In those high-falutin’ video game preview events, there’s a development term called a “vertical slice.” In it, prospective gamers witness self-contained chunks of a game, thus allowing them to see all of its major systems and mechanics in action. Witch Hat Atelier had something damn near similar to that in its fifth episode—an episode that cemented its status as the forerunner for anime of the year while beckoning the question: if you aren’t watching this anime now, what are you even doing?
By now, we’ve already waxed poetic about how animation studio Bug Films’ adaptation of Kamome Shirahama’s manga—after an initially troubling delay—proved itself up to the task, animating a magical premiere of the fantasy series. It’s a series that feels especially prescient about the dangers of cutting corners with drawing (cough cough, AI), while also serving as a highly recommended alternative to circling the wagon for HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter trough-helpings.
But even with all the heavy lifting of its premiere, explaining its magic system as something not cast but drawn and setting the stage for a tale rich with empathy, the joys of learning a new skill, and yet-to-be-seen menace, up until now, the show had yet to serve an episode that exemplified all of those killer qualities all at once.
While the show certainly passed the tried-and-true anime “three-episode test” with flying colors, it was its fifth (and, coincidentally, its highest-rated on IMDb) episode that served as the vertical slice, elevating its source material and previewing all the menace, action, and intrigue that have had manga readers champion the series as the forerunner for anime of the year in one magnificent episode. Allow us to count the ways.
True to its name, episode five of Witch Hat Atelier, “The Dragon’s Labyrinth,” sees Coco and her fellow witch apprentices stuck inside an M.C. Escher-inspired maze with a gigantic Welsh dragon looming over them. Their task: find a way out of the magic portal they waltzed into while giving chase to a brimmed-hat witch, all foolhardy-like. Unfortunately, morale is at an all-time low amongst anime viewers’ quartet of adopted daughters.
For starters, Agott crashed out on Coco for bumping into her while she was drawing a spell (a big no-no). To make matters worse, Agott dragged Coco for being the reason her mother is petrified by a forbidden spell (harsh). Even the usually bubbly, agreeable Tetia is petrified by the whole trapped-with-a-giant-killer-dragon of it all and catches herself shooting Coco a look that doesn’t need to communicate how she blames her for being in this situation in the first place. Richeh… well, she’s eepy. As far as the first hurdles go, Witch Hat Atelier dropped the girls into a real quagmire.
But after some commiserating between Coco and Tetia, the girls start putting their noggins together to concoct a plan to deal with their dragon problem and erase the spell that drew them into the labyrinth. After some really spectacular displays of the drawing process—tracing above paper before committing to a perfect circle, tossing aside scraps, and Goldilocks-testing spells until they’re just right—the girls arrive at their plan of action.
Rather than rock the dragon Dragon Ball Z-style in an explosive battle, they follow Coco’s unorthodox idea: make the big guy a giant bed using Tetia’s half-finished cloud spell. After all, magic is supposed to make people happy. And sure enough, the girls eke out the most euphoric victory, kiting the dragon towards a massive bed of clouds to rest his weary head after bonking his nose and terrorizing them earlier. Never before has a show made drawing look so exciting.
Of course, things can’t stay that easy for girls who are all of three apples tall. Erasing the spell causes the labyrinth to crumble, which pisses off the dragon once more. Thankfully, their mentor Qifrey—who, despite looking like Jujutsu Kaisen’s Satoru Gojo, is not (he came first)—puts in the work, showcasing exactly what a witch of his caliber is capable of. We can’t put into words how spectacular Qifrey, and by proxy Witch Hat Atelier, looks here in a way that does it justice, so have a look for yourself.
Just when the episode seems ready to wind down, things go even further south. The brimmed-hat witch’s monologue hints at the grand machination she has to corrupt Coco, and Coco breaks down crying, finally coming down from being terrified at the thought of losing her friends. Qifrey offers quiet praise, telling her she did splendidly, cueing the tropical, light-hearted ending theme and credits displaying over the scene. Then, the music cuts off cold. Qifrey fixes a terrifying glare at a shopkeeper, demanding the origin of the ink that brimmed in the hat that was used to whisk the girls away remain a secret. Clearly, there’s more to Qifrey than being the nicest man alive. Whatever that means for the anime, it promises to be as exciting as this episode.
You can see for yourself by tuning in to Witch Hat Atelier every Monday on Crunchyroll.
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