Witch Hat Atelier Vol 7 by Kamome Shirahama

Lord Beldaruit tells Coco a story of Qifrey’s past and why he has such a strong prejudice against the Brimmed Caps. Because of this, Coco decides to break off from the group and go to the Tower of Tomes to seek answers for Qifrey’s struggles as well as seek a solution for her own mother. But getting to the Tower proves to be much more perilous than Coco believed it would be.  The Tower is guarded by fierce water dragons that spring out of the lake and attack any movement they sense on the banks of the lake.  Qifrey races after her to save her from the guardians of the Tower, but he's still not fully healed from his previous injuries, and he must rely on Coco's originality and ingenuity to save them both.

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This volume was a little shorter than some of the others have been, and I really didn't get a sense that we got a ton of movement out of this in terms of furthering the plot line.  We do get a good look into Qilfrey's past, but it raised more questions than it answered (as good exposition often does).  Hopefully, we'll start getting a few more answers in the next volume, especially with all this darkness swirling around Qilfrey!

Shirahama's illustrations continue to be spectacular.  The "scary" water dragons that attack Coco and Qilfrey are a little scary, to be sure, but they're also beautiful and extremely detailed.  

Sara’s Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 5-12

​Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4, vol 5, vol 6
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Publisher: Kodansha
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
ISBN: 9781646510788 (Paperback)

Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Elementary School, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Fantasy, Magical Girl, ​Kodansha