REVIEW: ‘Witch Hat Atelier’ Episode 12 — “The Shadow Of Romonon”

Throughout the thoughtful, quietly emotional Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12, it lulls you into a false sense of security. Because for most of “The Shadow of Romonon,” aside from some subtle hints, it seems the penultimate episode is all about the characters themselves.

As the apprentices work to complete The Pentagram Test by traversing the winding path of the Serpentback Cave, we learn more about Agott (Hibiku Yamamura), Richeh (Hika Tsukishiro), and Euini (Hiiro Ishibashi), as their differences and similarities converge to showcase how confidence dictates success in this world. All of which leads up to a startling finale and major cliffhanger that punctures the scene with its finely sharpened animation.

It’s no surprise, then, that Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12 begins with Qifrey (Natsuki Hanae) recounting the harrowing backstory of the Serpentback Cave. It was once home to the Cavern Nation of Romonon, a prosperous group of witches who worked in delicate magical craftmanship. Due to their wealth of resources, they looked down on other travelers, creating a space that grew increasingly exclusive as they sought a way to bar anyone they deemed unworthy from entering. 

This, in turn, led to fighting amongst themselves when there were no longer any outsiders to blame. Despite their riches, the people wanted balance, turning anyone who didn’t meet a proposed standard of worthiness into golden statues. The flashback is haunting in its rendering, borrowing from Kamome Shirahama’s more classical style of obvious linework and intricate framing that gives depth to each scene, making the story feel older as gold drips from one panel to the next. 

Qifrey knows that the world has the capacity to take but hopes for more for his students.

More haunting, though, is the revelation that Coco (Rena Motomura) momentarily has before Qifrey assures her. Because back in Episode 2, Qifrey, in an effort to soothe Coco’s worry, spoke about how magic is meant to create happiness. And now, he’s very clearly telling them about a time when it was anything but.

She believes that magic is meant to bring color to the world, and that at least offers Qifrey an out. He tells her that, as a student who believes as much, he believes it can be done. And internally, it offers him hope too, even if the Brimmed Hats are, quite literally, hanging around, flitting just beyond the cliffsides. 

These moments tease an inevitable loss of innocence as the world continues to reveal its muddied, ugly, and self-involved center. Not everyone is like Qifrey or Alaira (Kotono Mitsuishi). Many are like Euini’s current master and Richeh’s previous one. Others are like the Brimmed Hats. All look at magic as a way to control or dictate, to assume power.

Agott, Richeh, and Euini are a perfect trio of contrasts and similarities. 

They may be wearing different hats, but their intent is similar. To strip away autonomy and to force young people with malleable minds to do their bidding, be it by following the strict rules of ancient texts, or belittling them enough until their confidence is non-existent, or by lying for the sake of mining power. 

It’s what makes Agott, Richeh, and Euini such an interesting dynamic in Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12. Because, in many ways, they’re more similar than they’d think, while their stark differences make them crucial to one another’s growth.

Agott believes there is a right way to learn and takes pride in her ability to fail and learn from it. Richeh, meanwhile, doesn’t believe there’s a right way to learn, instead believing that if a process doesn’t work for you, you change the method. And as a result, failure, too, as a term, loses meaning. Euini, meanwhile, believes there’s a right way to learn that he isn’t good at, and he sees himself as a failure. 

Richeh gives Euini the push he needs in Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12.

All three are inversions and plays on one another, with their shared layers of inconsistent upbringings and masters who either cast them aside as lesser or expect them to conform. Richeh’s flashback, in which she says she “doesn’t want to throw away who I am,” versus Euini’s heartbreaking “I wish I could be literally anyone else” is a striking contrast. And it means that Richeh and Agott are both the right people to guide Euini as he gets stuck in the middle of the test, frozen by his own fear of failure and the ridicule he’s come to expect. 

While Agott can’t understand how he’s stumbling, having seen him showcase his own intellect, Richeh instead understands that he needs a different method. He’s insecure and stunned by all of the watchful eyes. So, she tells him to figure out a way to cast a spell without anyone looking at him.

The answer? Huddling in his cloak. It’s so simple and so childlike that it lands almost as a gut punch before we realize how necessary this move was. Because while hidden, he’s able to find the spell that’s right for him. 

Hiiro Ishibashi is heartbreaking in Euini’s more sorrowful moments.

By taking away the mirror image that adorns the magic seal inside his cloak, he’s able to use it now as a cloak of darkness when it’s pulled up. He’s a walking shadow, which lets him hide, and that lets him draw. Bug Films does marvelous work of making Euini visibly come to life the moment he’s given a chance to hide. The majority of the episode has him hiding behind his bangs, his eyes covered. But the moment the shadow spell covers him, he lights up, the animation bounding as he becomes more expressive through the light of his now visible eyes. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12, as a whole, is gorgeous, but it does so through physicality and details. Hiiro Ishibashi delivers a fantastic performance as Euini, his pain and insecurity evident in the cracks in his voice, and this is mirrored in the animator’s rendering of the characters’ hands shaking as they curl and unfurl while he tries to cast spells.

And the artists put a lot of work into hands throughout, from Richeh in the flashback reaching for the spells her master rips away from her, to Agott’s as she steadily pushes herself off the ground while realizing where her spell faltered. Again, there’s no mistake in the trio taking the test together, and everything in the episode aligns to signify as much. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12 delivers a shocking cliffhanger, setting the stage for the finale.

But of course, it couldn’t just be that “The Shadow of Romonon” is here to show a boost in confidence for its characters. Instead, with walloping intensity, the tone pivots as a threat appears behind Alaira, much to the students’ and our shock. We caught wind of the threat earlier, when Coco saw the billowing cape in the background. But the urgency of the moment is punctuated by Yuka Kitamura’s score and a direction that seeks to disorient us, leaving us, too, wondering what on earth just happened and where the three students go next. 

Because, like Qifrey said, “humans are terrifying creatures.” And even more so when they don’t realize the limits to their abilities – their cruelty. Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12 delivers a bruising cliffhanger, taut with tension, as it captures the whiplash experienced by Agott, Richeh, and Euini. With strong performances and the slow, mounting doom that seems louder in retrospect once the episode is over and the final moments are considered, it’s a thrilling place to end on as we careen into the finale. 

Witch Hat Atelier Episode 12 is available now on Crunchyroll.

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