REVIEW: ‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Episode 8 – “The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis”

In many ways, Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 could easily be misconstrued as a breather. Following the duel with the dragon, a fallen carriage, and a run-in with the Knights Moralis, a day at the shops is quaint in comparison. And yet “The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis” does a miraculous thing where it buries the tension and misgivings in plain sight. We know something is amiss; we know that Qifrey’s (Natsuki Hanae) preferred state of aloof pleasantries is giving way to frayed edges. And yet, despite all the obvious signs that something isn’t quite right and that this seemingly wonderful teacher isn’t all that he seems, the story refuses to show its hand just yet. 

That is just one part of the magic of the manga series by Shirahama Kamome. Her work is layered with hints of unease that run counter to our expectations. And again, the story is plagued by darkness from the very start, when a misguided attempt at casting a spell leads to devastation and shattered childhood innocence. Witch Hat Atelier has never, will never, be a cute story about witches in training. 

Therein lies its greatest narrative strength. There is undoubtedly a wholesome quality to the world, both in the design of the characters and the whimsy that paints a picture of why a young girl like Coco (Rena Motomura) would be so enamored with the world of witchcraft. There’s a reason the spinoff series, Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, by Hiromi Sato, exists. We want to spend more time at their cottage atelier as they cook and bond. But the real story, now beginning to show its true colors in the anime, is much more about the rigidity of magic and the fear it summons from the unknown. 

Easthies makes his threat against Coco clear. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 starts where Episode 7 left us, with Easthies (Junichi Suwabe) tormenting Coco and Agott (Hibiku Yamamura), moments away from stripping Coco of her memories. “The Misgivings of the Knights Moralis” captures the threat with genuine foreboding, even if we know that intervention is imminent. The way his hand hovers, his face visible only between his fingers, is a strong contrast to Qifrey’s role in the first half of the episode and throughout the series. It shows the distinction of how adults in this world deal with children or unknown threats.

Qifrey is always asking questions, reaching to be at Coco and his apprentice’s eye level, if not lifting them to his. He covers Coco’s hand with his own, later, as a means to stop Easthie’s investigation. Easthies, meanwhile, has no time for answers or justifications, sees Coco as a threat to be rid of as a means of upholding the rules and regulations of magical society. And it’s only because of Richeh (Hika Tsukishiro) and Tetia’s (Kurumi Haruki) quick thinking that they get out of the situation. 

The apprentices have such distinctive personalities, and one of the pleasures of the series is seeing them develop. While Richeh has, up until now, largely operated as background comedic relief, she’s now much more subdued, angered by adults who don’t treat children as people deserving of agency. It’s just one of the many weightier topics explored in the series. 

Natsuki Hanae’s performance sells the duality of Qifrey. 

Meanwhile, Qifrey is quickly putting together that the ink that Coco used to cast her spell isn’t all that it seems. And, as was the case when he first interrogated Coco in Episode 1 and when he leveled a threatening gaze onto Nolnoa (Yoshito Yasuhara) in Episode 5, the fractures in his persona remain chilling. Part of that is due to Natsuki Hanae’s tremendous performance, moving away from the more boyish charm of his typical delivery to something icier. But it’s also due to shifts in character design, such as the whites of his eyes being more apparent, his facial features harshened by severe strokes. While it doesn’t appear frequently, it’s effective when it does. 

This makes his whole separate plot in Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 all the more intriguing. Under the guise of getting Coco a new pen, he brings her back to Nolnoa’s shop. He believes that her ink has been tainted with Brimmed Cap blood, distorting its effect and making it much stronger.

And, in a thrilling yet brief scene, it’s proven true when we switch to the perspective of a Brimmed Cap, spilling their blood into a vial. The way the Brimmed Caps haunt the fringes of the narrative is excellent, allowing the harsher realities space without overwhelming the main story—a looming threat. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 explores the themes that make up the substance of the series.

While at the shop, Coco gets to know Tartah (Mutsumi Tamura), Nolnoa’s grandson, better. In some ways, this allows the world to expand as she takes in the magical order, dyes, and medicinal herbs that line the shop. But, above all, it introduces an important character and one of the many thematic cores of the series.

Who is magic for, who gets the privilege to use it, and how do witches maintain their balance of impossible power and the devastation they may wreak because of it? And, more intriguing still, do those who maintain balance do so for pure altruism or as a means to keep order the way they see fit? 

Tartah has Silverwash, a condition that causes him to see the world in silver rather than color. It means he must order the shop in a way that lets him find things without knowing them by color. More importantly, it means he has to put in more work than the average witch. His version of magic and his relationship with it are much different from those of Coco or Agott. He makes for a strong counterbalance to Coco, who, while not born into this world, was still granted a certain ease in acclimating to magic. 

As Coco learns more about magic, Qifrey makes an irreversible decision. 

The Tartah story is strong, but it’s the mystery that Qifrey pursues that creates the greatest tension in Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8. Because again, those fractures are beginning to show. And, by the end, it’s easy for viewers to wonder just who Qifrey really is, what his motives are, and if he truly has Coco’s best interests at heart. Because he vows to protect her, only mere moments after erasing Nolnoa’s memories of their encounter, and it all happens after Qifrey tests the Conjuring Ink, the spell forces Nolnoa to say he needs to report the tainted ink to the great hall. 

If anything, Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 convinces us that Qifrey only wishes to operate alone. There’s no evidence of trust in how he interacts with Nolnoa, and the effect, when Tartah realizes his grandfather doesn’t remember the afternoon, is staggering. Mentor types in anime have a history of enigmatic behavior. But Qifrey in particular cuts a striking figure, his actions so diametrically opposed to how he behaves as a teacher. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 begins and ends with a creeping sense of foreboding. The strong visual notes that keep the world slightly off-kilter and the detailed texture of the world they inhabit maintain the quality that Bug Films consistently delivers in the series. While the episode ends with Coco and Qifrey walking off into the sunset, the sense of looming clouds and rainy days ahead feels increasingly oppressive. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 8 is available now on Crunchyroll. 

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