WHAnalysis Volume 1
What this will be: me rereading the manga and overanalyzing anything that catches my eye, probably writing meta as I go. Each reblog will be one chapter in the volume
What this is not: spoiler-free. I am caught up to the manga (chapter 98 at the time of writing this), so I will be pulling in bits and pieces from later chapters, especially regarding The Big Reveal About Qifrey and The Big Reveal About Qifrey And Olly. Proceed with caution
Anyway chapter one!
Crazy how early the panelling/framing/bending of the fourth wall starts, wow. Literally the first 2-page illustration of the entire manga and it's this
Coco have I mentioned I love you.
And this is the start of that throughline of magic, flight, and freedom that follows all the way up to Custas' arc and the wings Coco makes for Silver Eve! This is the first expression of Coco's yearning for magic that we see, and it's something she eventually gets to make real for herself (with the first test), for her friends, and for others to experience. Which makes it all the more impactful when that little girl at the festival asks if she can become a witch - obviously that girl is meant to parallel baby Coco, but the fact that it's brought on by a piece of magic Coco made to fulfill a wish of her own is... really rough
Anyway hi Qifrey. Probably normal that their first panel together is Coco looking for her mother. I love when he's microscopic <3
And MAN the amount of detail that goes into Coco cutting the fabric!! It's very accurate to the process (what I would give to let this girl have a rotary cutter, I think she would enjoy it), and it's such a nice way of showing that this is something she's confident in doing. This story does some really fun things with the line that gets drawn between art (magic) and craft (textiles, carving, etc) and the respect they each receive, and Qifrey stepping over that line to treat Coco's craft as the art it is, is so good
This is the first time we see this phrasing, but it will not be the last :)
(Can't believe they took her fucking strawberry money to sell her a book full of illegal magic.) Also interesting - Coco knew that the magic wand was a pen, at least initially. That's the kind of thing that's easy to forget when you're like, five, and easy for your mom to overlook if she thinks you got scammed out of your strawberry money (seriously Iguin what the fuck), but this does almost suggest that they were expecting a return on investment a little sooner... Maybe if Coco's mom hadn't dampened her dreams a bit, we would have seen little baby Coco doodling with her new wand.
And even just two pages after that first exchange with Iguin, we see that Coco has latched on to the word "vibrant" in relation to magic! They did a very good job of planting that seed of interest in magic, and this ambition to become a witch.
Hello ominous Qifrey. Having thoughts about things, are we?
First sighting of the cap as a crucial (but crucially removable) marker of being a witch! Gee, Qifrey, I wonder why you don't walk around advertising your position of power all the time.
Classic managing children trick: frame the specific action you want as a favor to you, which they are doing for you. Very effective, very revealing of the fact that this guy is used to working with kids
And now - compare the first sequence of Coco descending to look at the carriage, versus now. This is something the anime really emphasizes, but there's some fun parallels here, too! More focus on her coming down the ladder, taking her time compared to the rush earlier.
Then the sigil itself! All those wind and push symbols, just like we see on the bottom of the sylph shoes! Again, the anime shows a better full view of it, but man. What a magic system
Awww and now she's nervous <3 And Qifrey, despite his curiosity about the book, doesn't push! Of course all the Dead Mom Flags are getting planted here, but I really do love how sweet Coco is. She's such a good kid. Time for her to do forbidden magic!
And the first spell she casts is light, just like Olly's glowstones
Ominous, ominous page, my god. Qifrey coming out of the shadows to grab her around the shoulders, but we don't know for sure that it's him yet.
And this bit!! The motion of it all!! Once again I adore how the anime does this sequence, because there's this frantic, panicked scramble Qifrey does over the rooftop that is just SO good. And he grisps Coco very securely also
Qifrey kind of threatening to wipe her memory here is really interesting to me. Like, would he actually have done it, had she not brought up the picture book? Part of me says no, because it's obvious something awful has happened here and Coco would be left without any clue what happened, and I can't see Qifrey doing that to a child - let alone a full-on Knights Moralis-style magic wipe. But he is quite good with tailoring memory spells. Could he erase only her memories of seeing him cast and then casting herself? Leave the crystal spell as some freak accident?
Then again, he seems eager to help fix this, just unsure how to proceed. But we don't know how much of that is him wanting to help Coco, and how much is him wanting to know what seal exactly she drew - and where (who) she learned it from.
It's fun that the anime has him drop her here, and then scoop her up again from almost touching her mom. I think that's a good change, and it adds to the more overtly traumatizing angle the anime takes on this whole scene. It gives her a bit more room to freak out.
And then, of course, we get to a page I have already said some thoughts on but do not fear, I have more thoughts. He asks her the first few questions while her face is still hidden in his shoulder, but he looks her in the eye, puts them on-level, puts her a bit higher, to take the final step.
Compare this, also, to the way he holds and speaks to her just a little earlier. Same grasp on her, but she's lower, he's looking down at her as he is being the Responsible Witch who follows the rules and might well memory-wipe the traumatized 12 year old. And Qifrey often makes a point of getting down and meeting kids on their level, not speaking down to them both literally and figuratively. But he doesn't do that until he's come around a bit more to the idea that Coco could be a lead.
And it is that realization - "She's the only lead I have" - that changes things. Not entirely, because again, I don't think Qifrey was ever going to entirely leave Coco in the lurch. But now she's someone he needs to keep a direct eye on, because she has information he needs. And so: the offer. And the page of Coco, held aloft in the sunrise, vulnerable but full of determination.
One last miscellaneous thought that didn't flow nicely: it's very interesting that Coco gets to experience both kinds of magic that she was specifically shown having an interest in (flight and illumination). Good quick setup and payoff about what attracts her to magic, and then also setup for later continuation
