Nominated for the Manga Taichō Award 2018 (the Grand Prix du Manga) and selected by the Honya Club as the first manga to follow this year, The Sorcerer's Workshop is a magic bomb published in France since March 7, 2018. The third volume has just been released, it's time to look at the series. Put on your wizard hats and hang on, life at the Atelier is not easy!
This review does not contain major spoilers, likely to spoil your discovery of the manga.
The Sorcerer's Workshop
Original title : とんがり帽子のアトリエ/ Tongari Boushi no Atelier
Alternate title : Atelier of Witch Hat / Witch Hat Atelier / L'Atelier des Sorciers
Mangaka : SHIRAHAMA Kamome
Type : Seinen
Genres : Fantasy – Slice of Life
Japanese publisher : Kodansha
French publisher: Pika / Pika Seinen
Number of volumes : 4 (Japan) – 3 (France)
Status: Ongoing
Synopsis
The Secret of Magic!
Coco has always been fascinated by magic. Alas, only sorcerers can practice this art and the chosen ones are chosen from birth. One day, Kieffrey, a sorcerer, arrives in the girl's village. By spying on him, Coco then understands the true nature of magic and remembers a magic book and inkwell she bought from a mysterious stranger when she was a child. She then practices in secret. But, in her ignorance, Coco commits a tragic act!
From then on, she becomes Kieffrey's disciple and will discover a world she did not suspect existed! (©PikaEditions)
As you can see, something is wrong in this world. By following Coco, we discover that this seemingly simple world, divided between wizards and common people, is actually separated voluntarily, for the "good" of all. We discover a world that struggles to heal from tragic events, which Coco stirs in spite of herself.
"Magic is a miracle that colors the world"
Destinies that cross by chance?
The character of Coco is at the center of the story and it is through her eyes that we discover the wizarding world. She lives with her mother, a seamstress who teaches her the tricks of the trade: cutting the fabric, tracing the patterns… The girl is a meticulous student, but what fascinates her above all else is magic. However, she does not possess this gift reserved for an elite… At least, that's what she believes, until her meeting with Kieffrey, who will decide to take under her wing this "ignorant". Propelled to the wizards, Coco must learn to master magic to make amends for her mistake, but that's not all. The material that led her to commit this mistake binds her to a mysterious brotherhood… A bit naïve and easily impressionable, Coco is the archetype of a shōjō character.
Kieffrey is the bridge between Coco and the wizarding world. He is the trigger that makes the girl discover that the world she knows is lying to her, but above all, he is the one who will help her decipher this world. Taking Coco with him, he integrates her into his workshop, where he ensures the apprenticeship of three other aspiring witches: Agathe, Tetia and Trice. If at first nothing links him to Coco's accident, we quickly discover that the sorcerer is personally invested in the hunt for this organization. Is his choice to take the girl as an apprentice only for him a way to get closer to the Brotherhood?
Agathe is the first student Coco meets. Cold, determined and gifted, the girl is not determined to open up to her master's new apprentice. Coco is part of what wizards call the "ignorant", people who do not practice magic and who, in fact, are unaware that it can be practiced without gift. Tetia is the opposite of Agathe: extroverted, she wants to be able to share her magic with the world. Kieffrey's third student is a taciturn girl, a very diligent student who refuses to pass the witchcraft exams whose layout is so fine and precise that she manages to draw tiny spells.
A world turned upside down
The manga begins in a medieval-fantasy universe where we believe the population separate: on the one hand those who possess the gift of magic and the others. Thinking she has no "gift" for magic, Coco is still passionate about the subject and never misses any opportunity to observe its effects. She discovers when she crosses Kieffrey's path that there is no gift for magic, that everyone is able to practice it, because magic is taking shape.
Dreaming of wonderful spells, she uses material she had obtained as a child without knowing what it was about and she copies what she identifies as a spell. Only problem: the spell she traces comes from forbidden magic. In a flash, his entire house is crystallized, including his mother. Kieffrey saves her in extremis and decides to erase all memories related to magic from her memory, as it is customary to do to the ignorant. However, he realizes that the equipment Coco owned came from the Brotherhood of the Capuchon, an organization that wishes the return of a magic practiced by all for the better, but especially for the worse.
The world in which Coco evolves is fractured by the misuse of magic. In the past, spells whose character could harm the lives of men were used en masse to wage war. Seeing the world descend into chaos, some wizards made the decision to keep only a handful of wizards and erase the memory of magic in the rest of the population. The lie around magic is there to help the world heal from these wounds, yet Coco threatens this balance without even realizing it. It is a gearing gear in the strategy of the Brotherhood of the Hood to bring the truth to light.
"This little one is the first stone… It may fall and lead to others. And if that's the case, we won't be able to stop them. »
A set of references
The Sorcerers' Workshop is the result of a compilation of cultural elements that the mangaka loves. We recognize the influence of fantasy stories like the Lord of the Rings but also animated films of Studio Ghibli for the conception of the universe of the manga, the landscapes are directly reminiscent of the Shire and the fauna is reminiscent of that of Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind. Obviously, we must not forget the reference to Harry Potter, present in all minds or almost when we talk about magic.
The drawing shows the influence of manga of the 80s like The Rose of Versailles (Lady Oscar) by IKEDA Riyoko: from haircuts to big amazed eyes, everything is there. It should also be noted the extreme precision of the mangaka's pen which gives the drawings an air of engraving without preventing them from being very soft and dynamic.
It is a set that seduces the eye, the drawing catches the eye and it is impossible to detach from it once the volume opens. The large curves of the fabrics, the swaying of the hair in the wind, the landscapes and the spells really seem to move on paper. Perhaps SHIRAHAMA Kamome is herself a witch drawing her magic over the chapters.
A story whose complexity exceeds expectations
When we read the synopsis of The Sorcerer's Workshop, we immediately spot elements that we know: a naive and passionate heroine, other young girls of her age who practice magic, a mentor, an evil secret organization… One could easily believe in yet another story about the power of magic and friendship and yet, the manga manages to get out of these clichés.
Its strength is the originality of the practice of magic. Putting the traditional magic wand in the closet and using a pen holder, inkwell and paper instead is a novelty. It is an interesting element that can make the link between magic and drawing, or writing: initially lines on paper that turn into stories, figures… This also allows him to induce a certain rigor in the learning of magic: learn to draw figures freehand, recognize symbols, trace them, know how to execute spells of varying size. She creates a whole new repertoire of witchcraft, detailing every symbol the protagonists use, every object, every animal or magical plant. SHIRAHAMA Kamome achieves a masterstroke: she develops a totally new universe from A to Z, in a theme already revisited many times.
"A spell is not cast… It's taking shape! »
The scenario is not left out, over the volumes, we discover that Coco's fault is linked to the Brotherhood of the Hood and that the choice of the girl as a pawn is not the result of chance. If the first and second volumes focused mainly on the beginnings of the girl in the practice of magic, volume 3 marks a stage in the plot. The noose tightens and what could pass as a simple accident, turns out to be the beginning of a plan of the Brotherhood. Coco and her mother are no longer the only ones affected, the menacing shadow of the Brotherhood now hangs over the entire wizarding world. However, there are still many grey areas. Who are really the wizards of the Brotherhood of the Hood? Why did they choose Coco? What would happen to the world if the truth came out?
"Magic is a lie that colors the world"
The Sorcerers' Workshop is an impeccable variation on the theme of witchcraft yet repeated many times. The manga manages to create surprise in a universe where we thought everything was already done. To discover at your favorite bookseller!
