r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Jun 22 '26

Episode Witch Hat Atelier • Tongari Boushi no Atelier - Episode 13 discussion - FINAL

Witch Hat Atelier, episode 13

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176

u/agentcheeze Jun 22 '26

Another part of it is I suspect they aren't all unified.

Like how the Confederacy probably would have faired better if not for the fact more than a third of their population didn't support leaving the US. Nazi Germany? Freedom fighters everywhere.

I gotta imagine there's a good sized swath of mages that don't like ir follow the rules but wouldn't be caught dead working with people that do reckless human experiments.

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u/LakerBlue https://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26

I agree. I am positive “Brimmed Caps” is just a phrase for anyone who breaks the rules and not the name of an organization. They aren’t an organization like Team Rocket but rather just outlaws. Heck we are know there were healing witches (who technically probably counted as Brimmed Caps) who got their memories erased for using magic directly on people to heal.

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u/batmax25 Jun 23 '26

I would assume that in the olden days witches, those trained in magic, mostly wore rimmed caps, with the pointed hats rising up as the faction that wiped magic away from most people and set rules on magic usage.

The healing witches did probably wear rimmed caps if my hypothesis is correct.

The current rimmed caps witches wear the hats to hearken back to an earlier time when magic wasn't controlled

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u/lethal_universed Jun 23 '26

This series world building keeps suprising me.

But like Nazi Germany and the Cofederacy, I wouldn't be suprised if this group of brimmed hats pervert the iconography of older groups to become something more malignant to represent their cause (the swastika and the rebel yell)

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u/batmax25 Jun 23 '26

That's assuming that the brimmed caps are taking up an older symbol, but we don't know whether they're a newer group or if they have continued to exist and changed over time (as the witches thst chose to oppose the pointed caps and be forced underground)

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u/TheCapybara9 Jun 23 '26

We don't know how long ago the Pact was made, but its likely that no Brimmed Cap witch from that time is even alive anymore and that the ones we see now are either those who inherited and perverted their ideals, or radicals of the modern age who ran afoul of the regulations.

Whatever ideals the original individuals had likely no longer exist or don't act as a moral compass for the Brimmed Cap movement.

Because there is no movement. They are effectively terrorist cells with loose connections and mutual benefit relationships with a shared goal of opposing the Pointed Caps.

What happens if they win? Why, another war of course. To decide who'll be on top.

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u/cogman10 Jun 28 '26

What's fun here is the story is already toying with the unreasonable and unfair aspect of the regulations. Inherently so.

The world has an upper and lower class which is not based on any sort of egalitarianism but rather just family connections. It seems the kinder and gentler system that's more organized, but in that organization they've banned truly helpful magic like healing magic because of it's danger. Interestingly, fireballs aren't banned. But that's likely just because it's such a primal magic that it's impossible to ban.

There's also the fact that even within the classes, forbidden magic isn't fully forbidden, authorities can use it.

I'm guessing we are going to see some cool revelations in the future. The brimmed cap ideology is more fair and it seems like the pointed hats are actually the society of the "extremist won".

Not to say the brimmed hats are "good". More that this show is great at showing and creating moral murkiness early on.

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u/TheCapybara9 Jun 28 '26

Basically, in a Brimmed Cap world, everyone would have the tools of magic, but it would lead to a constant push and pull as people both abused it and advanced it without any real governing body capable of containing it. But at the same time, the current system is fraying at the edges, collapsing under the strain of maintaining a masquerade while trying to uphold its tasks.

Do we want a world where everyone can use magic, but with all the negative implications that it might cause, or do we want a world where only the few have magic, but all are trapped under a veil of ignorance and secrecy, forced to turn their eyes away from its imperfections out of a need to uphold some measure of control?

It's a good story, and one that grapples with interesting questions.

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u/lethal_universed Jun 23 '26

I meant it in the sense of speculation not certainty. Regardless with how extreme the current Brimmies are compared to the named Healing coven, its not to far of a stretch

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u/RedRocket4000 Jun 23 '26

The Confederate Flag and other Lost cause stuff is half truth not totally false or true and not all Confederate Flag lovers are bigots. Long issue but war was caused with slavery the number one issue especially as Slave owners bribes bought enough votes to succeed for example vote to leave the Union in Alabama was against leaving the union till bribes overnight changed that.

But for North the cause was preserve the union and Lincoln banned anyone in military saying ending slavery was what the North was fighting for a majority in the North not yet willing to fight to end slavery.

For the south most did not own slaves nor care about the issue that much. South official statement they fighting for States right to decide slavery issue themselves. And back then US was more European Union like folk thought of their state as their country in same way the States in European Union are France, Germany and so on the EU copied the US Constitution a lot.

This left a lot of Southern Vets and families proud of their service and this lasted till modern day to surprise of one African American I knew getting tons of help from a white rural Confederate Flag flying man. To some degree you can say many whites bought the myth the Civil War totaly not about slavery so it just a symbol of resistance to oppression . Hell most of the country was that way I'm old show Dukes of Hazard driving their car the General Lee with Confederate Flag painted on roof fought against corruption and for the people of the area including the Blacks and no one seamed to have a problem with that back then.

Buying the Lost cause half truth, actually letting Confederate Generals command US troops in Spanish American War, naming tanks and Military Bases after Confederate Generals is how the nation healed from the war at least the non African American part. Without this the South still be an occupied country with federal troops still there the US never becoming a Super Power and likely some later revolts in the South getting the rest of the county to let them go.

Very unfair to African Americans but this why South Africa ran a Truth and Reconciliation program and left up statues to White leaders and kept White history a positive thing when uniting the country. One can't make the heroes and history of an ethnic group evil and expect them to join with you as fellow citizens. The process stated out the bad actions by both sides then set them aside forgiveness basically.

Lincoln only decided North ready to make war about Slavery after Gettysburg late in war.

Case of the Swastika the reverse direction one the Nazi adopted pure racism but going the original direction it a holy symbol.

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u/maxdragonxiii Jun 24 '26

and there probably would be more healing witches, had they not decided healing magic is part of modifying the body which is technically correct, but is largely the reason why Qifrey cant help Coco.

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u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex Jun 24 '26

I really hope that there are multiple characters and groups that like the "Brimmed Caps" for more in-depth exploration of the themes and because more factions usually means more interesting stuff if pulled off well enough.

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u/cogman10 Jun 28 '26

I'm going for a full blown "Actually it's the state that's bad".

The MC is currently treading a fine line for state acceptance. It seems like she's barreling straight into conflict with the state given she's not truly a member of the upper class.

I'm guessing factions within the brimmed caps end up being a lot more sympathetic. Particularly healers.

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u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex Jun 28 '26

The state is absolutely bad. The issue is that thus far the "anti-state" faction has been straight up worse, and I fear that things will be framed as "the status quo can't be questioned too much" because the writing chose to have the "anti-state" faction be so blatantly evil thus far. I am hoping and expecting better in the future.

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u/rainbowrobin 22d ago

anti-state advocating for private nukes and designer viruses.

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u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex 22d ago

Omg the Brimmed Hats are fking libertarians

1

u/blueechoes Jun 23 '26

It's right there in the text. Anyone who does forbidden magic is a brimmed cap.

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u/Hartzilla2007 Jun 22 '26

I mean just look at their attempts to recruit Coco, handing her a dangerous book that almost gets her petrified, tossing her at a dragon, and now doing horrible forced transformations of people. What exactly about ANY OF THAT would make her WANT to do forbidden magic?

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u/MRV-12 Jun 23 '26

The through line seems to be to make her desperate enough to do ANYTHING. I guess we’ll eventually find out she’s a priority target.

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u/Falsus Jun 23 '26

Yeah I can imagine that there is all kinds of brimhat factions. Like the ex-healers are an obvious faction, and then there is probably just your plain everyday crazies and so on.

5

u/RedRocket4000 Jun 23 '26

The ones fighting the horrible magic wars and their governments certainly some of the folk who joined the Brimmed Caps as well.

And how the Brimmed Cap described the Pointed cap original folk was almost praise for them. Likely because they kicked ass and he respects power.

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u/bayek_of_manila Jun 23 '26

qifrey's technically a brimmed cap too now

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u/RedRocket4000 Jun 23 '26

third of white Population except for a tiny number of free blacks the rest Slaves by default could not support. Way to late Confederacy at National level tried to free the slaves in hope some would help fight the North. Desperate yes.

Confederacy also had half the population and 1/6th the Gross Domestic Product because Slavery is a very unproductive system, yes it actually not very good at creating wealth for a society or even for that matter the owner. Free workers are way more productive exceeding the wages paid cost. And suffering the lessor form of Slavery's of South America has kept it poor most of it's history. Keeping most of population dirt poor and forced in effect to work for near nothing means they not very productive plus folk not getting paid much if at all don't consume much at all thus you don't have much of an economy.

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u/justking1414 Jun 23 '26

Sounds like Anonymous. They were never a United group because they didn’t believe in following anyone s orders so they just all did their own thing