Review of The Ancient Magus' Bride

The concept of magic and its similar fantastical themes in the realm of anime have ended up turning into worlds with stats and RPG elements due to the constant stream and popularity of Isekai shows clogging up seasonal lists with various titles of the same type with small gimmicks in between each other to make them 'unique'. But recently we've entered into a renaissance of series' involving magic as part of nature, venturing back to the roots of where the concept first originated; folklore. Story: Our story follows Hatori Chise, a girl who willingly sells herself at an auction in hopes to find a better home, nowhaving been abandoned by her family and rejected by those that find her ability to see the fae and the mystical, terrifying. It is here where a mysterious magus named Elias puts down a humongous sum of money for her, inviting her to his home in the countryside of England, now told that she was bought by him in order to become his mage apprentice, and perhaps in the future, his bride.

At its core, the Ancient Magus Bride is a story centered around its characters, particularly Chise, mixed in with a setting that gradually expands further and further into the world of magic and the fae with each new event and problem that our protagonists encounter. Based on European folklore, we, along with Chise, embark on a journey that paces itself well and does a fantastic job at gradually feeding the information that we need to understand the show's whimsical characters and creatures, as well as the lines between humans and those in the magical realm, a topic that's so heavily discussed in the show that it serves as one of its core foundations for shaping the point of views and decisions that Chise especially makes now that she has made the plunge into the world of magic that she was previously scared to dip her toes in.

Despite that, the show is still primarily a character-based show, and sadly is not one worthy of praise for its impact. Most if not all of the characterization featured in this show is funneled into the realm of backstory, which includes virtually everyone, especially recurring characters and those with problems our protagonists must resolve. The problem from this stems from how in order to characterize the characters like this, the sacrifice of development at the present time, must be made. Since all of the more harmful or character shaping events happen in the past, the character we're presented with in the series comes after the fact, and most of the impact from their past has already happened and we're only presented with the result, not the more worthwhile journey.

Another problem I find is the lack of emotion in this series despite the show trying to be character-driven. The times that the show tries to create huge drama never feels very impactful due to the show's strangely monotonous manner of its protagonists, and the little impact that comes before and after the situation has happened. Indeed subtleties are present, but personally, I expected a more drastic change if you're doing something like almost murdering the same character multiple times.

This doesn't mean that the show doesn't have its shining moments. While Chise's journey might have floundered at the end due to the show's mostly monotonous atmosphere and how by the point of her overcoming her trials, everything has been resolved for the most part, there are a numerous moments in the show that scream beauty and awe in many of the early episodes that make the show worth a look at. These scenes really capture the beauty of a world enraptured by magic, and creates many an enchanting moment that drew me in and really had me thinking that I was going for a wild ride, which unfortunately was not one I wanted to get on coming towards the end.

At the end of the day, the story of the Ancient Magus Bride is a well-paced show that makes up its lack of pure character impact with its expansive worldbuilding and choice moments that give it a magical air about it that feels genuine, rich, and very much alive. Though try as it may to be a drama with how much emotional baggage Chise and the rest of the cast has, it isn't, and the times that it does try to do that feel very conflicting to how much of a slice of life series the show emulates during the rest of the show that isn't backstory.

Overview:
+ Fantastic worldbuilding
+ Great pacing
- At times tries to be something it's not
- Drama eventually takes over much of everything

Characters:

Baggage. If I had to describe this cast in one word, it's baggage. Chise is the prime culprit of this generalization because much of her character is surrounded in self-pity due to her making trouble for Elias and her new acquaintances, and the desire to help others because of this shortcoming with no thought on the repercussions her reckless behavior would have on both her and those around her, thus creating a vicious cycle that plagues this series. I'll be honest, I'm annoyed by Chise. While I do believe that she is a well-written character as her previously closed-off self gradually opens up as the episodes roll by in a somewhat sluggish, but acceptably paced way, the harmful and borderline suicidal cycle that she falls into gets exhausting to witness because at times it doesn't feel like she learns from the other seven times she's gotten herself or others killed, and instead dives headfirst in an admirable yet stupid attempt to save or help others despite the fact that literally EVERY other character tells her to 'think of herself first' before others. Seriously, there is something wrong if everyone, even the villain, thinks you being too selfless is a problem. Her backstory also comes around at the very end, and by the time that comes around, we're already aware of almost everything that's happened in it, so it loses most of its impact that way.

Elias on the other hand is almost an inverse of Chise. An old mage with unknown origins, the 'Thorn Mage' is a character almost entirely characterized by his lack of understanding and desire to grasp the concept of emotion from the humans he's lived around for so long. Being an amalgamation who's neither completely fae nor human that puts his own interests above others, his existence in the series creates many situations where traits of both come into play, portraying him as a monster that struggles with his plight, and a backstory detailing unknown origins that are never get resolved. Together, the two create an interesting dynamic where the two supposedly use each other to fulfill their own desires, creating a strange bond that's weirdly heartwarming despite the implications that arise when you get down to brass tacks.

The side cast is focused entirely on those involved with magic, from sorcerers, denizens in the land of the fae, and various people who come into contact with the world of magic for various reasons, whether it'd be intentional or not. Characterization for the side cast comes only for the human characters, and only through backstory, as their addition serves to expand Chise's view of the world of magic and provide more insight to how magic can impact people, both good and bad. Sadly the characters that're part of the fae don't get the same treatment, but rather serve as an antithesis to the human world as they're amoral beings that help provide a duality to Chise's entire world view and generally cause the kind of mischief that fairies in folklore are typically known for.

Despite the show's diverse and expansive cast and the stories that each of these people carry, I found myself having a hard time attaching myself to them despite the series's attempts to throw so many characters a pity party and show that they've come far from the lowest point in their lives. Personally, I feel like the show tried too hard to create conflict when there really was none, especially because this aspect of the storytelling really started to overshadow the beautiful and magical moments that the show previously had in its earlier episodes and soured the experience as a whole cause feeling depressed for a character all the time is quite exhausting.

Overview:
+ Interesting and well-made main characters
+ Involved side cast
- Characterization almost entirely told through backstory (especially for side cast)
- Chise's character at times runs in circles

Art:

Produced by Wit Studio, the quality that one can expect from the company who produced both Shingeki no Kyojin and Owari no Seraph is nothing less than consistent quality with beautiful backgrounds, something that the studio's track record can attest to.

While the standard art bears only a consistent quality and crisp, clear visuals to give it a baseline, the moments that the show really shines in quality are the landscape shots and the moments filled with light and color from the various scenes of magic being casted over the course of the series. Combined with the OST's pension for flourishes, the combination of these two aesthetics create a beautiful and powerful whimsy that really make it feel like 'magic'. (Also this series really likes flowers. And they're fucking good.)

Overview:
+ Consistent quality
+ Beautiful backgrounds
+ Stellar scenes of magic

Sound:

As far as the OP's and ED's go, I feel as it's worth noting how each of them really needs to be listened to all the way to get a scope of what they really are, especially for the second OP and ED set for the second cour of the series. Cause their beginnings are really weird in that they sound generic, but as you get into them, they start to sound more unique and more...I guess 'magical' is the way to put it. (Cause you know, it fits with the show and everything.) Personally, I'm not really a big fan of them? I never really paid much attention to them, especially because the tone of them exudes the more drama/baggage-heavy parts of the series which isn't something that I would ever attribute the Ancient Magus Bride to because that aspect of the show only really happens towards the end of the series.

But more than that, the OST for the series beyond the title and credits sequences are what I feel to be the true MVP's of the series. Full of harmonizing, wind instruments, bells, and flourishes, the OST bears the series's whimsical feel that captures the feelings of Chise exploring the realm of magic and the fae on her journey to become a mage. It's a calming group of songs that really give the show its defining quality of being a true fantasy with magical creatures and magic in the air set in our world.

Overview:
+ Good title tracks (though I'm not too fond of them personally)
+ Fantastic OST

Personal Enjoyment:

I guess this is the part where I say that I say that I don't like 'The Ancient Magus Bride', huh? There was a time when I was intrigued at the potential the show had with what it could do with European folklore, its interpretation of the Fae, and what kind of magic could be done in this magic show; what would become of Chise's journey and perhaps solve the mystery of the mysterious Thorn Mage, Elias.

But what I thought would be a light series with darker elements eventually became a dark series with lighter elements, an inverse that I was not particularly fond of because I feel like the show was too heavy-handed in its pity party and ended up shooting itself in the foot trying to make every character be pitiful in some way with a backstory that didn't impact anything in the end because the actual plot is focused on Chise's journey of becoming a mage, not how the side character came to be. It's almost as if the story focused so much on filling the blanks on everything else that it kind of forgot what it was in the first place. Cause there aren't many moments like what happens at the end of Episode 3, and that's really what I was really looking forward to more of that from the rest of the show as that never really came in the spades that I wanted it to.

By the end of it, I found myself not really caring for either Chise or Elias, and felt kind of cheated with the numerous plot holes and/or loose ends that happen at the end of the series. Like what the fuck happened with the main villain? I genuinely don't know if he's defeated or not, how things got resolved, or whatever. Like seriously, what the actual fuck happened in the last episode?!

Despite all of my negativity, I still believe that The Ancient Magus Bride is a good show, but not without numerous flaws and a shifting plot focus that changes it from magic and characters to just characters and the advent of how questionably healthy the relationship between our main duo is. It is still at its core a true magic fantasy, and has amazing worldbuilding that elevate it to become a target of interest if only for that.