English Dub Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride “Forgive and Forget”

Do what you want.

Overview:

After seeing Chise hang out with Stella, Elias retreats into the forest. As Elias recovers, Chise goes to visit Angelica.

Our Take:

Instead of Elias guiding Chise, the story has turned so that it’s the other way around. Elias, being someone who can’t properly perceive his emotions, is prone to acting up when a torrent of feeling overcomes him. This time, his emotional high degenerates into his usual form and returns him to his more beastly self, and he retreats back into the wild. When Chise goes to find him, he corners her and absorbs her into his body.

While he isn’t entirely aware of it, Elias is fairly possessive over Chise. He wants to see her grow, but at the same time is frustrated by her expanding her social circle. Throwing a tantrum, as Chise so aptly says. He’s unable to conceptualize his feelings as jealousy, so he reverts to instinct over more human logic.  What manages to snap him out of it is Chise’s own declaration of selfishness. Unlike the usual selfish Belle character in the Beauty and the Beast story, Chise is selfish in her own ways. She wants Elias just as much as he wants her, but is also now unwilling to let him dictate how she acts. Instead of passively accepting his word as law, she is straightforward about her own wants and needs. Instead, it’s Chise’s show of power that makes Elias retreat.

When Chise goes to visit Angelica, she meets Angelica’s husband, David. David, who is a human without magic, still decided to pursue Angelica anyway. Magi normally have long lives, and Angelica is hesitant that she will outlive David. However, David is insistent and is comforted by the fact that he won’t die alone. Compared to most magi, then Chise is the opposite. Being a Sleigh Beggy, she’s cursed with a shorter lifespan, and will barely even last a year. However, David’s advice reminds her to live her life out to the fullest. Instead of worrying, she should take the coming days as a blessing. Even if she is fated to die, the least she can do is live the way she wants. To Chise, that means doing what she can for Elias, since she’s as determined to keep him safe as he is to her.

As for the external plot, something big is happening. Two dragons are kidnapped from the sanctuary, and Joseph is on the move again. Whatever is going on surely can’t be good for our heroes.