Witch Hat Atelier Voice Cast Talks Secrets & Pressure [EXCLUSIVE]

There is no doubt that Witch Hat Atelier is one of the season’s biggest releases. The Mary Sue sat down with Joshua A. Waters and Madeleine Morris to talk about being a part of this lush show. 

Waters plays sorcerer supreme and witchy dad Qifrey. Meanwhile, Morris is Agott, one of Quifrey’s apprentices with a ton to prove. Both of these voice talents do an amazing job of bringing this vibrant world to life. 

Coco might be our protagonist. But, her life among her friends helps introduce folks to the expansive world in Witch Hat Atelier. We had to start with Bug Films and their jaw-dropping animation on the show.

If it wasn’t clear, Waters is a huge fan. “I’ve been a Longtime fan of the manga. I’ve been reading it for years and years now, so I’ve known the potential that sat in doing an adaptation of this,” the Qifrey actor explained. “But Bug Films and everyone involved in the production has been really putting every bit of their heart into this.”

“Everything seems so handcrafted and lovely and fantastically made,” they added. “It seemed like everybody involved not only has had a lovely time working on it, but has such respect and love for the series and characters.” 

“You can tell in every single frame that they care so much and as English voices of these characters, we’ve been trying our best to also keep in step,” the star concluded.

Agott and Unknown Pressure

Morris’s time in Witch Hat Atelier is spent helping her fellow apprentices get better at magic. Agott is there to fly through her training for mysterious reasons. She doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with Coco on her way through.

However, a begrudging respect does form! And, we learn that Agott has some pretty anxious tendencies. Like that moment in Episode 4 (“Meetings in Kalhn”) where she blasts a dragon with a fireball? Where did that come from? It’s all linked to the character’s psychology.

 “She’s got a lot to prove. She says as much,” the star told us. “And to that end, I feel like she puts up this wall. There’s this mask in front of her that she has to be on top of things. She has to know everything. And, she has to be the most prepared.”

She wondered, “ Why did she have that spell in her palm choir? Why does she have that massive fire blast ready to go? What else would that have been used for? Why did you draw that my child, my little girl? You’re twelve!”

“She’s inventing and she’s preparing for every eventuality! And, I don’t know,” Morris admits. “Did she make that one for fun? Had she ever tested that one before? But, she has this very clear sense of superiority.”

Qifrey and duality in Witch Hat Atelier

Over on the adult side of the mysteries, Qifrey has some things he’s keeping close to the vest. The witch is effectively the caretaker for these four girls. But, they’re in danger and don’t seem to realize it yet.

When we talked, Waters did have to smile about the observation that there was a switch in his performance as the kindly magic-user. As early as Episode 1,  you get the sense that there’s a storm brewing behind those kind eyes.

I must admit, Waters is positively lovely, as was Morris during our conversation. But, they had to admit there might be a parallel motive dancing beneath the surface…

“So, Qifrey Has these two sides of his character that a fine line needs to be written through. Where it’s the same person, both sides of that coin. But, it’s two drastically different parts of that person,” Waters elaborated. “Where he does truthfully and honestly care about these kids. He wants them to learn, he wants them to be safe, he wants to teach them, he wants them to grow into witches of their own.”

How far would he go?

“But, he has his own goals,” they pointed out! “He has these things that he is willing to put a lot on the line to do. And that switch, that desperation that comes out in those moments is something that I have loved playing with.”

“Where you can see that’s still him! There’s a moment in Episode 8, that we recently had, where he has this moment… There’s a part in that little blow-up moment where he’s like burning and simmering on it,” the actor recalled. “He realizes that they made Coco use this ink.” 

“I wanted to make sure that in that moment it was just this simmering rage,” they continued. “‘How dare you make my apprentice use this ink? I need this ink, but how dare you even think of that?’ How dare you do this to a child?”

Expect more mysteries as we continue forward. Witch Hat Atelier is available to stream now on Crunchyroll every Monday at 7:00 AM PT / 10:00 AM ET.

(featured image: Crunchyroll)

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