Witch Hat Atelier in English: where it stands before volume 15

What Witch Hat Atelier is about

Witch Hat Atelier is a fantasy manga by Kamome Shirahama. Its central idea is simple. Magic is something you draw.

Every spell is a design. It is built from special symbols laid down in magic ink. Learn the rules and you could cast one yourself. That is exactly why the rules are a closely guarded secret.

Coco works in her mother's tailor shop. She has wanted to be a witch for as long as she can remember. One day the witch Qifrey visits the shop. Coco sneaks a look while he casts a spell. She sees him draw it. Her own first attempt goes badly wrong. Afterward Qifrey takes her on as an apprentice in his atelier. Three other girls study there with her.

The series treats magic as a craft. It takes practice. It takes careful study. The detailed art looks like the ink illustrations of old storybooks. The genres are adventure, drama and fantasy. Its themes include witches, magic, found family and drawing. Fans of classic fantasy and coming of age stories should feel at home. Anyone who likes to draw has one more reason to pick it up.

Where the series stands in Japan

All counts and dates in this article are as of October 2026.

The manga started in Japan in 2016. It is still running there. Japan has 16 volumes so far. The story is not finished. Anyone starting now is joining a series that still has more to come.

How far the English edition has got

Kodansha publishes the series in English. Volume 1 came out on 9 April 2019. The English edition now stands at 14 volumes. Volume 14 arrived on 17 March 2026.

That leaves English two volumes behind Japan. The gap is small. A reader who catches up in English is only two books short of the Japanese edition.

When volume 15 comes out

The next English release is volume 15. It comes out on 8 December 2026 in paperback. The listing names Penguin Random House as the publisher. Details are on the volume 15 page.

Volume 14 came out in March. Volume 15 lands in December. That is a long wait for current readers. For new readers it is a window. There are about seven weeks between now and the release. That is time enough to read the 14 English volumes and be ready for the next one.

How to start

The way in is Volume 1. Kodansha released it in English on 9 April 2019. Read the volumes in order from there. Here is the quick picture:

• Start with: Volume 1 from Kodansha on 9 April 2019
• Latest in English: Volume 14 on 17 March 2026
• Next in English: Volume 15 on 8 December 2026
• In Japan: 16 volumes and still running

The full list of English volumes and their dates is on the Witch Hat Atelier series page.

Start now or wait

Waiting does not buy much here. The series is still running in Japan. English keeps adding volumes behind it. Starting now puts you in step with the English release before volume 15 arrives. After that you read each new volume as it comes out.