The Ancient Magus' Bride - Episode 24 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlexThis week’s finale of The Ancient Magus’ Bride wastes no time in jumping into the action! Need to catch up? Check out my review of the previous episode here!We continue with Chise confront Joseph, who decides to engage him in battle. Joseph is able to dodge her attacks and is quickly joined by Ashen Eye. The pair unleash a horde of centipedes unto Chise, but she is protected by Ruth and Elias. The trio are then joined by Ariel, who helps Elias incapacitate Ashen Eye. This leaves Joseph open for Chise to attack, and she quickly embraces him. Elias then forms a nest of vines around the pair, keeping them locked together.As Chise prepares to sing Joseph to sleep with a lullaby spell he impales her on his arm. While this blow proves to be devastating, Chise attempts to shrug it off. She tells Joseph that she recognizes that they are similar, and she can understand the pain he must be feeling. She then sings him her childhood song, which lulls him to sleep, before collapsing herself.Back at home, Chise wakes to Elias watching over her. After a quick greeting, she immediately berates him and Ruth for their plan to hurt Stella. She tells Elias that they agreed to work things out together, and he agrees that they will from now on. This allows things to quickly settle back into their old routine, with Chise going around and visiting her friends. Angelica and Stella both inundate Chise with gifts and love during her visits.While waiting for Chise at home, Silky provides Elias with his robes. Elias dons them, then heads out into the woods near their house where he finds Chise sitting in bridal attire. Chise informs him that Stella’s aunt made her the gown and Angelica gave her the veil, then reveals a gift for Elias. She gives him a ring to wear on his left finger to match the one on hers. The two then exchange what could be called vows, before Elias carries Chise to their home.So, the winner for cutest finale of the season obviously goes to The Ancient Magus’ Bride. This show ended perfectly and is right in tune with the rest of the show. I was a little nervous that they were suddenly going to make the pair extremely romantic, or worse, kill of Chise in an unsatisfying manner. However, the show handled this very gracefully, allowing the characters to express their feelings for each other in their own way.I especially enjoyed how well things were wrapped up, while also being left slightly open ended for a sequel series. Chise and Elias have moved their relationship forward, but will still be student and teacher. Joseph, while asleep for the next several decades, could still pose a threat in the future. The dragons were returned to Lindel, but the option is out there for potential poachers to try again. There’s a lot more we could see from Chise continuing her mage studies, as well as exploring the faerie world.On top of that, the final scenes with Chise in her gown were absolutely beautiful. Wit Studio has done a stellar job with this show from the start, but that ending was phenomenal. Kudos to them for bringing this manga to life in such a stunning and ethereal style.If you’re looking for something to fill the void that The Ancient Magus’ Bride anime has left in your heart, I highly recommend checking out the manga. The anime did a great job bringing the story to life, but the manga goes a little bit deeper in the lore of magic and faeries. Seven Seas Entertainment is the English publisher, and the first eight volumes are currently available for purchase in store and online.