After Two Years, We Finally Have the Gorgeous Trailer for One of the Most Anticipated Anime!

Sometimes, you see a trailer that makes you simply say, “Wow.” Out loud, in public. Witch Hat Atelier‘s first trailer is one of those rare times.

If you—or someone you know—pay attention to the world of manga, chances are you already know about Witch Hat Atelier. Even if you haven’t read it, you’ve probably heard some mix of friends, podcasters, and/or influencers have buzz about it. Since beginning in 2016, Kamome Shirahama’s manga has won both a Harvey Award and Eisner Award. In other words, even the powers that be agree that it’s really good.

And so it was no surprise that, in April 2022, Kodansha announced that Witch Hat Atelier would get an anime. And then, for over two years … nothing. No updates, no key art, no trailer, nothing.

This, obviously, was an anxious wait. A huge part of Witch Hat’s allure is Shirahama’s art style: a gorgeous and hyper-detailed style that makes you think about classic storybooks as much as a Studio Ghibli film. Could those illustrations possibly be translated to anime?

Happily, it seems there was no need to worry. In June 2024, the first trailer for Witch Hat Atelier premiered at Anime Expo. And it left the whole room aghast.

The mangaka’s thoughts on an amazing trailer

When the Witch Hat Atelier trailer premiered at Anime Expo 2024, mangaka Kamome Shirahama shared that the first time she saw it, she drew the playhead button back and watched it again. And she did that over and over and over.

Watch the trailer, and you can see why. There’s heavy Studio Ghibli vibes, but they’re not the studio behind the series. Bug Films provided the same kind of lush, beautiful environment that Shirahama’s manga evokes. Shirahama said at the panel that when she draws, she’s trying to translate a movie that’s playing in her head. Hopefully, “you’ll be able to see what I see,” she said through a translator.

Director Ayumu Watanabe also clarified that, while the trailer did have its own dedicated director, everything inside it was pulled straight from the show. We’re free to use it as a barometer of what kind of quality to expect.

The fans at the panel were ecstatic. It felt like a truly special moment—the kind of “I was there” moment that gives you goosebumps. Although the story is incredibly different in almost every regard, I got the same level of excitement and enthusiasm from the Witch Hat panel that I got from Chainsaw Man‘s pre-premiere Anime Expo panel in 2022.

We’re looking something really big here, folks.

The crew behind Witch Hat Atelier

Before the trailer reveal at Anime Expo, fans went two years simply knowing Witch Hat Atelier was getting an anime. They didn’t even know which studio was making it. And when, at the end of the trailer, the name “BUG FILMS” flashed on the screen, I personally felt elated.

BUG FILMS is made up of industry veterans, but it’s quite new to producing its own series. They don’t even have their own Wikipedia page yet. Their first full production was last year’s highly excellent, although release-challenged, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. Zom 100‘s first episode is a thinly veiled (and markably executed) treatise on burnout and the toll of toxic work culture, with the protagonist’s building looking suspiciously like an IRL (different) studio. Ever since, I’ve been rooting for them.

Ayumu Watanabe will be serving as Witch Hat‘s director. He and producer Hiroaki Kojima spoke at the Anime Expo 2024 panel about how long of a working relationship they have together, on series like the brilliant Summer Time Rendering and the hit Komi Can’t Communicate.

The biggest surprise is the composer: Yuka Kitamura, who was a house composer for FromSoftware for 12 years, until August 2023. That means she composed the music for Elden Ring and Bloodbourne. As someone who got back into Elden Ring recently because of the DLC, I’ve been thinking a lot about how incredible that score is. And how much she likes bass clarinets. I love to know from the Witch Hat trailer that the bass clarinet love has not faded.

When will Witch Hat Atelier release?

Witch Hat Atelier will premiere on Crunchyroll sometime in 2025. Unfortunately, we don’t have a more specific time frame than that. But it’s coming! Let them cook.