©Wit Studio, 2017
Looking at polls from various websites, Mahoutsukai no Yome (with the English title The Ancient Magus’ Bride) seems to be the most anticipated series of the season. And looking at it, it’s easy to see why.
First off, MahoYome begins with a young girl named Chise Hatori, who decided to sell herself off to an auction after being ostracized her entire life because of her strange abilities as a “sleigh beggy.” Elias Ainsworth, a tall skull-headed mage, then bought her at a high price, and took her in as an apprentice. And as the title suggests, he wants her to be his bride. Yeeeeeeahhhhhh.
As skeevy as that sounds, the first two episodes seem to suggest that MahoYome is instead going to be a quiet, atmospheric, character-driven story, as Chise begins to realize that she is much more than she thinks. I haven’t actually seen the source material, but I did hear that the manga handled that aspect well. Also, Elias looks like he just lacks any sort of common sense rather than actually being malicious.
©Wit Studio, 2017
That aside, looking at Episodes 1 and 2, the show is pretty nice. There’s something beautiful and fascinating about the world of magic the show is trying to explore. (You’d be surprised to find out this is based on a shounen manga.) The show doesn’t really have much impressive animation, but the backgrounds are beautiful, and the overall look is easy on the eyes.
For the character writing, it’s much harder to tell, but I did hear good things about it, plus Chise is already immediately endearing. Her backstory is sad, and it’s easy to understand why she has such low regards for herself, but it’s not like she lacks any backbone.
©Wit Studio, 2017
So if you are looking for a quiet, beautiful show, this one might just be for you. The show seems like it’s holding back at times, but it certainly has charms. I look forward to how this goes next.