Witch Hat Atelier creator says manga has reached one-third of its story

Witch Hat Atelier creator, Kamome Shirahama, discusses manga completion and importance of minority representation

Kamome Shirahama has revealed that the Witch Hat Atelier manga is currently around one-third of the way through its overall story, while discussing the series’ characters, magic system and themes in new interview.

Speaking with Anime Corner during Anime Expo, Shirahama reflected on the completion of the anime’s first season and the process of developing the manga.

She said the anime had been an exciting experience but described its completion as a moment to prepare for the next stage.

The creator also discussed the importance of representation in Witch Hat Atelier, including disabled characters, LGBTQIA+ representation and racial minorities.

Shirahama said that including people from different backgrounds feels natural to her and expressed a desire for such representation to become more normalised.

“For me, not having that representation would actually feel very unnatural,” Shirahama said. “And it seems just a natural progression of things to have the people we live alongside in real life appear in the story.”

'WITCH HAT ATELIER' creator Kamome Shirahama answers Anime Corner's question about the importance of minority representation:

"For me, not having that representation would actually feel very unnatural… It seems just a natural progression of things to have the people we live… pic.twitter.com/i2LoXNRu54

— Anime Updates (@animeupdates) September 1, 2026

Shirahama explained that the series’ detailed magic system was designed from the beginning to allow readers to create their own spells.

She also revealed that chapters of around 30 pages generally take between one week and 10 days to complete, with even highly detailed pages taking no more than a day.

When asked about the manga’s progress, Shirahama said the world-building phase had been completed and estimated that the story was about a third finished. She identified the Silver Eve arc as a major turning point.

“So, nothing’s really fixed in stone, but I do think about where I’m going to land,” she said, explaining that she has the broad direction planned but develops smaller details while creating the story.

The Witch Hat Atelier manga has released 98 chapters across 16 volumes, with its second anime season currently in production.