How would you feel as the creator, writer and illustrator of a successful manga series that has won oodles of awards and adapted into an anime series streaming around the world?

Kamome Shirahama, the creative force behind Witch Hat Atelier, visited Anime Expo 2026 along with two of the Japanese cast: Rena Motomura, the voice of Coco, the aspiring witch who seeks to rescue her mother from a terrible spell, and Natsuki Hanae, who plays the mysterious Qifrey, Coco’s mentor.  They headlined a panel, “Witch Hat Atelier: A Magical Chat with the Cast and Creator” at the Peacock Theater on July 3, before a capacity crowd at the 7,100-seat venue.

The host, Tim Lyu of Crunchyroll, which streams Witch Hat, engaged his guests with the following Q & A interview.

Tim Lyu: First question is for Shirahama-sensei. Please tell us about your inspiration for the series and what it was like to develop this amazing magical world and its characters

Kamome Shirahama: To me, the act of creating illustrations, drawing pictures, and making manga feels like magic itself—that became the inspiration for the series.

As for the characters, I create them by quietly weaving my own worries, emotions, and personal struggles into each one, little by little.

Lyu: How did each of you receive your roles, and what did you focus on while performing them? Were there any particular challenges?

Rena Motomura (Coco): When I was playing Coco, the most difficult part was this: Coco is an incredibly kind girl. But because she always tries so hard, I would sometimes put too much strength into my performance, and she’d end up sounding too forceful. The director would tell me, ‘Be gentler.’

Finding exactly the right balance of strength and kindness was the hardest part.

Natsuki Hanae (Qifrey): Qifrey is a very kind teacher, but at the same time he has a mysterious side and can also be strict. He has many different facets to his personality.

The hardest part was finding the delicate balance between all those sides without making any one of them feel exaggerated.

Lyu: Qifrey specializes in water magic, and Coco excels at straight-line spells. If you lived in the world of Witch Hat Atelier, what kind of magic do you think you’d be best at?

Shirahama: I don’t think I’d have any particular magical attribute. But I know I’d draw extremely intricate magic circles filled with countless lines.

Motomura: I’m the kind of person who always gives everything my all and charges straight ahead. So I’d like to ask you, Sensei: if I were a witch, what kind of magic do you think I would be good at?

Shirahama: Yes, she’s powerful, as she said herself. And she’s a good dancer, actually. So maybe you have a big wand and dance with it while casting a spell. That’s what I imagine for you.

Motomura: Thank you.

Hanae: It doesn’t necessarily have to be about being a wizard, right? I’m not really very good at that kind of intricate, detailed magic, so maybe I’d be something like … a shopkeeper.

To put it in terms people in L.A. would understand, I’d like to open something like an In-N-Out—a hamburger restaurant—in that world. I think that’s what I’d like to do.

Lyu: Imagine going through the drive-thru and you hear Natsuki Hanae’s voice.

Next question is for everybody as well. What has been your favorite memory from working on this series so far?

Shirahama: If I didn’t draw this work, then I wouldn’t be here to meet all of you, and I wouldn’t be invited to the U.S. and meet so many fans, so I’m really grateful for that.

Motomura: There are so many great memories. But one thing that stands out is the voice actor for Brushbuddy, Misaki Kuno, exchanged clothes with me during the recording session and that stays with me.

At the recording, I happened to wear clothes that made noise, unfortunately. And then Kuno-san very kindly volunteered to swap the clothes with me so that I wouldn’t make noise, and I appreciated that gesture. 

Everybody on the team, from the cast to staff ,was so nice and gentle.

Hanae: What stays with me is recording Episode One as a teacher. I’m seeing all my students— Motomura-san and the others—doing the recording. I was sitting in the back and seeing them  perform their scenes, and that was really nice. I felt like a teacher.

Lyu: This question is for Shirahama-sensei. How has it been to see your story come to life through this anime adaptation?

Shirahama: It’s been my dream that my work be turned into anime, so really is a dream come true. But when I’m drawing manga, it’s almost like I’m seeing a film or a vision, and I’m putting that down on paper. Sometimes the anime goes beyond what I imagined. And sometimes, I get to see something that I didn’t expect or hadn’t imagined. It’s been a really wonderful experience.

Lyu: This question is also for everybody. In the magical world of Witch Hat Atelier we meet so many amazing characters. You guys like all the characters in Witch Hat Atelier? So, which of Qifrey’s apprentices do you best identify with personally?

Motomura: I’d have to say it’s Coco. She’s great. When she decides on something, she just goes for it. Sometimes she gets tunnel vision. I like that as well. But I always want to become as kind as Coco.

Hanae: Just like Richeh I like pursuing something that is uniquely my own—something special that only I can do—so I think we’re similar in that respect.

Shirahama: I think every one of the characters has a little bit of my own essence in them, so rather than saying that I’m like any one particular character, there are parts of me that resemble all of them.

When I was a child, I wanted to improve as quickly as Agott does, and like Richeh, I also have this feeling that I’d like to make a living doing only the things I love.

Lately, when I watch the anime, I’m constantly amazed, just like Coco, going, ‘Wow! Amazing! Amazing!’

Now that I’m this age, the character I identify with most is probably Tetia. She’s always saying, ‘Thank you.’ I’m so appreciative of everything. So yeah, a little bit of everyone.

Tim Lyu wrapped up the Q & A to award three winners in a giveaway, who received a manga signed by Shirahama.

This was followed by a live dubbing session, in which Motomura and Hanae demonstrated their skills in matching their voices to the animation of Coco and Qifrey while simultaneously emoting as those characters.

Then came the premiere of a trailer for Ascendance of a Bookworm: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke in a cross-promotion with Witch Hat Atelier. The audience was then treated to a brief preview of Witch Hat’s second season. 

Lyu read from a letter from director Ayumu Watanabe sharing his excitement over the project, promising “greater depth and care than ever before” in episodes to come. 

Voice actors Motomura and Hanae thanked the fans, as did Shirahama-sensei. Her parting words were:

“Thank you so much for coming today. I really appreciate that all of you are here. I’m so happy to be here and I know that you know there are so many happy moments in anime and manga that give you happiness. We are so happy and we have fun, but, at the same time, there are so many challenges and hardships that you all experience and that never leaves your mind. Some of you are trying to balance that out and make sense of it all.

“I want this series to be a reminder that each one of you has the power of magic inside you and so when you experience something hard like that, just remember that you have the power to overcome it. I’m going to continue to create something fun that you can enjoy, and so please walk down this path with me. Thank you.”

The panel ended with the opportunity of a photo op, minus Kamome Shirahama, who preferred not to be photographed. Lyu called for the Witch Hat cosplayers to gather at the stage, with the audience as the backdrop. “On the count of three, we all say, ‘Witches’.”

Stay ‘tooned to Animation Scoop for my personal interview with Kamome Shirahama and Rena Motomura that we did shortly after the panel. For my interviews with the English-speaking cast, please click here.

Witch Hat Atelier streams on Crunchyroll. It is rated TV-PG for fantasy violence. Season 2 is in production but its premiere date has yet to be announced.

Special thanks to Stephanie Wong, Senior Publicist, Streaming Content & Awards, and her team from Crunchyroll: Blake Shuster, Pamela Abeka, Kaitlin Hargrove, Taylor Cocke, and Cameron Winston.