8:45 PM 6/15/2026

Witch Hat Atelier ep11

8:46 PM 6/15/2026

"If she learns everything…How is she any different from us?"

Yup, yup. Agott sure grew up with a lot of elitism, burned into her mindset, huh? I thought it would just make her feel inferior, but I guess it explains her looking down on "Outsiders". I guess that implies the adults around her kept saying something like "only magic users have worth". I mean, I already knew that from spoilers, but seeing her mind shift towards empathy towards Coco, instead of being mean to her all the time, makes me believe she could start to be nicer from this scene onward. So now I'm staring to not dislike her.

8:49 PM 6/15/2026

COCO: "There aren't that many spell I'm fully confident in. I'll probably end up falling back on the same seals."

QIFREY: "If you ask me… spells you can complete consistently and drawing without much effort are what I'd call your specialty."

This especially hits me, after learning that the mangaka got the idea for this magic system because she realized how dazzled people are by drawing, treating it like magic.

I like this idea that Qifrey just said, because very often in the online art community, we'll talk about "going outside your comfort zone" and "you'll never improve if you only draw the things you're good at", etc. Which is difficult for me, because I need to draw the things that I can already draw well, for the self esteem boost, for the motivation to keep practicing. But when I try to go outside my comfort zone and train on my weaknesses, I not only get so discouraged from the results, but also from knowing I worked so long and hard, and still got ugly results. It's very disheartening. So I like this idea that it's okay to draw what you already can. Maybe I'll stretch beyond my boundaries little by little, but in the meantime, I like the validation that it's okay to draw what I can draw well. It's just "my specialty".

8:59 PM 6/15/2026

Seeing Coco compliment Riche's crystal ribbons, after a scene where Coco was gushing over spells and Riche was saying Coco really needed to expand her vocabulary for compliments, and remembering how Coco won over Olruggio by complimenting him excessively too... It's made me realize that Coco's character embodies how the mangaka described people enchanted by the skill of drawing. So that's why Coco is so gushy. That is exactly how people who can't draw gush over artworks/artists, from what I've seen.

9:04 PM 6/15/2026

Earlier, I saw a clip spoil the Snugstones, and I don't remember Olruggio calling them a "placebo". I know he used a dismissive word, and my first thought was that Snugstones cannot be unimportant! You could use them in arctic environments and harsh winters! IT COULD SAVE PEOPLE FROM HYPOTHERMIA. He should sell them to hospitals! It will save lives!!!

This reminds me… I never studied for the SAT tests. I always thought of SATs as gauges for whatever my current level of knowledge was. It wouldn't be accurate if I studied right beforehand. (Though the very last SAT I took, was so far from my early math classes, that I did review a few equations, for a few minutes, before that last SAT I ever took.) It was only much later that I found out people put so much pressure on themselves to get high scores on the SATs, so that colleges would accept them. I had no idea that was what was at stake. But it turned out ok for me. I still don't know how the SAT scores work or what is considered a "high score". But apparently, mine were so high that I got 2 scholarships, going into college. You don't always need to study for tests. Sometimes, they're just to inform you of what level you're at, and where to train from there.

9:08 PM 6/15/2026

"Everyone always feels like they haven't prepared enough. Just approach it as the person you are now. That will serve the person you'll be the next time."

9:29 PM 6/15/2026

I really like this idea of helping the myrphons migrate, to take responsibility for past witches ruining their migration route in the first place. It's like wildnerness corridor bridges. What are they called? ...Wildlife crossings. I've always thought those were so cool.

🧙‍♂️🧙‍♂️🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️🧙‍♀️✒️🖋️🖋✒

So the Romonon society's themes are gold, avarice, elitism, isolationism, and stagnancy. Makes sense. Exactly the things to test Agott's elitism and Riche's "stagnancy" (from refusing to look at other spells). Maybe Euini is there to contrast them? Or bring their flaws to the surface, during the test? Not on purpose; I mean his function as a character plotted out by an author.

9:34 PM 6/15/2026

ep12

But I understand Riche's perspective of not wanting to do the "one right answer, prescribed by others". If you're always being told what to do, and you're only allowed to do selective few things, that's also a form of Stagnancy. It chases away innovation and individuality. Treating the world, as having "only one right answer" will do that.

9:43 PM 6/15/2026

"Always sticking to what's 'right; is what I don't want to do."

I got the sense from Riche, during earlier episodes' dialogue from her, that she was treated as an object, more than a child. It reinforced well, Qifrey's insistence vs the Knights Morales to respect his apprentices as beings. And now, in this episode, Qifrey taking insult that the children are just problems to the other teacher/Master. Then last episode layered atop previous episodes, made it seem like Riche was treated as a function or tool, for what she could do.

So I completely understand and support Riche. I've seen too many people act horribly by treating art as having only "one right answer", when that's not the point of art. Its closed-minded, Stagnant, etc.

But also, Riche needs to confront her own versions of Stagnancy, so I see how this test would challenge her and be good for her character arc.

"I don't want to throw out who I am."

9:50 PM 6/15/2026

There we go. "Proper". The worst word sometimes. As a woman, I've heard that often used when gender gets "policed". It really narrows down what you're allowed to be. And it stamps out your individuality and your validity as a person, And then Richeh's old master took away her personal spells while telling her to stick to only what he thought was "Proper". Ugh. I get it.

10:02 PM 6/15/2026

9:55 PM 6/15/2026

Aw. And now Agott has to learn to deal with the myrphon not simply doing the "one proper path" that Agott wants it to do. So thematically relevant.

It's interesting to think about these idea in terms of art too, like the mangaka's original inspiration for this magic system. Art really is about not sticking to only one way to do things. There really is no "right answers". Once in drawing class, my professor asked me, "Where are you getting this idea that there's a specific(?) way to do things?" Even if I never ended up very good at art, I'm glad I got my degree in it, because studying it really helped me think outside of boxes that I didn't realize I was in. I wasn't about to let her know that my unconsciously narrow way of thinking probably came from me originally being from the Science college. LOL All my life: Science, science, science! But I didn't really learn to think until I came to the Art college.

"There is no 'right answer' with magic. There's no rule saying it has to be some way. …You may have taken this test before, but I wish you'd stop blathering on about 'right answers' and telling us what to do before we even try."

It's an interesting subversion for the character telling them what to do, to be so timid, that we don't notice how his words are dictating a prescribed, singular way they "should" do things.

I respect what Richeh has been standing up for all this time, but the problem with refusing to look at other people's spells is that you then can't "stand on the shoulders of giants". A lot of advancement in culture/society, comes from building atop what came before. Otherwise, people waste a lot of time, RE-discovering things, and thinking they were the first ones to ever think of it. When they could have read old books, found the idea that resonated with them, then taken it steps further than the original author or previous conceiver ever dreamed of.

10:07 PM 6/15/2026

"I want to be myself. I don't want to become a witch who isn't me. So I'll reach the endo f this road using only my own spells."

I mean, it's possible to re-discover things "from first principles", get down to the root, foundational truths, and then shoot off into a whole new direction that previous people have never thought of before. So there is some merit in not blindly following/studying knowledge that has come before.

But studying previous knowledge is ALSO not meritless. It's good to try a little of both. But the problem with Richeh is that she's not tempering her pure, solo innovation with previous knowledge, at all. How much knowledge was lost from the Roman Empire, during the Medieval period, that had to be rediscovered during the Renaissance? But also, how much new thinking was allowed to come into existence, because they were not bound by adherence to the Roman Empire's knowledge?

Again, it's so unexpected, but fits so well, that all this dogmatic recitation comes from an unconfident, broken character. They're unexpectedly such a good representative for the rigid thinking of traditionalists. Euini is afraid. That's why he's saying all this. But he is inadvertently becoming the mouthpiece for dogmatic tradition, because his self confidence has been beaten out of his spirit.

10:17 PM 6/15/2026

"That's just not how the world works. And this is a test, so it has 'right answers'. We're apprentices, and inexperienced, and children, so we have to do it by the book... If I don't, I'll fail again. That's just how a test---"

10:20 PM 6/15/2026

Did I ever mention how my printmaking teacher came up with a new way to make intaglio relief prints without waiting days for multiple layers of resin/shellac to dry? She used the foil from packing her sandwich. She said to us, if it works, it works. lol And it did. And it's what she taught us, instead of that inefficient, but traditional shellac method.

EUINI: "But if you use a spell that hasn't been tested, it could fail…"

RICHEH: "If I do it so it'll work, it'll work!"

10:22 PM 6/15/2026

AGOTT: "Learn form your failures, and it becomes knowledge. Knowledge that fuels future success."

I was about to say, who knew Agott would say the moderating statement during their arguing. But she's repeating what Qifrey told her. Again, previous people's knowledge can be useful at times. Just don't blindly and strictly follow.

10:28 PM 6/15/2026

10:24 PM 6/15/2026

But at the same time, Richeh and Agott are exactly who Euini needs to learn from. It's a good combination of characters.

RICHEH: "If there's something you can't do, change the method to something you can."

10:34 PM 6/15/2026

10:30 PM 6/15/2026

Oh wow. Agott giving the fact-based, undeniable encouragement, O.O! But given her previous episode's scene, where her mentality shifted to try to accept Coco, it's easier to accept it as encouragement, despite her yelling and angry tone. Now I see that earlier scene, shifting her mentality, was setting up the audience perception of her too.

"You said you want to be yourself… but I wish I could stop being me."

Psychosomatic effects from anxiety are so relatable. I literally was reminded just this morning about my post talking about how the body's reflexive anxiety symptoms could explain the difference between Soma's timid Catherine from the logs, vs the confident Catherine that travels with Simon. When the body is separated from the mind, sometimes it's easier to leave behind the physiological reflexes that reinforce anxiety. So relatable.

I liked how Richeh just kept coming up with alternative options, whenever Euini said he couldn't do something.

10:39 PM 6/15/2026

Wait. It'd be funny if the Brimmed Caps wore masks because they also needed to not have people look at them while they draw spells. Like Euini right now. lol

10:42 PM 6/15/2026

EUINI: "No one's disgusted or laughing, or making fun of me. No one but me."

;U;!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like this is something I should remember the next time I need encouragement.

EUINI: "Make it something you can do, and you can do it."

There's that theme from earlier again. I guess I missed a theme when I was listing them before.

10:48 PM 6/15/2026

10:45 PM 6/15/2026

"I get it. The only one casting a curse to sabotage me... was just myself in the mirror."

"Being hidden means being alone. Now I can concentrate and not worry about people looking at me."

10:50 PM 6/15/2026

I keep transcribing so many quotes, because it's all very relatable and encouraging for someone with anxiety and low self worth, like me.

I like how Richeh teaching Euini this, validates to her as well, that her philosophy isn't wrong.

EUINI: "I-It's a little embarrassing to do it this way, but I think… this might be who I am."

RICHEH: "You don't want to not be yourself anymore?"

EUINI: "Yeah. A little less, anyway."

RICHEH: "Next time, don't just say you can't do it right away. You're not worthless at all."

Ah, Darkness, my oldest friend.