The Ancient Magus’ Bride Episode 14

By: EyeSpyeAlex After a long weekend at Arisia, I was finally able to catch up on this week’s episode of The Ancient Magus’ Bride. Need to catch up too? Check out my review of last week’s episode here!With Chise in her fox form, she finds her inhibitions gone and runs into the night. As she ponders her next move, Elias catches up to her in his inhuman form. Before she can flee again, Elias gets the closest ever to admitting his true feelings for Chise. He tells her he hates the cold, and he’s always cold when she isn’t around. This revelation causes Chise to change back into her human self, and she admits that she also hates the cold.After that adventure, things pick up again back at their home when the Leanan sídhe visits Chise. She tells Chise that Joel is dying, and Chise rushes to the old man’s home to see if she can help him. Elias travels quickly behind, and upon arrival tells Joel that he has about a week left. This just so happens to be enough time for Chise to brew a potion which will allow Joel to see the Leanan sídhe, and she quickly gets to work.Chise stays up the requisite five days preparing the potion, then gives some to the Leanan sídhe to use on Joel. Joel is delighted to see the faerie and thanks her for spending her days with him. With his final breath, Joel gives his life to her.Meanwhile, King Oberon shows up at Elias’s house to confiscate the rest of the potion from Chise. As she prepares to hand it over, her ring breaks, causing her to drop the potion. She then vomits up a surprising amount of blood. Will Chise live? We’ll have to tune in next week to find out!I keep saying it, but one area where The Ancient Magus’ Bride struggles is with pacing. I understand wanting to end an episode on a cliffhanger to generate hype, but this is getting ridiculous. There is hardly enough time to comprehend what’s happened on screen before the credits roll. It continues to be a frustration in my life.Despite that, I still find the show enjoyable, especially the animation. There is a whimsical aesthetic in the manga which Wit Studios manages to capture perfectly. They’re also really good at transitions scenes. I especially appreciated the fade over we get of Chise and were-beast Chise.New episodes of The Ancient Magus’ Bride air Saturday’s on Crunchyroll and VRV platforms.