#witch hat theory

[kobitoshiningneedle]

One of major plot points in Witch Hats - the way Coco would be able to "unpetrify" her mother - is that she must reach the Tower of Tomes and find the exact book she copied the magic glyphs from.

The fact that there are exact copies of every book, every knowledge of the WHA world duplicated in this place seems kinda too good to be true, especially after we all came to know about the magic's limitations

Which made me remember something similar.

In Chapter 15 Qifrey in pursuit of the Brimhats realizes that they used so-called medallions to "fuel" Coco's ink bottle with some other, more dangerous substance. These medallions are a type of forbidden magic used by medics in older times (and now magical knowledge is forbidden for them!) so it was considered lost

I suspect that this Tower of Tomes's unique feature may be conditioned from a similar form of magic. The fact that this is essentially a forbidden magic being used here is a big problem, but it's kinda compensated by several circumstances.

Tower of Tomes is a pretty old place, so the copying ability may have been there long before the Day of Conspiracy. Secondly, it's not like the usage of forbidden magic is unprecedented in Zozah at all (gestures at Knights Morales), but this fact still suggests that there should be trusted and dependable people in charge of the Tower so nothing gets out of control.

And we are told that this is exactly the case - the Librarians are usually descents of powerful and ancient families like Arkromes who are connected to Three Sages. Priviledged people are more likely to preserve status quo, so no wonder the hierarchy and competition Agott had to suffer from is so tough here. It's possible that Tower of Tomes, the place so coveted by Coco, may hide some secret which, upon being revealed, may play into questioning the foundations of the Witch Hat world even more.

[queenangst]

one of the things i love about wha is how clearly the magic and ideas the girls learn and have build on top of each other over time. the continuing theme of magic as solutions, and your own spells can be made by adapting what you know into something new.

in one of her first uses of magic, coco uses fabric to sail through the air at the dagda mountains; she later creates the mantle of flight. the air twisting seal she learns to use to pick fruit becomes part of a spell to create rain underneath the sea. agott uses a bird of light to distract people at the river; later, we learn her love for the decorative seals, and her knowledge comes in use to bring people joy, and to help with the curtain leech. every person has their own magic, and everyone's magic connects together to create new things.

no magic is useless; no magic is too small or too basic. no magic is unloved.

[niinnyu]

What a funky little poltergeist like antagonist. I love him btw.

[moonpie2405]

I just noticed something...

Such a cute little spread right?? Just baby Oru trying to help baby Qifrey, nothing foreboding about it at all... (side eyeing chapter 40 but that's not what this is about)

But wait...

...Not foreboding at all

That certainly sounds familiar-

(spoilers for chapter 77 under the cut)

... Not foreboding ... at all

Of course this was translated online, so I can't say it's 100% accurate, but that's an interesting time to freeze up, isn't it? Not quite coincidental if you ask me

What the fuck happened to this man I need to know

[midnight-in-town]

Hey =) how do you think that Coco will feel when she'll know what happened to Galga? Considering that she has indirectly caused this situation? Of course it's not her and Tarta fault but Ininia wouldn't have been able to erase Galga's memories if he had not been unable to move. Especially that he was just doing his job, is a very kind man, and wasn't as extreme that mister rampage that they had to drug to calm him (and i hope HE will be punished for what he did because he got a lot too far).

Hey Anon ! My apologies for the delay :) The pace has been on and off in WHA, so I admit I haven't been keeping up seriously with the recent releases !

To answer your questions :

"how do you think that Coco will feel when she'll know what happened to Galga?"

Since Coco is a very nice girl, I'm sure she'll feel guilty about Galga, though I'd like to emphasize that I don't think any of the children (Coco, Tartar, Ininia and Coustas) should be blamed for what happened.

As I’ve been saying in the past, children don’t know better and can’t be blamed for being manipulated by adults, which was clearly the case for Ininia and Coustas. As for Coco, she and Tartar were trying to protect their friends (and rightful victims of the current system, let's be clear) and neither meant for Galga to lose his memories.

Galga's amnesia is the fault of Lord Restis and, more generally, I believe the Knights Moralis are fully to blame for evicting their comrade with barely an afterthought because "that's the law".

Again, WHA is about being allowed to criticize an unfair magic system that benefits only a few, since the system causes victims to be blamed instead of being protected, meaning it's beyond flawed and needs changing.

And children like Coco (especially Coco-chan who used to be ignorant of what magic is in this universe) innocently try to provoke change, to make mentalities change, offering creative solutions to a rigid issue.

It's that simple : to most adults, there is no creativity, the law can't be changed, obviously because they benefit from it. To children, it needs changing, because children will naturally wonder about the rules and about the world they live in ; that's why they want to learn and understand why "forbidden" spells are forbidden.

Ultimately though, what's important in this arc is that Coco figured out that they all share the same purpose, as Qifrey taught her, and it's why she's so determined to help Coustas :

So no, while I think Coco could feel guilty because she's a good child, she's in no way to blame for what happened to Galga and I hope many adults will reassure her.

Overall, I find it ironic that, despite Galga really being such a nice man, being a part of such a rigid and oppressing system cost him not only his memory but his whole life, as he was evicted from his own community the second he started needing their help. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That's why I can't forgive Estheath for now. Speaking of him:

"do you think that what [Estheath] did will have consequence ?"

Shirahama-sensei is a good and consistent writer, so yeah, I sure damn hope so !

First of all, I think an institution like the Knights Moralis was written specifically to highlight what's unfair in the current magic system and that doesn't mean characters can't develop or get redemption, on the contrary !

Take my girl Lulucy for instance : she was a victim of one part of the system and she chose to join the Knights Moralis because they rescued her. Now confronted by the reality of the current crisis and the proposed solutions, she admits that change can be good :

Because, as a character, Lulucy is capable of understanding and accepting that change is a necessity given the situation ; that's why she went against the same Knights Moralis who saved her, as soon as Estheath went on a legal rampage against his own boss and a 12 year old little girl.

So yes, I'm sure consequences (and maybe even redemption ?) will come for Estheath, seeing as he was proven wrong before he even decided to erase everyone's memories. Because yes, fighting for change can be hard, but if everyone works on it, it will often lead to more positive results than refusing change altogether.

In the current arc, it's the sum of Coco fighting for her ideas in front of Beldarut, Agathe's love for decorative sigils, Riche's talent with tiny spells and Tetia's final idea that created "the opportunity for overcoming diversity" :

Estheath' big issue is that, unlike Lulucy, he doesn't see past the fear of the pact being broken. They taught him "beware of the dark days before the pact" and that's literally all he cares about, because "change" represents an unknown concept that he can't handle.

Estheath fears change, because he has no control over what dozens of witches will do with a knowledge he considers dangerous.

As a character entirely lost in his own subjectivity, he stagnates and thus he will face consequences for refusing to change, preferring to attack his own mentor and a 12 year old instead of confronting his fears.

Don't get me wrong though, as I've written before, I believe it's entirely possible that the 3 Sages and Estheath are aware of a dark (and still unknown to us) truth hiding behind that pact. Maybe the disappearance of magic altogether if the pact is broken and dark days arise once more ? That would explain why Estheath is so afraid of change and why the Brim Hats are indeed a threat...

...but that still doesn't mean he had the right to attack all these people.

There is a lot we still don't know, but WHA still stands strong on the idea that knowledge, or lack thereof, being the justification for blaming the victims and the vulnerable is wrong.

Sorry for rambling, I hope it made sense, haha ! Last but not least, I'd like to show everyone these pages depicting Coco's resolve, because they were breathtakingly beautiful !

Despite not knowing every little dark secret, my girl is not in the wrong and that's probably why she's Iguin's hope still (as bad as it sounds, admittedly).

I hope I answered your questions, have a good day Anon ! :D

[labarch]

Threshold of Humanity: so about those demons huh?

Today, I conclude that the way Qifrey stands in doorways is the strongest proof we’ve had so far that Qifrey is, in fact, not human, but an artificial being born of forbidden magic. Or, as the witch society seems to name them, a “demon”.

Lots of images and spoilers up to chapter 69 under the cut!

On the outside looking in

Let’s start by saying that in this chapter, Qifrey is back to his old habit of looking as suspicious as humanely possible. The first page is the only one where we briefly see his eye, with a look I want to describe as sorrowful, bitter and knowing. For the rest of the scene his face will stay partially hidden, and he never looks full on at the castle guard he is speaking to. His demeanor is distant, in contrast to the guard’s confusion and panic. In fact, it is a little funny how dodgy he is acting, given that he does nothing but noble deeds this entire chapter – bringing an escaped criminal back into custody, taking his apprentice to safety, safeguarding the medical tower against further attacks with a layer of salt.

So far, this looks like Qifrey’s classic brand of guilt-ridden self-sabotage, but the framing of the scene provides extra context. The threshold to Ezrest’s castle acts as a physical barrier separating Qifrey from the other man. During those three pages, they are both often shown framed by that doorway: the guard safe within the walls, contrasting Qifrey the outsider. The first page has a gust of wind pushing his robes around him, like an invisible force keeping him back. And we do know, because Qifrey emphasises this again for us, that this castle does indeed possess a natural repulsive force that keeps out monsters.

We are told in chapter 47 that, not only drawing magic within Ezrest castle won’t function, but that the castle’s walls repels all magical artefacts. It is because of that property that, when Coco notices that the leeches have not approached the castles’ walls, Qifrey immediately concludes that their current monstrous form is the result of a magical experiment.

Of course, “demons” are not the only beings who would be unable to enter the castle: any active spell should be repelled, meaning that Olruggio, for instance, can’t enter with his beautifying mask. Coco, with the bracelet stuck around her wrist, technically shouldn’t be able to enter at all, and the same goes for the characters with active magic drawn directy on their skin, like Coustas, Dagda and Eunie. In fact, even if he were perfectly human, it would be only natural for Qifrey to not step inside, since he couldn’t go in without taking off his glasses, which contain spells both to hide his scar and to protect him from harsh light.

And yet. I can’t help but see a very pointed parallel between Qifrey’s confidence that the castle will repel monsters, and the way the castle’s entrance seems to subtly repel him. In particular because it adds on to a long series of scenes featuring Qifrey’s anxieties around unnatural, magically created beings. This is at least the third time Qifrey brings up the creation of monsters in the days before the pact, which he calls “terrifying” and “a disgusting form of magic”. If the illustrations for those scenes are a glimpse into his mind, then it’s a mind full of nightmares. During their fight, the rogue Sage Engendil also lampshades how curiously familiar Qifrey seems to be with demons. Qifrey furthermore muses that he knows demons haven’t gone extinct, and in fact are still being created by witches to this day.

The demon in human skin

In short, my opinion is that chapters 68 and 69 together strongly hint at us that Qifrey is, or perceives himself as a demon. Now the question is: what new information would this reveal give us about him, his quest, and the way he has behaved so far?

First, we need to try and actually define what does and doesn’t count as a demon in that universe. Qifrey’s first halting description is “a monster, created with magic and by the hands of a witch”. A distinction is also made between magically altered animals that have adapted to their ecosystems and are useful or at least harmless to humans, and ferocious, uncontrollable beasts. So a demon is a new lifeform, artificially created through magic, that is inherently dangerous. The petty criminal from chapter 49 that got turned into a mindless and violent mass of giant leeches ticks all those boxes. Going by that logic, Coustas and Eunie wouldn’t fall into that category despite not being able to enter the Ezrest castle: modifying some of your body parts, or being turned into an existing animal wouldn’t count. Even Sasaran from the second test doesn’t seem to count as a demon: despite being hybridized with an animal, his consciousness hasn’t been affected and so he can’t be described as an “uncontrollable beast”, just a very heavily modified human.

One other interesting tidbit: “demon” is actually name dropped in chapter 59, a while before Qifrey’s fight with Engendil, when Beldaruit muses that a king who could use magic to gain power over life and death would become a “demon king”, someone capable of creating new lifeforms at will. This ties in the concept of demons to the other themes of the recent volumes, the dilemna of healing magic and resurection magic. What this could imply is that bringing someone back from certain death through magic carries the risk of altering them to the point where they would basically become a new lifeform, which has worrying implications for Dagda.  

Going back to Qifrey though, there are three things we know for sure about him: 1) he has been experimented on with a type of magic never attempted before; 2) he looks and acts perfectly human, and 3) despite this, he is convinced that this new magic is dangerous, and must not only be destroyed but also kept secret at all costs. Finally, we know that those experiments left no visible trace on his body, because the Knights Moralis would have inspected him when they rescued him from the Brimhats (and would have soundly kicked him out of the Great Hall had they found anything). Barring other special characteristics we might not know about, what makes him unique as a demon is that he is undistinguishable from a normal human.

And that’s already more than enough to explain why he is freaking out so much.

What I like about this demon framework is that it can apply to several of the existing theories around Qifrey’s origin: whether he is a rescucitated corpse from Slistas, a silvertree turned human (I am still firmly standing behind that one), or a homonculus created from nothing by the Brimhats. In all three cases, whatever weird symptoms or powers he might have as a result of his creation, the very fact that he cannot be told apart from a human is what makes him truly dangerous. Because it shakes the very foundation of magical society.

We remember the central law of the Pointed Hats: the integrity of the human body is sacred, and therefore magic cast on the human body is taboo. A demon with a human appearance is a mockery of that principle, and a walking dilemna for the Pointed Hats. Demons used to be killed by heroes, and forbidden magical artefacts must be destroyed, but what do you do when that magical artefact is a living, breathing person?

(Speaking of, I have been wondering for a while what the Knights Moralis even do with people who have had spells tattooed on them, and especially those whose bodies have been altered. They can’t let them wander around, even with their memories gone, their very appearance would give the secret away. Do they keep them hidden in some prison or on an island, like the brainwashed witches? Asking for Eunie and Coustas, I’m worried about these kids)

From that perspective, Qifrey’s secrecy makes complete sense. The existence of demons with human faces not only raises all kinds of existential questions, but in the short term it risks making witch society even more repressive than it currently is. The Knights Moralis are already merciless to anyone seen with a tattooed spell or other evidence of having been involved with forbidden magic. Can you imagine how paranoid they would become if they literally couldn’t tell apart a demon from a human? Anyone could be a demon, pretty much.

In particular, this scenario explains why Qifrey is keeping the truth from those who might be tempted to help or protect him. After all, where would it leave Olruggio if he sided with a demon against his own society? Where would it leave Qifrey, if the only solution to erase that dangerous new magic were to destroy himself, but Olruggio wouldn’t let him? It also gives context to his line in chapter 40 “You want me to stay as Professor Qifrey? I would also like that, if it were possible”, and his description of his life at the atelier as something almost like a dream. Professor Qifrey doesn’t exist, and he has no right to live that peaceful life.

Anger and hope

A final bit of character musing I want to add to this: this theory of Qifrey as a demon, and the way he wrestles with that knowledge, also sheds some light on his more erratic actions and mood swings so far. What makes his motivations difficult to follow is that he always seems tugged between two extremes: destructive anger and fervent hope. Both are actually coping strategies that he tries to use to protect himself against paralysing guilt.  

His anger at the Brimhats allows him to redirect his self-disgust towards those who made him. The true demons are those who willingly create monsters, he tells Engendil during their fight. These moments where he faces the Brimhats bring out a very different side of him, one that is confident, indignant and spiteful. Then, rather than being blinded by anger into chasing senseless revenge, he is calling on that anger to steel his resolve. He is using that indignation as a motivator to right a wrong done against both himself and witch society as a whole, even if he has to destroy himself in order to do so.

On the other hand, he seems to hold onto some hope that he might, somehow, erase the magic that created him but still miraculously keep himself alive. That is the side of him that fervently believes in the miracles of magic and in the power of creativity, inspired in him by Beldaruit, and passed along to Coco. His stance seems to be that he needs to dive into the ugly core of those experiments, and that maybe, just maybe, a way to save himself will occur to him just in the nick of time. It’s an interesting coincidence, by the way, that he is staring down the maws of water-dwelling demons while having those thoughts.

And on that note, hold on to indignation and hope when the going gets tough (but don’t brainwash your friends), and thank you for reading!

[mondglocke]

I finally finished Dungeon Meshi and i love how the new Era of Fantasy in Anime/Manga brought me back to an old passion.

i havent bought a Manga in 15 years and here i am with my Frieren, Dungeon Meshi and Witch Hat Atelier Volumes getting excited to buy a new one, being involved in fandom culture and searching for fanart and cosplays.

i missed it. i missed me.

[astraechoes]

[jewish-culture-is]

jewish culture is having to remind people that most if not all conspiracy theories can somehow be traced back to something antisemitic

[meks4011]

So I have a theory that the Brimmed Caps in WHA are going to try to overthrow the government (obvious). But I also feel like to do this they are recruiting regular people and some might be put into the actual Brimmed Caps society and others are just on standby waiting until it’s time to strike. I mainly think this because too suddenly tell the world that you tampered with history and kinda sorta used them for monetary and societal gain. So if you slowly introduce magic to people and show yourself as a savior it makes things easier and you have additional people to fight with.

Also side theory that someone is def looking into the future (time spells seem to be a thing seeing Castas dad) and why they call Coco a savior.

[beldaroot]

jwilliambyers >>> beldaroot

hello my lovely followers, after almost 6 years i've finally changed my url lol

[lokh]

i want qifrey to suffer <- actually likes him as a character

[niinnyu]

The Lidless Eye

[seased]

alright there are gonna be slashes in this post because i shant want it found by those who dont already know my madness…

while i am now an aroace ded truther (i think it pairs with thier character in an interesting way; singularly focused eccentric genius, trouble w expressing their feelings, isolationist, etc), if we suppose a world where we have to ship d/edf1sh, i dont think id pick c/allie

the more we get to know d/edf1sh’s personality AND the further away we get from splat2 sadstuck c/allie, the less sense c/alf1sh makes to me… if i had to guess, a lot of newer fans just consider it a fandom default now, they dont really get that the original appeal was the pair being post-mind control angst/recovery fic about it. usually ppl cast agent 3 on this shit now. (tangent but that really dates c/alf1sh as something we invented like between ded’s announcement and OE actually coming out lmao). we’ve got a whole games worth of content of c/allie between then and now and girls just not troubled like that anymore because nintendo hates status quo change. beyond that, we have a ded that is dry and sarcastic, or criminally subdued. more of a hater than previously reckoned.

my thesis statement is thus: perhaps it should be m/arie. marf1sh. depending on the translation she is also dryly sarcastic or criminally subdued. if we’re just sticking c/allie and ded together bc theyre both “single” isn’t m/arie single too? her most popular ship is m/4rie which is considered taboo by like half the fandom, so shes obviously not doing too hot lmao. plus, green and green. and, goths.

my own counter thesis is: harmony. because ded and harmony are the same character. girl dj weird personality hat oversized t shirt. they could sit in the same room and have incredibly loud color palettes together… in fact i bet you could lean harmony to CMY to match ded’s RGB and it would be horrible. plus, i think there’s some qpp-type specific potential here

ya know and a tangential primary thesis: if we have marf1sh, what about calmony? harmony’s brand new personality is very similar to fandom ded; empty headed music freak, with a manic pixie dream girl and/or tsundere bend. and theyre both pink. if the person callie dates is only to be used as a sponge for her emotions, i think the truly empty head is a better fit now that ded has shit in there.

[midnight-in-town]

Witch Hat Atelier ch57 vs ch66

I wonder who’s really calling the shots and deciding what witches can/cannot learn and same for normal folks then? ‘Cause there’s been enough callout in the whole arc, on top of King Dean (the king of life and death) being sought after by the Brim Hats.

The heated discussion between King Dean and Beldarut in ch59 actually makes so much more sense and makes me think that the 3 Sages are involved in making and upholding these very strict laws. 

Just like I think that King Dean broke the fourth wall in ch59 and directly addressed the readers when he said "it’s useless to tell me not to hope for it. Don’t you agree?”, because most of the fandom at this point indeed agrees that The Secret as it exists now creates a lot of unfair situations, as we saw with Coustas, Dagda, Eunie, Galga, Coco’s mom, etc.

The Knights Moralis’ reactions in ch57 when Atuarto asks for a chance to bring Galga’s memories back and when Tetia offers to help in ch66 are also pretty telling...

...just like the previous Sage of Friendship knew and revealed why exactly magic and medicine are forbidden to interact (ch63)...

because they can create unexpected magic such as the “demon” we encountered in this arc.

The Sages aside, I also wonder how much the old Witch families (like the Arkromes) who first created the pact so long ago and thus the gap between “witches” (who know The Secret) and normal folks (who don’t know The Secret) weigh into these decisions...?

After all, Agathe’s mom was invited to watch the festival with the Sages next to the monarchs and the king’s family, so I figure the first families or first houses might be pretty important (aside from her being head librarian) and have more knowledge they hide, which they pass on to their apprentice only, to keep the legacy going. 

TL;DR can’t wait to see Coco and all the kids from this series defecting to the Brim Hats’ side any time now lmao (just kidding, the Brim Hats probably only care about chaos and aren’t the real solution, but most Witches should be able to strive and create a good alternative, using ideas from both side of the magic community).

[kitsoa]

shit yall i reread witch hat atelier because I was like this shit is great lets enjoy it more and then I realized oh wait Qifrey is literally the most amazing mf in recent anime history and he might be a whole ass sentient tree.