As far as contemporary anime is concerned, the “big three” fantasy series have finally been christened, thanks to the wondrous arrival of the last in its holy trinity on Crunchyroll: Bug Films’ absolutely magical adaptation of Kamome Shirahama‘s beloved manga, Witch Hat Atelier. At Anime Expo 2026, io9 got to speak with Shirahama and Coco’s Japanese voice actor, Rena Motomura, about how Bug Films utilized its production delay to deliver an adaptation that honored, and occasionally outshone, the artistry of its source material, what keeps the anime community’s newly adopted daughter so optimistic in an insane world, and whether Pointed Cap witches or Brimmed Caps have the best sense of fashion. Kamome Shirahama’s Brushbuddy. © Isaiah Colbert/io9 Isaiah Colbert, io9: During the anime’s delay, Bug Films announced that certain scenes needed additional time and attention, hoping the anime would be as big as The Lord of the Rings for anime fans. What scenes from this season exceeded your expectations?
Rena Motomura: There are so many scenes that exceeded my expectations. But in episode one, at the end, when Coco’s screaming, “Mom,” and then Qifrey takes her up into the sky as the magic is being triggered, they’re skyward and having that moment together—I saw a bit of it in the teaser—but when I saw it in the anime episode, it made me so emotional. I saw exactly how my senseis of the world were being brought to life in anime form, and how the frames were coming together to tell this story. That’s when I knew with great conviction that we were going to have something really special on our hands.
