You're listening to the After Hours Arc. My name
is Anti, and I'll be your host. Join me as I
review, recap, and relive anime, one arc at a
time. And as always, these are all from a manga
-free point of view. Welcome back to the recap
segment. It was not that long ago that we just
finished Jujutsu Kaisen. season three i don't
think there was much of a break in between to
make anything unbearable so going into this anime
i was so excited it seemed right up my alley
and the trailer was really beautiful i will say
that when i watched the trailer it was in japanese
only and my settings on crunchyroll our English
dub as my preference. So what I ended up doing
because I had no idea he was going to have an
accent and I really enjoy it but I really wanted
to hear his Japanese voice. So I watched the
first two episodes in the English dub and then
I re -watched it in the Japanese and it's so
good I can't decide which version I like better.
Right now they are tied. We'll see how long I
keep doing that. But I was really happy with
where the first two episodes landed for us. I'm
really happy that it's also on Monday and not
Thursday. Like I, for some reason, assumed it
was. I think because I am doing recaps on this
mentally. It checked in my brain that it's going
to be on Thursdays and uploading a Friday just
based on timing. But that's basically where my
credibility stands on what I know about anything.
So moving on from that, though, and getting into
the witch hat atelier, I loved. Everything about
the first episode. I even waited before jumping
into the second. Because I wanted to just sit
with it. I really wanted to treat it like I only
got the first episode. And it really was pretty
basic. They did a really good job of not letting
too much of the story out. Like we opened right
away with the main character Coco. Who's this
young girl. And she is going to wash her laundry
in this water basin. It's like in the woods.
And we have this little deer hanging out. And
he sees her soaping up the water and making it
non -drinkable now. And she just doesn't have
a concern in the world. Because she knows that
apparently that spring is blessed with magic.
And what that means is when she gets out, there
is this glowing and all the soap and the debris
that was caused by cleaning just disappears.
And it's back to crystal clear and drinkable.
And then the deer starts drinking. So right away
we can tell that magic is very useful in this
world, but it doesn't seem like everybody can
use it. She is so fascinated by magic, but she's
just an ordinary person. So one thing the show
leads on pretty much right away is that the people
who can cast spells are witches. And you have
to be born with this talent and this skill in
order to do it. And unfortunately for her, she
is just an ordinary girl. But we get to her hanging
up her laundry to dry. And she's on a roof. And
this scene was really cool. I didn't expect them
to have pegasuses. But they did. And they had
two of them flying this cart. This carriage.
A very luxury way to travel. Very bougie. And
Coco is so excited. Her eyes are just incredible.
I just can't get over good eyes in an anime.
And hers are very expressive. So when she goes
down to tell her mother about the carriage, her
mother basically runs the shop. I'm not sure
if it's just fabrics or actual clothing. Maybe
she's a seamstress. I didn't get the full scope.
But as she tries to find her, she slams the door
into Kifri, who is this white haired man at this
point, just standing in the corner, minding his
business. And then there's three women shopping
and gawking and loving all of the finds that
they are finding in the shop. We end up meeting
her mother, who ends up having her help Kifri.
Because he is not a part of this gaggle of women
who are shopping. So he needs specific fabric
and it needs to be cut. And he has these specific
measurements. So she goes to work and her line
work looked amazing when she was drawing on the
fabric to sketch out where to cut. And this is
very important. And I'm not going to get into
it yet. But just remember that he is fascinated
with her attention to detail and her level of
concentration. And he compares it to being like
real magic. And she is so embarrassed, but also
a little offended because she thinks magic is
way more unique and beautiful and not ordinary
like this. So then he ends up asking her why
she loves magic so much. And she goes into a
story about when she was a little girl. There
was this festival type situation and she ends
up finding this masked witch. He ends up selling
her this magic book and it comes with a free
magic wand. And it was very amazing because he
proves what the beauty of magic can look like.
He created these illusions out of nothing and
these beautiful light moments appeared and the
animation was really captivating. It wasn't extra
flashy, but it was enough to really keep me interested
in what I might see next. Because again, this
is very new. This is very early in this series.
Where magic is not this commonplace knowledge,
to see it up close for one of the first times
is really important. Because you can see the
effect it does have. Not just on her, but on
anybody as a whole. I really put myself in her
shoes and could see how excited I would be being
like a four or five year old. But obviously,
this man had really sketchy vibes and he's going
to definitely be a villain in this. So we'll
be finding out more about him way later on. This
is the only introduction that we have gotten
of him so far. And it was so sad because as a
little girl, she was so excited with this possibility
of becoming a witch. And when she gets back to
her mother and her mother's like, That's what
you bought? Okay. Coco tells her how she is going
to be a witch one day. And her mother just shuts
her down immediately. I couldn't believe how
real her mother was being with her. Like, so
practical. She was like, you won't be. You're
ordinary. You're a normal person. You need to
be born with this ability. Which is kind of really
heartbreaking. There was no magic in that sentence
at all. But her footsteps were glowing, which
I don't actually know why. It might have been
just because of the festival, like a timing thing.
I don't really know. But she said, look at when
I touch the ground, it lights up. Obviously,
I possess magic. And her mother said, OK. Well,
if the ground is still lit up by the time we
make it home, maybe you will become a witch.
And of course, it cuts to them still walking.
And it's so dark. And Coco is so sad. It was
really sad. I was, I definitely felt really bad
for her. So Kifri was definitely interested in
hearing more. But they get interrupted by this
major crash, which is the Pegasus carriage. It
falls apart. And he can fix it. He ends up pulling
out his pointy hat, which served as this authoritative
emblem, essentially. All the women immediately
knew how important he was when he put it on.
And I mean, Kifri has some serious style. Black
and gray palette. Especially because he has that
bright blue eye that we see. The white hair.
He's very much a magical Gojo. And I love it.
I am here for it. I was here for it from the
beginning. I don't think I caught on until I
was watching the episode more. But he is so kind.
And he has this gentle expression about him.
No matter what he's saying or doing. I find him
very calming. And safe. He feels like a very
safe man. But in order for him to fix it, the
spell has to be done in private. So she offers
their workshop. Even though she's not supposed
to look, she does. And what she sees is he's
drawing on this piece of the carriage. What she
realizes is the drawing is what is casting the
spell. So this is a major secret that she is
uncovering. And it has blown her absolute mind.
But as soon as she realizes what it is, he's
done. And she's supposed to be on the other side
of a door. So she runs like a bat out of hell.
By the time he makes it to the door, she did
come back. But she is all dirty and exhausted,
out of breath. It was really good. It was a typical
child doing something they aren't supposed to
be doing. And I thought it was a really good
representation of what somebody her age would
actually be acting like. It was good. It felt
real. But the women leave in their carriage.
He goes about on his business. And then she starts
drawing in her room. Because she has now pieced
together. That magic wand that she got years
ago. It had this purple top. It was this purple
ball, which looked like a marble. Turns out that
it is really like a jar of ink. And the bottom
was this leather tip. And it was really just
a case. So she starts to fuck around and find
out. And I was so nervous. I can't believe she
had the balls to do this. And I was especially
nervous because her lines were very shaky. And
compared to how they were at the fabric where
she had this concentration, it's almost like
she knew that she was not supposed to be doing
this. And there was a very strong possibility
that this wasn't going to work. Like you still
had to possess this natural ability is, I believe,
what she also had in her mind. So I can actually
understand why she had a lot of fear and why
she would be so nervous. She definitely wants
it to work, but she didn't end up completing
the circle, which is another important thing
that. They teased with us. They teased with us
the importance of completing the circle. Because
when she's done with her circle, but it doesn't
work, she's all frustrated and throws her head
on the desk. And she's got her pen, her quill,
hanging over the paper. And the scene got really
intense for a moment because the wind's blowing.
Her little candles flickering. The paper. A drop
of ink falls onto it and connects the circle.
And then it was like we had these indoor fireworks.
There wasn't this sense of danger. It was more
like fun and excitement. And it reminded me of
when she was a little girl. And the man who sold
her this exact magic drawing book did for her.
And her eyes, of course, lit up like they do.
So she ends up trying so many. There was a fire
one that she had to put out. This girl was not
wasting any time. And while she's doing all of
this, we do cut back to Kiefer, who's like camping
in the woods. And he's got a piece of paper on
the ground with the circular image and... There's
a flame hovering above it, a ball of fire. So
obviously that spell is like a campfire spell.
And we see him laying and he's thinking to himself
about this magic book, this magical drawing book.
And it dawns on him what it may be and who it
may be from. But they don't let on too much because
then we see her. Figuring out that she can trace
the image to make it a lot easier than just trying
to draw it bigger. Which, I mean, she is trying
to be efficient. I'm here for it. I'm not much
of an artist, so I would do the same thing. But
for her, this was a really big mistake. I wasn't
really sure what was happening at first, but
before she was completing the circle, There was
this weird black darkness coming at her. And
I assumed it was the spell that she was drawing.
But as the spell activates from the piece of
paper, it was actually Kiefer who just scoops
her up. And the next couple parts of the scene
were just so visually amazing to watch. Because
he leaps out the window and... He must obviously
have these magical symbols on his boots because
he was able to fly and he is like losing his
shit on her. He is like, what spell did you cast?
What it does is it causes this massive like crystallization.
It seems like a petrification of some sort. It
was like this ice crystal. It was really intense,
and unfortunately for Coco, her mother gets caught
up in it. So he admits to her that she is right
on how magic is done. So it turns out that this
spell is a form of forbidden magic, and this
is obviously tied to his reaction about somebody
or something. And the solution is... Now that
she knows the truth, her memories have to be
erased. And she is not having this. Her poor
mother just got like crystallized because of
her. If she gets her memories erased, she's not
going to be able to save her. He basically ends
up making a deal with her to help her become
a witch instead of erasing her memories. And
this isn't totally... just for her sake. It's
because she can remember from heart and memory
the exact book that these pages were drawn from.
So not only if they find this magical drawing
book can they possibly reverse this forbidden
magic, he also realizes that he needs her memories
of this book to find whoever he's looking for.
This whole ending to episode one was just visually
stunning and extremely emotional. There was a
lot of depth in what this character was feeling,
the Coco, with her mother and this being literally
her fault. And we had Kifri, who at first was
so angry and concerned and full of fear almost.
It was definitely a fear -based reaction. But
he has such a soft side that he was trying to
console her. I think he is going to be a very
big supporting person within her life moving
forward. And I am so here for it. I thought it
was such a good first episode. I thought the
pacing was absolutely perfect. I love the concept
of drawing spells instead of casting them with
your words. That was really fun. And I think
it's going to give a lot of different direction
to how we see magic throughout this series. So
that was very exciting for me. That was one of
the things I didn't know going into this anime.
was how their magic system actually works. So
I was very, very satisfied with that whole concept.
Kifri is an absolute star in my book. I think
he's a stud. The hair, the really fun monocle
style sunglass, the blue eye showing. I mean,
he's very Gojo, but I love Gojo, so I don't care.
If he is just a different genre of him, I will
take all the genres of Gojo. I will not discriminate.
But getting into episode two, this is the episode
that is going to introduce the Atelier, which
is this magic school that Coco is going to be
attending. And the scene starts with her waking
up and they are in this Pegasus carriage. And
he ends up pointing out of the window that that
is their destination. And we see a little castle
type villa. And basically that is his atelier.
That is his school. And that is going to be her
new place of study. So as they're walking, I
mean, she is barefoot. She literally barely got
saved before the crystallization happened. So
he ends up talking about this being her new home
and it brings her to literally break down. I
felt so bad for her because she's thinking about
her mother and she had promised her mother that
she would never leave her alone. And I mean,
she has no option now. He is just so kind and
I think in the English dub, his accent definitely
amplifies it. His Japanese voice also is just
as good. Like I said, I am torn between which
version I like better. He ends up telling her
to pretty much wash away her tears and he uses
this weird contraption and it creates this ball
of water. He hands it to her and then he just
leaves. She is so confused on what this is and
how to use it. This is where we meet one of the
apprentices. This is Tetya and she has pink hair
and she is so friendly. I was really hoping that
she was going to genuinely be nice. I didn't
want a mean girl. I didn't want someone who immediately
was going to hate her. So Tetsuya explains to
her that it is a vapor bubble and it's made by
pulling the water and the moisture out of the
air. And she ends up showing Coco how to properly
pour it. So when Coco thanks her, this girl's
eyes just light up and she goes, no, thank you.
I love getting thanked, so thank you for your
thanks. And it almost becomes this domino effect
of thank yous. But we get interrupted by Riche,
who is this blue haired girl. Also, I'm not sure
if I'm pronouncing them properly. I haven't really
heard them too many times yet. So I'm just going
off what I think I heard them say and like how
they're spelled. But she ends up telling her
that you'll be there basically all day if you
keep thanking her. So if you ignore her, she'll
just go away. So I really like the yin and yang
kind of balance between the two of them. They're
obviously friends and probably roommates. Because
Coco is going to get a roommate. We just don't
get introduced to her quite yet. But before we
get into all that... Tetia really wants to know
where she came from, what to tell you. And Coco's
responses end up making the whole situation's
tone shift. It got really dark. And basically
they're like, oh, you're the girl that cast the
forbidden magic that was supposed to have her
memories erased. And instead. got accepted to
become a witch. It's this rumor that's going
around. And the scene went from being bright
and sunny to dark. And these two girls were definitely
not being mean. They were being very cautious.
I think they were a little scared because if
you think about it, forbidden magic is forbidden
for a reason. But Kifri ends up showing up and
diffuses the situation without having to do anything.
Honestly, his presence, I believe, I believe
it just grounds everybody around him. So far,
that is the vibe I've gotten. But he shows up
because he has a new uniform for her. And this
is the same uniform that all of his students
wear. So she is officially... being taken on
as his student and i am so excited we end up
learning about the history of magic key free
goes into how it was pretty much nothing special
back in the day like a long time ago anybody
and everybody could use it it was very common
practice and very useful for everyday life but
unfortunately this also brought Constant conflict.
And by conflict, I mean wars. People creating
these horrible, disgusting spells that really
are made to hurt people. There were a few witches
that banded together and they basically made
a pact to specifically hide magic from everybody.
They basically lied to the world and they had
erased the memories of the people that did know
back then. But because it was so long ago, most
people assume you have to be born with this natural
talent. So they literally have turned this into
one of the biggest best kept secrets up until
Coco showed up. around and i really enjoy that
whole concept because there is a lot of history
that has to be built behind it and i know we
were only on episode two but i feel like it sets
us up for such an exciting journey into their
world of magic i really can't wait we do find
out though that forbidden magic is technically
magic that was drawn during like the war and
it was banned after the pact was formed basically
forbidden magic is just magic that is meant to
hurt people and of course this got her so worked
up and she wanted to know all about forbidden
magic and not for actually learning it But because
she is afraid of repeating the same mistakes
she just did. And I can't blame her. This poor
girl. Instead, this is where he is so good. Because
he starts teaching her that any spells that are
cast directly on a body is prohibited. Even healing
them. And I thought that one was very interesting.
But he did say there was one exception. And she
figured that one out, which was erasing memories.
We end up coming to this window and it looked
like a puzzle. There were all these different
rings and they were different colors and there
were different marks on them. And he's turning
each one. And then we see this seal and a glowing
light and then a lake. And now mind you, there
was no lake to be found. They are surrounded
by hills. So what this window does is it links
because of these same patterns. It's like teleporting
sort of, and I really thought that was a cool
concept. What the window showed though was this
tower of tomes. We learn that as soon as a piece
of magic is essentially drawn into existence,
a copy of it Appears there like automatically.
To make sure that it is never to be lost from
the world. She realizes that she can find the
magic picture book. But before she can get even
more excited about that. He's like no wait a
minute. And we see this like giant serpent tail.
It was very long. Very wild and gnarly. And it
splashed so much water at them, I can't believe
how much came into that little window. And they
were drenched. So Kiefer ends up explaining to
her that that was the library's trial. So the
tome is guarded by four librarians, and only
witches who overcome their trials may enter.
Even though she's a little discouraged, he does
let her know that Hearing her eagerness and her
excitement to learn, it filled him with such
happiness. And there was this very dramatic but
beautifully done visual of his eye. It was just
such a nice shot. He also is, again, being so
kind and reminding her that fear, the fear that
she feels, Is natural. But then he shows her.
The spells that haven't been. Like forbidden.
And it was such a beautiful scene. I love the
way they do the animation. I don't even know
how to describe it yet. It's almost like fireflies.
And. It just makes me smile. And he even says.
Which is actually funny. That I'm thinking about
smiling. But magic that brings happiness. To
people's lives. those are the spells that were
banned. So there's plenty of magic that is beautiful
and that can bring joy. So why not learn something
a little softer? And she agrees. So I know she's
going to want to go to that library again, but
right now she is just in awe of the absolute
wonder that magic is. Again, this is something
she has been Dying to see her whole life. And
now she is going to be one of the ones to be
able to use it. He ends up bringing her to essentially
her dorm. And he explains that the study room
is divided for both of them. But each of them
have their own separate bedrooms. And Agate is
going to be her new roommate. He ends up leaving
her and he uses this really weird dial phone.
It was kind of like a rotary, but I thought it
was going to be speakerphone and it wasn't. Somehow
he was able to hear, but we couldn't. And basically
he's saying that she's settling in and no, there
was nothing said about the magic book yet. So
obviously his reactions are showing that he's
having a conversation with someone who he's having
a conversation with. I'm not sure, but he thanked
them for approving her apprenticeship. So I'm
very interested to see who that's going to be.
Maybe it's the guy with the beard, the little
mustache goatee. I'm not sure who that's going
to be. I don't know what kind of role he will
play. I don't even know what his name is, but
I have a feeling it's probably going to be him.
We get back to Coco, who is checking out the
room, and she is in awe of this being a witch's
room and a real one. And she was about to touch
one of the pens, but we hear Agate. We can't
see her, but we hear her say that that's my side
of the desk. So she's floating. And she's using
her boots just like Kifri did when he rescued
Coco before the whole house crystallized. And
I really love that that's how they fly. I can't
wait to see it done in so many different settings.
I feel like it's going to be a running theme
in the show, that specific spell. So at first,
I thought she was being kind because she apologizes
about Coco's mother. But then she gets really
cold and is like, it's like all your fault. She's
never going to be human again or something like
that. She is not a fan of Coco, clearly. And
it's basically like she's sort of jealous, but
she feels also ripped off. Because she has worked
so hard that like the tips of her fingers are
stained black from practicing drawing these symbols
and sigils her whole life. Like it took a lot
of work and practice and experience just to become
an apprentice. And this girl just broke the rules
and got in. Before it gets too intense. Our little
cotton candy duo, Rishay and Tatya, they show
up because there's supposed to be a feast, like
a welcome party type situation. And I thought
that was really sweet. We find out that Kifri
is actually kind of like a good chef and a really
good cook. She was amazed with how good the bread
was and the vegetables. I'm not sure if anything's
done with the magic or if it's done the old fashioned
way. I'm sure maybe we'll get into that if they
called him such a chef. The next day is a completely
different experience for Coco because Kifri shows
up and he has a whole bunch of tools for her.
It is time to start learning. And it was really
funny. They opened all the books. And as soon
as they like. Opened the last one. She is like
face on the ground. The books are sprawled everywhere.
And he's asking if she needs a break. And she's
like no. So this is where. He has her. Tell us
basically. What she has learned. And so what
we find out. Is that. a spell contains three
specific elements there is a sigil in the center
and that is surrounded by marks that they're
calling signs and then there's also an outer
circle that completes that and that is called
a ring and there's multiple types of sigils they're
basically like elemental signs so fire water
they said light and wind I don't know if there's
going to be more than those four, but those are
what they told us. And those sigils are what
actually determine what kind of magic is created.
The signs end up determining the form it takes.
And I believe it also determines the size and
direction of the spell. And then finally the
ring that's completed. As soon as it's completed,
it like locks it in and it seals and activates
the spell. So it's a multi -step process. And
she is about to draw one. And he was such a cheerleader.
I really enjoy him so much. He definitely has
Gojo vibes. I'm not going to lie. I'm very much
here for it. But what ends up happening is when
she completes it, it shoots this like steady
stream of water straight at Agate. And I mean,
I was really excited that it happened. But both
of their faces, Kifri and Coco, they were like,
oh my god, this is not gonna be good. She says
it's fine and wants to see the drawing. And ends
up pointing out what went wrong. So in one of
these signs, Coco ended up drawing it a little
too long. So that changed the trajectory and,
you know, that whole concept. And with that,
Kifri ends up leaving Coco in Agaton's. Because
he's going to be going away to some great hall.
I'm not exactly sure what the great hall is.
I'm excited to find out. Maybe that's where the
mystery friend on the other line will be. I'm
not sure. He says it's going to take a couple
days, so we'll find out about that. But the way
it ends is she reminds Coco how she's going to
put it to the test. Like, your test begins now.
No more cushy, easy learning. Which, I mean,
this has not been easy for Coco, so... I don't
know what this girl thinks it has been for her,
but it created a lot of tension and then it ended.
But the way it ended, the scene looked like a
pop -up book, like a pop -up picture book. And
I really loved how that looked. That really made
me excited because it was so on brand for what
is happening and the way that this story has
been unfolding. and the why so i feel for two
episodes it was almost a full circle moment already
because that's not how the first episode ended
the first episode ended almost like a blank page
on an open book where this was a full -on scene
like a 3d movable picture book i really like
the idea and concept of magic being drawn on
tools and equipment in order for it to work versus
just happening out of nothing i really enjoy
that it almost makes it very tangible so all
in all for an episode one episode two season
premiere for a new anime i am absolutely excited
to continue diving in like i said earlier i am
not sure which version i'm gonna end up liking
More. So far, Japanese and English dub are tied.
That is what I have for this week's recap. I'm
very excited and ready to be uploading these
every Tuesday. So be sure to check that out on
Tuesdays. So until next time, I'll see you then.