English Dub Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride “The Faerie Queene”

Magic is not good or evil.

Overview:

The events wrap up in Ulthar, and Chise and Elias return home. However, expending all her energy to purify the corruption has sent Chise into a coma, and the fairy queen arrives to help her.

Our Take:

This time it’s not a whole story, but more so the end of the Ulthar tale and the start of a shorter one.

Elias confessed to Chise that the sorcerer isn’t incorrect: he did but her by his own means. They’re not malicious ones, but they are selfish. Elias doesn’t have any sort of emotional understanding, and can’t feel any emotions himself. While he routinely interacts with humans, and can intellectually understand what emotions are, he lacks the ability to empathize with them. They are some sort of other to him. He picked Chise so he could study her, and perhaps learn about human emotions that way. Although he acts chilly, Chise recognizes that having to admit this to her worries him deeply, enough that he offers to erase her memories. Her reassurance shows that she isn’t merely his tool, but a person that can teach him about emotions and humanity. Elias, whether he admits it or not, is growing to be protective of her and care for her, and that’s already a key emotion.

This episode introduced more of the fairies, specifically the Faerie Queen Titania and her husband Oberon. They come to meet Chise, as a curiosity, and also to see what all the chatter about her is like. They seem to support the relationship, with Titania and Oberon giving their blessings, and acting certainly that the two will have children one day.

The fairies aren’t wholly malicious, at all. They are a neutral magical force, . However, they are not fond of those who believe in the Christian God. Christianity has historically always clashed with preexisting beliefs, and Titania cites that the belief in claiming that the fruit of paradise (knowledge) is evil is something that directly contrasts their beliefs. As a result, those who believe in the Christian God are not welcome in her presence. The troupe also discusses how humanity always harms them, and how it’s easy for them to fall, living in the shadows of humanity. It’s an interesting take on fairies and their interactions with humans, and I’d love to see more of their interactions with Chise and Elias in the future.