For this edition of Things You Might Not Have Seen, I will talk about the dark fantasy animated series, The Ancient Magus’ Bride. I will talk about the first season (I haven’t seen the second season yet… so no spoilers, please)
The Ancient Magus’ Bride starts with an auction. The object? A young girl being sold as a slave. The girl is fed up of her life. Her family has abandoned her and her neighbors mock her for being different.
She feels like giving up. Either she will end her life, once and for all, or she feels that being sold as a slave is a better option. At least her life would be useful to someone else. Yes, it is a pretty dark start. But life has something else in store for young Chise Hatori.
The auctioneer is excited that she is a sleigh beggy, a special magus who can draw magic from her surroundings and from within herself. Sleigh Beggys also have short lives because of their talent. The magic severely strains their bodies, making Sleigh Beggys very weak, and fated to die prematurely. The auction ends with Chise being sold for five million pounds.
She is sold to Elias Ainsworth, a seven-foot-tall humanoid with an animal skull for a head. Elias tells her that she will be his future wife. Chise is surprised, but doesn’t disagree. All she wants is a home and to feel that she belongs. Elias takes her to a beautiful country home in Great Britain. From here, their story begins…
I love this animation for the characters. Both Elias and Chise are ostracized in society for who they are, but they find comfort in one another. Although Elias already declared his intention to marry her in the first episode, the animated series savors their courtship. We see whether Elias can save Chise from her early death. We see whether Chise can save the magus from completely giving in to his demonic side.
The animation style is beautiful. Each frame has a surreal, romantic, and supernatural feeling. It is the perfect series to escape to another magical realm, with fantastic and memorable magical creatures, such as dragons, shapeshifters, demons, etc. The anime feels like a cross between Spirited Away and Inuyasha. Each episode has it own story, but adds to the overall narrative.
Watch The Ancient Magus’ Bride to see characters grapple hideous external demons, but you might just find that internal demons are the hardest to overcome.
Thank for reading today’s blog post. I hope that you discovered something new today 😊
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