The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 1 Review: April Showers Bring May Flowers.

Another magic-themed anime is in the lineup this fall season! The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Mahoutsukai no Yome) has been a long-awaited anime adaptation! I thought this first episode was fantastic, so I’m sure the long-time fans are rejoicing even more!

Plot

Hatori Chise is an orphaned girl who can see things no one can. That’s why she has been shunned and passed around by relatives, to the point that she thought the only solution would be to either end her life or sell herself at a slave auction. Choosing the latter, a mage named Elias bought her, not as his slave but as his apprentice!

Episode Highlights

Sold for a home: Poor Chise! She craved so much for somewhere to belong to that her only choices were death or slavery. It was all because her ability to see things other couldn’t pushed her relatives away. They wanted nothing to do with her. Her past really has been unfortunate! I think that once Elias decided to buy her and make her his apprentice, her fortune turned around for the better! He willingly paid 5 million and that already told us how much she values her! Plus, he saw her as his apprentice, rather than his slave. She gets to have a place to stay in, and even continue living life somewhat freely! A huge bonus is that she’ll no longer be ostracized for seeing magical beings; she finally has somewhere she can fit.

Settling in: Elias’ home is so quaint! I personally would love to live somewhere surrounded by nature. The air would be so fresh and it’d be so peaceful! The only downside, though, is that it’d be hard to get anywhere! Good thing Elias can teleport! It was a simple yet good sneak peek of what he could do as a mage. Seeing him act like it was a normal thing to undress a girl, even if the girl was clearly saying she could bathe herself, was so amusing! However, I guess he was just that concerned about her well-being. He tried to help her make herself at home. He even asked Silver to prepare a feast for her and get her own room! I really hope this would be the start of everything turning wonderfully for Chise!

The ariels‘ trick: Well, somewhat wonderful. Just on her first day, Chise was already tricked by faeries! I would’ve been too, given by how friendly they were. The experience really did prove to be a good lesson, but she was just a newcomer who didn’t even know about magic before! Who’d expect her to distinguish between the good and the bad creatures, right? Well, at least Elias admitted that he was lacking on that part, and that it became a way for Chise to acknowledge that she wants to stay as Elias’ apprentice in her new home. He even came to save her, too! Good on you, Chise!

An apprentice and…a wife? All throughout the episode I was wondering why the title is The Ancient Magus’ Bride when Elias only told Chise she’d be his apprentice. Would her being his bride be something reserved for later in the show? And then there was the ending: Elias called Chise his future wife. Was it the reason why he acted so overfamiliar with her, holding her, carrying her (and even undressing her)? Makes you ask why and when he decided he wanted to marry her, huh?

Themes & Trivia

Manga Adaptation: The Ancient Magus’ Bride is written and illustrated by Yamazaki Kore. It’s currently being published in Monthly Comic Garden, and has 40 chapters so far. It also got a three-part OVA entitled The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Those Awaiting a Star, which was a prequel to the story.

Slay Vega/Sleigh Beggy: Yes, it is a bit confusing since the characters pronounce it like Slay Vega, when it’s actually written as Sleigh Beggy (according to the localized manga by Seven Seas). If you try to search what the latter means, it does make a bit of sense. In Irish folklore, a Sleigh Beggy, or ‘small folk’ is a kind of fairy found in the Isle of Man. If the author had this in mind, then are the likes of Chise not actually human?

Faeries: Most of the things we know about fairies/faeries are good things: the Tooth Fairy exchanges your loose tooth for money, princesses have fairy godmothers, and they’re cute or pretty and spread fairy dust around. However, in other folklore like the Gaelic one, fairies are very mischievous. They kidnap human babies and replace them with a fairy baby, then called a changeling, or even kidnap people in general and make it seem like they died.

Comments

The anime is off to a great start! It managed to pique my interest from the get-go. Just the fact that Elias seems mysterious and the reasons behind why he chose Chise to be his apprentice are things already worth keeping an eye out for. On a personal note, I’m also a sucker for stories where characters find a place they can belong to.

The aesthetics are pretty eye-catching too! The character designs and the background art were wonderful. The animation was also amazing, though there were times it felt a bit rough around the edges, so I hope the quality will be consistently good or even better! But overall, I think this will be such a beautiful show! I can feel it!

Suddenly engaged?

Now that Elias has revealed his intention of marrying Chise in the future, what does this mean for them? And what other wonders will Chise experience and learn next? I can’t wait for the next episode!

Till then, let me know what you thought of this first chapter of the story! Did you find it amazing or lackluster? Let us know in the comments section! We’re also starting on our other Fall 2017 reviews, so check them out!