Probably fear of their power and potential. The ones in power were probably scared of losing everything to something they werent born with and so they turned it around to dehumanize witches so they could stay in power… just a guess LOL
I wonder why witches (before systems like the witch police and magical tools were created) didn’t try and rise up themselves. And then I realized that in order to band together, there must be a common struggle among the people from an outside force. Before the system of banning witches existed, there probably existed a witch who wanted power like anyone else, and that’s how we ended up with magical tools and the like.
I predict there’s going to be a very high ranking (maybe even co-) creator of this system the crew will have to face. I’m sensing… themes of fascism and eugenics LOL
I really wonder why humans feel superior than mages, because the way they treat mages is not rage of being scared of the unknown but they see them as pests.
Also I'm happy for a shounen with female protagonists