Witch Hat Atelier has Coco and her fellow apprentice witches engage in a complex operation to escape a dragon in Ep. 5 “The Dragon’s Labyrinth”. Hilariously, it’s an operation that basically boils down to making an impromptu dragon spa. And yet, the result is one of the most beautifully heartwarming and wonderfully animated action sequences I’ve ever seen in any anime.
Witch Hat Atelier Ep. 5 “The Dragon’s Labyrinth”: Details in Brief
Witch Hat Atelier Ep. 5 “The Dragon’s Labyrinth” is the fifth episode (you can read my reviews for Ep. 1-2, Ep. 3, and Ep. 4 here) of this dark fantasy anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Kamome Shirahama.
Bug Films (Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead) is the animation studio behind this anime. Ayumu Watanabe is the director of this anime, with Jun Shinohara as the assistant director, Hiroshi Seko as the writer, and Yuka Kitamura as the composer for the music.
The opening theme song for Witch Hat Atelier is “Kaze no Ansemu” by Eve ft. suis from Yorushika. Meanwhile, “Tada Utsukushii Noroi” by Nakamura Hak is the ending theme song.
Witch Hat Atelier Ep. 5 “The Dragon’s Labyrinth”: The Good
Any words I use will be insufficient to describe the beauty that is Witch Hat Atelier Ep. 5 “The Dragon’s Labyrinth”. However, we can break it down into two parts. The first part is the preparation stage, in which Coco (voiced by Rena Motomura (JP) and Anjali Kunapaneni (EN)) and her new friends and fellow apprentice witches come up with a plan to neutralize a very hostile dragon guarding the way out of the strange realm they’ve been trapped in.
The entire process is extremely logical, to the point where you can easily see their decision-making process and it makes perfect sense the entire time. And yet, the entire process is fraught with emotional clashes between the apprentices, giving some human drama to the logic. With the drama though, there is also warm tenderness as they learn to overcome those differences and difficulties and finally work together as a team, tempering the drama with warm fuzziness.
When the plan goes into action though, it’s a masterpiece of animation and heartwarming storytelling, with a plan that, unique among anime, is completely devoid of violence directed at the antagonist. And it works too, which further makes this episode unique, given how most anime series has violence be the solution. The fact that a peaceful plan works makes this story remind me strongly of Undertale, and catapults this anime to the same levels of greatness.
Some Badass Voice Acting
All capped off by Qifrey (voiced by Natsuki Hanae (JP) and Joshua Waters (EN)) stepping in at the last moment and being the responsible adult in the most badass way imaginable. Which makes the sudden bits of horror-esque drama coming from our mysterious brim-hatted witch and even Qifrey himself jarringly cold moments amidst the warmth. Even the happy music suddenly crashes to a halt when Qifrey suddenly makes a grave threat in a most out-of-character moment for him. This discordance provides a most wonderfully dramatic symphony of a plot to groove to, making us long for the next episode to see the rest of this story.
A story that Bug Films’ animation team once more shows off for. In particular, I have to give them kudos for when Qifrey arrives to save the day. The action in that sequence featured some of the smoothest and most fluid animation I’ve seen in any anime. It is the peak of fantasy animation, rivalling that of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. Heck, it might even exceed it in some ways. The dragon’s movements during that scene, and even in this entire episode, makes it feel alive in so many ways thanks to that animation. There’s even the side bonus of this episode being the only anime I’ve seen in which a dragon is happily rolling around like a happy puppy. It’s as adorable as it is oddly heartwarming despite the dragon being the episode’s primary antagonist, and it’s what makes this anime unique among all others.
Witch Hat Atelier Ep. 5 “The Dragon’s Labyrinth”: The Bad
Alas, if you were expecting a bloody battle, you will be sorely mistaken. Coco and her friends’ plan is devoid of violence against the dragon. Even when Qifrey steps in, his primary action is to neutralize the dragon without resorting to killing it. All because, well, it’s an animal that doesn’t know what’s going on, and is likely as terrified as the kids are. Killing it under those circumstances would be immoral, so Qifrey rendering it unconscious really makes this anime stand out from all the rest.
So if you want a bloody shonen battle, then you will have to look elsewhere.
Anime Recommendations
Fortunately, there are alternatives. If you want anime with bloody violence, then you might want to check out, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, TRIGUN STARGAZE, and/or Daemons of the Shadow Realm. However, if you want more quiet anime to chill out to, then you might like Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, and/or Journal with Witch.
What did you think of this week’s episode of Witch Hat Atelier? Tell us your magical thoughts in the comments section below.
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