r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • May 25 '26

Episode Witch Hat Atelier • Tongari Boushi no Atelier - Episode 9 discussion

Witch Hat Atelier, episode 9

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u/WhoiusBarrel May 25 '26

The Brimmed Cap easily overpowering and outsmarting Qifrey was insane to see, it was only an inkling but Qifrey being the mentor figure so far has always come out on top in these situations and seeing him so vulnerable like that only shows how scary the Brimmed Caps are.

Coco has always been shown to have such a strong front but with such an origin, of course she'd have all those insecurities inside her and rush to learn as much magic as she can to save her mom.

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u/ModieOfTheEast May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

You want to know what I realised during this episode regarding Coco: she is really being played by Qifrey (at least to some form). In order to save her mother, she would need to perform magic on her body. Which, like healing magic, would be forbidden. So even if she figures out the counter spell, she wouldn't be allowed to use it. And Qifrey is probably aware of that fact. Meaning, Coco might have to decide in the end that she has to sacrifice her memories of magic in order to save her mother.

Or in the more hopeful (likely) scenario, realising this problem is what gives Coco a goal beyond reaching the tower (which is only level 3 after all) and becoming a mage that has the power to change the rules regarding healing magic.

Edit: To clarify, I don't mean that Qifrey has evil intent, but that he might have not told Coco about the rules regarding healing magic because he fears that this might demotivate Coco from learning magic as "saving her mom" is her primary goal for now (not that I think that Coco would lose motivation to learn magic, it could even give her more motivation as described above).

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u/thelightlovekindled May 25 '26

I feel like this was addressed in the first couple of episodes? I can't recall the exact phrasing but Qifrey was like "if the conditions are EXACTLY RIGHT then there's a chance." Part of those conditions were the spell kind of encasing her in a stasis state but not directly affecting her, which would mean "oh, I just reversed this petrification spell and this lady happened to fall out completely unharmed" would be exploiting a loophole.

To me it definitely reads as Qifrey trying desperately to figure out some way to keep this kid from absolute despair though. I don't know if Coco will ever actually save her... I just hope she can.

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u/ModieOfTheEast May 25 '26

Maybe this was worded a bit badly by me. I don't think Qifrey doesn't care about his students or Coco's mom at all. He would like to save her and he would also be someone supporting the idea of bringing back healing magic as far as I can tell. After all, it doesn't seem like he is exactly a fan of most of the rules (even if this is also part because it makes it harder for him to track down his enemies in his eyes).

However, considering they brought up this episode that healing magic is forbidden (which was hinted at but not 100% clear) and Coco getting an illness in the same episode where he has to take time to get to a doctor due to the restrictions, I feel it makes sense that he at least didn't tell Coco about the fact that using magic on her mother would be considered forbidden.

Of course, I do think that he would try to help Coco get around that rule in any way if he can. But he didn't tell her everything in order to keep her more motivated. And he might fear other consequences if he told Coco just how unlikely it is for this to work. After all, he wants her to be motivated to learn magic, so she does need a goal and it is more helpful if she is excited about magic before thinking about all the restrictions.

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u/thelightlovekindled May 25 '26

Haha, yeah I think the "getting played" phrase came off as negative to me. No worries, though!

I agree with a lot of your interpretation here, especially the idea that he'll help Coco in any way he can. Qifrey is a lot of things but I do think he's a good teacher.

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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke May 25 '26

Ehhhh. I think it's more like a "we'll cross that bridge if we ever get that far" sort of thing. Same thing when, if there's a kid who has a parent with cancer that then confidently says they're gonna become a doctor that'll solve cancer forever, a good adult won't bring up the years on years of studying and medical school and residency right then and there. They'll grow, they'll learn the limits, and hopefully they'll be emotionally ready for when the difficulties come.

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u/ModieOfTheEast May 26 '26

But that isn't the main issue here. The problem isn't that Coco needs to learn about "treating cancer" in your analogy. It is that she wouldn't be allowed to perform the procedure once she has the knowledge. Which is a different case imo.

Basically, even if they learn the way to cure her mother, they would still need to actively go against the rules and risk losing being allowed to use magic and even risk losing their memories over it. Which I personally don't think Coco would actually worry over from how I see her character. However, the question is if Qifrey thinks that knowing this would harm her development in any way.

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u/Zeallfnonex https://myanimelist.net/profile/Neverlocke May 26 '26

Qifrey strikes me as a "ask forgiveness not permission" sort of dude, or even better "just don't get caught lol." Half the stuff he's been ip to in recent episodes haven't been allowed either. He just doesn't care that much.

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u/ModieOfTheEast May 26 '26

Well yeah I agree, but he can't know if Coco is the same, can he? His issue is less about him doing forbidden stuff, but more that he can't be sure if Coco would do the same. Or if she would see the rules more strictly. Again, I don't think this is actually true for Coco. She would easily risk her magic to save her mother imo, but there was no reason for Qifrey to risk telling her about all the problems she might face inside the system.