We barely had time to process the closing of
the first season last month and the production committee has already cast the
following spell on us. During the frenetic activities of the Anime Expo,
the Witch Hat Atelier franchise (known in Japan as Tongari
Boushi no Atelier) screened a promotional video to officially confirm that
its second season is already in full production. This early
announcement ensures that Coco's long and complicated journey to becoming a
full-fledged witch is just beginning on the small screen.
Although the preview was brief and conceptual,
it served to remind us of the very high technical standard that the series
managed during its recent spring broadcast. While the committee did not detail
drastic changes to the production team, the industry takes it for granted that
the halls of BUG FILMS will continue to host the project. This
means that Ayumu Watanabe would maintain his undisputed
position in the director's chair, backed by Hiroshi Seko's strong script
supervision. On an aesthetic and sound level, Kairi Unabara's impeccable
work in character design and Yuka Kitamura's spectacular
musical compositions left a very high mark that this continuation will have to
equal or surpass.
A multi-award-winning masterpiece worldwide
The enormous financial backing that this
animated adaptation receives is directly linked to the monstrous prestige of
its source material. The manga written and illustrated by Kamome
Shirahama, published in the pages of Kodansha's Morning
Two magazine since 2016, is a true machine for collecting
international awards. With more than 7 million copies in circulation, the work
has not only dominated Japanese rankings such as the prestigious Manga
Taisho, but also conquered the Western market by winning the Best Manga
award at the Harvey Awards during the 2020 and 2025 editions.
