English Dub Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride “None so deaf as those who will not hear”

Don’t call it love.

Overview:

Following his transformation, Elias refuses to come out of his room. To pass the time, Silky kicks Chise out to get some fresh air, and she meets with Angelica. When Elias goes missing, Chise finds a house with an elderly inhabitant.

Our Take:

Chise realizes several things over the course of her stay, especially from her talk with Angelica. Chise’s trauma is still heavy on her, and she hasn’t been able to tear herself away from the fear that grips her whenever it resurfaces. While Chise routinely says that she has no will of her own and she will do whatever fate demands of her, in reality, she is terrified of being abandoned. She is more pliant and not so vocal because it will make her less likely to be thrown away by Elias– it’s a defense mechanism, not necessarily how she truly feels. Her dependency on Elias isn’t just because she is grateful that he offered his home and knowledge to her, but also because of self-preservation. She is extremely reluctant to be called out on it and becomes violent with Angelica when she points it out.

Along her journey to find Elias, she discovers a human, Joel, and the Leannan Sidhe that lives with him. Their story is a bittersweet one: Joel lives all alone with his roses and doesn’t get much company. He was entranced by the sight of the side in the past, and his longing for her fueled his writing. He’s not sure whether it was a dream or not, but he was deeply affected by that one moment of seeing her. The side on the other hand, cares deeply for Joel but is reluctant to admit that she does. Her kind slowly kills their lovers, so to admit that she loves Joel is to sentence him to death. Their struggle is a deeply touching one that mirrors Chise and Elias’ to an extent. Both are human and inhuman, and the inhuman one fears that their true nature will end up causing harm. Similarly, Elias attempts to eat Chise, but stops at the last minute and flees. While he claims he fled to revert back to his normal form, the audience sees the truth.

This episode was jam-packed with character development and intrigue, a thrilling watch.