If you’re active in the anime community, chances are you’ve heard about the upcoming adaptation of Witch Hat Atelier. The show was originally scheduled to debut in 2025, but was recently postponed until some point next year, with the animation studio citing the need to perfect the show’s quality before release. While ensuring the anime is top quality definitely has long-time fans of the series excited, there’s certainly a bit of disappointment over the extended wait time. Witch Hat Atelier is a popular series, after all, one that fans have been promoting for an anime adaptation for years.
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The plot of Witch Hat Atelier centers around a regular girl learning how to manipulate and master magic, a skill that was previously considered to be inherently innate; her journey throughout the story reflects the challenges and tribulations of overcoming this stigma and facing the hidden darkness of her world. Like many fantasy shows, Witch Hat Atelier makes use of common themes such as magical classism and the concept of destiny, while focusing on intricate world-building and a gorgeous art style. And while no two shows are ever the exact same, the list below offers five awesome fantasy anime that you might want to give a watch while waiting for Witch Hat Atelier to make its debut on the big screen.
5) Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina is a fantasy adventure anime that combines witchcraft with a sincere coming-of-age plot. The anime series first debuted in 2020, and has a total of 12 episodes, making it a mini-series. Despite its short run time, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina is still absolutely worth a watch for its vividly colored art style, fluid animation, and heartfelt storytelling. This series focuses on themes such as fate, growing into your own identity, responsibility and consequence, and humanity.
The show follows Elaina, who has always been enraptured by the concept of witches— in particular, she idolizes stories of a witch named Niké who traveled the world on a series of adventures. Inspired by these tales, Elaina decides to follow her heart and set out to explore the world around her; this happens after she becomes a full-fledged witch, passing the entrance exams and earning an apprenticeship to further study her craft. Though the story does loosely follow Elaina’s goal to become like her idol, Niké, the show is told in an episodic style with self-contained storylines as Elaina meets new people and travels to new places.
4) Ranking of Kings
Ranking of Kings is a fantasy anime show with plenty of attention from the fandom for its unique subversion of tropes and compelling storyline. The series first aired in 2021, and has a single season containing 23 episodes (a side season aired in 2023, named Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage). Many fans praise the show for its fairytale-like structure that sets it apart from similar works within the genre, along with a compelling main character that you can’t help but root for. Some themes in the anime are perseverance, courage in the face of danger, believing in your own power, and the value of kindness.
In Ranking of Kings, we follow Prince Bojji, the heir apparent to a large kingdom, who happens to also be mute and deaf. Along with this, Bojji is physically weak and lacking in raw power or fighting skill, making him the laughingstock of the kingdom for his absence of princely qualities. Despite this, Bojji dreams of one day becoming a legendary king who will rule fairly and make his kingdom a better place. The chance to make this dream a reality presents itself when Bojji is attacked by Kage, a member of an infamous assassin clan, himself essentially a talking shadow who takes interest in Bojji. The two form a close friendship and set off on a quest to help Bojji prepare for his place as the future king.
3) Delicious in Dungeon
Delicious in Dungeon is a fun, fantasy anime that has a special focus on culinary exploits alongside the adventure its plot provides. The series was released in 2024, and a second season was green-lit shortly after the first season aired. It has all the charm of a dungeon-crawl type show, complete with fight sequences, magical world-building elements, and splashes of comedy to lighten the tone. Themes in the series include survival, the importance of relying on others, loss, and the importance of resourcefulness.
The plot of Delicious in Dungeon is centered on a group of adventurers who have descended into a dungeon filled with monsters and challenges. The party quickly runs out of supplies, and when all else fails, a member of the party decides to cook the monsters they encounter to provide a source of food for the party to sustain themselves on. This starts a series of silly events where the group must interact with the dungeon’s ecosystem and dwellers to persevere, searching along the way for a lost member that was previously swallowed by a dragon.
2) Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is the newest obsession of fantasy anime fans. The series has gotten tons of attention in the past year, with the anime adaptation having debuted at the end of 2023. After the series blew up, a second season was confirmed and is set to release in early 2026. While many fantasy shows focus on the journey itself, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is unique for its portrayal of what happens after the big battle is won and the heroes go home. The series focuses on themes such as the concept of time, friendship, the importance of real connections, and the meaning of life.
The anime revolves around Frieren, a powerful elf mage who defeats the evil Demon King, along with a band of fellow adventurers. After, the group splits up, going their separate ways after promising to meet again in fifty years to watch the next meteor shower together. Frieren journeys across the lands in the meantime, learning more about magic and experiencing the different walks of life. Along the way, she begins to realize that while those around her change, time remains nearly still for her as she ages at a much slower pace; this causes Frieren to look back on the past with her old friends, told in a series of flashbacks, as she contemplates on the importance of savoring life and the people in it.
1) Little Witch Academia
Little Witch Academia is an underrated fantasy anime that takes the concept of a school for witchcraft and adds in elements of comedy. The series was first aired in 2017, with a singular season consisting of 25 episodes before coming to a close. It’s got a charming animation style, a large cast of fun characters, and an intriguing setting that makes the anime an easy, light watch. That being said, Little Witch Academia doesn’t skimp on delivering emotional moments, focusing on complex themes like rejecting tradition, embracing working with others, friendship, and overcoming obstacles.
The show follows Akko, a girl with very little magical prowess who dreams of becoming a powerful witch. Inspired by her idol, Shiny Chariot, Akko enrolls in a magical school to train her abilities and become a better witch; however, her lack of ability leads to a series of hilarious trials and tribulations as Akko struggles to meet her goals and develop her magic. Along the way, Akko discovers Shiny Chariot’s artifact, the Shiny Rod, sending her on further adventures to learn what happened to the witch who drove Akko to push for more.
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