Highly anticipated Witch Hat Atelier anime adaptation unveils new trailer as fans give early praise: "The 'Anime of the Year' vibes here are strong"

A new trailer for the highly anticipated Witch Hat Atelier anime adaptation has dropped ahead of its spring release, with fans giving some high praise already. After the global success of fantasy titles like Frieren: Beyond the Journey's End and Delicious in Dungeon, this is set to be another huge release for the genre.

Based on Kamome Shirahama's manga series, Witch Hat Atelier follows a young aspiring witch who, despite being born without powers, finds a way to use magic after an encounter with a travelling magician. "All you need is a combination of specially made ink and known patterns, and anyone can use magic," says her new master, Qifrey, in the new trailer (which you can watch below).

After Crunchyroll unveiled the new footage, fans showed their excitement in the comments. "The "Anime of the year" vibes here are strong," wrote one Youtube user, while a second added: "It looks better than I ever could have imagined." A third shared: "I almost teared up watching this trailer, it looks AMAZING, believe everyone that says this will be the new king of fantasy anime, because it's even better than that, this is something truly special."

Witch Hat Atelier | Main Trailer | Crunchyroll - YouTube

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The show has been six years in the making, with its release date pushed back from 2025 to 2026 so the team could "deliver the series with the highest possible quality," according to the producers.

"We want to create something akin to a Hollywood blockbuster. Something profound like the Lord of the Rings," one producer said during an interview. "The project to create an anime adaptation of this manga has been in progress since 2019. That may seem like a long time, but if you read the manga, you'll get the picture. Figuring out how to transform the manga's extremely intricate illustrations into an anime is taking time."

The wait is over, however, as the series is arriving soon just as Frieren: Beyond the Journey's End season 2 and Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 end their respective runs.

Witch Hat Atelier will be released on April 6, 2026. For more, check out our guide to the other most exciting new anime on the way in 2026.

Mireia is a UK-based culture journalist and critic. She previously worked as Deputy Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and her work as a freelance writer has appeared in WeLoveCinema and Spanish magazines Fotogramas, Esquire, and Elle. She is also a published author, having written a book about Studio Ghibli's 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in 2023. Talking about anime and musicals is the best way to grab her attention.

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