Ayumu Watanabe, veteran of animation direction such as “A Ilha das Sombras” and “Komi Can’t Communicate”, gave an interview to Mantan Web to talk about the adaptation of the acclaimed manga by Kamome Shirahama. He highlighted that the biggest challenge is the time limitation imposed by the television format. “When turning the manga into a series, episode durations often cannot accommodate all the original content. It’s not just about cutting, but expanding certain scenes, deepening character descriptions and conveying emotions that were previously left between the lines of the drawing,” explained the director.
The production process was handled by the studio BUG FILMS, known for works such as “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead”. According to Watanabe, the animation must find a balance between respecting the reader’s reading pace – who can revisit panels as many times as they want – and the irreversible flow of television broadcast. “Some moments simply cannot be reproduced in the same way, and that forces us to create creative solutions,” he added. The series premieres worldwide on April 6, with the first two episodes available on Crunchyroll at 11am (Brasília time), in subtitled and dubbed Portuguese versions. In a video released by the platform, voice actress Rena Motomura, the original voice of protagonist Coco, gives a tour of the studio and shows details of the animation process.
The story follows Coco, a young woman who dreams of becoming a witch in a world where magic is born only in a few. When the sorcerer Qifrey visits her village, she discovers a secret that leads her to become his apprentice and study at the magical atelier. The manga, published by Kodansha in the magazine Morning Two since 2016, already has 15 volumes, and the 16th will be released on April 26. In Brazil, Panini distributes the work under the title “Atelier of Witch Hat”.
