English Dub Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride “There’s No Place Like Home”

All alone.

Overview:

Chise recovers in the faerie realm. In the meantime, Silky is left in the house, all alone.

Our Take:

This episode was split into two- with Chise in the faerie realm, and with Silky. As Chise recovers in the faerie realm, she meets Shannon, the changeling, who helps heal her wounds. What Shannon does is quite unconventional– she tries to drown Chise to force her hand. Chise’s will to live makes her fight back and allows her to heal. This is already a huge leap from the battered and resigned Chise from the beginning, where she would have let Shannon drown her. She wants to live and is willing to fight to live. Even if she’s on the edge of death, with the will to survive, she’s not going down easily.

On the other side, Titania tries to persuade Elias to stay. She has extended this offer before when we last saw her, but this one has more meaning. Chise’s life is dwindling down, and to stay in faerie will extend her life. However, it will change who she is, and she will cease to be human. To that Elias declines, have found value in Chise’s humanity and her knowledge of humanity. Even if Chise’s life is at risk, she has the choice to die on her own terms. I doubt Elias would have said this at the start of the series, so this is quite good.

With Silky, it was impactful but lacking. Her segment in the manga was extremely emotional, and her loneliness was raw but prominent. By comparison, her part of the episode felt rather contained and wasn’t as emotional. The thing that was really missing was the lack of time dedicated to showing just how long Silky was left alone after Elias left. It’s implied that she was left alone for over a year, maybe two- but the episode makes it seem like she was left alone for an afternoon. There is the snowfall at the end, but that’s about it. Her past experiences being left alone from her clan, abandoned and forgotten, leeches into her waiting for Chise and Elias, and that makes her struggle all the more prominent. This shortened segment loses a lot of that ache, which is a shame. I was looking forward to seeing Silky’s backstory.