Witch Hat Atelier 1×12 and 1×13 Review – “The Shadow of Romonon” and “Forbidden Magic”

Witch Hat Atelier anime season 1 episode 12, titled ‘The Shadow of Romonon’, and episode 13, titled ‘Forbidden Magic’, concluded the current storyline on a very intense cliffhanger. I need season 2 ASAP!

With Agott, Richeh, and Euini entering the Serpentback Cave in the previous episode to take their test, ‘The Shadow of Romonon’ allowed Qifrey some time to share lore about the ancient location with Coco and Tetia. According to what Qifrey said, a lost cavern city called Romonon used to exist inside the cave decades ago. The people of Romonon were experts at designing with gold. Their expertise and eye for beauty became refined to such a level that they began covering themselves in delicate gold and looking down on people who came searching for riches.

Wanting only the worthy to enter the gold city, the citizens of Romonon created the Serpentback Cave with dark magic. To the Romonon folks, outsiders who could bring some kind of skill or benefit were deemed worthy enough to complete the maze-like Serpentback Cave. However, as the gold city grew in size, so did the people’s arrogance, with their strict measure of “worthiness” backfiring on its own citizens. Anyone not deemed worthy was turned into gold statues to further decorate the city. And soon the city collapsed under its own weight.

It was a nice little story about human greed and how humanity will always find a way to turn against each other to hold onto a fake sense of superiority. Qifrey was also not a fan of how humans were quick to use magic for nefarious purposes. Yes, the current overseers of witchcraft had created rules to ensure magic was only used to bring happiness to others, but everyone was still aware of how easy it was to fall to the dark side. Hence, the very strict punishments for breaking the magical laws. And the presence of the Brimmed Hats advocating for magical freedom didn’t help matters.

Jumping to Agott, Richeh, and Euini inside the maze, I liked how we got to see Richeh continue to use her original spells to overcome the obstacles in her path. I knew Richeh could create crystal-like ribbons. However, I wasn’t expecting her to use her ribbon spell to essentially manipulate a range of materials. Seeing Richeh create a ribbon out of the pathway was a pleasant surprise.

Richeh is an interesting character to me. She’s aware of her shortcomings because she’s not interested in learning traditional spells. However, even then, Richeh refuses to budge on her stubbornness. Yes, she somehow managed to face certain dead ends with her ribbon spell. But there will be hindrances that such a spell can’t get rid of.

I understand Richeh’s stance of wanting the freedom to only practice spells she’s interested in and continue to create unique spells. But there’s a difference between a child not wanting to do “schoolwork” because they aren’t interested and an experienced adult not wanting to adhere to a traditional magical curriculum. So, I hope Richeh becomes more open to Qifrey’s tutelage. She can go back to doing what she wants once she’s got a good grasp on the basics.

Euini got a lot of screentime in episode 12. Similar to Richeh, he had also experienced ridicule from his mentor. Euini’s self-doubt was so intense that the poor kid couldn’t stop his hands from shaking when people looked at him while drawing a spell. He had prepared for the test (I think it was his third time retaking it) by drawing the “right” spells for all of the obstacles he had encountered before and had heard about from others, but even still, the Serpentback Cave managed to throw him a curveball.

Yay to Richeh relating to Euini’s self-sabotaging tendencies and encouraging him to think of a different way to solve problems instead of always sticking to the “right” way. But then again, you can’t find a different way to do things unless you are versatile enough. And Richeh needed to boost her spellwork versatility big time.

A turning point in ‘The Shadow of Romonon’ occurred when the floating Brimmed Cap kidnapped Alaira and then directed his attention to the young apprentices. Uhoh!

‘Forbidden Magic’ was all about Agott, Richeh, and Euini trying to survive the floating Brimmed Cap. I liked how the writers kept Qifrey, Coco, and Tetia on the sidelines to flesh out the other characters. Yes, Coco’s the lead, but a good story will always find an organic way to develop the supporting cast, and Witch Hat Atelier is, objectively, a good story.

Realizing they couldn’t run forever, I liked how Agott realized that they weren’t what the floating Brimmed Cap was after. “Why was this happening to us?” was a question Tetia asked when the young girls got trapped in the labyrinth with the dragon, and Agott asked the same question inside the Serpentback Cave. Such events didn’t happen to normal apprentices. So, of course, Agott deduced that the reason was Coco!

I couldn’t help but laugh at Agott’s self-awareness. Yes, Agott had grown to care for Coco, but the truth of the matter was that trouble began finding Agott and others the moment Coco arrived in their lives. Ha!

I have to give points to Agott for lying to the floating Brimmed Cap about Coco’s location, even though it was clear her lies weren’t going to work. As I said, Agott knew Coco was the reason for their troubles, but she was still going to look out for her.

There was a reason for the floating Brimmed Cap pursuing the young students. He wanted to force Coco to accept the Brimmed Cap’s help. And the current plan involved using forbidden magic on one of Coco’s friends.

The animators did an impressive job of showing Agott’s helplessness as the floating Brimmed Cap began to draw a forbidden spell on her arm. The impressive animation and voicework continued when Euini got captured instead and had a spell drawn on him.

Be careful for what you wish for. Euini’s been talking about how he wishes he were someone else as a way to help with his anxiety. And, in a way, the floating Brimmed Cap granted Euini his wish by transforming him into a scaled wolf. I know Euini’s not a major supporting character, but I hope our leads find a way to reverse his transformation. It would be such an unfair thing for Euini to be stuck like this.

As for Qifrey, Coco, and Tetia, they found themselves deep inside the cave and confronting the enchanted gold statues made from the sacrificed humans. It was such an awesome way to circle back to the story Qifrey told at the beginning of episode 12.

With Agott running after a transformed Euini and an injured Qifrey getting ready to protect Coco and Tetia against the gold statues (who despised witches), I can’t wait for Witch Hat Atelier season 2.

Turely, one of the best magical fantasy anime I have ever seen!

Did you watch Witch Hat Atelier anime season 1 episodes 12 and 13? 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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary