#kukrow

Chapter 49 of Witch Hat Atelier is the most pointless chapter I've ever read in manga. It contradicts not only the rest of the series but also itself just to present the message about the harm of sexual abuse in an extremely shallow manner.

For starters, the whole chapter is devoted to the Knights Moralis pursuing a peeping tom and it's on the very last page that the glyph on Dagda's body—the only thing from this chapter that has a real impact on the story—is revealed. The way Shirahama handled it shocked me given how she previously explored the psyches of Agott, Tartah, Richeh, and Eunie. By contrast, it's impossible to erase the Kamoshida arc of Persona 5 because it, along with the prologue, firmly establishes the core theme of the game—corrupt adults who abuse youth—and inspires the main characters to team up with each other as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

Throughout this chapter, Easthies shows kindness and understanding to Luluci as a victim of sexual abuse, even going on and on about the plight of the victim—both in her backstory and when they pursue the peeping tom. He punished her teacher on the spot for taking the side of the nobleman who abused her and her fellow apprentice, Ellien, and turning her in to the Knights Moralis to erase her memories just so he could silence her. He refuses to listen to the excuses the peeping tom makes, including the latter's appeal to their "natural urges as men".

However, Easthies never bothered to pursue the nobleman who started the whole mess in the first place. Ellien was mysteriously absent when her teacher turned Luluci in after Luluci attempted to defend her from the nobleman. It's noteworthy that Luluci used offensive magic—which is forbidden by law—against the nobleman to do so, destroying a non-negligible portion of the castle where their teacher had sent them to work. Luluci stands out in the entire series for being disproportionately privileged by the Knights Moralis; not even Agott enjoys their mercy and understanding even though she hails from the prestigious house of Arkrome.

Throughout the series, the Knights Moralis are infamous for ruthlessly enforcing the law of magic and jumping to conclusions just so they could find someone to punish:

Qifrey refuses to turn Coco in after she unknowingly uses a forbidden spell that turns her house into stone along with her mother. Later chapters validate his reasoning that the Knights Moralis would just erase her memories.

During the river incident, Easthies aggressively accuses Coco and Agott of intentionally altering the landscape and threatens to erase their memories instead of listening to them. Not only is it impossible for Coco to do such a stunt without the intervention of the Brimmed Cap Iguin as she's only recently begun studying magic, but also Agott has done nothing but send the mirage of a bird flying in the sky to call the adults for help.

During the second test, Qifrey asserts that not even victims of forbidden magic are spared from the wrath of the Knights Moralis, hence Agott's anger at the Brimmed Cap Sasaran when he nearly carves a glyph on her body while restraining her and Eunie's decision to hide with Alaira after Sasaran turns him into a scaled wolf against his will.

In Qifrey's backstory, the Knights Moralis considered erasing his memories even though the Brimmed Caps had already done it to cover up their crimes after they kidnapped him, took his eye, experimented on him, and buried him alive.

Galga brands Dagda as a Brimmed Cap for the glyph on his body even though Dagda has no idea what it is, later doing the same to Coco and Tartah when the kids try to defend him.

All of this is just a symptom of the cruel rigidity prevalent throughout witch society:

Agott treats Coco with disdain for being an outsider and therefore without the basic knowledge of magic and witch society. Agott tricks Coco into taking a difficult test against the wishes of their teacher in hopes that she would give up and fail.

It's revealed that Agott's prestigious family cast her out of home because she didn't live up to their high standards, explaining where her behavior came from.

Tartah has been told from a young age that he can never be a full-fledged witch because of his color blindness. Qifrey empathizes with his situation, saying that "refusal to accommodate differences is not an admirable quality of witch society." This foreshadows the reveal that Qifrey lost an eye as a child and he's losing the sight of his remaining eye nowadays, which he keeps a secret even from his best friend and apprentices due to the mistreatment he faced in the past.

Richeh and Riliphin's previous teacher punished her for her creativity so much that she came to hate the idea of growing up.

Eunie suffers not only from social and performance anxiety but also from verbal abuse at the hands of his teacher, Kukrow, eroding his self-confidence. Kukrow has the audacity to even ask Qifrey if he could exchange Eunie for Agott when Eunie is right there.

Those who took Qifrey in refused to give him a space appropriate for a child who had been traumatized to the point of near death—they sent him to a room empty of furniture and made him live under the ocean despite his trauma-induced fear of water—and to investigate his past and the Brimmed Caps who victimized him. Even his own teacher, Beldaruit, views him as dangerous due to contact with forbidden magic—one that was inflicted on him instead of something he committed out of his own will—and a subsequent desire to pursue the Brimmed Caps without considering how their neglect caused him to distrust them and refuse to seek help from anyone in the first place.

All of Chapter 49 raises as many questions as the official story of Pink Diamond's assassination did to Defense Zircon in "The Trial" from Steven Universe.

Defense Zircon: Ugh! Who am I kidding? This is pointless! We've all heard the rumors about the demise of Pink Diamond, but I can't believe these files- scrolls through the floating panels Shattered by one of her own soldiers- Ugh! In front of her entire entourage!?

Defense Zircon: Now, as the records show, Pink Diamond was shattered just outside a palanquin much like this. steps onto the palanquin Witnesses say Pink had just stepped out and had only taken a few steps forward when Rose attacked her from the front! [...] Defense Zircon: But the question no one seems to be asking is, "how"? Blue Diamond: I've been asking that question. Defense Zircon: A-A-A-And right you are to ask, my Diamond! B-Because at that time that Pink was shattered, Rose Quartz had been a recognized threat for several hundred years. There were no Rose Quartz soldiers in her entourage and none in her guard. So how did a Rose Quartz, with no business being anywhere near Pink Diamond, get so close in the first place? Where were Pink Diamond's attendants? Her Agates, Her Sapphires? And where was her Pearl? Yellow Diamond: They were with her, of course! They saw the whole thing! Defense Zircon: But none of them saw Rose Quartz approach? Wouldn't her Sapphires have seen Rose Quartz coming? Wouldn't her Agates have tried to fight her off? [...] Yellow Diamond: She must have slipped past them! Defense Zircon: Even if she did, wouldn't her Pearl have cried out an alarm, "Watch out, My Diamond!"

If Easthies could somehow tell Luluci was in genuine distress, why does he refuse to consider that it's logically impossible for Coco, who's only recently become an apprentice, to cast a forbidden spell as great as altering the landscape during the river incident? Why does Luluci receive so much kindness and understanding from the Knights Moralis? Why was Luluci's teacher punished even though the other abusive adult figures listed above have gotten away with mistreating youth like he did? Where was Ellien when her teacher turned Luluci in? Why did Easthies not punish the nobleman too even though he's supposed to hate sexual abuse? Why is Qifrey the one who has been working the hardest to investigate the Brimmed Caps, not the Knights Moralis even though they are supposed to enforce the law of magic?

Why does this story keep getting better with each volume? Witch Hat Atelier is seriously what I consider a modern masterpiece in its own right. I can’t wait for the anime to happen. Unlike the previous volume, this one is focuses on a new arc, so I won’t be reviewing it by each chapter and it’ll be one concise review overall. This volume primarily focuses on Richeh, as she’s on the cover, but it’s also focusing on the Second Exam, where she and Agott participate alongside another apprentice.