spell. However, due to how such narratives handle character development, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tartah’s journey would lead him to becoming an unofficial witch down the line.

‘A Nightmare Stained in Black’ gave the young witches a bit of a breather from their recent encounter with the Knights Moralis as they went back to practicing their spells. With Agott being allowed to take the second test after demonstrating her supportive nature during the river incident, Qifrey told Coco about how there were a total of five tests for witches to undertake.

From what I could understand, only the first three tests were required to be considered a full-fledged witch. The remaining two were about witches being allowed to have apprentices of their own. Due to magical powers meant to help people, the tests were designed to be attractive for witches-to-be to participate in. Coco’s experience with the first test was an unfortunate one because it wasn’t conducted during standard conditions.

The episode shared more information about the goals that Coco’s peers had. Tetia wanted to become a witch so she could travel the world and make as many people as possible happy through her magic. Not only did she want to invent original magic, but Tetia also hoped to make a double-pointed hat to represent how a single helpful spell made two people happy. She’s cute.

Agott wanted to become a witch and prove herself to her family by becoming a librarian. From what I could understand, Agott’s family descended from one of the apprentices of the Three Wise Witches. So, Agott had a lot to live up to.

On the other hand, Richeh liked casting certain spells, but she wasn’t a fan of taking tests. As far as Richeh’s opinion went, one should be allowed to perform the kind of magic they liked instead of feeling the need to learn uninteresting magic just for the tests. I mean, I get where Richeh’s coming from. But then again, even in the real world, standardized tests do serve a purpose, even if a young student doesn’t understand that yet.

Coco, of course, wanted to take the tests so she could take on the Tower of the Tomes and find a way to free her mother.

I liked how ‘A Nightmare Stained in Black’ stuck true to the episode’s title and showed Coco having a nightmare about her mother, voices announcing her insecurities and guilt, as well as her feeling trapped by what the Brimmed Hat Witches had planned for her. Our young heroine can’t catch a break, and, frankly, I’m so here for the emotional drama. Coco always shouldering her guilt felt like a real human response, instead of the narrative conveniently forgetting about her trauma until it’s time to make a plot-related move.

Another moment I liked dealt with Coco not throwing Agott under the bus for forcing her to take the first test. Yes, Agott had pushed Coco into the test. However, it was Coco who found the determination to pass the test. As Coco put it, she could have just sat the test out and waited for Qifrey to rescue her. So, in a way, Coco appreciated Agott for making her brave and taking the first step in her journey to become a witch. Coco even redrew the flying spell on Agott’s shoes. My heart. Coco’s such a sweet girl. I would have taught Agott a lesson. Ha!

A major development concerned Qifrey trying to retrieve the symbol that connected Coco’s Conjuring Ink vial to the one the Brimmed Hat Witch possessed. When the lore talked about how healing magic had been forbidden, I had been wondering what the healer-type witches thought of such a law. Turns out, the healing witches weren’t happy and actually fought for a long time to keep their magical practices going. Apparantly, the connected Conjuring Ink vials involved a spell created by the healing witches to share ingredients, potions, etc. Qifrey wasn’t happy about how such a spell, lost due to memory erasure, was being used by a Brimmed Hat Witch.

With Qifrey activating the traps hidden inside the Conjuring Ink vial, I liked how it was revealed that Qifrey’s disdain for water also involved his inability to cast spells while submerged. Having the Brimmed Hat Witch being smarter than Qifrey helped raise the stakes. Our white-haired teacher needed to be a lot more careful in his mission.

Episode 9 concluded with Qifrey rushing Coco to the hospital because she fell ill due to sleep deprivation (the nightmares!) and Tartah asking Qifrey about the blinding light. I don’t see Qifrey erasing Tartah’s memories. So, I’m quite interested in seeing how Qifrey will respond to the curious kid while Coco recovers. I wouldn’t be surprised if Qifrey offers to teach Tartah magic or live in his atelier to serve as a distraction from the question about the blinding light. Hmmm.

Did you watch Witch Hat Atelier anime season 1 episodes 8 and 9? What did you think of them?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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