commentary tidbits from wha episode 11
you sometimes see people commenting 'wouldn't it be easier to draw using rulers or compasses?' or 'why can't they just use stamps?' when it comes to the drawing system of the wha universe. shirahama states that all she can say right now is that the readers have a sharp eye and a good point! so there is clearly something intentional behind the way she's designed the emphasis on magic being hand drawn only
orugio snoozing and lazing on the sofa was because he had just finished work (likely a big project had concluded). when he's not busy, he'll sometimes come and watch over qifrey's lessons. when he is busy, he'll also sometimes come over and watch over the lessons to give himself a break lol.
you can probably already infer this, but riche's secret hideout is because her pot has a windowway spell drawn on it. it's noted to be her safe space when she wants to calm down since she was young, which would imply it's something she's had before she came to qifrey's atelier so possibly something that came with her from the great hall. shirahama also says it's walnut colored and was originally a smaller pot that was made bigger with enlargement magic
the name of orugio's snugstone is a pun (if you can call it that?) in the original japanese. in japan, there are disposable body and hand warmers usually called 'hokkairo' which typically come in two forms: a stick on pad and a non-stick on bag which you keep in your pockets. hokkairo is actually a brand name that's undergone nounification; it's made from the term 'hokahoka' which describes things that are hot or very warm and 'kairo' which is the actual term for a pocket heater or hand warmer. anyways the original japanese name for the item is "hokka'ishi" where 'ishi' means 'stone' or 'rock'.
the animation team's original design for the snugstone was a bit more 'just a rock' like, but shirahama envisioned it more like a slice of agate and had them reference that instead. she notes the final design came out beautifully
make no mistake as much as shirahama loves dunking on qifrey she also doesn't pass up the chance to dunk on orugio as well. while she notes orugio's kindness during his and qifrey's casual banter, she also says that he's being hypocritical due to orugio's unhealthy lifestyle (staying up all night, not eating properly, etc). the man's got 4 kids to raise!
a fun japanese tidbit: the term shirahama uses to point out orugio's hypocrisy in the note above is 'oma'iu', which is a simplification of the phrase 'omae ga iu no ka yo' or 'you're the one saying that!?". think of a situation where someone you know to have the worst diet ever (junk food, candy, hasn't seen a vegetable in a decade, etc) is the one saying 'you need to eat a healthier diet. how about a salad' and you go 'of ALL the people to be saying that..."
teachers in the wha universe don't choose who gets to be their students, rather it's the students who go and apply to be a teacher's disciple. they initiate the entire process, and if they decide they want to go train with a different teacher then they can bring it up and dissolve the relationship. that being said, it's not something that's easy for a student to bring up...
this is also written in the repo-select, but the merphons are named by combining the words 'gryphon' with 'mer' (sea). they're essentially a mix of rabbits and penguins.
shirahama seems to be implying that she might've been the one who voices the merphons. 'did you recognize who voices the merphons...? well, actually...!' of course, the voice actor could be someone else who's also unlikely (like a staff member, or even one of the other voice actors) but the way she wrote the tweet makes me think it's actually shirahama making merphon sounds lol
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