Review of The Ancient Magus' Bride

Firstly, this is not a series that I'll recommend to anyone or something that I think everyone will enjoy, but a series that I want everyone to at least give a try once. I also would like to mention that I categorize this more as an appreciation essay than a review for many reasons. With that being said, on to the essay! From the beginning, this series felt like one of those worlds where I could simply get lost in. The world and magic of this anime induce that sense of awe and wonder in me. It has folklore and mythologies from Celtic, Irish, Christianity,British, Shakespear, Russia, Japanese and probably from all around the world at this point. Ever since I was young, I've adored mythologies and folklore from all over the world. Even though I do not believe in the supernatural, I've always loved watching and reading about these mystical and supernatural stories that have been a part of all of our cultures for centuries. So being such a mythos and folklore nerd, one of the most irritating parts about this medium is how it likes to butcher those already amazing stories into cliches or obnoxious rubbish. The West is a bit more respectful most times, but not every one of them managed to capture me. Some of those series that did manage to capture me would be those little book/ film series called Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. But even compared to those massively popular cliches, this feels better written and more authentic.

Not only the mythos but the magic and alchemy too is beautiful. In a medium swept of fantasy MMO RPG worlds with your usual NPCs, your usual class systems and your usual elemental, buff, debuff magic systems you don't really see anything new being made. Because of that, every world and story has become oddly familiar. And no matter how good the story or characters are, the worlds have gotten stale. Or as Garnt said, "Magic ceases to be Magical". So compared to all of those The Ancient Magus' Bride (or MahoYome for short) feels or rather is a breath of fresh air. Magic of this world isn't something that only exists for destruction, it's something beautiful yet frighting and mysterious at the same time. It's never fully explained or understood and that's the beauty of it. The supernatural isn't painted black or white either. It's a phenomenon that can be good, evil or even both depending on various circumstances. Only the bare minimum information that's required is given. We don't learn everything about the world and its magic nor do the characters know about them. Even though beings who've lived for centuries exists in this world, they are still nowhere near understanding everything it has to offer. It's simply a world that exists and has existed for a very long time. Just like our real world. Exploring and learning about that world beyond my understanding is part of what makes MahoYome so compelling and fascinating.

The well-detailed world only complements that marvellous magic in the series. Kore Yamazaki, the original mangaka has managed to craft a world that not only feels fresh but somewhat familiar too. The amazing attention to detail that has gone into the series from the architecture to the food and even to the bloody patterns in the train seats! These subtle things are what makes this world feels real and so captivating. One of the worst things a manga could do is to have an English setting with a traditional British cottage and someone eating a piece of Onigiri or a bowl of ramen in the middle of it. A lot of research and care has gone into crafting this little gem and a lot of praise should be given to both the mangaka and the animation studio for it.

The magic and world-building are what captured me at first but that's not all there is to this fairytale. Tossed into this mystical world with no magical knowledge and with the help of her "mentor" character, our protagonist Chise Hatori learns more about the world and to appreciate the fantastical elements of it. Which does happen but later on in the story, you'll realize those were more of a surface level backdrop to the story, a pit of quicksand that looks solid until you start to walk into it. It's kind of tough, cause while some Anitubers and reviewers did break this series down to the bone and explain its amazing plot and characters, I kind of don't want to. If I were to do that, I'd reveal many things that initially you aren't supposed to know that will somewhat ruin the fun. But I will mention simple things such as a lot of the character designs in this series are very unique. The designs and character names all have mythological value to them, that reveal either backstories or parts of their characterization. The plot is somewhat monster of the week esque but it's crafted in a way that with happiness, sorrow follows. So it feels well balanced and will always leave you at the edge of your seat.

Wit studio most certainly did a magnificent job with this title. They proved that not only can they do action-packed titles like AoT but they can handle some emotional and beautiful titles like MahoYome as well. With gorgeous animation that was followed by some magnificent music, the manga panels were truly brought to life. The inserts complement the animation and the mood of the story very well. Though I'm not one to watch OPs or EDs, this was one of the few instances that I did not skip them in a single episode. It's also mind-boggling that this exceptional production was made by a group of newbies. From the director to the composer are all new names to these titles.

Would I recommend this to the general anime fans? Aye, this series became one of my favourite anime of all time. How it handles mythologies and folklore in my opinion, is the best. Another nerdy thing I loved about this world is its mages, witches and sorcerers. Usually, most series only have one of these magic-user types and the one they do have would be either butchered or twisted in an odd way. The fact that three different magic-user types existed in the same world and they all have their intricately detailed features and abilities that differentiate them from one another, which is also very much how folklore had described them over the years blew my mind. Kore Yamazaki is a mythos nerd and it very much shows, which is such a delight for someone like me. Though as great the manga is I think this is one of the rare instances where I prefer the anime over the manga. While I do like the very expressive and detailed drawings of Yamazaki sensei, the excellent animation, soundtrack and voice acting stands tall over its source material. If I somehow managed to pique your interest in this show with this overly long essay then I'd highly recommend you try the OVAs first before watching the series. Though chronologically they should come right after the end of the first cour, the OVAs are what first sold me on the series. Finally, with clamming the 8th spot in my favourite anime of all time, I rate The Ancient Magus' Bride a 9/10.