English Dub Series Review: The Ancient Magus’ Bride

This is a real treat, and I mean it. A truly masterfully done series. Rarely do I give out extremely high scores, but this absolutely deserves it. 

The story revolves around Hatori Chise, and her massive evolution. She starts out selling herself into slavery, having lost all hope. Following her mother’s suicide and subsequent abandonment, Chise resigned herself to be one of the living dead. Plagued with spirits that nobody else can see, she is both isolated from her peers and from the magical community at large. As a type of species called a Sleigh Beggy, she is valued but doesn’t find any value in herself. That all changes when she is bought by Elias, a mage who is intent on making her his bride.

When discussing this series with several of my peers, a lot of them found the initial premise of buying a wife for marriage to be concerning. These worries aren’t unfounded, for the idea does sound worrisome on paper. It feeds into the Beauty and the Beast trope, absolutely, but it also could potentially lay the ground for a power imbalance. Either Elias solves all of Chise’s problems, or she becomes subject to his will: neither are promising prospects. There are enough stories where women are treated like prizes or objects, and yet another one would be extremely tiresome. Luckily, this isn’t the case. As it turns out, Chise and Elias’ relationship becomes one of mutual respect and shared power.

While Elias is initially cast as an all-knowing mage, as the series progresses, it’s clear that he is actually quite immature. He comes from an unknown background, not even fully sure of what he is, and has trouble comprehending emotion, especially human emotion. There’s a point that’s made in the series that the fair folk has different morals than humanity, and Elias straddles that line. He wants to know more about people, but he has trouble understanding why people act the way they do. Even when he experiences bouts of emotion himself, he is altogether confused and treats it as more of a fleeting moment than of something of importance. To Elias, it’s simply the way things are, and so he doesn’t think much of the consequences of his actions or how they might appear to people. By interacting with Chise, he begins to think differently- by valuing her and what she feels, he becomes slightly more contentious about human emotions. In fact, the climax of the story happens because Elias lets his emotions get the better of him, and backtracks into betraying Chise’s trust. Because Chise is a guidepoint, she is also his teacher in why he experiences these feelings, making them more than just something foreign.

On the other side, Chise learns from Elias too. He isn’t intent on keeping her as an object but is willing to teach her magic and familiarizing her with the magical world. Beyond this, it isn’t just the magic that Elias gives Chise, but a home. He offers his house to her and invites her into his family. He introduces her to people that care for her, and want to see her succeed- not just with him, but as a person. More than just his affection, he offers her a stable, loving environment where Chise can heal. He teaches her how to defend herself, and paves the way for her to eventually love herself.

Chise’s healing isn’t an easy process, and the show doesn’t make it out to be. She is horrifically traumatized by her childhood experiences, and this is constantly reflected throughout the series. First, she has no sense of self, pushing herself off as property and even resigning herself to be Elias’ plaything if necessary. As she’s introduced to different people, she begins to understand experiences outside of her own, and how precious life is. The more she connects with people, the less she wants to die. Her immersing herself in magic is allowing a side of her that was never explored to bloom and gives her a way to connect with a wide range of people. She is shown kindness and love, and is kind and loves in return. The Sleigh Beggy’s short lifespan constantly haunts her, but the more she loves, the more she realizes that she doesn’t want it to end. She doesn’t want to die anymore since she’s become part of the living. In the end, she’s able to confront the image of her mother that haunts her, not shrinking back, but head on.

Altogether, this is an incredibly done,  kind series. Very rarely in anime are female characters allowed to grow, and have their problems treated as legitimate. Even rarer are they allowed to dominate the story. The animation is top tier, and even the off-panels still are well crafted that they don’t seem strange. The plot moves slowly, but it doesn’t need to go any faster than it does. I loved it, and I’m glad I was able to experience this. If you want a gentle story about self-discovery, care, and magic, look no further. You’re in for a real treat.