Director: Norihiro Naganuma
Studio: Wit Studio
Number of discs: 2/4
Format: DVD/BluRay
Classification: 15 (BBFC)
Episode Count: 13-24
Release Date: Out Now
Licensed By: Manga Entertainment
Chise has grown fond of her new life living and studying magic under Elias’s roof. As their relationship starts to grow and both start to question the feelings they have for one another, Chise’s health is taking a turn for the worst. Her body is taking longer to recover each time she uses her power, but she throws all caution aside when she hears that two of Lindel’s dragons have been captured. Risking her life to save them results in Chise being cursed. Now only that, but Cartaphilus has plans to use it for his benefit. What actions will Elias’ take to save his future bride?
Ooh it’s all starting to come to a head now in this final part of The Ancient Magus Bride. Chise has just started to value her life and has made a home for herself with Elias. So with that in mind each time her friends are in trouble, she risks everything to save them. Just take the latest ordeal involving one of the dragons Chise befriended in the Valley, which is now in Cartaphilus’s hands. There is something foul within this sorcerer, and we find out everything about his origins in these episodes. He is perhaps one of the most interesting characters in the show due to his origins. It’s quite sad really and his ending was unexpected, but I couldn’t see how Chise would have done anything else.
Chise comes very close to death in this Part, resulting in her body under-going another curse, as well as being born a Sleigh Beggy. It quickly takes its toll on her, after every magical act. Elias begins to smother her in order to keep her all to himself and safe, but grows severely jealous of the friends that come to spend time with Chise. Elias, although he looks like an untrustworthy demon, he in fact knows very little of his own emotions & how to identify each of them. Hence why we see him over-react on numerous occasions with dire consequences. So where in Part 1, we saw Chise as the student in the relationship, this Part see’s the roles in their relationship shift around.
There have been so many fascinating characters in this anime adaption, with Silver always peaking my curiosity. Thankfully, we get to see her origins, they were not what I was expecting at all but I can now see it looking back. Her origins and that of Tir Na nÓg, suggest this is based in Ireland. But the countryside, their proximity to London and the architecture scream English. So unless the forest beside them is somehow a portal straight into an enchanted Irish forest, I have no clue what the author was trying to describe. I just hope he was aware that Ireland and England are two separate countries when he began creating this series. This is just something that has been niggling at the back of my mind for most of the show.
So from Chise and Elias’ relationship growing closer and their roles being reversed, to the origins of Silver and uncovering Joseph/Cartaphilus past, this has been one captivating show. I could easily see room for a second season, but alas, nothing seems to be in the works from the studio on this. I do wish to check out the manga though, to see if there is any difference and if the plot went much further with the story lines, or missing plots that weren’t animated into the show.
Bonus Features:
Episode Commentary
Interview with George Wada (President of WIT Studio) and Norihiro Naganuma (Director of The Ancient Magus Bride anime).
The Ancient Magus Bride began as a manga series in 2013 by Kore Yamazaki, with 11 volumes available now in Japan and still ongoing. It is currently being published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. It was adapted into an anime in 2017, with the 3 OVA episodes released in 2016. The anime has a total of 24 episodes, all of which have been released across 2 Parts by Manga Entertainment. The anime was directed Norihiro Naganuma, who has also worked on Death Note, Attack On Titan, My Little Monster and Welcome To The NHK. Wit Studio is behind the animation of The Ancient Magus Bride, a studio that is famed for bringing us Attack On Titan which shook our screens back in 2013 when it debuted.
The Ancient Magus Bride is certainly one of the best animated series out there being released, and seems to have done very well in portraying the manga. The storyline, which follows Chise and her new life with Elias, surrounded by magical creatures, Gods, Dragons, curses, magical training and trying to understand each other’s feelings, has certainly been a rollercoaster. It’s not all perilous danger, there are some light hearted moments, such as Chise helping Alice with her Christmas shopping. Just in order to break up the tension a little bit, before we jump into another life vs death battle.
You can buy both Part 1 & Part 2 right now from Manga Entertainment, on either DVD or Blu-Ray. You can also look for the manga, with 10 volumes currently available in English from Seven Seas Entertainment, with the 11th volume being released this October.
Overall: 9/10
