English Dub Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride “We Live and Learn”

The more you know.

Overview:

Lindel pulls Chise aside for a lesson.

Our Take:

Lindel requests that Chise visit him not only to make her wand but also because he’s worried about her. Building off Angelica’s concerns, the people fond of Chise notice her complacency, and her unwillingness to go against Elias. They don’t think she’s in danger, but her willingness to be treated as a piece of property concerns them.

Chise admits out loud that she feels gratitude towards Elias, and therefore doesn’t want to oppose him. Because she was abandoned by her family, her reluctance to voice her opinions out loud is how she feels she can make herself more desired. The less resistance, the more likely Elias is willing to keep her around. As we’ve seen, Chise uses this as a tactic but doesn’t actually feel that. She has firm opinions on what Elias does, and she can get annoyed if he pushes himself too far. She still doesn’t have much of a sense of self, but it’s a leap to say she doesn’t feel anything at all. She can be very assertive, just not overtly, and is by no means a simple doll.

In turn, Lindel gives Chise a bit of Elias’ backstory. Turn out Elias doesn’t know what he is, or where he came from. It’s unclear what he is, even to expert mages, but he’s both human and inhuman. The fact that humanity is a distinct part of him is likely the reason for his concern because he can’t fully comprehend it. While he does have emotions, he has no means to comprehend them. His time with Lindel made him into a fine mage, but he still lacks the ability to comprehend humanity and why humanity acts the way they do. Even his emotions towards Chise he has yet to fully understand. In that sense, Chise and Elias both have ways to go in different regards, but it’s clear that they both can learn a lot from each other.