#Witch Hat Atelier’s Kamome Shirahama Muses on Her Love of Fantasy, Fairy Tales & Antiques

This interview has been edited for clarity and was conducted on May 10, 2024. Questions submitted by William Moo and Melvyn Tan. 

Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier is one of the most popular fantasy manga being released right now. The series has been praised for its detailed artwork, inclusive cast of characters, expansive worldbuilding, and engaging storytelling. As such, her fanbase of diehard fantasy and manga enthusiasts was ecstatic to see her finally make an appearance at this year’s Toronto Comics Art Festival. 

Shirahama was originally supposed to appear as a guest at TCAF in 2020, but the global pandemic postponed her visit indefinitely. Four years later, she finally had a chance to appear at TCAF, where she met her fans and hosted a special live drawing session. 

During a Q&A session at the event, Shirahama stressed the importance of diversity and representation in her manga, saying that it was intentional that she featured a wide variety of different characters in her story. Additionally, she believes it is necessary for manga to be more representative and diverse, as she believes the boundaries between demographics are vague and that people want to see themselves portrayed in good ways. 

I look forward to meeting everyone!#TCAF2024 #とんがり帽子のアトリエ#Δ帽子 pic.twitter.com/yahJCr83gx

— 【13巻発売中！＆アニメ化】とんがり帽子のアトリエ (@tongariofficial) May 11, 2024

Anime Trending had a chance to speak with Kamome Shirahama during her time at TCAF, where we discussed representation, the appeal of fantasy and fairy tales, and her creative process.

Anime Trending: Welcome to Toronto. Happy belated birthday and congratulations on Witch Hat Atelier receiving an anime adaptation! What are your thoughts about seeing your manga adapted into animation and how involved are you with the production?

Kamome Shirahama: I am extremely happy and thrilled that my work is going to be turned into an anime. There are so many people involved in the process of making this anime, so what was just my creation is now becoming the creation of many people. I get to watch them not only recreate it but also make the world I created bigger, richer, and more detailed. As an anime watcher, it makes me extremely happy to see the process come to life as well. During the creative process, I actually [was very involved] in telling them details and information about this world from what I had envisioned in my head. 

I arrived in Toronto!🇨🇦#TCAF2024 pic.twitter.com/xMX9Pnmgli

— 【13巻発売中！＆アニメ化】とんがり帽子のアトリエ (@tongariofficial) May 10, 2024

It sounds really exciting, and your fans must be really happy to see it animated! With anime and manga nowadays, there have been many isekai and fantasy stories that have been really popular with audiences lately. What makes stories in the fantasy genre so engaging for audiences and creatively liberating for artists like yourself?

That’s a difficult question. I think it’s a matter of personal preference, whether people go for the isekai or fantasy genre, but I do think that the fact that it spreads so far and wide and is so popular around the world is a bit of a mystery to us as well. With that being said, the [number of titles] in the isekai and fantasy genre has really gone up and the genres have really [grown], which creates a lot more titles and works for people to choose from and to engage with. So, I think that the [variance in the amount of works] helps people find exactly what they want to read, and consequently makes the genre richer. I think that is very appealing.

For me personally, what I like about fantasy is when the setting is based on actual history or an actual country from our world. When we look at the works from that [time period], oftentimes there are parts of culture we can recognize and parts of culture that are unknown or unfamiliar to us. I think we generally go into it with some kind of preconceived notion. 

However, when it’s set in a fantasy setting, you get rid of that preconceived notion, and everyone can enter it with this flat and equal mindset because it’s not an actual country or history that you’re up against. It’s a fantastical one, right? I think that is what makes the fantasy genre for me very appealing personally. 

Speaking of fantasy or fictional works, do you have a personal favorite fairytale or fantasy work? What did you read or watch growing up? 

Growing up, I read a lot of fantasy and fairytales. For example, I read Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story and a lot of Momo. Also, when I was a student, Lord of the Rings became very big as the movies came out. Fantasy was very trendy for my generation as I was growing up, during middle and high school. Afterward, I got into sci-fi like Star Wars. I loved the movies, and I read some of the novels associated with them, as well as [those for] Star Trek. I’m actually such a huge fantasy fan of Lord of the Rings that I went to New Zealand just to see where The Hobbit was filmed. 

Now that the interview is over, we are doing some sightseeing!🇨🇦#TCAF2024 pic.twitter.com/cWf5nEyTya

— 【13巻発売中！＆アニメ化】とんがり帽子のアトリエ (@tongariofficial) May 10, 2024

Lately, I’ve gotten into Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop RPGs with my friends. Fantasy is just a natural part of my life, and I’m very engaged with it. I also watched Game of Thrones. 

What other things do you do in your spare time outside of working on manga?

I play a lot with my dogs — I feel like I’m constantly playing with my dogs! Even when I am not working on manga, I always have something going on in the background, like playing an anime series or reading manga on the screen. I just sort of let it play. I also do personal illustrations! For example, I draw things to put up on my social media. 

Honestly, I can’t really recall there being a time when I’m not doing anything when I’ve had a lot of free time. I sort of jump from job to job. I’ll work on Witch Hat Atelier, and then when I sort of get to a good point, I’ll work on illustrations for books or the American Comics commissions that I’ve been given, and then I’ll go right back to working on Witch Hat Atelier. It’s like I’m doing more work as a break from doing my actual work. Lately, it’s related to the animation of Witch Hat Atelier that is coming out soon, so it’s [just a constant stream of work].

While reading the manga, a lot of the illustrations reminded me of old fairy tales that I used to read as a child. They always had these black and white sketches in between the pages. How important were those types of works in influencing the manga’s storytelling and worldbuilding?

I don’t have a specific person in mind in terms of inspiration, but I do love fairy tale books. As you’ve said, the illustrations in them — especially in children’s books and vintage books — have these beautiful illustrations, and I’ve always thought it’d be so nice to read it in a manga that was made up in this art style, and take that worldview that is present in these old books and fairy tales and drop that into this manga. That’s why there’s so much involved in Witch Hat Atelier, like the ink and paper, the old-fashioned runes, and the artifacts and antiques as well. 

You mentioned that the manga is a great fantasy tale about magic, but it also features a lot of themes and real life lessons that I think many readers find relevant and applicable to their lives. Why was it essential to include those themes and lessons in your story?

I feel like fairy tales and stories written for children — especially when they have a moral aspect like fables — always come with a lesson attached. Part of that is when parents tell children these stories, they’re trying to unfold these teachings and lessons they want their children to remember. I think it’s a very natural and basic part of fairy tales to have these kinds of moral lessons and themes involved. I actually find it quite necessary to keep that component when I do this kind of storytelling. I think that removing that aspect of what makes the story applicable to real life or the lessons makes the story more unnatural, especially when it’s so entrenched in fantasy and fairy tales. 

If we’ve seen how characters in a book have faced [these problems] before, it can lend us some mental and emotional strength and help us prepare for actual real-life challenges. Additionally, if you see that characters in a different world and a different time are facing the same problems as you, you can empathize more and be energized and hopeful to encounter your own problems. I think that’s an aspect that I really love about books and is a necessary component of my storytelling. 

Instead of typical wands or incantations, magic in Witch Hat Atelier is cast by drawing glyphs, runes, and signs with ink. Why did you decide to use this magic system for the manga?

Great question! I wondered why I chose this system as well. I do think that the act of “drawing” magic is something that is very easy to understand, and it’s an act that’s very close to my personal experiences [as a mangaka]. It’s easy for me to apply that experience to explaining this magic system. 

Another thing that came to mind was that “drawing” magic is something that everyone can try to copy if they want to, right? You can try drawing these glyphs and runes for fun, and I think that makes it more enjoyable to read the book than if we were working with a magic system where you have to say some sort of incantation or complicated spell, then you move your hand in these complicated ways to make a fireball or something. You can try to copy that, but it’s very difficult to have any sort of real attachment or any sort of real realization to be like, “Yes! I can perform magic!” 

Of course, you won’t really get to that point with magic. However, we can explain it more simply, like becoming a musician. That is something that anyone can learn to do and copy. I think that would really stimulate the creativity of my readers, and that’s why I chose this system. 

Staying on the topic of drawing, when Coco first tries drawing her own magical runes, they’re a bit sloppy and incomplete, but her skills slowly improve over time. How would you describe the similarities between drawing runes in the manga and practicing art in the real world?

It’s exactly as you said in your question about being experienced or just starting out and then generally becoming better. We all start out very inexperienced, and then we gain new skills or learn particular habits and techniques that work for us. Before you know it, you’re walking down this path, step-by-step, to really hone your skills. You become an independent pro-artist, or a magician in Coco’s case. 

I really wanted to relay this message that everyone sort of starts out the same way, walking down the same path. I think it wouldn’t have been fun if the series was about people born with this genius talent. It’s something we all sort of admire and look up to, but in reality, it’s not that easy and that’s not how it works — it’s practice and perseverance that gets us to become more perfect. 

However, if you flip that on its head, what that means is that if every single one of us works hard, we can realize amazing things because every single one of us needs that practice. We need to put in that time and dedication to hone our skills. If you do that, then one day you might look up and realize that you’ve become extremely adept at something that you’ve been working on. 

I read that you’ve had a strong preference for drawing and working with dual-use wooden pens. From an artist’s perspective, what is the appeal of using analog drawing tools on paper versus sketching something on a digital tablet?

One of the reasons is that digital art tools have become very high quality in recent years. When I first started as a manga artist, those digital tools did not exist. I started with analog tools, and they are something I am very familiar and comfortable with because I’ve been using them since the beginning of my professional career. 

Drawings…#TCAF2024 #とんがり帽子のアトリエ#Δ帽子 pic.twitter.com/6UrDNEnAcY

— 【13巻発売中！＆アニメ化】とんがり帽子のアトリエ (@tongariofficial) May 11, 2024

The second reason is that when I started using digital tools, I did not know how to put the right amount of strength and pressure into the system. I used to get these weird body aches, like my neck and shoulder would start hurting because I just wasn’t sure how to realign myself the way I would to an analog one. I ended up just going back to what I’m familiar with, which are the analog tools. 

Thank you for coming!💕
See you soon at the signing session!!!#TCAF2024 #とんがり帽子のアトリエ#Δ帽子 pic.twitter.com/AAckQcqpk6

— 【13巻発売中！＆アニメ化】とんがり帽子のアトリエ (@tongariofficial) May 11, 2024

Other than that, I do want to express this antique-like atmosphere in Witch Hat Atelier. When you use analog tools, you get ink smudges and spots, which I feel really brings to life the worldview that I’m trying to create. As a result, I tend to use more analog than digital in my current work. Right now, I think the only thing I use digital tools for are tones. 

Also, when I went to university and took seminar classes, I’d use an inkpot and a dip pen to take notes in this bound book that I made myself. You’ll be surprised to hear this, but I had a classmate who actually used a block of ink, and he would grind the ink into liquid every class to take notes! It was very unique. 

I see where your love of antique things comes from! On that note, what inspired the clothing designs for the witches in the manga, such as the cone-shaped brimless hats and long cloaks?

Actually, I wasn’t really inspired or influenced by anything when I was designing these clothes. I don’t remember why it came to be, nor why the hat is shaped that way. It’s something that is now lost to the ether! I do remember thinking that I wanted the story to be about the brimless hats versus the people wearing the brimmed hats. However, when it comes to the tassels on the hat, or the fold-back section of the hat that is also a white triangle, I don’t remember how I came up with that — I just remember the silhouette to be a triangle. 

Other than that, it was almost like a sudden burst of inspiration that came to me, rather than something I thought of really hard and wanted to make it happen. I do remember that we have this image of wizards or witches in hooded long robes and having a staff or a wand, and I wanted to go away from that design. I wanted to do something original. 

I would be happy if readers looked at these costumes and thought, “I really want to try wearing that!” I love seeing little kids trying to wear the Witch Hat Atelier cloak and hat. 

Just a little side question, but were you kind of inspired by the dunce cap that students used to wear in the past? 

Sorry, but no, that wasn’t the inspiration, and I just found out what a dunce cap is for the first time today! However, it seems like something that would exist somewhere in the world, right? So it’s not surprising. 

Of the cast of characters you’ve created, who is your favorite in terms of what they bring to the story and why? You can pick more than one if you want! 

To start, all the characters are important to me! I love all the characters. I only draw characters that I love, so that’s the basis of the answer. If we’re talking from a designing perspective, Qifrey is someone who is like a rare type of character for me to draw. Coco is simple and straightforward. She’s very honest, so she’s very easy for me to draw. Meanwhile, Qifrey is kind of complex, and I really have to think hard about what he’s trying to do and where he’s trying to go every time. In that sense, he has this unexpectedness to him that makes him very difficult. 

ココちゃんいろいろな髪型に変えてみた落書き　#Δ帽子 pic.twitter.com/XXZGO5njlF

— 白浜鴎🏳️‍🌈とんがり帽子アニメ化 (@shirahamakamome) May 19, 2024

Characters like Agott are also easy to draw, especially because she’s very clear with her intentions, and it’s very fundamental.  

In terms of details, Beldaruit is extremely difficult. Every time I draw him, I’m just like, “This is so time consuming! Oh my gosh, why?” The same goes for the other magical orders and things like that — it takes me a lot of effort. 

The last one is Custas, who is undergoing a lot of changes and is difficult to draw and talk about. It’s not necessarily about what characters I like to draw, but more about what takes up my focus. The most difficult characters I draw are the ones that I end up focusing on and are the most time consuming for me. 

Witch Hat Atelier began in 2016 and currently has 13 volumes released in Japan. What aspect of your manga are you most proud of after working on it for several years?

I’m going to talk a little bit about the parts that I thought I drew extremely well, which is the spread page of the festival. It has lots of people, is extremely lively, and is very detailed. I feel like when you open that page and get to the spread, it’s extremely exciting and thrilling. I am very proud of that particular page! If you want to look it up later, I believe this is in Volume 11. 

However, I do want to say that I’m constantly pouring everything into all that I create. Every page is sort of like the “best” page, like the newest chapter is the best chapter. That being said, I do often look back on what I’ve drawn and think about how I could have made it better or improved on this part, so it’s a constant cycle of reflection. It’s also this intense pouring of love and energy into my work. 

What should new readers who want to catch up on the manga before the anime premieres expect from checking out the first few volumes?

What they expect or think about as they read the manga is really up to each reader, but from my and the editorial team’s perspective, I would love for people to really think about the worldbuilding I’m doing since it’s an original fantasy world. It’s got this atmosphere that I’ve been trying really hard to create. It’s also got this unique magic too, and I want them to know how it works and affects this world. 

The first few volumes are about the reader learning about this world with Coco, as she discovers how magic works and how it influences her. I wanted the audience to go into it with the perspective of, “I’m going to learn about this world with Coco! I’m going to learn how this world comes together, the rules that [govern it], and the policies that make it up.” Since then, the story has gotten very complicated in the latter volumes. 

Originally, the story was supposed to focus on how the world of Witch Hat Atelier was made and how magic functions in it, so maybe enjoy that going into the first few volumes. 

I’ve heard the story gets a bit darker in those latter volumes. Without giving it any kind of spoilers, what can readers expect as the story winds down? 

The story does become a little darker and a bit more complicated, but at the end of the day, it’s about Coco and the children facing difficulties and finding a way through somehow. I want the readers to really go into it feeling comforted that they’re going to solve these problems with Coco and her friends, and even in the depths of despair, there’s always going to be a way out or a solution. I want them to sort of have that perspective as they see the story through.

Do you have a message for your fans at TCAF and around the world?

This is something that readers of Witch Hat Atelier will already know or have started to notice, but the idea of the manga is that magic is not something you’re born with. It’s not in your blood or genes, nor if you were born into a family of magicians that makes you a magician. That’s not how it works. [Magic] is something that anyone can learn to do with pen and ink, and it’s an ability that anyone can learn to harness and to hone. I want readers to think, “Well, if this is something that I also have an ability to do, what will I do with this power that I have in my hands?” 

I know the story is set in a fantasy world, but the characters’ world is real to them. When the characters have a real pen and ink in front of them, how will they use this power? I want audiences to think [about] that as they read my story. 

👋See you again!✈️ pic.twitter.com/Mp0J9TVRiQ

— 白浜鴎🏳️‍🌈とんがり帽子アニメ化 (@shirahamakamome) May 13, 2024

Thank you very much, Shirahama-sensei! 

Translator: Mimmy Shen 

Special thanks to Kodansha USA and TCAF for helping to organize this interview.

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