Qifrey's Atelier - The World of Witches - Witches Auditorium - Enemies of Witchkind
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The Main Apprentices
Coco
Coco
"So beautiful... It never gets old. Magic is amazing!"
The protagonist of the story. A young girl and a seamstress' daughter who dreams of one day becoming a witch, who ends up having her dream fulfilled at a terrible cost.
- Audience Surrogate: Like the audience, Coco knows nothing about the world of the witches and how magic works, therefore the exposition also serves to explain things to her.
- Blood Magic: Coco accidentally used it when one of her bottles with magic ink was swapped by one with blood by the Brimhats, resulting in an absurdly powerful spell that turned a river into sand.
- Child of Two Worlds: In a sense, as a regular human who became a witch. Unlike the witches who were born and raised that way, she can understand the pain of normal people who want to learn magic but believe it out of reach. Unlike humans who assume magic is an easy fix-all, she knows the dangerous consequences of letting everyone have magic with no limitations. Ultimately, is both a witch who knows the rules are sensible, and a girl who sees the injustices that come as a result.
- The Chosen One: An evil variant. She was chosen by the Brimhats and they refer to her as "Savior" and want her to participate in some sort of big, long-term plan of theirs. It likely has to do with them wanting Coco to become a user of forbidden magic and show it to the world.
- Determinator: Despite being fairly new to magic and clumsy at the start, Coco is determined to reach her goals no matter what.
- Disappeared Dad: Coco's father passed away from an illness years prior to the plot. Her mother is deadly afraid of Coco eventually leaving her.
- Evil Costume Switch: Well, no, she hasn't made any change and is still very much a good guy, but some art shows that if she became a brimhat she would wear a long black dress, an intricate collar with a cape, and a traditional black witches' hat with tassels along the edges.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Melancholic, though warmer and more airheaded than usual.
- The Hero: Coco is the main-character. She's unexperienced, but very kind-hearted and loving and just wants to save others.
- Keeping Secrets Sucks: Due to her nature as an outsider who was introduced to the secret of magic through exceptional circumstances, she feels deeply guilty about having to uphold the Witch's Law and keeping the rules of magic a secret toward non-witches such as Coustas.
- Mage Born of Muggles: Played with. Coco is born from a normal family with no ties to the witch community, but she goes on to become a witch when she learns that magic can actually be used by anyone with magic ink.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Qifrey manages to get Coco out of her house in time as the spell she traced from her picture book goes wild. It ends up trapping her mother in stone, something that haunts Coco and one of her drives to learn magic.
- Naïve Newcomer: She's completely new to the world of witches, and is still learning about how everything works.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
- Coco draws a magic rune to turn the rock beneath a person to sand and rescue them without harming them in Chapter 11. The effect somehow spreads enough that even the river turns to sand, and The Council of Magic Security accuses her of being a Brimhat due to the spell's power. Council Leader Estheath even prepares to erase her memories, but thankfully Qifrey and her fellow apprentices step in to stop Estheath before that can happen.
- Coco takes pity on the people of Romonneau that were turned to gold and gives them a warmth stone. They place it inside of a Magic Mirror that amplifies the effect and it ends up melting them, for which they thank her for the Mercy Kill.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Whenever it's shown what she would look like as a Brimhat, Coco is portrayed as wearing a huge, layered black dress
◊. - Self-Made Orphan: Played with. Due to her accidentally using forbidden magic and encasing her mother in stone, Coco is technically this. However, she's willing to learn magic and find a way that doesn't involve the user of forbidden spells to free her mother.
- Signature Move: Qifrey mentions that her specialty is the use of straight lines in her glyphs. Thus, she more often uses simple, but overly-powerful magic when the situation allows it, because she can draw her straight lines longer and better than everyone else (including her own teacher), enough to impress Agott when she improved the shoes she borrowed from the former.
- Ship Tease: She's on the receiving end of Tartah's crush later on in the story, though she's far too focused on researching ways to save her mother to notice.
- Stock Shoujo Heroine: Being a newcomer to the world of magic in an effort to depetrify her mother, Coco is often clumsy with practice, but she more than makes up for it with her wit, determination, and empathy. She also becomes quite the central figure of the story, with her fellow apprentices looking to her for companionship and support while the antagonistic Brimhat organization seeks to make her a representive for black magic usage.
- Trauma Button: When trapped in the cave with the Romomon gold statues, Coco becomes unable to move as she shakes in fear. When Tetia tries to comfort her, Coco tearfully says the statues remind her of her mother.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: She hasn't done anything yet, but it's clear that she is willing to use forbidden magic if she feels that there's no other way.
Agott Arklaum
Agott (Agate/Agete/Agethe) Arklaum
"Such a shame about your mother. Thanks to you... she'll never be flesh and blood again."
An apprentice at Qifrey's Atelier, Agott is a perfectionist who, at first, is at odds with Coco.
- Abusive Parents: It's implied someone in her family, possibly her father or guardian, refused to teach her anything because she was not good enough for them, and that's why she is studying under Qifrey.
- Alliterative Name: Agott Arklaum.
- Broken Ace: Agott is by far the most talented and skilled of Qifrey's apprentices, which her sister-apprentices eagerly confirm and praise her drawing skills and knowledge of magic. However, Agott suffers from self-esteem issues over being considered merely average compared to the witches in her family and she takes that out on others like Coco who she doesn't think either deserves magic or have the talent to do so.
- Brutal Honesty: When she meets Coco, she gives her sympathies about her mother, but immediately says that what happened to her is Coco's own fault and she's likely lost forever. She also mentions that she is more useful than Richeh in a battle due to her studies, which she says not to hurt her, but to make Richeh go somewhere safe while she tries to deal with the Brimhat.
- Dark Secret: It's later revealed that Agott had been kicked out of previously studying under the master who those of her family normally would, which was a secret she'd been desperate to keep from Coco and the others. What could that reason have been? According to Rolga, she apparently tried to pass off someone else's magic as her own.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: One of the key points of her character development. Having made up her mind to dislike Coco, Agott nonetheless gradually begins treating Coco more respectfully due to everything the atelier’s been through, sometimes to her own surprise.
- Dislikes the New Guy: She's the only one in Qifrey's Atelier who openly dislikes Coco from the moment she arrives. She goes so far as to push Coco into taking the first witch's test, which Qifrey deemed too dangerous for her, while fully expecting Coco to fail or give up so she loses the right to become a witch apprentice.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Flashbacks show Agott with long, wavy hair when she was younger. It's implied she cut it short when she first joined Qifrey's atelier, after the falling out with her family and former mentor.
- Fatal Flaw: Olruggio calls her out on her constant need to prove herself. He points out that any task they have to help others should be taken with respect, but Agott really wants the big tasks. When she is told to help dry the clothes of people lost in a storm she almost refuses because she wants to do something bigger and thinks of herself above that.
- Foil: To Coco. Whereas Coco is a newbie in magic associated with bright colors, amazed by every magic and upbeat all the time, Agott is a brilliant magician associated with dark colors, who sees magic as very mundane and is mostly an extremely serious child. This difference actually contributes for them to start learning from each other, as Agott starts seeing things out of the box, instigated by Coco's personality, while Coco looks up to Agott and uses her as another tutor from whom she wants to learn.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric. Usually the leader among her atelier-mates during fieldwork due to her superior experience and basic skills.
- Jack of All Trades: She's generally competent in every aspect of magic, unlike her fellow atelier-mates who are better than her in a few aspects but lag behind in many others.
- Karma Houdini: Agott forces Coco in a test she is not ready to and could have very well died in the process, but she doesn't get punished by their professor nor does it seems that anyone holds her accountable for that, given that Coco was capable of coming back just rather dirty but without injuries. Agott later points out that Coco should have gone to the professors about it, but Coco herself decided not to because she saw it as a challenge she needed to overcome.
- The Perfectionist: She won't accept her magic performance to be anything but perfect.
- Phrase Catcher: She's often the butt of Tetia's and Riche's jokes when they make fun of her rare, sudden displays of warmth and combine her name with puns. A usual example is "Agaffection", etc.
- "Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives one to Coco when the latter accidentally interrupts her drawing a magic circle while they're trapped in an alternate dimension with a dragon, calling her out on having gotten the girls into the mess because she went after a Brimhat.
Tetia
Tetia (Tethia)
"I love it when people tell me "thank you"! So thank you for your thanks!"
A friendly apprentice at Qifrey's Atelier, who dreams of one day being able to travel the world.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Very sanguine.
- Genki Girl: An extremely upbeat, loving girl that tries to help everyone she knows and keep the mood high.
- Girlish Pigtails: Tetia wears part of her hair pulled into bunches on the side of her head. This emphasizes her youthful exuberance and bubbly personality.
- Good Feels Good: She loves being thanked for being nice to others, so as soon as Coco thanks her for help when they meet, Tetia thanks for her thanks since it feels great to be thanked for a nice action.
- The Heart: She's the upbeat and loving member of the apprentices, and is often the one to get everyone grounded and keep the mood up by being loving to her friends.
- Messy Hair: Tetia has an impressive bed hair, and keeps her curly locks tied so as to not interfere in her daily duties.
- Mundane Utility: Her dream scenario is to make a magic which will allow her to float along and sleep on clouds. Many of the spells she comes up with are to make traveling easier or safer for others.
- Nice Girl: Tetia is a very sweet girl and her first impulse at all times is to help others, she is even introduced by helping Coco.
- Numerological Motif: She constantly strives for the number '2', believing magic should be able to double every happiness since both the caster and the recipient will be blessed by it. She even designs her own twin-pronged hat because she thinks Qifrey's (and other witches' in general) designs to be too plain, much to his depression. However, true to her Genki Girl personality, she'll switch and make other numbers up if the situation demands it (mostly if it'll cheer people up).
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Tetia has pink hair and is the sweetest and most energetic of Qifrey's apprentices.
- Sand Blaster: Her magic specialty after being inspired when they fought a dragon is connected to the use of sand. She is shown often using sand to create fluffy beds that can be used to rest and stop falls, while also using sand to create cages to contain enemies.
- Third-Person Person: She refers to herself in third person sometimes.
Richeh
Richeh (Riché)
"What was I supposed to do? What road can I take? How I do move forward but still be the person I want to be?"
A seemingly emotionless and childish apprentice at Qifrey's Atelier, who prefers learning her own magic.
- Apathetic Student: Richeh was originally dismissed by another atelier because she refused to learn anything she didn't want to. At Qifrey's Atelier, Richeh is still stubborn about not wanting to study and draws whatever magic she likes, which leaves Qifrey doubtful of how to teach her.
- Big Eater: Whenever food is involved, Richeh is shown in the background either staring at said food while drooling, or chowing down enthusiastically. Her portions are also usually the largest.
- Character Development: By the end of the Second Exam Arc, she has learned that she can't remain insular if she wants to help her friends, she won't grow by refusing to learn from others. She decides to use things she learned from Qifrey and Eunie to help them at the climax.
- Curtains Match the Window: She has sky blue hair and sky blue eyes.
- Disappointing Older Sibling: She had an older brother, who initially encouraged her to keep using and growing her own personal spells. However, he later on appears to have left her for his own Atelier, which later leads Richeh to abandon her former teacher and choose be tutored under Qifrey instead.
- Dismotivation: Richeh hates the possibility of changing anything about herself and her magic style because she's scared her magic stops being "Richeh's magic." This is why she refuses to study and learn anything new about magic, even saying she doesn't want to take any of the witch tests.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Phlegmatic. Recent chapters have her be more expressive, though... slightly.
- Freudian Excuse: Her isolation and refusal to change her way to do things come from her and her older brother's time with a teacher that refused any deviations from what he was teaching. Her brother had already been broken in, so when she joined the same atelier, he averted his gaze as she was punished for coming up with unique solutions.
- Gemstone Assault: Her speciality, either manipulating rocks or pure crystals, transmuting them from raw earth, or compressing loose particles.
- Growing Up Sucks: Richeh has this opinion. She dislikes the idea of losing herself to become someone else, even if it means growing up.
- In-Series Nickname: Her full name is Richehlette, but everyone calls her Richeh.
- Logical Weakness: Her refusal to learn about magic that isn't interesting to her makes her much less capable of reacting to a sticky situation than her apprentice brethren.
- Picky Eater: She prefers meat over any other food, to the point where Qifrey has to sneak vegetables into his dishes to get her to eat any.
- Ship Tease: Has quite a bit with Eunie during the Second Exam. She promises him one day she will save him from his curse.
- Signature Move: Other than her Elemental Powers above, she's extremely good at producing many mini-magic circles quickly and efficiently, eventually being Qifrey's only disciple who's able to manufacture dimensional gates on her own without assistance. This actually stems from her abusive teacher, as she would hide her unique magic in small margins.
- The Stoic: Richeh avoids showing much emotion, though others can still notice emotions on her. She is particularly prone to showing that she's angry at people.
- Third-Person Person: Downplayed. In the original Japanese, she does not refers to herself as Richeh all the time, but she refers to her magic as "Richeh's magic", rather than "my magic".
The Witch Teachers
Qifrey
Qifrey
"Know that those spells which are not forbidden... are all means to bring happiness to people."
A fully-fledged witch that takes Coco under his wing after her mother is petrified, Qifrey runs an atelier where Agott, Tetia, and Richeh study as his apprentices. His childhood friend Olruggio lives next door and serves as the "watchful eye" of the atelier, making sure Qifrey's students aren't getting in trouble.
As a child, Qifrey studied magic under the tutelage of Beldarut. Events in his past have driven him to hunt for information on the Brimhat witches, and may have influenced his decision to take on Coco as an apprentice.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: He carries a sword that's designed to cut water, capable of splitting a raging river enough to pull out a trapped cart.
- Apologetic Attacker: As soon as he reveals to Olruggio how the the Brimhats took his eye with new magic, he just as quickly erases Olruggio's memory related to his secret. Althroughout, Qifrey apologizes to his friend.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Qifrey has a tendency to very abruptly get distracted and comment upon things he finds fascinating, whether it be a person's skill or a magical spell effect he's never seen before, even if there are more pressing matters to attend to.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: He's quite capable in analysis and has very good observational skills. he could figure out the disembodied Brimhat's trick with a single glance.
- Badass Teacher: Qifrey is The Mentor of the main group, but he is quite possibly one of the most powerful witches shown so far. His water spells have been shown to be quite powerful and have been capable of fighting a dragon. He can even beat Brimhat members one-handed and half-blind, literally.
- Berserk Button: Putting his apprentices in danger will set Qifrey off. But what is likely his biggest button, is the Brimhats, whom he immediately seeks out to fight, even if he's majorly outclassed. This is due to them taking away his eye and burying him alive a child, which has lead him on the road of vengeance against them.
- Buried Alive: When the Brimhat Witches kidnapped Qifrey as a child, took his right eye, and wiped his memories, they buried him in a coffin beneath a tree in the Silstaz woods. Heavy rains seeped into the coffin before he was rescued by the Magical Security Council and Sage Beldarut, leading to his life-long fear of drowning.
- Childhood Friends: With Olruggio.
- Cool Shades: Wears a pair of small, round pince-nez spectacles. One of the lenses is darkened, obscuring his eye. The other lens has a glyph on it to aid his remaining eye as its failing.
- Cool Teacher: Qifrey is basically the kind of teacher anyone would hope to have: He shows enthusiasm in showing his apprentices new things, boosts their morale when they're frustrated, helps them figure out ways to solve problems, etc. and also is genuinely interested and excited when they come up with novel ideas (or make useful accidents).
- Eye Scream: As a child, Qifrey was captured by Brimhat witches who took his right eye and left him Buried Alive in the Silstaz Woods. Ever since then, he's hidden the scar with his hair and darkened glasses.
- Handicapped Badass: He is missing his right eye and reveals to Olruggio that, he uses a glyph on his remaining eye as it's slowly losing its vision. This does not get in his way of being a powerful and capable witch in combat.
- Hidden Agenda Hero: It's not quite clear what Qifrey wants in his hunt for the Brimhats, why is he so obsessed with it he's willing to break the rules of witches and take in Coco. It's later revealed that his eye was stolen by a Brimhat as a kid and that he's slowly losing sight in the eye he has left. While he still has his eyesight, he wants to find the Brimhat that did that, and that is using it as part of research into forbidden, new kind of magic, and destroy both the research and the eye.
- Hiding Behind Your Bangs: He keeps his bangs swept over his right eye, adding to the mysterious aura around him. This is in order to hide his right scarred eye, which is the eye the Brimhats stole from him.
- It's Personal: It's implied his hunt for Brimhats is something extremely personal to him, rather than trying to cause any sort of justice. He yells at the fact he wants to recover something that was stolen from him by a Brimhat. Pretty much confirmed when his backstory reveals the Brimhats not only took his right eye, they also took away his memories of how he came under their experimentations.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: He's willing to use the forbidden magic of memory wiping to cover his tracks and keep his true motives hidden. As of now, his victims include Mr. Nolnoa and his BFF Olruggio.
- Light Is Not Good: Qifrey is mainly covered in bright white robes, but he is capable of very dubious and cruel actions. Such as fighting the Brimhats that appeared during his apprentices test instead of focusing on their safety and erasing the memories of Mr. Nolnoa and Olruggio when he doesn't want them revealing the information he discovered about the Brimhats.
- Like an Old Married Couple: Whenever Olruggio nags him about stuff, he happily teases him back, making the two come across like this.
- Making a Splash: Qifrey mainly specializes in water magic. Ironically, he mentions that he actually decided to focus on water spells because he hates water, and learning magic to control water allowed him to reduce situations where he might get wet (such as washing dishes or doing laundry), and also helped him face his fears. It was due to Olruggio's advice to him when they were children that Qifrey master water magic in order to get over his fear of it. The reason he feared water is due to the Brimhats burying him alive as a child. The rain from that day began to soak into his casket, nearly drowning him. He's only freed after his master and the other Alteliers manage to find him.
- The Mentor: Qifrey is this to Coco and his other apprentices. Apparently, it's common for witches to take people under them, in order to keep the witch community alive, but they only choose those capable of keeping the secret.
- Mystical White Hair: Has a head full of white hair.
- Papa Wolf: While some of his motives are questionable, his first concern is making sure his apprentices are safe. Putting them, especially Coco in danger will immediately set him off.
- Pragmatic Hero: Played with. Qifrey is breaking a lot of rules of the witch society in order to capture the Brimhats, however, it's implied that he has a personal reason to do so and is looking for a particular Brimhat, rather than doing it for the sake of the world. He is willing to even resort to erasing the memories of Mr. Nolnoa so he wouldn't need to give a piece of new important evidence to the Auditorium, meaning he used forbidden magic. Then there's the fact he even erases Olruggio's memory of the conversation they had on Qifrey's quest to destroy the Brimhats, in order to make sure his old friend doesn't get hurt in his ensuing plans.
- Supreme Chef: While it takes some practice, he cooks delicious food for his apprentices, who greatly enjoy his cooking. He even offers some for Olruggio, who begrudgingly joins them for meals. In the spin-off manga, "Kitchen of Witch Hat", he's shown to mainly be the one cooking for the others.
- Trauma Button: When Coco attempts to reach for his broken glasses so it wouldn't cut his eye, Qifrey is startled and hits her hand away in fright. It's due to the trauma of the Brimhats taking away his right eye.
- Wandering Wizard: Qifrey has permanent lodging in the titular Atelier, but he is still introduced as one in the first chapter, being a traveling witch who happens to stop by the main character's village and help them repair a damaged magical contraption. Later, he explains to his students that some witches enjoy helping people so much that they spend their entire lives traveling the roads.
Olruggio
Olruggio (Orugio)
"I'm the Watchful Eye. Can't have you getting sick on me."
The "Watchful Eye" of Qifrey's atelier, he mostly keeps to himself in his own atelier to meet his deadlines for creating magical items, which he specializes in crafting.
- Affectionate Nickname: In the Kodansha English translation, Qifrey sometimes refers to Olruggio as "Olly".
- Big Damn Heroes: He gets to the fight during the second exam and saves Qifrey against the Brimhat.
- Childhood Friends: Has been friends with Qifrey since they were young.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His robe colors are dark, opposite of Qifrey's. However, he's an observant and empathetic man, who puts the well-being of the people who will use his items first and foremost.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: He has dark lines under his eyes, which contributes to his gaunt and menacing appearance, since he's constantly pulling all-nighters to meet his deadlines and/or keep an eye on Qifrey's atelier. He makes a constant point to tell Qifrey's apprentices to get a proper night's rest or else they will regret it when they're adults.
- Face of a Thug: He always looks grumpy, haggard, and exhausted, even when dispensing good, thoughtful advice to Qifrey's apprentices.
- Foil: To Qifrey. While Olruggio is often missing due to work, has a secret nice side and wants no involvement with the Brimhats, Qifrey is present all the time, has a secret darker side and is desperately seeking the Brimhats. While Qifrey specializes in using water magic, Olruggio uses fire magic.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Downplayed, magical variant. He specializes in the making of magical contraptions with practical uses such as stepping stones that light up and magical bed-warmers. Since these items can be sold to non-witchfolk for high prices, it's a lucrative business.
- He Knows Too Much: When Qifrey reveals to Olruggio that the Brimhats took his eye using a new kind of magic, he then just as quickly erases his friend's memories of their discussion. Partly to stop his friend from following him through his quest, knowing he would want to help, and mostly to keep his plans hidden.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: He is very caring to the apprentices and gives them things that might be helpful, as well as rushing to Qifrey's aid, but every time someone points out he's acting very nicely, he tries to brush it off as something anyone would do or to his work as watchful eye.
- Like an Old Married Couple: His mild arguments with Qifrey come off like this, with Qifrey mainly teasing Olruggio.
- Nice Guy: Despite trying to hide it behind a gruff persona, Olruggio is constantly putting others' needs ahead of his own. This is most evident in the Kitchen of Witch Hat spin-off, where when he finds enough ingredients to make 5 puddings for the Atelier's residents, he immediately decides that he'll be the one to miss out. He also helps Qifrey prepare lunchboxes for an outing he's planned with the students despite having stayed up all night before. Everyone else thinks he's too kind.
- Only in It for the Money: Played with. He creates new spells to help the common folk and is quick to figure out how to commercialize his inventions for profit. However, he's more than willing to give his inventions out for free if it's to help people or his alteliers, and will decline to sell inventions that may prove dangerous.
- Papa Wolf: When Qifrey isn't around, Olruggio usually steps in to look after the girls. When the Knights Moralis attempt to sentence Coco and Aggot for revealing their magic in front of civilians, he jumps in to protect them. He also stands protectively between the girls and anyone he perceives as a danger to them.
- Playing with Fire: Olruggio's specialty is fire magic, which he uses against the brimhats in battle, as well as using attributes related to it, such as warmth and light, which he uses to create magic items.
- Red Baron: He seems to be called "The Shining Torch" by others.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Gender-inverted. When he arrives at the festival, the girls are surprised that his beard is now gone, believing he shaved it off. He assures them it's just a glamor spell. Without his beard and gaunt appearance, he does noticeably look younger.
- Shipper on Deck: While he's unaware of their circumstances, Olruggio points out to Qifrey how Coco and Tartah are wearing matching bracelets. He starts giddily wondering if they're together.
- Sweet Tooth: He has a preference for strong, sweet drinks, which causes him to get drunk on occasion. In the spin-off manga, Kitchen of the Witch Hat, he's seen favoring sweet flavored foods and drinks.
The Quirky Mascot
Brushbug
Brushbug (Brushbuddy)
"I happened across a most peculiar creature known as a "witch"."
A small animal that is attracted to magic ink. Coco takes him with her after her first test. He becomes the atelier's pet.
- A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 23.5 focuses on him as well as being narrated by him to talk about his life in the atelier and how amazed he is at the witches and their work and habits.
- Never Given a Name: "As yet I have no name." Although Qifrey tried calling him Foonfoon, he is usually only referred to by his species.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Just a fuzzy li'l worm with big googly eyes.
- Team Pet: He becomes the house's pet and is treated as such as well as being taken everywhere the apprentices go.
