Witch Hat Atelier Creator Addresses the Anime’s “Big 3” Status

Witch Hat Atelier will be making its highly anticipated TV anime debut some time next year, and the creator behind it all reacted to hearing about its place in the new “Big Three” of Fantasy series in an interview with io9. With Witch Hat Atelier officially announcing its anime adaptation earlier this year, fans have started to herald its premiere in a big way. It’s coming at a time where the Fantasy genre is starting to make a big comeback in the anime scene, and two other premium adaptations have been dominating the conversation over the course of the year. But now a third major entry is going to join forces with the others.

It’s made fans consider Witch Hat Atelier as part of a new “Big Three” alongside the likes of major manga turned recent anime hits such as Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and creator Kamome Shirahama was asked by io9 their thoughts about the series’ place within this trio. Not only was it their first time hearing that Witch Hat Atelier was considered part of this “Big Three,” but also was honored to be paired with the other two series while excited to see what’s coming from the next generation of creators.

Witch Hat Atelier Joins the Big Three

“This is actually first time I ever heard that we were called the ‘Big Three.’” Shirahama began explaining to the outlet. “I actually honestly enjoy reading the Delicious in Dungeon and Frieren, personally. I read the manga as well as watch the anime so it’s quite an honor to be in a lineup with such big titles together.” Continuing further, Shirahama explained that a lot of their excitement about joining this big trio is the fact that these Fantasy stories will be going on to inspire a new generation of artists to tell their own stories.

“When I was growing up, there was a lot of fantasy series that came out in the movies and TV shows like Lord of the Rings and [The Chronicles of] Narnia,” Shirahama continued. “Now I have grown up that and that generation of artists has grown up to make their own fantasy series. Which means those people who will be watching these new ‘Big Three’ series might be making their own fantasy series five to 10 years down the line. So, I’ll be really looking forward to that.” So this series is definitely in good company.

What to Know for the Witch Hat Atelier Anime

Witch Hat Atelier’s new anime adaptation is now in the works for a release some time next year, but has yet to confirm a concrete release date or window as of the time of this publication. Ayumu Watanabe will be directing the anime for Bug Films with Hiroaki Kojima producing, Kairi Unabara handling the character designs, and Yuka Kitamura composing the music. As for where fans will be able to stream the new series when it premieres next year, Crunchyroll has locked down the exclusive streaming rights for the TV anime.

Witch Hat Atelier will be exclusively streaming with Crunchyroll when it premieres for fans in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East and CIS. If you wanted to catch up with the manga release in the meantime while you wait for the new anime’s debut, Kodansha USA has licensed Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier manga for an English language release. You can find the manga on shelves now, and there are several volumes to catch up on. As for Delicious in Dungeon, you can find the anime streaming with Netflix and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is now streaming with Crunchyroll.