Mahoutsukai no Yome

Like many others, I highly anticipated Mahoutsukai no Yome. Maybe that was my mistake, and I expected too much. But even anime that fail to live up to expectations usually fail them this hard.

So where did things go wrong? The plot? The characters? The worldbuilding? All of the above?

I’ll start with what I liked about Mahoutsukai no Yome. It’s beautiful. There were scenes that were, for a lack of a better word, magical. The soundtrack is also worth listening too.

But despite having high production quality and a magical world to explore, Magus Bride falls flat thanks to its dull cast and lack ... of subtlety.

The side cast is composed of characters with similar “blandly nice” personalities with few exceptions. If you described these characters by personality alone, you wouldn’t be able to tell most of the cast apart.

Our heroine, Chise, isn’t much better, which is really a shame. The story about a young woman overcoming depression through love and exploring a magical realm has great potential, but this supposedly traumatized girl ends up swapping overly dramatic and intimate backstories with every person she meets. It happens too often, which, in addition to losing its effectiveness, also makes it hard to believe Chise struggled to connect with people prior to the story.

She also makes a poor first impression. In the first handful of episodes, the only action she takes is selling herself into slavery. She barely even walks on her own. I get that she’s depressed, but a character is supposed to entertain, not act like a living blob.

Once she finally shows interest into something other than the 400+-year-old man-child who bought her, she grows more interesting, but falls into the same “blandly nice” personality as the rest of the cast.

Elias, our hero, has a personality at least, but it’s not one I’m a fan of. He’s a man-child who throws a magical hissy fit the second Chise talks to someone he didn’t tell her to. While the show does call him out for some of his more possessive behavior, it often gets played off as humorous instead of dangerous.

The show’s premise doesn’t do Elias any favors. He starts the story buying an underage girl and calling her his bride. I get that Elias doesn’t quite understand the connotations of the word “bride,” but the mangaka does. That is the connection the writers wanted the audience to make.

While I think people often overreact to this, since the story seems aware of the problematic aspects of Chise’s and Elias’ relationship, it takes all the mystery out of their relationship. It frames everything they do automatically in a romantic light, rather than leaving room for mystery, magic, and interpretation.

This might not have bothered me except that the entire show does this. Everything is so blandly obvious it feels like the producers are holding up cue cards to the audience saying “cry now” or “find this magical” rather than subtly guiding the audience or letting them make up their own minds.

Every single episode has some grand moment where the music gets big and characters exchange tragic backstory and Chise has some “magical” moment of character progression and on and on. This is fine if done once or twice, but it’s done so often it feels hamfisted rather than genuine.

The show also seems addicted to cliff-hangers. Characters how up and threaten Chise, only to reveal themselves as good guys within a minute of the next episode. It gets old quick and makes you wonder why these supposedly nice people wanted to come across as creepy kidnappers during their first impression.

I really wanted to like this show, but it lacks the magic similar shows like Natsume Yuujinchou and Mushishi mastered. In the end, when you look beyond the exceptional backdrops, stunning soundtrack, and excellent production, there’s just not much there.

Opening a book and reading word by word is simple. Jumping into a story becoming part of its world while being enveloped by its ideas is a whole different experience. Mahoutsukai no Yome (The Ancient Magus Bride) has a way that make us see through its world, characters, and story. If you fancy yourself for a creative fantasy experience that blends between the lines of fiction and reality, then you came to the right place.

An anime adaptation of Mahoutsukai no Yome is pretty inevitable in the eyes of many fans who are familiar with the author’s work. Ever since we got the 3-episode prologue OVAs, ... a full TV anime adaptation would bring in fans hunger for more. This TV anime adaptation focuses directly on the manga as it chronicles the life of Chise Hatori and guide the viewer through her experience. The life she once knew changed forever after meeting Elias Ainsworth, a supernatural being with traits of fae and humanity.

Jumping straight into this TV anime shouldn’t be a problem even if it’s the first time you’ve ever heard of this show before. The first few episodes successfully introduces the story along with a beautiful imaginative world. It shouldn’t take long for viewers to begin and understand the type of person Chise is. To describe her, Chise can sometimes be a normal teenage girl while other times feel like she’s not. She’s been through a lot in her life before meeting Elias and many events influenced her to develop a more subservient personality. She can also be a bit of socially awkward but if you look beyond that, Chise is really a person with strong heart and will to change people. Throughout the show, she changes herself too after meeting certain characters and experiencing a new life she’s never began to imagine before.

That brings in Elias, a supernatural being with mysterious origins. In the beginning of the show, he became Chise’s master after buying her at an auction event. Now you’re probably thinking…is this going to be a show about a master and a slave type of relationship? The answer is far from it as we see the depth of their relationship development. Despite being a supernatural being and not understanding humans, Elias develops genuine feelings of care for Chise while displaying human behavior. On the other hand, Chise begins to grow more confident of herself and accepting her role as an apprentice mage. Throughout the show, we can see how much she grows from an average teenage girl to a strong and dedicated woman. The loyalty she displays for Elias and her friends is admirable and throughout her experience as a mage, she learns much more about them and their world. This is what really gave me a favorable impression of the show. It’s how characters change and able to influence others while we understand them. In many ways, the story feels very human for the main characters. Teenage girls at her age tend to change a lot and whether it’s a good or bad thing can be a controversial topic. However, Chise’s change is displayed in ways that I can’t help but find inspiring. The show crafts her character from the beginning and capitalizes on her every action without wasting any time. Whether it’s meeting new people/supernatural beings, experimenting with magic, or battling her personal demons, she’s a character that you can’t turn a blind eye to.

Of course, this show isn’t just about Chise and Elias. While they are the main stars, Mahoutsukai no Yome does a lot to make the viewers get invested into its story. One of the first things people will find curious is the world setting. While there’s the modern setting of urban cities and streets, there’s also magic and a world with otherworldly creatures. Dragons, faeries, goddesses, and will-o’the-wisps are just a few to name. Possibly inspired by English, Scottish, or other European lore, it shouldn’t take long for viewers to recognize some of them. Furthermore, the show displays a wealth of magic with the many effects they can bring. It’s also interesting to note that magic in this show is considered a power that’s neither good nor evil. It’s used as a power that can have consequences or can really make a difference. At its most apex, magic can be extremely impactful that it can affect the story and change people in ways they can’t even begin to imagine.

Making a show like this takes a lot of risk too. Characters would have to at least make an impression that give viewers something to remember by. I can’t say this for all the characters but there’s definitely a list of them that people should take notice. These range from Chise’s familiar Roth to the beautiful vampire faerie, Leanan Sidhe. Chise encounters them in the story and makes her realize certain aspects about herself. However, there are also others such as Cartaphilius (Joseph) who can really bring out a side from Chise that she hopes others won’t ever have to see. The psychology and character chemistry between the cast isn’t just impactful but also characterizes their personalities. While there are probably some characters that will be more forgettable compared to others, the show still gets its priorities right to give viewers something to talk about.

As serious as this show may seem, it still balances between its light comedy at times so it isn’t just a moody story. When business picks up, you’ll realize how the author wants to make you feel. Other times, I feel like this anime really did a great job at capitalizing most of its ideas. As a manga adaptation, the show is mostly faithful at capturing the story without delaying or accelerating its plot. In fact, I think some scenes adapted from the manga looked even more impressive in the anime thanks to the modern talent of Norihiro Naganuma. Just be aware that the manga is still ongoing and with 24 episodes, it was inevitable that the anime would still leave out what’s ahead.

Adapted by Wit Studio, it feels like this show is a work of art. I don’t mean the type that you can see at some art gallery but more as a world that you can enjoy freely with an open mind. The beautiful world consists of many elements from modern fantasy such as enchanted forests, land of dragons, and to a more civilized city. Visual quality exceeded my expectations as there were no episodes that I found lazily made or sloppily animated. The character designs also takes time to accept but is creatively crafted. The most noticeable character to land eyes on is Elias. He has no human characteristics and looks like a creature you’d imagine from some dark fantasy. Other creatures in the show may look more familiar but fulfills its fantasy expectations. Adapted from the manga, they consist of characteristics that is incredibly faithful. Oddly enough, Chise is possibly the most normal looking character despite being a bit of an oddball. With her signature red hair, green coat, and necklace, she’s definitely the type of the character you can easily accept.

Matching its artistic elements, the soundtrack also brings in great value such as the OST and theme songs. The first OP song “Here” by JUUNA is masterfully crafted to showcase the potential of the show with its style. Similarly, both the ED theme songs capitalized on its fantasy setting. Unfortunately, the second OP song dropped the ball and didn’t manage to hold a candle compared to the first with reused footage. However, the OST manages to fully capture the thrilling feel of this adaptation. Some scenes adapted straight out of the manga is what I had pictured would be and with the music, it made it that much more alive. Character voice mannerism is also easy to take notice with characters such as Elias, Cartaphilius, Titania, and among others.

Every book has its meaning and intentions. For a show like Mahoutsukai no Yome, jumping into the story and world is like reading the text and realizing what the author wants us to know. Throughout watching this anime, I learned a lot about the characters and what it means for someone like Chise to experience her new life. The world setting remained committed to its premise while avoiding the mistakes of going overboard. While I can’t say this anime is for everyone, it definitely manages to elevate the heights of a fantasy tale.

The most disappointing anime I've watched this season. I've tried very hard to like this show but it did so many things wrong and honestly I don't understand the high score it has right now. If you're looking for something good just watch the OVAs.

Trying to be short, the show is a mess.
Most of the episodes in the beginning was the same rinse and repeat Chise getting into trouble.
Later on It feels like whoever wrote just thought of half interesting scenarios to put their MCs in.
The way they introduce characters for half of them to never appear again
really seems like they picked random ... stories out of a jar and decided to go from there.
Even their attempts at comedy with the characters having cute faces weren't funny.

Also Chise and Elias they themselves being quite uninteresting despite their really nice character designs. They are supposed to be teacher/student, Chise being the "human teacher" and Elias being the "magic teacher". Except they barely teach each other anything, most of the time it's Chises actions that indirectly affects Elias. The story is all over the place not leaving enough room to see them together just learning.

Honestly if the show didn't have it's great animation and decent soundtrack it'd actually be worthless.

Mahoutsukai no Yome, also known as the ancient Magus Bride, is a masterpiece. The world of this show is full of mystery and goes into depth more than just one or two times. However, if you are a new anime watcher, I don't recommend this as a show to start with. My reasoning for that is the story can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming - some people may also find certain situations unnecessary or "wrong" when if looked upon from my standpoint, is not true. Every detail in this show means something and I am excited to see more.

Story
The plot for ... "The Ancient Magus Bride" is both simple, and not at the same time. Chise Hatori has been able to see mysterious beings every since her young childhood. After losing her mother, she is tossed between different relatives, unable to find a home due to the fact everyone believe something is wrong with her. Now that she has grown up, she has lost any sense of attachment to this world. After meeting a strange man, she signs a contract and is held at an auction. All Chise cared about was having a place she could return to and call "home." There. Elias appears, a tall man covered in black clothing, his head replaced with an animal shaped skull. He is revealed to be a Mage, and had bought Chise to be his apprentice, as well as his future bride.
The story does not reveal itself right away, and that's because we are learning along with the main character, Chise, This can frustrate people at times, as they are confused, however the author does this on purpose. There are certain things that are to be revealed at a later time, so it is important to be patient with this series and to pay close attention to it. From my experience, I am captivated by how there is so much to this world, that it is practically impossible to just explain flat out. So instead, lay back and enjoy as the story unfolds.

Art
The art has a unique style to it. The characters have there own traits that make them distinguishable from each other. Most anime's have "same face syndrome," where take away the hair and eye color and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The Ancient Magus Bride instead has many different styles, but also many different expressions that are able to shine a light on the characters and their demeanor.

Sound
This probably takes the cake out of all the categories. The opening first comes with a different style and amazing vocals by Junna. To calm us from the experience afterwards, we have the soothing voice of Hana Itoki. However the OSTs during the show blow me a way. They went all out, with personalized tracks for side stories or characters. In only the 7 episodes I've watched, I have fell in love with each and every song.
The voice actors are also able to convey their emotions, and I'm really fond of both Elias's and Chise's voice actors. Chise can be a hard character to pull off, she's both numb from the pain of her past and yet is loyal as she does her best to please Elias. Elias is unable to show expressions as he has no proper face - this means all the emotions are in the tone and delivery of a line. His voice makes me able to see expressions that aren't there, which only helps make me emphasize more with Elias.

Characters
Sort of as a continuation of before, the main characters are unique and compliment each other perfectly. Neither are perfect, and both are unsure of the other, and yet they both compliment each other like to other. Elias, while he may have ulterior motives, still tries to give Chise what he believe she wants. And Chise, just glad to have a home and someone to call family, is willing to stay by his side and give him the companionship he needs. In only 7 episodes, I've seen both grow as people and open up more overtime. The supporting cast always holds a presence, whether its the neighbors, angelica, silky, etc. They all serve a role and show that frequently. Even characters that may be there for only one or two episodes became unforgettable to me. However as for antagonists, I am not completely sure yet as we haven't gotten much information on them. Therefore I have to leave this a little in the open.

Enjoyment
Personally, I've watched the released episodes multiple times. I am completely trapped in this world and am trying to head off to the manga. My life is consumed into the show and I am finding myself watching the episode countdown.

Overall
This show can be a challenging watch, but its worth it. Put aside everything for about 25 minutes for one episode and you'll find yourself hooked. Give it a chance and make sure to give it the attention it deserves, otherwise you may get confused and drop a wonderful show. I hope this was helpful and I hope you enjoy the show just as much as I do.

“I don’t care if he thinks of me as a toy, and throws me out when he’s bored. It’s because he… even though it was only one time, said to me that I am his family.” Chise Hatori.
The fall 17 anime season was a very interesting season for anime as we got a lot of shows that were actually good for the most part. Sure it that season had it stinkers like Ousama Game The Animation and Juuni Taisen but what am trying to say is that Fall 17 anime season reminded me how great the Fall 14 anime season was in terms of shows. ... However out of all the shows from the Fall 17 there was one show in particular that I had eyes ever since I watched the trailer it and that anime is Mahoutsukai No Yome or The Ancient Magus’ Bride in English.
When the first episode came out I watched it and while I liked it I thought the show was missing something in particular. After that I decided to watch the prequel OVAs and I loved it because not it was a lovely OVAs series but it I found that the TV was missing and it was Chise’s past aka her early life where it showcases how Chise became the person that she was in episode 1 of the TV series. Soon after I decided to watch Magus Bride weekly subbed along with some episodes dubbed and after watching all 24 episodes of Magus Bride I have to say this. The Ancient Magus Bride is not only one of the best animes to come out in the last 3 years but the show quickly became one of my all-time favourite’s animes.
So what made this anime so special?
You will soon find out.

Story.
The story of Ancient Magus Bride follows a girl named Chise who sold herself into slavery due to her not feeling wanted by her relatives. When all hope was almost lost a tall masked gentleman named Elias Ainsworth bids 5 million for the girl and outbids every other bidder in the room. Soon after Elias wins bid he takes Chise to her new home in rural England where she can begin her new life as an apprentice and future wife for Elias.
The story of The Ancient Magus Bride is absolutely brilliant in every way possible.
It's one of the best comings of stories I have ever seen period. It's was very well told, it perfectly showcased the rise of fall of Chise life in the new world as an apprentice and her journey from start to finish was very satisfying to watch as she's stars to find value in her new world and her own life.
Ancient Magus Bride is absolutely fantastic at presenting its world. Everything in its world feel alive has a purpose and it repents London perfectly. After experiencing the same old, boring JRPG, MMO fantasy setting that we all have seen before. The world for The Ancient Magus Bride feels like a breath of fresh air. If you though the Ancient Magus Bride is great at establishing its world than the worldbuilding is fantastic as it gives amazing attention to detail has been put to this setting from the food that they eat which is very British, the creatures races, the train sets from the First Great Western train to even the station itself that represents London Paddington Station. I know am diving in too about detail but it's these small that make the world of Ancient Magus Bride real and unique. I don't want to see an anime where for example having a British setting with anBritish cottage and some dude giving out Udon instead of Fish and Chips.
The small things in this show can mean a lot for your setting because it can give the setting more meaning compare to many throwaway Isekai shows like In Another World With My Smartphone and Knight’s & Magic. As a Londoner I was glad that the show managed to treat the city with London and the country of English with respect.
The pacing in this show is brilliant. Sure it may be too slow for some but keep in mind that this is a coming of age story where shows like this like to take time to establish the world, setting, themes and characters in a great and mature way. If only I can say the same thing to a certain shounen anime from the fall 17 done byStudioPierrot but we will get to that certain show another time.
Anyway, the show knows how to pace itself well to a point where the viewer can got invested with all the events that the show has to offer.
The first half of The Ancient Magus Bride is mostly a well-told collection of stories that meant to the new world that Chise is currently living as well as establishing the characters and Chise eventually growth. The second half, on the other hand, is more serious and darker especially the last four episodes where the show does a complete 180 with its tone. The first half and the prequel OVAs may have some dark moments but they are tamed when compare to these episodes where literally shit got real pretty fast. Both half’s were great but I personally preferred the second half overall due to it being more darker natured as well new themes and topics that completely changed the tone of the series not to mention some of the themes that were explored in the first half now have a darker edge to them. Speaking of themes let’s talk about quickly go through some of some of them now
One thing that I adore about The Ancient Magus Bride is the theme and messages.
Themes of hope, fate, rebirth, living, and especially love were well explored to where some of those themes link well with each other for example in episode 3 Chise visits a dragon who is ready to pass away.
Another thing that I love about themes in this show is how it showcases the downfall of characters where they don’t fully understand love, value and life. Two great examples of this are fully showcased in episode 21, 22 and 23 which I won’t mention due to spoilers. This show also does a great job tacking serious topics such like being curse where there’s nothing you can do about it and you can’t simply remove the curse that is inside you even if you decide to cut your legs or arms off.
The last thing that I want to talk about this the pedophilia controversy with Chise and Elias. Guys there is no pedophilia in this show plus the creators never even tried to glamorize pedophilia. If you watch an anime that features a lot of pedophilia that also features incest go watch Eromanga Sensei and enjoy the pedophilia as its glory as well being on the FBI watchlist.
Am sorry I had to bring this up because shit like that always infuriates me.
Overall the story of The Ancient Magus Bride was fantastic. It’s was well told, well-paced, it established its setting perfectly and the themes and messages were well handled and treated with respect
10/10

Characters.
Like with the story the charterers are brilliant as well-being likeable and well written.
I start with the main female protagonist Chise who is one of easily one of the best female leads I have seen in any anime. I honestly love this character from start to finish. She may appear to be a bit dull character at first but as the series progresses she greatly grows as a character that you can sympathise with.
Also, the one thing you should keep in mind is Chise is a tragic character where after the events of the prequel OVAs before episode 1 she was suffering from depression to a point where she sold herself to slavery.
Seeing Chise grow as a character was a great experience as she was very determined to keep on living.
Elias is also a great character. Just like Chise he’s is a flawed character where he doesn’t know the true meaning of love but as the series goes one he learns more about love and how it can it affect others. Like with Chise as the series goes on he quickly became a great and loveable character on his own right.
The rest of the characters were pretty great and enjoyable to watch as well severing they propose of the story very well.
Overall the characters in Ancient Magus Bride were brilliant and enjoyable from start to finish.
10/10

Visuals.
Where do I begin with visuals because this show visually is an utter masterpiece?
WIZ Studio did an awesome job with the production side of the show
The characters designs are amazing and well detailed and on top of that use of colour palates for the character designs is splendid and it makes the world even more presentable.
The camerawork in this show is brilliant. Everything from the basic mid shot, close up shots, wide to the establishing shots. Plus the contrast and lighting in the show were amazing.
The actual animation is top notch. It flowed well as being very consistent throughout its run.
One thing that I adore about the visuals is that is almost identical to the Prequel OVAs because usually, the TV series would be inferior compared to their ova counterpart but I was surprised of how great the TV series compare to the OVAs prequels.
The last thing I want to mention is the Chise Phoenix Segment from episode 12. That segment was honestly beautiful as it was very well animated and it perfectly symbolized Chise growth as a character as she now been reborn in her new world.
Overall The Ancient Magus Brides is a visual masterpiece of art.
10/10

Sound.
The soundtrack for The Ancient Magus is absolutely beautiful. This is one of the few shows where every single track and I mean every single track in the show was amazing and fits with the tone of this series.
My favorite track from the soundtrack is the one played in episode 3 Liberoara. As soon as that track/insert song I started to tear up because we the audience such as myself were about to witness an end to a life of an ancient dragon.
The first opening Here by JUNNA is a fantastic opening theme that perfectly fits with the first half of the show. Not to mention is catchy as hell.
While the first opening theme was fantastic the second opening on the other hand was pretty underwhelming at best. Not only the song itself did not fit well with the nature of the second half but visuals were terribly placed and timed. The final nail in the coffin that it literally feels like a badly made AMV where you can literally make it on Sony Vegas Pro or even PlayStation 4 Share Factory
If you hear the second opening theme do yourself a favor and skip it at all cost because it’s honestly not worth it.
On the other hand both ending themes Wa –Cycel by Hana Itoki and Tsuki no mou Hanbun by Aiki and Akino were equally good in they own rights.
Now for dub vs sub.
To be honest they are both amazing on they own rights but I personally prefer the dub overall.
For her first role as the main character, Dani Chambers did a fantastic job at voicing Chise as she has a lot of subtlety and personality to her voice. She's easily the best performance of the dub overall.
Brian Mathis is great as Elias as he able to sound like ancient magician perfectly despite Elias being unable to show expressions as he has no proper face.
9/10 one point taking off due to the terrible made 2nd opening.

Final Thoughts.
What a wonderful series. I was honestly shocked at how amazing this series was from start to finish.
The story was wonderful and well told. The pacing was brilliant, the themes and messages beautifully executed. The characters were all great and very enjoyable to watch. The visuals were outstanding and to top it all up the soundtrack and voice acting for both languages were top notch. The only bad thing about the show overall was the second opening theme with was unfortunately pretty bad and should be skipped but that didn’t ruin the show for me that much. It just didn’t work. Besides that this show is a masterpiece that should not be missed by anyone.
On my Little Witch Academia TV review I mentioned that it was my favorite anime of 2017 well after watching all 24 episodes of The Ancient Magus Bride it now completely stole that spot of favorite anime of 2017 and pushed that anime to 2nd place.
This show represents everything that I love about anime.
When this show gets a collector’s edition on Blu-Ray I will definitely buy this masterpiece so I can experience it again.
With all said The Ancient Magus Bride is not only one of the best anime to come out from this decade but it's one of my favorite’s anime series.
If you haven't seen this series please go watch it on Funmation as well being the Blu-Rays once they come out.
You won’t regret it.
Final Score 9.5/10

This is a good anime so far, this is why I'm still watching it. I like the whole world that was created, but the story doesn't seem to convince me. The characters, specially Chise, are very shallow. And her, as the main character, should be a little more explored. EDIT (ep 10): she is finally getting herself more prominent in the narrative - finally! And I also watched the OVA for this series that explores her past much more and explains her future actions.
Another thing that bothers me is that many things are left with no further explanation, I think this is cool to do ... with a thing or two but every episode you are left with a big question mark about something that happened.
Despite these things that I didn't like, I loved both the opening and ending themes, they're just lovely. The animation, and the world that was created are amazing as well.
I hope it gets better in the next episodes, so I'll come here again and rewrite this review, because I really want to enjoy it.

2023 update: my rating still stands but i've cracked it. i know why this is so popular. it's today's twilight set in a more fantastical regency(?) era. that's literally it. i know i mentioned it in this review 3 years ago, but i'm reminded that that's the only way anyone liking this series makes sense to me. also STOP comparing this to studio ghibli. there's no glorified human trafficking, there's no romanticized abuse, and there's no pedophilia...like the bar is in hell guys c'mon.

I HAAAATE the Studio Ghibli comparisons because this doesn't even come close. There could've been so much to love about Ancient Magus' ... Bride but their entire relationship is predicated on:

1) an older non-human man buying a 15-year-old girl at an auction (in other words, human trafficking),
2) calling her dehumanizing things like “puppy” right after she was sold, lording it over her that she's "expensive," and every character acknowledging she’s a “child” (especially him),
3) invading her privacy and trying to touch and bathe her without her permission (he understood that what he was doing to a child was morally reprehensible as indicated by Angelica),
4) telling her she has no choice in matters but is “free to reconsider”,
5) calling him his bride, and
6) her being a FIFTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD goddammit (pedophilia).

[insert pic of SNL title card reading: "tonight's episode: the writer's barely-disguised fetish"]

Chise and Elias could have been terrific characters in their own right but their relationship is marred by poor choices and bad writing. So many things Elias said reeked of things predators actually say to their victims and romanticizing the abuse gives me the ick. He even admits outright that he's grooming Chise and "raising" her to be his perfect bride. Yamazaki didn't need to make it so that the characters meet via human trafficking and to continue the narrative that a man "saved" Chise—just glossing over the fact that they romanticized human trafficking is gross.

I can't imagine reading this series without watching the "Those Awaiting a Star" OVA because Chise is even more watered down and underdeveloped as a character. She always looks like she's dead inside, even when she's smiling. Considering everything that's happened to her, I don't blame her but it's depressing and constantly reminds me that there's nothing good about being with Elias. Other characters would talk about how special she is because she's a rare, glass cannon mage. However, I never felt her importance come to light. Not to say Chise's experiences are invalid, but she's a child witnessing horrifying things and I felt squicky as an adult reading it. She also doesn't have a personality outside of being a powerful mage. Things are always happening around her or to her and she was just moving with decisions people made for her. Again, she's a traumatized child but these qualities don't help with Ancient Magus' Bride's lack of entertainment value and overall "ick"-ness.

Ancient Magus' Bride reminds me of the Twilight series. Chise is Bella Swan. She's a child who is loyal to an old monster dude who has no respect for her, she suffers from Same Face Syndrome, and everybody immediately loves her despite having no personality. Elias is Edward Cullen. It's his way or the highway and everybody has to bend over backwards to cater to him otherwise he literally becomes a violent monster. Chise made friends with another child 3 years younger than she, and he got jealous that her attention wasn't on him for a day. She returned that same evening, he ran away when she arrived, Chise ran after him, and he TRIED TO CONSUME HER by constricting her entire body to the point where she was almost lifeless. He says he "can't control himself" and warned her that he is likely to cause Chise more physical harm like HUH????? 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩 Elias is abusive and possessive. Much like Bella, Chise sticks around anyway. Another jarring thing is that he's surprised by mundane human interactions despite living among humans for more than a century. Also like Twilight, every supporting character is more interesting than the main characters. They're complex, they're mysterious, they're charming, and they have a tapestry of history that is engaging. The amount of similarities between Ancient Magus' Bride and Twilight is comical. I'm convinced this is Twilight fanfiction.

It's such a shame because the art is beautiful and I personally have a weakness for jersey devil skull monsters. That's the only reason Ancient Magus Bride even has a star. Aside from the poor writing, I'm sick and tired of the stupid anime tropes that keep popping up in manga and anime. Editors need to do better about their creators and keeping their creepy lolicon fetishes in check. I would rather support projects with mangaka who aren’t afraid to create protagonists older than 30—or even 20 (like Wotakoi)—instead of children whose lack of world experience is taken advantage of by predatory adults. Pass.

I've had a hard time trying to grasp what I don't like about this show/manga. After 8 episodes and 33 chapters of reading I think I've got a good idea of what's putting me off.

THE SHOW MOVES WAY TOO FAST.

I wish the show would move slower, everything that happens either happens way too fast or is way too big. It's hard to get a feel for it all and be attached or invested in what's going on because of this. To give an example or metaphor: It's as if we're introduced to a character who we're suppose to be invested in at some point but ... before even a minute has passed they push them over the edge of a cliff. The stakes are way too high and this all happens so fast that I can't get invested at all. The only exception is the relationship between Chise and Elias, apart from these two everything else is just so lackluster that it's cringe inducing.

Edit: I want to change my original review but I'll leave it above to remind myself of where I went wrong. It's been a long while but I decided to pick it back up and see how I felt about it.

I have a newfound appreciation of the world presented to us. I don't know exactly why but I had this notion that I needed to have everything in this world explained to me thoroughly and I remember being frustrated with how little I knew of it. I've come to enjoy the wonder of it and instead of asking how or why I've began to let my mind wonder. I didn't really get what this story was going for but since I picked it back up it's reminded me of Natsume's Book of Friends, Mushishi. I think if you take a step back and enjoy the little arcs presented to you while keeping an eye on the development of Elias and Chise you'll have a much better time with this show.

There was a lot of hype leading up to the Ancient Magus Bride. Its first three episodes were shown in theaters months before it began to air, and critics and the masses alike were declaring it the best thing ever. In a lot of ways, it lived up to all of that hype. However, I think all of that glowing praise is overshadowing some actual issues with this adaptation.

Before going into the story, I’d like to quickly run down the structure of the narrative. Magus Bride is a slow-paced and contemplative journey, and that’s not for everyone. Several friends of mine dropped it about a ... third of the way through simply because they didn’t feel any drive to see it through, which was exacerbated by a reliance on cheap cliffhangers. But if you’re willing to give the story time to unfold, it does have interesting ideas to explore. Now, into the story:

Magus Bride invites its audience to a world of magic in which dragons and fairies are commonplace. But despite its grand fantastic setting, the focus of its narrative is on the grounded and personal story of its protagonist Chise. To put it lightly, Chise begins the series in a dark place, and believes that she is worthless and no one would care if she died. Much of the show is dedicated to characters exploring their attitudes towards death; every person Chise meets helps to shape her perspective towards life, and these encounters change her as a person.

Chise develops a lot over the course of the series, and it’s not always for the better. Something that’s often ignored in fiction is that change isn’t always exclusively positive or negative, and Magus Bride handles this well. At one point, Chise decides that her life only has value on the condition that she can be useful to others, which leads to her becoming the needlessly self-sacrificing protagonist that we often see in anime. This particular plot point was kind of a weak point for me – most often the results of her self-martyring were that she would just be unconscious for a few days and then have no lasting damage. Still, it was interesting to see how Chise changes over time, and how this affected her interactions with those around her.

Chise’s growth is best shown through the evolution of her dynamic with the other lead Elias. At the onset of the story, the two of them are teacher and student, but over the course of events, Chise comes to realize that Elias isn’t the all-knowing figure she had taken him for, and that he has at least as much to learn from her as she has to learn from him. They spend a period of codependency, though Chise’s emotional growth leads to her trying to form meaningful relationships with other people, while Elias becomes increasingly dependent and obsessive. Chise’s relationship with Elias may be what starts her on her path at the beginning, but it’s also an unhealthy relationship that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. This was another shortcoming – Elias does some genuinely terrible things which are downplayed by the narrative. Chise tries to see the best in everyone she encounters over her journey, including its villains, but it would have been nice if this nuance had extended a bit further into exploring the dark sides of its heroes.

But while the story itself is interesting, the visual presentation of it is lacking. The character designs are elaborate, but the models decline over the run of the show. There are also comedic aside scenes where the characters are chibified, and these detract from the narrative and disrupt its tone. One of the most disappointing things is that the second opening is composed almost entirely out of big scenes from the first half. None of the visuals are terribly bad, but they don’t really live up to the rest of the show. Everything is fine, but the attempts at spectacle don’t always land. Animation could have been used to accomplish things that wouldn’t have been possible in the manga, but instead this adaptation plays it safe and doesn’t add anything new to the story.

The audio makes more of an effort to go beyond the source material. Some sound effects are exaggerated for emphasis, which is a small but effective detail. On the larger scale, there are insert songs added to climactic scenes, which are sometimes effective but more often feel forceful and try to imbue drama into a scene that isn’t there. They’ll make scenes feel too drawn out, or they’ll go into the territory of melodrama. Other than that, the audio is unremarkable. The voice work and opening and ending themes are perfectly fine, though nothing exceptional.

What is the purpose of adaptation? If it is simply to increase awareness of the source material, then this anime was a resounding success. But I believe that an adaptation should try to elevate itself above its inspiration; it’s a different medium, and it should play to its unique strengths. In this regard, the anime adaptation is a failure. Everything that I enjoyed about this would still be present in the manga, and a lot of the things I disliked would then be absent. I think Magus Bride is a really interesting story, but I don’t think that this anime is the way to enjoy it.

First off,
I've seen various reviews and I'm first going to debunk the whole idea of the pedophilia lolicon concept people keep throwing out there. Those who are watching with these concepts in mind are forgetting the most important details of their relationship. He is a NON-HUMAN being who's only recently entering into the human world. Therefore, he's even more innocent and child-like than Chise, in terms of building and maintaining human relationships.

Essentially, they’re both in the same platform, despite age, both essentially powerless in their own sphere, trusting each other out of their curiosity, fear of being abandoned and misunderstood.

I don't sense any feeling ... that the creators are trying to glamorize pedophilia and human trafficking. In this universe, however, this was essentially the way Chise was able to enter the world and meet a person who didn’t even realize the level of depth a slave auction entails. He doesn’t understand the depth of many of his actions but just calls things as he sees it and acts how he believes a human would act. This will be revealed as the humans in Elias’ life admonish him for his thoughtless yet naive actions. (Aka asking her to be his bride, bathing her without realizing there was something wrong in it, treating her as an experiment for him to understand humanity better). Never has Elias asserted his power of her in a way to make her feel uncomfortable purposefully. He never asserted himself sexually for his own pleasure or has made her feel powerless in situations where he could’ve and never has he seemed to want to. He just lacks the capacity to understand what is right and wrong. He just acts in a way he believes that humans would in an effort to understand them better. In a sense, they're both in a relationship where they are both learning from each other, both reduced to infancy, learning about each other's worlds, learning their limits and falling in love with each other through the process.

In the human world, this would be considered blasphemy, but this is solely based on social construct. He may be knowledgeable and wise in the world of Magic but he knows nothing of human society and does not understand humanity’s morals, boundaries and healthy relationships. Many of his relationships are only at face value and he’s constantly looked down upon for trying to be human, as if he were a monster or just some thoughtless child. However, he does have conscience and does not act out of his desire or put his desires over those around him. As the episodes pass, this becomes even clearer. Therefore, Chise, suffering from abandonment and neglect has finally found a world where she can learn to understand herself and Elias, a creature who has been shunned and admonished, found Chise, a girl who will teach him to understand his heart and what it is to truly be human. If Chise were older (or wiser/educated bc age doesn't necessarily have to be a factor to maturity level), she would have less of an understanding of Elias’ intentions as she would be subject to human morality and judgement to an even higher level than she would as she is now and she would mistake Elias’ naiveté for something else or completely admonish his existence, drawing him further away from humanity.

The relationship was well thought out and ingenious. It starts off slowly, so I can understand why people are quick to pass off the relationship but you have to give it time to develop in order to understand what's going on. If anything it reminds me of Beauty and the Beast. It makes sure to remind us that there isn't one way to life and despite discomfort or society's view, every situation has a story and as long as both parties make an effort to understand each other and respect boundaries when needed, something beautiful can bear fruit.

To the rest -
OST and Sound: The music in the show is perfect. It harmoniously plays in the background adding a greater level of depth, even to the simpler scenes. The sound is gorgeous. The effects used during magic scenes are incredible and aurally pleasing.

Animation: I thought the art style would disappoint me but, no, it is INCREDIBLE. The special effects and the landscapes are detailed. The magic is glimmery and majestic. The character designs are amazing. Every episode is visually enthralling and need I mention, the FOOD LOOKS GOOD.

Enjoyment: Every episode leaves me with a warm feeling in my heart despite wanting more. I can wait a whole week satisfied with what I have already watched.

Story: The story is simple but the journey is what makes me continue going forward. Every episode makes me even more excited for how both Chise and Elias are going to grow as two individuals. The story is so open-ended that anything can happen!

Characters: Every character started in a good place, a place where they essentially drive the story. Chise starts in a very underdeveloped place but her characterization is built through each passing episode and surprisingly so does Elias'. The side characters also have interesting backgrounds and further drive the characterization of the two protagonists.

This is my first review on this site so I apologize if it's hard to follow. I actually never even thought I'd write a review but something needs to be said about this anime that everyone seems to love for no good reason.

It's just bad. Almost everything about it is bad. If not for it's art and sound, it would have nothing to offer you.
The story is absolutely boring and doesn't seem to have any real direction.
The protagonists, Elias and Chise, have got to be the worst part about it though. Chise has little to no personality so there's not much to be said about ... her but Elias? I really, really wanted to like him. But, nearing the end of the anime, I find him to be the most frustrating. He treats Chise like she belongs to him & is totally fine with her being completely dependent on him. He still occasionally calls her by that derogatory pet name he gave to her after he freakin' bought her. (that she's also taken to calling herself. lol.) No character development whatsoever.

I have nothing else to say except that I would not recommend Magus Bride to anyone.

When the anime began airing, the community was split in half. There were those who were amazing with the fantastical world and the premise of an emotionally damaged female protagonist being given a second chance in life. And then there were those who 5 minutes into the opening scene of the OVAs had ‘nope’d out. It was another pro-slavery series where it’s fine to own slaves if you treat them well. This sick power fantasy that is mostly encountered in bottom of the barrel stories (which so happen to be mostly isekai) is enough to alienate all those who are not willing to see past ... it. And you can’t blame them, since there truly isn’t such a thing as good slavery. You either own slaves or you don’t. However you treat them does not change the fact you own them, they are in dept to you, and you are allowed to do anything you like to them. In most cases, it’s okay to marry them. And look at the title. Oh my, it’s literally a magus buying a slave to be his wife. How do you excuse this?

You ignore it. It’s as simple as that. You pretend it’s not there and you proceed to enjoy whatever else the show is offering. Pretty sceneries, a fantasy realm, and a frail protagonist that is slowly exploring it. Here lies the second turn-off point that halves the audience for a second time. Those who are content with a very simple slice of life in a magical realm type of story will find it very good. Those who want something other than that will be bored out of their minds, for there is nothing much going on in terms of plot. Yes, the heroine is exploring the fantasy realm, but that is more of a simple excuse to have world building. There is no real objective since it’s just whatever magical thing she encounters on an almost episodic fashion and what she learns about that something, often through infodumps by the magus or one of his associates. She otherwise has no agency or urgency over what is going on around her. Because she is a slave, bought to be the magus wife. You see how the same problem keeps appearing?

That aside, the show doesn’t really do much with its own premise, which is not ‘the daily life of my future slave wife’. It was a tortured girl getting to live with a tortured magician, both of which had felt alienation. They were supposed to help each other overcome their emotional baggage by one offering what the other lacked. This doesn’t go anywhere. In fact, it’s almost forgotten and all you are left with is a no-stakes tour around the magical land of the magus. Which can be pretty to look at and learn more about if that is all you expect, but lacks any real meaning and it certainly is not what the premise promised the viewer. There is no danger, no stakes, no worry about the characters failing and ruining everything they were trying to achieve. The protagonist often comes off as a Mary Sue with a super magical ability that fixes everything right away and with no real effort. If that doesn’t work from time to time, then the magus will be the one who jumps in to deflate the tension with his own super hax magic. The show is constantly assuring you there is never going to be something terribly bad in their lives or that they will ever going to mature through their mistake and struggles. Because they never have to struggle; it’s a show you are watching to relax. Assuming you can remain relaxed while knowing the heroine is a slave who was bought to be someone’s wife.

Thus, as a whole, this anime is vapid air. It doesn’t give you what it promises, it doesn’t build on what its premise was implying, and it promotes slavery as fine if you treat your slaves nicely. Before you marry them.

Regardless of how nice the music or art is I simply can't get excited about a show that is so extraordinarily repetitive and boring. The characters repeat the same boring lines of how Chise never had anyone call her family before and how Elias doesn't understand humans. They literally had Chise monologue how Elias was the only person to call her family about 20+ times. We get it, that and Chise is constantly being taken and going through the same process with a bit of a variation multiple times. A mediocre story can not be made into a good anime with great art and music.

Story: (9/10)
Just from the first few episodes I was in love with this very unique and original story. The main character unlike any other, auctions herself off because she has nothing left of her life. She was bought by a monster named Elias who is really much more than just some monster. All of Chise's life she has had special abilities that made her an outcast to everyone who had ever loved her. She is a special human named a Sleigh Beggy (Slay Vega as in the manga) who can see beyond the sight of normal beings. She sees mysterious things that many others cannot. ... This adds a lot to her character as we learn about more of her abilities.

From that day forward, Chise's life changes and she meets many new characters who help her through her struggles. She lives a new life learning magic with Elias, going on many adventures with dragons, learning the meaning of her existence, and giving herself a reason to live. Which also includes getting to know who Elias really is.

The plot may start slow, at first, but the development is outstanding. I highly recommend also checking out the ova which goes into a nice little backstory for Chise.


Art: (9/10)
From the manga to the anime the animation captures this beautiful world. The manga was always colorful in my eyes especially with the anime's representation of the wonderful world we are learning to love through Chise's eyes. Despite how beautiful it is the art style is nothing amazing or unique, therefore its rating an 8.


Sound: (9/10) Just what I was expecting, the soundtrack is so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. The touching scenes soon to come I definitely know there will be even better music.

The folk sound really matches it just as I hoped. It gives a really magical essence. There is definitely going to be better music than these first few episodes. While watching the first episode I really thought there was a bird in my room it sounds so pure and beautiful.


Character: (9/10) The character development in the manga gets absolutely intriguing. To go deep in their characters is quite counterproductive in watching and getting to know them.

There are may antagonists that are included in these intriguing characters, Chise has a kind heart to them all. She learns through them as every one of them develop beautifully and we get to see many through Chise's eyes as she changes. Many of us can find Chise a very relate-able character in her past and present struggles. Elias may be inhumane but we see how he learns to act more human through bonding with Chise. Both main characters depend on each other.

Speaking of Elias, who may be a monster actually seems more human than we thought. Through each episodes he starts to understand emotions through his love for Chise. Visa versa, Chise learns to love with ELias and many characters to come.

There are a few favorites, a black dog named Ruth who came from the afterlife to protect the graves. An evil sorcerer who plans to make everyone his lab rat. A priest who gets caught up in their antics. Every character from evil to holy are all great influences on Chise through her short life.


Enjoyment: (9/10)
How could I not enjoy such an inspiring work of art?! I've always been a big fan of fantasy but this knocks it out of the park. I can really relate to Chise's hardships in her life and her struggles to overcome her past. Even though Elias isn't human and doesn't understand human emotions I feel like I can also relate to him.

Though I see lots of people look down upon this series for its lack of romance, I still enjoy the innocent bond created between Chise and Elias. Especially how they teach each other through the series.

I had very high expectations for this anime and I am not let down. I have a good feeling it will only get better from here.

Based on the premise and quality of the art and animation, I really wanted to like this show. But even in just the prequel OVAs, there were some warning flags I really should have paid attention to, because they forecasted the subtext of the rest of the series pretty well.

In the fewest words possible, Ancient Magus' Bride is a quintessential girls' escapist fantasy. In a sense, it's a bit like Sword Art Online in that it knows its target audience very well, and feeds them exactly what they want to see. In the case of Ancient Magus' Bride, this generally revolves around "a unique power ... that makes you misunderstood and miserable", "a male benefactor who accepts and loves you for who you are", and "sacrificing your health, happiness, and well-being for the greater good makes people love and admire you".

I had a very difficult time just watching this show and accepting it for what it is, getting way too stuck on the tropes to enjoy the story it was trying to tell or the characters it was trying to develop. Whenever I was able to look past the patterns and just enjoy it for what it is, it was a perfectly okay time with hard-to-follow, magically-themed stories of some intensity, charming-if-cliche characters in Chise and Elias as they experience this weird quasi-marital relationship, and generally beautiful art.

Life is a wonderful, horrible, fascinating, disturbing, and complicated concept to experience.

The idea of existing is fascinating, as you get to have experiences that leave memories that you take with you and leave behind as you live your days in your world. No matter what twisted and painful situations occur in someone’s life, the idea of happiness, and memories worth cherishing, is nigh-universal. Everyone wants to have happy memories before they die. Death is a sad, chilling reality we must face, so we must cherish the life we have as much as we can, with people who will make us feel happy about living and ... having them in our lives.

Mahoutsukai no Yome serves as a brilliant reminder of this, with death looming as an intense shadow over everyone, characters whose lives were so devoid of meaning or love until they found someone who showed them any semblance of warmth that made them depend on said person and find meaning in their own life, and a world and atmosphere that is otherwise fascinating and majestic. It truly shows off a sense of life not many shows nowadays can, and in many ways, acts like a puzzle, slowly piecing itself together. Despite minor logical errors such as walking on water with nothing supernatural to back that up given the fantasy world (among other things that require explanation), Mahoutsukai as a fantasy, is leaps and bounds above its modern contemporaries, ignoring the occasionally photorealistic-esque CGI flowers and grass, and how the visuals for both openings largely consist of footage from the show itself.

Bit by bit, with each passing episode, we learn more and more about Mahoutsukai’s world, its creatures, magic, rules, and civilizations. The creatures we learn about have lovely, inviting designs that make you want to leap into the screen and explore nature to interact with them. We constantly learn about these fictional cultures and how they “interact” with each other and human societies. Not revelation about magic and this world feels believable, but most of them do. To have such large discoveries consistently make sense and feel even remotely like a powerful revelation, is a testament to the fantastic world-building this series showcases, as it is easily the show’s crowning aspect, partially thanks to WIT Studio, and partially thanks to the original mangaka's writing.

Revelations about Elias, other major recurring characters such as the show’s first antagonist, and about characters with their own stories to tell in miniature arcs, and even Chise herself, are all methodical and placed in such a way where they feel like a major highlight of any given episode. Given that you get one in every episode, sometimes upwards to three, it can be a nigh-overwhelming experience at times, if the emotional climaxes to many of these miniscule arcs fail to bring you to your knees as is. At least, that’s the idea, for you see, the series can feel quite droll at times, and the occasionally jarring and unwarranted comedy does not help with that. The color pallete getting dreary to the point of mandating a monumental shift in brightness settings only adds to the occasional mundanity of this series, to the point where some revelations and episode-defining moments fail to be as earth-shattering as others. Thankfully, the humor can still land fairly well when inserted properly, the atmosphere is often wonderful, and the emotional and chilling moments shine intensely at conveying their mood.

A majority of the characters are perfectly fine as they are, with their own emotional arcs that Chise wanders through and helps resolve, with some humorous banter and sweet moments to boot, even if they aren’t necessarily too entertaining. However, Chise, an emotionally detached person desperately looking for some real meaning and warmth in her life, is one of the more compelling protagonists of the year. On top of that, Elias is interesting to see get pieced together as distrust looms stronger in the air by the episode. It is nice seeing their relationship develop, and especially how Chise develops as a person. Additionally, Silky is the most precious thing and Ruth, while arguably the weakest of the main tetrad, is still an entertaining character to have around. The main antagonist, Cartaphilus, can be rather unnerving, with how childishly detached he is, how nonchalant he is about using and killing people, how he constantly questions himself abruptly, and how his body is merely a husk that can be destroyed and replaced casually. On top of what we learn about him, he’s utterly disconcerting to watch, intentionally so; he is easily one of the best villains of these past years. Other characters such as Lindel are fine too, though sometimes no one is truly enough to sustain a truly compelling viewing experience, notably in the second quarter of the show. Additionally, the best episodes of the early are the ones that really bring out the most of life and death, and/or reach for those delicate heartstrings, such as episodes 3 and 5, while after somewhat of a slump in the second quarter, the show truly picks up back to the best of what it was before.

Some of the music has been largely carried over from the OVA, namely some of the more melodic, instrumental pieces. Thankfully, there are a variety of new, often emotional tracks added to the mix. There are some nice vocal tracks as well that play in the midst of emotional moments (such as Kimi no Yuke), even if they never get played again. Both Openings, "Here" by JUNNA (OP 1), and "You" by May'n (OP 2), are rather memorable for different reasons, for better or worse. The former is a nice song that truly captures the feel of the song, with instruments like the spanish guitar being used to excellent effect and the vocals by JUNNA being wonderful. The latter feels like it stumbled into this show by mistake and the animators tried to dress it up as much as possible. On top of being the weakest May’n song I’ve heard, it just doesn’t fit; they should have used the former song for all 24 episodes. ED 1, "Wa -cycle- (環-cycle-)" by Hana Itoki (糸奇はな), is irritating to listen to thanks to the way the wind instruments are used, particularly in the beginning; even afterwards, the song isn’t memorable. ED 2, "Tsuki no mou Hanbun (月のもう半分)" by AIKI & AKINO from bless4, is a vast improvement, being a slow buildup to a wonderfully emotional and fitting climax that pays off brilliantly. It is one of the few good ending themes of the season.

Ultimately, while not as magical as anticipated, Mahoutsukai no Yome is a charming, calming, and occasionally sweet and somber series, showing some of the wonders in life, with the shadow of death ever so ubiquitous. It is certainly one of the better anime out there nowadays, especially for the anime fantasy genre. It can certainly be understood why so many have been enchanted to such a spell-binding series, even if it feels a bit withered in places. With all that said, as always, I bid you adieu.

This anime is bad because its base , at least until now, are " sad love stories" that happened in a magical world. I'm not kidding you, this is a fact.


What I wanted from this anime was an odd couple that had lots of cool adventures, filled with action, especially magic, and sometimes a look to their feelings. Elias' character is pretty badass, I look at him and I think, damn, this "monster" looks awesome, and Chise is the opposite, she looks plain boring and dumb, she's a teenager and since she's damaged because of her traumatic "upbringing", then we get a teenager with sad ... and emotional problems, and this will be a trait of her personality that we'll have to tolerate.
The relationship between these two characters is not funny, on the contrary, it's strange and always boring, they're both different and live knowing almost nothing about each other, except that the monster wants to make the human his bride and that this girl is happy that someone wants her as part of his family.

What I actually watched was not what I wanted, it was a bunch of sad short stories that happen to the protagonists, unfortunately, the characters like I said, are uninteresting, and although everything is filled with lots of magic this doesn’t helps to compensate. Sadly for the viewers, all the stories presented so far share the same romantic cause that originates them, and this really bores me to no end. In each chapter they try to make you feel sad and this is awfully tiresome, I’m not a machine that was designed to feel funny feelings and more importantly: I don’t care that much about the feelings of every character that appears on screen at every moment, it makes the anime a romantic drama. What infuriates me is that every goddamn character has suffered or suffers because of love or the lack of it, or the absence of a loved one, this repetition makes the stories awfully inane because of the way in which this love is presented and above all, I really don’t care that much about love stories and how the characters, especially, Chise, is feeling at every moment.

Anyways, I like the desing of Elias, but not his character, at least, in the anime, I haven't "read" the manga. Yeah, he's a magician, not a sorcerer (there' s a difference, one uses "good" magic and the other one, gets his magic from evil spirits), he has a horrowshow costume and a menacing skull as a head, but his personality is boring... I guess I'll keep watching the anime with a hope of a sudden change that makes it watchable...

This is one of the most disappointing anime I have watched this season. It starts off great with awesome premise and all but leaves you hanging right there. the worst parts of ancient magus bride are the pacing and the overall story , when there seems to be a fight people just summon some random stuff saying some other random stuff which makes some random stuff happen and everything goes just as it should have. Absolutely no rules apply to their magic and tbh it was kinda good in the beginning but man does it get boring , after episode 5-6 it was an utter ... waste of time. There are some real good things about it though : the sounding is done really well , the op and ed theme songs are really good and the soundtracks used in between are simply perfect . The visuals rock too , really colorful and with details not to mention the amount of animations used but again it gets boring after a while.

The Ancient Magus Bride (also known "Mahoutsukai No Yome") is anime based manga made by WIT Studio with genre Slice of Life, Magic, Fantasy, and Shounen but i add the genre "Drama" because there's a drama scene in that anime.

Story:
The story is felt calm and more to journey, this is like story the beauty and the beast because the femal is human and the male is no human but this anime, the non human do the thing to saves the human from her darkest memories with makes her to be his dicipline and a wife. This story until now it's bit of romance, ... this anime is more to journey and fantasy. This anime have a moral message that we must make a good decision and make a solution to finish the problem.

Art:
WIT Studio makes Mahoutsukai No Yome better, although the art slightly different from the manga but the color of the picture is so fresh. The animation combining rotate of camera is make this anime good to see, effect of magic is so shine and glowing can makes people felt enjoyed to watch it.

Character:
The male characters looks pretty handsome and the female characters looks decent beautifull. I think when i watching another anime made by WIT Studio, when the male character smile, it's very similarity with this anime.

This anime good to watch it the people who likes adventure and drama, the storyline is very connected.

I would gladly consider this a masterpiece of modern day anime and I will explain several reasons why I think this way.

1. It does not overemphasis on the characters. This creates a perfect balance where the audience can speculate on what is to come next and not been overwhelmed by the suspense.
2. The story is very well paced (arguable depending on the audience, but I find it perfect). It is slow enough to keep up with and fast enough to be interesting.
3. The art is marvelous.
4. The main characters do not follow the same meta of most animes. (Once again, arguable depending on the audience) ... The behavior of most modern anime characters can be determined within the first three episodes because they follow a particular meta. However, this anime brings something new to the table. The mysteriousness of the characters was able to keep me interested and at the same time not overwhelm me.
5. Well constructed world. The best way I can explain this is probably through the term 'realism'. (Once again, arguable depending on the audience)It does not focus on one particular aspect of the world (by world I don't mean just the physical world, I also mean the rules that governs it). The rules of the world are not elaborated which is why whenever something new shows up it feels natural. This allows for flexibility for how the story and character can develop.

That's all the reason I can come up with while writing this review. I highly recommend anyone to watch this anime.