The Ancient Magus’ Bride Episode 1

By: EyeSpyeAlexWith the weather getting colder and pumpkin products available in stores, it can only mean one thing…fall anime is here! I’m ready to get this season underway by watching the latest manga to anime adaptation, The Ancient Magus’ Bride.The Ancient Magus’ Bride tells the story of Chise Hatori, a fifteen year old that is alone in the world. Put up for auction, she is soon purchased by a mysterious man. Chise soon learns that the man is a mage, and his name is Elias Ainsworth. He takes her back to her home in London, giving Chise her first taste of real magic.Elias tells Chise that he has purchased her to be his apprentice. He will train her to use magic and hone her skill. He further tells Chise that she is a sleigh beggy – a person who attracts magical beings to them. A sleigh beggy may or may not have the ability to see these creatures, but in Chise’s case, she is able. It turns out Elias’s house and lands are crawling with magical beings, including fairies. Drawn like drones to their queen bee, the fairies take an instant liking to Chise.When the fairies trick her into leaving her home and try bringing her to their world, Chise hesitates. This is because besides giving Chise an apprenticeship, Elias provides her with something her life has been lacking: a home. This is something Chise values above all else, and is the one thing keeping her from leaving Elias. Her pondering gives Elias enough time to rescue her before she’s pulled into the other realm.After lightly chastising Chise, the two head back to their home. Along the way, Elias makes a shocking confession to Chise. While he did buy her to be his apprentice, he also hopes to make Chise his bride.With a slow start, The Ancient Magus’ Bride is underway! As someone who is currently reading the manga, it’s nice to see this vision is close to the source material. It’s hard to really judge Chise or Elias yet, as we’re still getting to know them. While they don’t seem annoying yet and are sticking close to their manga personas, I think I need another episode or two before I can really judge them. This first episode felt almost like a page by page adaptation. With twenty-four episodes ordered, it will be interesting to see if they continue to stick exclusively to the source material, or if they take any creative liberties.

Part of what made the anime feel so close to the source material is definitely the animation done by Wit Studio. The characters and scenes definitely made a successful jump from page to screen with Wit at the helm. They were able to capture the feel of the manga, especially the land around Elias’s home. The vibrancy of color, and the detail to animating background details to be lifelike, will definitely make this an aesthetically pleasing anime to watch.Wanna check it out for yourself? The Ancient Magus’ Bride is currently available for viewing on Crunchyroll and VRV platforms. New episodes are available for streaming on Saturdays.[yasr_multiset setid=11]