Google sheet: とんがり帽子のアトリエ Vocabulary Sheet Please read the guidelines on the first page before adding any words.
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I don’t quite understand what happens on the very first page of this section. What does the バサァアァ sound represent? Why does it bring her attention to the open attic window thing? Why does it appear to startle her?
I really enjoy the quality of the drawings overall, but I do find that the author is at their best when they draw static or slow scenes, every time there’s quick action going on I’m a bit confused. I feel like some frames are missing or something. That’s true later in this section too.
Overall I find this fairly easy to read, I’m pleased to report. I think it’s fairly kanji-heavy which really plays on my strengths given how much I’ve focused on this aspect of my studies so far: my general vocab and grammar is probably somewhere around N4 but my kanji knowledge should be pretty solidly N2 by now.
As such, it’s those onomatopoeic kana words that always trip me up, like サラサラ here on p.50 which apparently can mean:
with a rustling sound
rippling (of a stream, etc.); murmuring; purling
slurping down (ochazuke)
quickly and easily (e.g. write a letter); with ease; smoothly; fluently
I’ll let you decide which meaning is applicable here…
Spoilers for this section
As I said in the previous section I really thought it would be more interesting if it turned out that there weren’t any 魔法使い by birth and it was all about a secret technique that could be learned instead, so I’m very happy to see that the story seems to go down this route. Although I’m a little confused by the thought Kirfrir (is that the proper romanization? キーフリー sounds like “care-free” to me…) has on page 48:
魔法のものを魔法使い以外の子供に売るなんて…
Doesn’t that imply the existence of special 魔法使いの子供? Or maybe he’s just referring to kids who are formally taught magic in special institutions as opposed to some innate ability. That seems to make more sense but I suppose we’ll know more soon enough. Oh or maybe he just means the children of magic users who are taught by their parents?
Anyway, I really enjoyed Koko going all scientific method to figure out how the drawing thing worked. That’s solid world building, easy to understand and I can see it leading to cool situations later. The idea that drawing cool shapes would give you magic power is also something I would have absolutely loved as a kid.
Beyond that I’m impressed by how quickly Koko processed the effective death of her mother and what she needed to do to “fix” it. She’s a real problem solver this one.
I think it’s supposed to be a gust of wind. It blows her cloak over her head and nearly blows her off the roof, and when she looks up, she sees the open window above her. But I agree that it’s not very clear. There’s one particular scene in this week or the next where I’ve also had this problem and have been staring at it forever.
I also agree on onomatopoea being end boss level hard. I hardly ever bother figuring out sound effects in manga, because it’s usually simpler to let the art tell the tale.
Potential spoiler territory
Doesn’t that imply the existence of special 魔法使いの子供?
Yes. There are increasing hints scattered over the next few weeks that magic-users are like a special social class that keep the secrets of magic within their families.
I think the fact that there’s still hope to fix her mother’s condition gives her the strength to move on and focus on fixing it rather than mourning. Her infatuation with magic probably also helps.
Ok, that makes sense. Just seems kind of odd that the two kids and her went out of their way to climb here and just gave up when there was an open window in plain sight. Feels a bit random.
Spoiler stuff
I like that a lot! I mean as a concept in fiction, not caste systems in general…
I quite like the implication that Kirfrir (I looked it up, it’s Quifrey or something like that in the English version, but now I’m commited) was about to Men-in-Black-style memory-wipe her but changed his mind, seemingly not out of the kindness of his heart but for his own ulterior motives. That’s drama brewing!
I guess like for the gust of wind thing I was rather confused about what was happening and how bad the mother’s situation was (she seems to be turned into stone and absorbed into the ground?) so I thought it was a bit jarring that Koko seemed to immediately understand what had just happened and how it could (maybe) be fixed even though she had no idea what her spell even was.
Also Kirfrir showing up at the exact second required to save her but not stop her feels quite… lucky.
I was just reading that bit, and it stumped me too. Funny enough, my guess was also wind, but only because there was already a similar bit earlier with strong wind and laundry.
That would certainly make sense for the story progression. Makes me wish there were some written sounds effects around it to indicate a loud sound of it swinging open.
Definitely. I also needed a while to find a sequence of events that explains it. I guess the attic window wasn’t visible from the other window, so Koko saw it only because the wind made her slide sideways and downwards to an angle from where she could see it. But this is all guesswork.
That’s an intriguing thought, too.
Same. There is another panel next week where you can see the situation from above and it looks like she got turned to stone along with the entire house. But tbh, that one could be clearer, too.
The point that the spell could be reversed is raised by Kifuri (see, I’m committed, too) and he also does a great job at keeping up her motivation. But part of that might be next week’s territory, so maybe I should reread properly before commenting.
Me too. I love that kind of stuff.
Also Kirfrir showing up at the exact second required to save her but not stop her feels quite… lucky.
Yeah, that was the panel I was talking about in my last post, the one where I was really, really trying to find out how exactly he got in but couldn’t.
It took me a moment to realize that 魔法陣 means ‘magic circle.’ Jisho seems to lean into a battle formation meaning for 陣, but it seems to be more broad than that?
I think it’s kind of a technical term in this universe.
Unimportant detail from next week
In the next chapter, there’s a textbook style explanation on how to draw a magic circle, and if I remember correctly, 陣 is the term for the outer circle. The inner and middle parts have specific terms that are usually kanji with other meanings, too. So let’s all properly learn magic together! がんばりましょう！
I feel like I’ve missed something - namely, why do they need to find another copy of the book? Is there something wrong with the one that’s in her bedroom? Is the spell still active? In which case, surely they can wait until it runs out of puff.
The Kodansha translation went with Qifrey. Possibly the original author came up with that, but I don’t know for sure.
It’s come up in Flying Witch before, so recongised it easily enough… once I remembered the difference between 陣 and 軍.
I think the one in her bedroom got crystallised or otherwise obliterated. Or maybe it’s inaccessible because of all the crystal? Maybe both. And maybe the spell is still active.
So what’s happening on page 36 is actually a repeat of what happened on page 11, except instead of flying away from her, the sheet flew directly at her and covered her. She didn’t expect it and didn’t see it coming, so she’s surprised and alarmed. In trying to get free, she squirms and twists to one side. If you follow her gaze, the open trap door she spots is both above her, off to one side, and next to a deck-like protrusion. Which, if we then fly back to pages 12 and 13:
It is in fact the same trapdoor on the roof that Koko uses to hang up the laundry. (Note the now-empty clothesline on page 36 because all of the sheets have flown away now). So it was high above their heads, rather than in their direct line of sight, and Koko forgot about it completely in her excitement. She then climbs in the trapdoor and finds a spot in the attic where she can peek down at Qifrey.
This is also why she’s out of breath later. She could just go down the stairs like she did after hanging the laundry, but he would’ve seen her and realized she was peeping after being told not to. So she climbs back up the ladder, through the trapdoor, and scales down the side of the roof when Qifrey calls for her.
Oooh, now that does add up. I suppose when you operate a fabric shop you can afford to lose multiple sheets on a daily basis. Kind of makes you wonder why she even bothers cleaning them.
