English Dub Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride “As you sow, so shall you reap”

Confront your worst fears.

Overview:

Chise makes a deal with Joseph.

Our Take:

This is likely the best episode in the series so far and is the key climactic peak in Chise’s character arc. She begins out bending to Joseph’s plan, to swap their curses so that they can cancel out. To begin the process, they exchange eyes to confirm that their bodies will be able to take the others’ curse in once the transfer officially begins. During this period, Chise is more on the defensive, allowing Joseph to make the decisions so that she can protect Stella.

After she trades eyes, she begins to see into her own past. However, instead of seeing the happenings through strictly her vision, Chise gets a broader, more objective view. Through this she learns that her mother also could see spirits, and her father made sure to stave them off. Because both mother and daughter were so attractive to spirits, her father was often tasked with a responsibility that became too much for him. He left, taking Chise’s younger brother with him, and leaving the girls alone.

Unfiltered through Chise’s memories, she sees that her mother wasn’t all bad. She tried her best to protect Chise, even as spirits continued to harass her when she was outside the house. The pressure to maintain a household, keep herself together after being frightened all the time, and protect her daughter slowly became to accumulate into something beyond her control. Not only was she not well equipped to do that, the financial pressure she was going through made it impossible to sustain herself for long. The dreadful strangulation scene comes from a moment of weakness when she blames Chise for her stress. Her suicide directly afterward was her way of atoning for violence against her daughter.

Chise doesn’t forgive her mother. Her mother’s attack and suicide left Chise severely damaged. In the end, Chise’s mother still abandoned her and forced her into a life that she was unprepared for. However, now Chise has the guidance and view that her mother’s final moments weren’t all that there was to her. The ghost haunting Chise isn’t her actual mother, but the fearful perception that still lingers in Chise’s mind. In the end, Chise is able to finally separate these two, and move on with her life. This gives her the strength to continue on, as well as most importantly, the power to strike back at Joseph. She breaks through his control, and turns the tables on him, going from hunted to hunter.

Score
10.0/10