Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2 Part 2 魔法使いの嫁 SEASON2 第2クール

2023 fall | Episodes: 12 | Score: 7.9 (44551)

Updated every Thursdays at 22:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Producers:flying DOG | bilibili | Mag Garden | Chiptune | Twin Engine

Streaming: Crunchyroll | Aniplus Asia | Bahamut Anime Crazy

Synopsis

Following a series of attacks that have left teachers and students alike sapped of their magic, headmistress Liza Quillyn decides to seal off the College, rendering it impossible to enter or leave the premises. As a result, Philomela Sargant is unable to comply with her grandmother Lizbeth's order to withdraw from the school. Trapped inside the College, Chise Hatori and her classmates begin to adjust to their novel and stressful circumstances. But as time goes on, Philomela's condition only gets worse—both mentally and physically. Meanwhile, details about the tragic past of Chise's roommate, Lucy Webster, continue to resurface. As Chise grapples with worries about her friends and with her evolving self, the identity of the mysterious magic-draining culprit plaguing the College may finally come to light. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Takeuchi, Ryouta

Tanezaki, Atsumi

News

Reviews

ohterrytorres
05/17/2024, 09:39 AM
I quit Frieren: Beyond Journey's end because it failed to show me an interesting world of magic. It turned out to be surprisingly thoughtless and plain. So I thought, "Wait, wasn't there another show I liked with magic and deep relationships that has a new season?" What's so refreshing about this story is that you can tell Kore Yamazaki is interested in both how magic works and how people work. As a result, the characters grow naturally. In other stories, if a character suddenly starts behaving differently, their decisions may feel out of character, only for the purpose of propelling the plot. In this story, theentire cast is truly motivated by their histories and their relationships. They are unmistakably the same people from the previous season, but you can see how their circumstances have truly influenced them. Chise and Elias are constantly interrogating the story's initial premise (that one of them is the property of the other) as they talk to each other. Just as they think they know what role they fill in each other's lives, the other reveals some new desire or doubt. They are forced to renegotiate what their boundaries are again and again, but because they're each so understanding and inquisitive and patient, neither ever attempts to put the other in a box to contain and categorize them: they truly discover new things about their selves and each other. These new discoveries about what they can ask of each other makes them genuinely, literally stronger and are tied directly to how they are able to overcome the obstacles in their way. Despite not being explicitly romantic, despite not having a typical "marriage", despite their insanely disparate backgrounds, the relationship of Chise and Elias is both a model for a deep and healthy friendship as well as being one of the most unique I've ever seen in an anime. The cast is expanded at just the right time in this season. Because Chise has grown, she is able to relate to others in more complex ways. She is able to intuit who is open, who is instinctively guarded, who is fronting, who is wearing their pain on their sleeve. She learns herself what she'd been trying to teach Elias, that people must be met where they are. That there's no one best way to deal with the baggage you have, and that sometimes people just need permission to do the things they already know they want to do. I was not convinced I was going to like the new additions to the cast, and to be sure none of them have the immediately recognizable depth and mystery of Chise and Elias. Because the author is so interested in the grace and dignity inside of everyone, she is able to elevate even cliched stereotypes. At first you think, "Oh, here comes the shrinking violet that let's others do the talking for her," and "Oh, here comes the serious studious guy who thinks everyone else should serious and studious like him," and "Oh, here comes the hot-and-cold girl who think she has it worst and has no time for other people's insecurities." But after a few scenes of seeing them talk to each other and push against each of their weaknesses, each of them push back and say something that perfectly justifies why they are the way they are. We don't get to learn every detail about their lives, but we get the sense that the author knows those details and is using them to guide each person's behavior. Chise has a uniquely miserable childhood, but even amongst the wealthy and privileged, we discover the truth: everybody has to answer to somebody. Everybody has to learn about authority, power dynamics, and what role they'll take to stay safe. Everybody has to learn that the role you've been given isn't the one you have to remain in. Stunningly affecting and tender relationship dynamics aside, what I love about this show is that I do not know what's going to happen next. A family of stylish, talking cats? An huge, evil super-centaur? A huge, pregnant super-soldier? A child crying and yelling about "her spiders?" Watching a main character's head split in half from the inside? The myths of the British Isles are used with such clever cavalierness that I'm never confused, only delighted when a new magical creature or concept is introduced. The action is a good balance of threatening and playful. This isn't a show with a lot of flashy violence, but our main characters do have to deal with the indelible fallout of their actions on some level, often internally, but sometimes externally.
Shirogari
03/25/2024, 03:42 PM
This second part is surprisingly slow. Part one felt like a lot of setup but contrary to what you might expect this second part is even slower; though it does have a proper conclusion. The story continues where the first part left off but does so at a pretty slow pace. There's flashbacks that last entire episodes so you better understand some of the characters but this does destroy any momentum the anime has. The story is interesting but slightly confusing and doesn't make sense at times. A good thing is that lots of parts of the story reach their conclusion in this season soyou won't feel like you've watched nothing. The mystical feel of the anime is often absent in this season and spirits/fairies make relatively few appearances. The characters are mostly the same as in the first part and they receive quite a lot of attention, both in the form as flashbacks and conversations. The characters are quite good and get plenty of development, but this did probably contribute to how slowly the story seemed to progress. The animations is good overall. There's some cgi for things like cafetaria scenes like in the first part but most of the animation looks good with some more special scenes looking beautiful. Some of the scenes are a bit dark though so maybe turn up your monitor brightness or turn off the lights. The voice acting was good and the ost was great when it was present. Overall this is probably worth watching if you've already watched part 1, no reason to only watch the setup and not watch the conclusion after all. It's just that this season is slower and has more flashbacks than you might expect.
Ertagon
03/12/2024, 05:29 PM
I gave high marks to the first half of The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 for venturing into a bold new direction, a departure from the debut season's path. I'm still fond of this adjusted setting, but I can't shake off the feeling that the show has lost a piece of its essence. If the season's outset was akin to switching lanes on a highway, the latter half seems to execute a full u-turn. The narrative continues to explore the mentor-student dynamic between Chise and Elias, yet there's a noticeable lack of development here, making this crucial relationship feel somewhat neglected. Elias's personal growth, though brieflyspotlighted, is hastily dropped by the storyline. This could be seen as strengthening their independence, diminishing their reliance on one another, but I find myself yearning for a deeper romantic connection between them. The story instead focuses on human-to-human relationships, it explores some tragedies that while similar are completely unrelated to the main heroine. While Chise remains a pivotal figure, the narrative leans more into the lives and challenges of other characters. This shift offers Chise room for growth, yet it seems this potential wasn't fully realized. The storytelling, while not inherently flawed, feels misplaced in perspective and intention, as if the series has momentarily lost sight of its foundational identity. Now, addressing a commonly discussed element—the magic. In its first season, magic nearly served as an invincible shield, with the plot overly dependent on it to the point of losing intrigue. The second season initially dialed back, presenting magic as a nuanced tool governed by rules, which I appreciated. However, the season's second part perhaps retracts too much, rendering magic less wondrous and leaving its usage and implications underexplained. This results in a feeling of magic being a convenient plot device rather than an integral aspect of the world. In summary, despite improving on pacing and narrative depth over the first season, the show seems to have drifted from its true essence. It doesn't entirely discard the rich world-building and character development established previously, but there's a noticeable detachment, akin to viewing through a fogged lens. It remains a commendable watch, unlikely to disappoint fans outright, but it also represents a regression from the first half of this season and, in certain respects, from the initial season.
kchakrak
01/22/2024, 01:27 AM
I adore Chise and Elias, I love the dub and everything about the show. The school direction is an interesting one and didn't fall into the 'trope trap' like I thought it would. However, the pacing of this particular section of this season is questionable. If you can deal with that this is more from the world and people you love. Positives Everything I loved about this show remains, and as I say I think the dub is phenomenal. While it would be interesting to see how outsiders react to Chise and Elias more I greatly enjoyed what we got to see. The supporting cast also reallyhold their weight and stop the show relying on Chise's ability to get herself into trouble in order to close every arc. Negatives The pacing in part 2 is horrible. This is really my own complaint, in the last 5-6 episodes, about 4 are basically entire flashbacks. There's no reason these couldn't have been spread out over the season and it ended up being frustrating. I think they were hoping the end plot was a big reveal, but it's pretty obvious and pretty routine for the show. It's unnecessary honestly, the characters are this shows strengths and for the last 6 episodes there's a ton of filler, at least in my opinion.
giraffenanime
01/11/2024, 10:13 AM
Finally caught up on Ancient Magus Bride S2 P2! Loved the continuation of Chise Hatori's life, and getting to see Elias Ainsworth in an uncomfortable setting. But as I suspected, the season felt a little boring/dragged-out multiple times throughout both parts. Not sure if it's because its a school setting, or the pressure of having to feel empathic towards all the new characters who've made an impact in Chise's new school life. I loved the happy ending, but wish we got there faster... and with a lot less questions that'll need to be dragged into the new season/chapter they've announced "The Fiendlane". The animation wasn't not worthy aswell... I find this hard to recommend to someone, after enjoying the first season and OVAs so much. If you didn't care for the first season very much, don't continue with the series then. But if you got hooked and want to see how Chise grows, then go ahead and stick around! I'll be doing it for the next season/chapter for sure (even after all my complaints).
DivinityV12
12/30/2023, 07:38 PM
This wasn't really an improvement but probably more of the same except for the climax So I got 4 episodes into this season and got so irritated by the side school characters that I just plainly skipped until there were just parts of Elias and Chise, because that's just how annoying those characters were to me. How the entire chapter came off to me was just too filler like and uninteresting to the point where I really wish they'd drop the school slice of life stuff as it got to me that much, that the first season was that much of a masterpiece and then we gotsuch boring and annoying characters to have to sit through and their issues which made me care less. If this anime drops the school stuff and the characters from it and return to the original cast which actually have synergy and cohesion together which makes for the entertaining first season we got then it will do well, chances are low of that from the blonde girl we saw acting behind the scenes. So hopefully the sooner we get back to content with just Elias, Chise, Ruth and Silky the better. Tldr The show fell from grace from its second season and this season apart from the last 4 episodes also tanked. Needs to lose the school and characters to return to being something remotely entertaining.
chekkit
12/22/2023, 04:42 PM
Incredibly slow and sluggish from start to finish... we have finally come to an end with this school arc. And thank goodness for that! This whole arc, from first to second cour, has been a difficult watch. In that I very much enjoyed the typicals that come with this series: The gorgeous art and animation, the music, Chise and Elias, the familiar magical elements... the OP is fun to see with every episode beginning! Beyond that however, our main characters are sitting around twiddling their thumbs playing second fiddle to Philomela. The true MC of what felt like the longest filler arc I've come to watch. Bythe time this season ended, I couldn't recall a single moment that particularly caught my interest. It was all situated around helping Philomela as she painstakingly hid everything from the cast up until the final moment. Impossible to talk to, impossible to get close to... we spend almost the entire time watching her suffer alone and refuse all aid. To the point you know what to expect in that it self-destructs on her sooner or later. To the point you can sum up both parts of season 2 into a few words: "Chise goes to sorcerer school and makes friends+helps them with their problems". That's it. What few moments you get to even see of Chise and Elias doing SOMETHING together, I was cheering for that little bit of familiarity before taking a back seat to everyone's problems once more. I guess the only thing that really came out of all this is Chise getting a little bolder and coming out of her own shell. She made friends. Elias made a friend. But nothing was exactly... learned or necessary in the grand scheme of things. Lots of foreshadowing on Chise's part from the tiny hints we've got here and there-- which looks promising in the final preview of a new arc we got at the end of the last episode. Something that looks actually story-driven! This is my hope that we can return to form in the next season. Because otherwise? You could entirely skip season 2 and just know that there are now Friends in the mix I guess. Though if we're lucky they'll all just go back to school and Chise will be done with her studying so we don't have to suffer anymore.
CaptainKenshiro
12/21/2023, 02:14 PM
Note: This will cover the whole franchise up until this point, since I don’t find much to say about each entry on their own. I didn’t know about this series until the ova mini-series came out and got me interested in the concept right away, as it seemed to be like a fantasy version of The Sixth Sense or something, with the protagonist being the only one able to see supernatural creatures. It didn’t turn out like that at all, but still, a young girl learning magic and finding out about all the supernatural stuff lurking in her world was catchy enough, the occasional tragic deaths,dark elements and great visuals and atmosphere added to the positives, even though at the end of the day it was just a media res demo of sorts. Then the tv series started and part of that magic was lost to me. Not on the presentation though, as the visuals kept the gorgeous artwork, backgrounds and special effects, that make up for the usually static animation and simple character designs with repeated facial features, while the sound retained the immersive sound effects and atmospheric soundtrack, along with cool and atypical openings and endings, that were also accompanied by a fine voice acting. The drawbacks were in the plot, as it starts in a very creepy way, with a young human girl being bought as a slave by a skeleton, undead, monster, thing who even has a hidden much more hideous form, thus giving off very bad vibes. Everything seemed to be fine when he intended to make her his apprentice, but as soon as he revealed that he intended her to become his wife, with every secondary character supporting them, everything became hella weird and creepy again. Aside from that, the atmosphere from the mini-series, while still there, was now interrupted by the typical chibi comedy that you encounter on a shoujo series. It’s still better than most comical moments on a shounen series, mind you, but it still clashes a lot with the rest of the series, resulting in a very annoying mood whiplash. The setting is somewhat interesting because it takes place in Europe, and because of the influence of European folklore that makes for somewhat captivating vibes and aesthetics, even though the series plays out in a typical fashion for a contemporary fantasy series. The occasional dark themes and violent moments that are presented in a tasteful way are a nice touch too. Despite that, as much as the series tries to make it seem that there are stakes and the main characters are in danger, both are exceptional and whenever they encounter a threat, they come out fine, are cured by either a super powerful supernatural being that favors them or a risky procedure that comes out just fine, and they get allies and power ups every so often, or reveal to have a hidden super power that lets them face anything just fine. As for characters, they are memorable more for their characteristics than their personality. A redhead suicidal young female mage that can see creepy supernatural creatures and gets power ups by being cursed, apprentice of a skeleton undead thing that turns into a…I don’t even know how to describe it. Other than that, Chise is mostly an excuse for the viewer to learn about this world, and Elias doesn’t know how to communicate well. Secondary one off characters are somewhat one note but at least have an explored dramatic and sad back story to flesh them out, even though they don’t appear again. Development and catharsis are otherwise nonexistent for the mains, and the secondary ones don’t get that because they disappear from the story soon after they appear. Thus, I began watching the series thanks to the ova mini-series that presented it as a darker Ghibli movie, and what I got is the most off-putting non-pornographic version of Beauty and the Beast ever, that even though it is a shoujo series, plays out like a typical shounen action series, by giving the super special protagonist favors from super powerful creatures and big powers ups, even with former enemies becoming her allies. The presentation, the dramatic secondary stories and characters, and the occasional dark elements, make it a watchable time waster for me, but nowhere near as promising as it seemed to be. Then, a later mini ova series came out some years later while the second season was already announced, but unlike the first one it wasn’t liked much. The studio changed, the artwork was a bit compromised and the special effects now included a bit more crude looking CGI. The story was another semi-dramatic story about a secondary one off character, but the uneventful finale and the slow pacing in the beginning and the rushed pacing in the end of it made it very passable and forgettable as a whole, so it’s understandable why it’s the lowest rated entry in the franchise. The sound department was on par with the previous level, so there weren’t complaints there. Then the second season came out and it wasn’t nearly as popular nor liked as the first, why is that? No recency bias, no longer a new show, second season of a series with already three entries, with thirty episodes amongst them. Split cour, the majority doesn’t like that, especially when it comes to a sequel of a two season series. Also, since the studio changed, the visuals aren’t as polished as they used to be, even though they were improved from the second ova mini-series. The second part in particular has a lot more crude CGI than the first, thus being the worst entry so far in that regard. Audio wise, the special effects and the music kept being captivating, and that includes the opening and endings, so no complaints there, again. The voice acting for the newly introduced characters include both more veteran and young seiyuus, with everyone doing a good job, so that was actually improved as the franchise went on. The plot changed slightly though, what used to be a learning process across the countryside with its creepy and captivating encounters with some supernatural horrors, was replaced with a Harry Potter-esque magic high school and arc, Chamber of Secrets for the first cour, with someone attacking others with a dark magic book, and Prisoner of Azkaban for the second, with everyone trapped in the school, in specific. Thankfully, the creepy creatures and vibes, the secondary characters with tragic backstories, the newly introduced conflicts among different families of wizards that reminded me of Fate/Zero and the Waver spin off and led the author to explore the closed, caged, oppressive world of wizardry, along with some slight level of development for Chise who opens to more people and learns to be not AS suicidal, while Elias slowly learns about humans and how to communicate with others, are there, it’s just that the sense of adventure and exploration was lost. The plot progression wasn’t lost however, even though some claim it did, the series was about Chise learning about this world, and it still is about that, only on a school instead of the countryside, ok? The only major difference is no death for a secondary character, but other than that the series remains the same, only on a more limited setting. What’s unforgivable is how the series had the chance to fix the most off putting aspect of the relationship between the main characters, by revealing that Elias is confused about what his intentions for Chise actually entail, and both of them questioning said relationship, only for them to go “well, as long as we are together, it doesn’t matter if we’re husband and wife, master and slave, teacher and apprentice, father and daughter”, fuck that, it made things even worse. The opening of the second cour made it look like it was going to be far more action oriented, and although there is a bit more than before, that was never the strongest aspect of the franchise. It also set off all of the alarms for a time travel sort of subplot to take place, but thankfully that wasn’t the case, it was just the characters going down the memory trip. As a whole, this is a franchise you follow not for the plot, which isn’t very special and progresses very slowly, not for the action, which isn’t very spectacular nor particularly well animated, and doesn’t have much stakes because of how powerful the main characters are or become, and hopefully not for the dynamic of the main characters, which is off putting as hell. You watch it for the presentation and atmosphere, the setting and its creatures, the creepy vibes, and the secondary stories and characters. A mixed bag of a series, but in the end an ok time passer.
bossunhimeswitch
12/21/2023, 11:23 AM
Once again the cast is stuck at school and the story moves extremely slowly in a lot of places. One of the nicer things about this season compared to the previous season was that there felt like there were more stakes to the story and it helped push things forward even when the narrative wanted to meander. That said, the ending paid out and it was worth the watch, though at times things were drawn so darkly that it was difficult to follow the action and understand what happened. But there were still things to like. I liked watching Chise grow and socialize. I likedwatching Elias learn to let Chise do things even though he's still (at times understandably) over-protective of her. I will gladly watch another season though I'm hoping that we can get closer to the pacing of the first season which was more dream-like and didn't feel lost in the woods. If you enjoyed the previous season, then you'll like this one too. If you also found the previous season sluggish then be prepared for a similar pace and tone but the ending is worth it.
whiteflame55
12/21/2023, 10:15 AM
An improvement from the previous part, I think this is the moment where I can best see why it’s worth sticking with this series. I can’t say it’s really grabbed me before this (aside from the OVA “Those Awaiting a Star,” which I still think is the best this series has to offer), but when it delivers on its mysteries, shows some genuine character growth and gives Chise a chance to substantially contribute to someone else coming out of their shell, it really works. It’s nice to see the lessons Chise learned coming to the fore here. The season looks great as always, and that OPis top tier. Very solid all around. The plot really gets and stays going this time rather than the fits and starts of the last half season, and it answers enough while leaving plenty of mysteries left to be solved that I’m both drawn in and satisfied. Not to say it’s perfect. There are still a lot of enigmatic characters here, some of which get enough screen presence that we should really know more about them. It’s also brought down a bit by just upping the ante a lot in the last couple of episodes. When you have to bring in gods, you know things are getting spicy, but I don’t think this show does enough to justify it, particularly with the villain being a tad one dimensional. They gave her good backstory, but her motivations just seem so basic, especially given that very background. Just felt like it was going somewhere and petered out. Still, a worthwhile and in places a powerful watch.
KANLen09
12/21/2023, 05:30 AM
The Ancient Magus' Bride — the continuation from fantasy-esque sceneries to downright school-ish nightmares...that as much as its original premise pulls us into its world, the arc that follows thereafter, desperately pushes us out of its world. It's no secret that famed mangaka Kore Yamazaki's Mahoutsukai no Yome a.k.a The Ancient Magus' Bride, par for the course of the anime, has received mixed feelings with the rather drastic tonal shift from a full-on fantasy quest to the "back to school" elements. As much as is evident from Season 2's split-cours throughout both Spring and now with Fall's continuation of the manga's ever-so-divisive College arc since Volume10, Part 2 here continues the adaptation from Volume 15 to cover the remainder of the manga right up until the latest Volume 19, before its eventual hiatus earlier this year and the resumption of the manga's serialization just very recently. By all accounts, the entirety of the manga (at this point) has been completely adapted, though not without its glaring flaws. I, for one, like Humpty Dumpty, have been on the fence about the whole College arc since Spring much earlier in the year, being an anime-only who had not read the manga prior to the end of Season 1 way back in 2018. Not so much regarding Chise's extended growth as she goes back to school to improve her magic craftsmanship, but of the radical shift to the one central character that would help spur her and her classmates' growth: the rather unkempt girl that is Philomela Sargent. Like the prequel where it's all about Chise and her growth from being a slave to a magus's bride, Philomela's showcase of her life has been nothing but nightmares one after the other, which is more pronounced in Part 2 here of her origin story that explains why the relevant people in her life got their karma in one way or another, not as a result of her poor upbringing, but of the amount of shock and torture that she got while growing up, not knowing of the consequences of her presence being a bane. Philomela's story may look and sound like a chore (given Season 2 as a whole), but I'm kind of glad that Kore Yamazaki knew when to pace her story right while weaving Chise, Elias, and the classmates who have journeyed with said "bastard child" to have her redemption story and finally bring this rather long-winded arc to a resounding close. Over time, the "justified" hate that Philomela got, you can't really blame it on said daughter, as it was the people who turned her life upside down, from having the guardian of Alcyone to protect her from harm to Chise and the others finally getting the facts onto her head that she is no longer isolated from her issues alone and has friends to keep her accounted. That is the magic that the series has been known for for six years now since the start of the anime, and I'm FINALLY glad to see it executed here. Alas, the studio shift from Wit Studio to Studio Kafka, barring The Boy from the West and the Knight of the Blue Storm OAD series, despite having a majority of the original staff team join the "replacement" studio, it still looks good, but doesn't quite have the finesse that Wit Studio has been known for, the studio that is now a shadow of its former self. It's not necessarily the fault of director Kazuaki Terasawa's staff team since the OAD series to maintain its consistent quality, but you can tell that the level of passion when comparing against Season 1 and 2 (plus the OAD series) has definitely waned over time, losing its original magical wonder that made the premiere season a near-perfect masterpiece. On the music side, JUNNA has (nearly) always been a mainstay of the series, and her latest OP song, I would say, is great, but it will never top her very own OP song for the 1st cour of Season 1. The number of emotions and expressions presented here is part of why JUNNA's songs make sense, and for the assumption finale here, it's always a very good job. Sadly, I've cared even less for the ending song for it to not be notable and just a pure skip, something that Part 1 actually did quite well. As a whole, I'm so goddamn relieved that Kore Yamazaki's series has finally got its complete-but-incomplete adaptation, because while the manga isn't by any means perfect, so is the anime, with the entirety of Season 2 being a slogfest, Mahoutsukai no Yome a.k.a The Ancient Magus' Bride is a fantasy story to be had, though she took some stumbles with the College arc that, for all its complex and convoluted intents and purposes, gave the series a bit of a bad rep. It's no doubt one of the most engrossing fantasy stories of the modern age, but your mileage will vary. It'll take years for yet another season to come out, and for now, the anime is as close to the imperfect adaptation of the series as yet. Yet, if I have to judge the College arc as a whole, it was kind of disappointing from a narrative standpoint. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but a decent chunk for the other side of the half.

Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2 Part 2 魔法使いの嫁 SEASON2 第2クール

2023 fall | Episodes: 12 | Score: 7.9 (44551)

Updated every Thursdays at 22:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Producers:flying DOG | bilibili | Mag Garden | Chiptune | Twin Engine

Streaming: Crunchyroll | Aniplus Asia | Bahamut Anime Crazy

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Takeuchi, Ryouta

Tanezaki, Atsumi

News

Reviews

ohterrytorres
05/17/2024, 09:39 AM
I quit Frieren: Beyond Journey's end because it failed to show me an interesting world of magic. It turned out to be surprisingly thoughtless and plain. So I thought, "Wait, wasn't there another show I liked with magic and deep relationships that has a new season?" What's so refreshing about this story is that you can tell Kore Yamazaki is interested in both how magic works and how people work. As a result, the characters grow naturally. In other stories, if a character suddenly starts behaving differently, their decisions may feel out of character, only for the purpose of propelling the plot. In this story, theentire cast is truly motivated by their histories and their relationships. They are unmistakably the same people from the previous season, but you can see how their circumstances have truly influenced them. Chise and Elias are constantly interrogating the story's initial premise (that one of them is the property of the other) as they talk to each other. Just as they think they know what role they fill in each other's lives, the other reveals some new desire or doubt. They are forced to renegotiate what their boundaries are again and again, but because they're each so understanding and inquisitive and patient, neither ever attempts to put the other in a box to contain and categorize them: they truly discover new things about their selves and each other. These new discoveries about what they can ask of each other makes them genuinely, literally stronger and are tied directly to how they are able to overcome the obstacles in their way. Despite not being explicitly romantic, despite not having a typical "marriage", despite their insanely disparate backgrounds, the relationship of Chise and Elias is both a model for a deep and healthy friendship as well as being one of the most unique I've ever seen in an anime. The cast is expanded at just the right time in this season. Because Chise has grown, she is able to relate to others in more complex ways. She is able to intuit who is open, who is instinctively guarded, who is fronting, who is wearing their pain on their sleeve. She learns herself what she'd been trying to teach Elias, that people must be met where they are. That there's no one best way to deal with the baggage you have, and that sometimes people just need permission to do the things they already know they want to do. I was not convinced I was going to like the new additions to the cast, and to be sure none of them have the immediately recognizable depth and mystery of Chise and Elias. Because the author is so interested in the grace and dignity inside of everyone, she is able to elevate even cliched stereotypes. At first you think, "Oh, here comes the shrinking violet that let's others do the talking for her," and "Oh, here comes the serious studious guy who thinks everyone else should serious and studious like him," and "Oh, here comes the hot-and-cold girl who think she has it worst and has no time for other people's insecurities." But after a few scenes of seeing them talk to each other and push against each of their weaknesses, each of them push back and say something that perfectly justifies why they are the way they are. We don't get to learn every detail about their lives, but we get the sense that the author knows those details and is using them to guide each person's behavior. Chise has a uniquely miserable childhood, but even amongst the wealthy and privileged, we discover the truth: everybody has to answer to somebody. Everybody has to learn about authority, power dynamics, and what role they'll take to stay safe. Everybody has to learn that the role you've been given isn't the one you have to remain in. Stunningly affecting and tender relationship dynamics aside, what I love about this show is that I do not know what's going to happen next. A family of stylish, talking cats? An huge, evil super-centaur? A huge, pregnant super-soldier? A child crying and yelling about "her spiders?" Watching a main character's head split in half from the inside? The myths of the British Isles are used with such clever cavalierness that I'm never confused, only delighted when a new magical creature or concept is introduced. The action is a good balance of threatening and playful. This isn't a show with a lot of flashy violence, but our main characters do have to deal with the indelible fallout of their actions on some level, often internally, but sometimes externally.
Shirogari
03/25/2024, 03:42 PM
This second part is surprisingly slow. Part one felt like a lot of setup but contrary to what you might expect this second part is even slower; though it does have a proper conclusion. The story continues where the first part left off but does so at a pretty slow pace. There's flashbacks that last entire episodes so you better understand some of the characters but this does destroy any momentum the anime has. The story is interesting but slightly confusing and doesn't make sense at times. A good thing is that lots of parts of the story reach their conclusion in this season soyou won't feel like you've watched nothing. The mystical feel of the anime is often absent in this season and spirits/fairies make relatively few appearances. The characters are mostly the same as in the first part and they receive quite a lot of attention, both in the form as flashbacks and conversations. The characters are quite good and get plenty of development, but this did probably contribute to how slowly the story seemed to progress. The animations is good overall. There's some cgi for things like cafetaria scenes like in the first part but most of the animation looks good with some more special scenes looking beautiful. Some of the scenes are a bit dark though so maybe turn up your monitor brightness or turn off the lights. The voice acting was good and the ost was great when it was present. Overall this is probably worth watching if you've already watched part 1, no reason to only watch the setup and not watch the conclusion after all. It's just that this season is slower and has more flashbacks than you might expect.
Ertagon
03/12/2024, 05:29 PM
I gave high marks to the first half of The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 for venturing into a bold new direction, a departure from the debut season's path. I'm still fond of this adjusted setting, but I can't shake off the feeling that the show has lost a piece of its essence. If the season's outset was akin to switching lanes on a highway, the latter half seems to execute a full u-turn. The narrative continues to explore the mentor-student dynamic between Chise and Elias, yet there's a noticeable lack of development here, making this crucial relationship feel somewhat neglected. Elias's personal growth, though brieflyspotlighted, is hastily dropped by the storyline. This could be seen as strengthening their independence, diminishing their reliance on one another, but I find myself yearning for a deeper romantic connection between them. The story instead focuses on human-to-human relationships, it explores some tragedies that while similar are completely unrelated to the main heroine. While Chise remains a pivotal figure, the narrative leans more into the lives and challenges of other characters. This shift offers Chise room for growth, yet it seems this potential wasn't fully realized. The storytelling, while not inherently flawed, feels misplaced in perspective and intention, as if the series has momentarily lost sight of its foundational identity. Now, addressing a commonly discussed element—the magic. In its first season, magic nearly served as an invincible shield, with the plot overly dependent on it to the point of losing intrigue. The second season initially dialed back, presenting magic as a nuanced tool governed by rules, which I appreciated. However, the season's second part perhaps retracts too much, rendering magic less wondrous and leaving its usage and implications underexplained. This results in a feeling of magic being a convenient plot device rather than an integral aspect of the world. In summary, despite improving on pacing and narrative depth over the first season, the show seems to have drifted from its true essence. It doesn't entirely discard the rich world-building and character development established previously, but there's a noticeable detachment, akin to viewing through a fogged lens. It remains a commendable watch, unlikely to disappoint fans outright, but it also represents a regression from the first half of this season and, in certain respects, from the initial season.
kchakrak
01/22/2024, 01:27 AM
I adore Chise and Elias, I love the dub and everything about the show. The school direction is an interesting one and didn't fall into the 'trope trap' like I thought it would. However, the pacing of this particular section of this season is questionable. If you can deal with that this is more from the world and people you love. Positives Everything I loved about this show remains, and as I say I think the dub is phenomenal. While it would be interesting to see how outsiders react to Chise and Elias more I greatly enjoyed what we got to see. The supporting cast also reallyhold their weight and stop the show relying on Chise's ability to get herself into trouble in order to close every arc. Negatives The pacing in part 2 is horrible. This is really my own complaint, in the last 5-6 episodes, about 4 are basically entire flashbacks. There's no reason these couldn't have been spread out over the season and it ended up being frustrating. I think they were hoping the end plot was a big reveal, but it's pretty obvious and pretty routine for the show. It's unnecessary honestly, the characters are this shows strengths and for the last 6 episodes there's a ton of filler, at least in my opinion.
giraffenanime
01/11/2024, 10:13 AM
Finally caught up on Ancient Magus Bride S2 P2! Loved the continuation of Chise Hatori's life, and getting to see Elias Ainsworth in an uncomfortable setting. But as I suspected, the season felt a little boring/dragged-out multiple times throughout both parts. Not sure if it's because its a school setting, or the pressure of having to feel empathic towards all the new characters who've made an impact in Chise's new school life. I loved the happy ending, but wish we got there faster... and with a lot less questions that'll need to be dragged into the new season/chapter they've announced "The Fiendlane". The animation wasn't not worthy aswell... I find this hard to recommend to someone, after enjoying the first season and OVAs so much. If you didn't care for the first season very much, don't continue with the series then. But if you got hooked and want to see how Chise grows, then go ahead and stick around! I'll be doing it for the next season/chapter for sure (even after all my complaints).
DivinityV12
12/30/2023, 07:38 PM
This wasn't really an improvement but probably more of the same except for the climax So I got 4 episodes into this season and got so irritated by the side school characters that I just plainly skipped until there were just parts of Elias and Chise, because that's just how annoying those characters were to me. How the entire chapter came off to me was just too filler like and uninteresting to the point where I really wish they'd drop the school slice of life stuff as it got to me that much, that the first season was that much of a masterpiece and then we gotsuch boring and annoying characters to have to sit through and their issues which made me care less. If this anime drops the school stuff and the characters from it and return to the original cast which actually have synergy and cohesion together which makes for the entertaining first season we got then it will do well, chances are low of that from the blonde girl we saw acting behind the scenes. So hopefully the sooner we get back to content with just Elias, Chise, Ruth and Silky the better. Tldr The show fell from grace from its second season and this season apart from the last 4 episodes also tanked. Needs to lose the school and characters to return to being something remotely entertaining.
chekkit
12/22/2023, 04:42 PM
Incredibly slow and sluggish from start to finish... we have finally come to an end with this school arc. And thank goodness for that! This whole arc, from first to second cour, has been a difficult watch. In that I very much enjoyed the typicals that come with this series: The gorgeous art and animation, the music, Chise and Elias, the familiar magical elements... the OP is fun to see with every episode beginning! Beyond that however, our main characters are sitting around twiddling their thumbs playing second fiddle to Philomela. The true MC of what felt like the longest filler arc I've come to watch. Bythe time this season ended, I couldn't recall a single moment that particularly caught my interest. It was all situated around helping Philomela as she painstakingly hid everything from the cast up until the final moment. Impossible to talk to, impossible to get close to... we spend almost the entire time watching her suffer alone and refuse all aid. To the point you know what to expect in that it self-destructs on her sooner or later. To the point you can sum up both parts of season 2 into a few words: "Chise goes to sorcerer school and makes friends+helps them with their problems". That's it. What few moments you get to even see of Chise and Elias doing SOMETHING together, I was cheering for that little bit of familiarity before taking a back seat to everyone's problems once more. I guess the only thing that really came out of all this is Chise getting a little bolder and coming out of her own shell. She made friends. Elias made a friend. But nothing was exactly... learned or necessary in the grand scheme of things. Lots of foreshadowing on Chise's part from the tiny hints we've got here and there-- which looks promising in the final preview of a new arc we got at the end of the last episode. Something that looks actually story-driven! This is my hope that we can return to form in the next season. Because otherwise? You could entirely skip season 2 and just know that there are now Friends in the mix I guess. Though if we're lucky they'll all just go back to school and Chise will be done with her studying so we don't have to suffer anymore.
CaptainKenshiro
12/21/2023, 02:14 PM
Note: This will cover the whole franchise up until this point, since I don’t find much to say about each entry on their own. I didn’t know about this series until the ova mini-series came out and got me interested in the concept right away, as it seemed to be like a fantasy version of The Sixth Sense or something, with the protagonist being the only one able to see supernatural creatures. It didn’t turn out like that at all, but still, a young girl learning magic and finding out about all the supernatural stuff lurking in her world was catchy enough, the occasional tragic deaths,dark elements and great visuals and atmosphere added to the positives, even though at the end of the day it was just a media res demo of sorts. Then the tv series started and part of that magic was lost to me. Not on the presentation though, as the visuals kept the gorgeous artwork, backgrounds and special effects, that make up for the usually static animation and simple character designs with repeated facial features, while the sound retained the immersive sound effects and atmospheric soundtrack, along with cool and atypical openings and endings, that were also accompanied by a fine voice acting. The drawbacks were in the plot, as it starts in a very creepy way, with a young human girl being bought as a slave by a skeleton, undead, monster, thing who even has a hidden much more hideous form, thus giving off very bad vibes. Everything seemed to be fine when he intended to make her his apprentice, but as soon as he revealed that he intended her to become his wife, with every secondary character supporting them, everything became hella weird and creepy again. Aside from that, the atmosphere from the mini-series, while still there, was now interrupted by the typical chibi comedy that you encounter on a shoujo series. It’s still better than most comical moments on a shounen series, mind you, but it still clashes a lot with the rest of the series, resulting in a very annoying mood whiplash. The setting is somewhat interesting because it takes place in Europe, and because of the influence of European folklore that makes for somewhat captivating vibes and aesthetics, even though the series plays out in a typical fashion for a contemporary fantasy series. The occasional dark themes and violent moments that are presented in a tasteful way are a nice touch too. Despite that, as much as the series tries to make it seem that there are stakes and the main characters are in danger, both are exceptional and whenever they encounter a threat, they come out fine, are cured by either a super powerful supernatural being that favors them or a risky procedure that comes out just fine, and they get allies and power ups every so often, or reveal to have a hidden super power that lets them face anything just fine. As for characters, they are memorable more for their characteristics than their personality. A redhead suicidal young female mage that can see creepy supernatural creatures and gets power ups by being cursed, apprentice of a skeleton undead thing that turns into a…I don’t even know how to describe it. Other than that, Chise is mostly an excuse for the viewer to learn about this world, and Elias doesn’t know how to communicate well. Secondary one off characters are somewhat one note but at least have an explored dramatic and sad back story to flesh them out, even though they don’t appear again. Development and catharsis are otherwise nonexistent for the mains, and the secondary ones don’t get that because they disappear from the story soon after they appear. Thus, I began watching the series thanks to the ova mini-series that presented it as a darker Ghibli movie, and what I got is the most off-putting non-pornographic version of Beauty and the Beast ever, that even though it is a shoujo series, plays out like a typical shounen action series, by giving the super special protagonist favors from super powerful creatures and big powers ups, even with former enemies becoming her allies. The presentation, the dramatic secondary stories and characters, and the occasional dark elements, make it a watchable time waster for me, but nowhere near as promising as it seemed to be. Then, a later mini ova series came out some years later while the second season was already announced, but unlike the first one it wasn’t liked much. The studio changed, the artwork was a bit compromised and the special effects now included a bit more crude looking CGI. The story was another semi-dramatic story about a secondary one off character, but the uneventful finale and the slow pacing in the beginning and the rushed pacing in the end of it made it very passable and forgettable as a whole, so it’s understandable why it’s the lowest rated entry in the franchise. The sound department was on par with the previous level, so there weren’t complaints there. Then the second season came out and it wasn’t nearly as popular nor liked as the first, why is that? No recency bias, no longer a new show, second season of a series with already three entries, with thirty episodes amongst them. Split cour, the majority doesn’t like that, especially when it comes to a sequel of a two season series. Also, since the studio changed, the visuals aren’t as polished as they used to be, even though they were improved from the second ova mini-series. The second part in particular has a lot more crude CGI than the first, thus being the worst entry so far in that regard. Audio wise, the special effects and the music kept being captivating, and that includes the opening and endings, so no complaints there, again. The voice acting for the newly introduced characters include both more veteran and young seiyuus, with everyone doing a good job, so that was actually improved as the franchise went on. The plot changed slightly though, what used to be a learning process across the countryside with its creepy and captivating encounters with some supernatural horrors, was replaced with a Harry Potter-esque magic high school and arc, Chamber of Secrets for the first cour, with someone attacking others with a dark magic book, and Prisoner of Azkaban for the second, with everyone trapped in the school, in specific. Thankfully, the creepy creatures and vibes, the secondary characters with tragic backstories, the newly introduced conflicts among different families of wizards that reminded me of Fate/Zero and the Waver spin off and led the author to explore the closed, caged, oppressive world of wizardry, along with some slight level of development for Chise who opens to more people and learns to be not AS suicidal, while Elias slowly learns about humans and how to communicate with others, are there, it’s just that the sense of adventure and exploration was lost. The plot progression wasn’t lost however, even though some claim it did, the series was about Chise learning about this world, and it still is about that, only on a school instead of the countryside, ok? The only major difference is no death for a secondary character, but other than that the series remains the same, only on a more limited setting. What’s unforgivable is how the series had the chance to fix the most off putting aspect of the relationship between the main characters, by revealing that Elias is confused about what his intentions for Chise actually entail, and both of them questioning said relationship, only for them to go “well, as long as we are together, it doesn’t matter if we’re husband and wife, master and slave, teacher and apprentice, father and daughter”, fuck that, it made things even worse. The opening of the second cour made it look like it was going to be far more action oriented, and although there is a bit more than before, that was never the strongest aspect of the franchise. It also set off all of the alarms for a time travel sort of subplot to take place, but thankfully that wasn’t the case, it was just the characters going down the memory trip. As a whole, this is a franchise you follow not for the plot, which isn’t very special and progresses very slowly, not for the action, which isn’t very spectacular nor particularly well animated, and doesn’t have much stakes because of how powerful the main characters are or become, and hopefully not for the dynamic of the main characters, which is off putting as hell. You watch it for the presentation and atmosphere, the setting and its creatures, the creepy vibes, and the secondary stories and characters. A mixed bag of a series, but in the end an ok time passer.
bossunhimeswitch
12/21/2023, 11:23 AM
Once again the cast is stuck at school and the story moves extremely slowly in a lot of places. One of the nicer things about this season compared to the previous season was that there felt like there were more stakes to the story and it helped push things forward even when the narrative wanted to meander. That said, the ending paid out and it was worth the watch, though at times things were drawn so darkly that it was difficult to follow the action and understand what happened. But there were still things to like. I liked watching Chise grow and socialize. I likedwatching Elias learn to let Chise do things even though he's still (at times understandably) over-protective of her. I will gladly watch another season though I'm hoping that we can get closer to the pacing of the first season which was more dream-like and didn't feel lost in the woods. If you enjoyed the previous season, then you'll like this one too. If you also found the previous season sluggish then be prepared for a similar pace and tone but the ending is worth it.
whiteflame55
12/21/2023, 10:15 AM
An improvement from the previous part, I think this is the moment where I can best see why it’s worth sticking with this series. I can’t say it’s really grabbed me before this (aside from the OVA “Those Awaiting a Star,” which I still think is the best this series has to offer), but when it delivers on its mysteries, shows some genuine character growth and gives Chise a chance to substantially contribute to someone else coming out of their shell, it really works. It’s nice to see the lessons Chise learned coming to the fore here. The season looks great as always, and that OPis top tier. Very solid all around. The plot really gets and stays going this time rather than the fits and starts of the last half season, and it answers enough while leaving plenty of mysteries left to be solved that I’m both drawn in and satisfied. Not to say it’s perfect. There are still a lot of enigmatic characters here, some of which get enough screen presence that we should really know more about them. It’s also brought down a bit by just upping the ante a lot in the last couple of episodes. When you have to bring in gods, you know things are getting spicy, but I don’t think this show does enough to justify it, particularly with the villain being a tad one dimensional. They gave her good backstory, but her motivations just seem so basic, especially given that very background. Just felt like it was going somewhere and petered out. Still, a worthwhile and in places a powerful watch.
KANLen09
12/21/2023, 05:30 AM
The Ancient Magus' Bride — the continuation from fantasy-esque sceneries to downright school-ish nightmares...that as much as its original premise pulls us into its world, the arc that follows thereafter, desperately pushes us out of its world. It's no secret that famed mangaka Kore Yamazaki's Mahoutsukai no Yome a.k.a The Ancient Magus' Bride, par for the course of the anime, has received mixed feelings with the rather drastic tonal shift from a full-on fantasy quest to the "back to school" elements. As much as is evident from Season 2's split-cours throughout both Spring and now with Fall's continuation of the manga's ever-so-divisive College arc since Volume10, Part 2 here continues the adaptation from Volume 15 to cover the remainder of the manga right up until the latest Volume 19, before its eventual hiatus earlier this year and the resumption of the manga's serialization just very recently. By all accounts, the entirety of the manga (at this point) has been completely adapted, though not without its glaring flaws. I, for one, like Humpty Dumpty, have been on the fence about the whole College arc since Spring much earlier in the year, being an anime-only who had not read the manga prior to the end of Season 1 way back in 2018. Not so much regarding Chise's extended growth as she goes back to school to improve her magic craftsmanship, but of the radical shift to the one central character that would help spur her and her classmates' growth: the rather unkempt girl that is Philomela Sargent. Like the prequel where it's all about Chise and her growth from being a slave to a magus's bride, Philomela's showcase of her life has been nothing but nightmares one after the other, which is more pronounced in Part 2 here of her origin story that explains why the relevant people in her life got their karma in one way or another, not as a result of her poor upbringing, but of the amount of shock and torture that she got while growing up, not knowing of the consequences of her presence being a bane. Philomela's story may look and sound like a chore (given Season 2 as a whole), but I'm kind of glad that Kore Yamazaki knew when to pace her story right while weaving Chise, Elias, and the classmates who have journeyed with said "bastard child" to have her redemption story and finally bring this rather long-winded arc to a resounding close. Over time, the "justified" hate that Philomela got, you can't really blame it on said daughter, as it was the people who turned her life upside down, from having the guardian of Alcyone to protect her from harm to Chise and the others finally getting the facts onto her head that she is no longer isolated from her issues alone and has friends to keep her accounted. That is the magic that the series has been known for for six years now since the start of the anime, and I'm FINALLY glad to see it executed here. Alas, the studio shift from Wit Studio to Studio Kafka, barring The Boy from the West and the Knight of the Blue Storm OAD series, despite having a majority of the original staff team join the "replacement" studio, it still looks good, but doesn't quite have the finesse that Wit Studio has been known for, the studio that is now a shadow of its former self. It's not necessarily the fault of director Kazuaki Terasawa's staff team since the OAD series to maintain its consistent quality, but you can tell that the level of passion when comparing against Season 1 and 2 (plus the OAD series) has definitely waned over time, losing its original magical wonder that made the premiere season a near-perfect masterpiece. On the music side, JUNNA has (nearly) always been a mainstay of the series, and her latest OP song, I would say, is great, but it will never top her very own OP song for the 1st cour of Season 1. The number of emotions and expressions presented here is part of why JUNNA's songs make sense, and for the assumption finale here, it's always a very good job. Sadly, I've cared even less for the ending song for it to not be notable and just a pure skip, something that Part 1 actually did quite well. As a whole, I'm so goddamn relieved that Kore Yamazaki's series has finally got its complete-but-incomplete adaptation, because while the manga isn't by any means perfect, so is the anime, with the entirety of Season 2 being a slogfest, Mahoutsukai no Yome a.k.a The Ancient Magus' Bride is a fantasy story to be had, though she took some stumbles with the College arc that, for all its complex and convoluted intents and purposes, gave the series a bit of a bad rep. It's no doubt one of the most engrossing fantasy stories of the modern age, but your mileage will vary. It'll take years for yet another season to come out, and for now, the anime is as close to the imperfect adaptation of the series as yet. Yet, if I have to judge the College arc as a whole, it was kind of disappointing from a narrative standpoint. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but a decent chunk for the other side of the half.

Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2 Part 2 魔法使いの嫁 SEASON2 第2クール

North American Anime & Manga Releases for October

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'Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2' Second Part Premieres in Fall 2023

Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2 Part 2 魔法使いの嫁 SEASON2 第2クール

North American Anime & Manga Releases for October

Fall 2023 Simulcast List [Update 10/22]

Fall 2023 Preview

Secrets in the Shadows, Lore in the Light: A Conversation with Kazuaki Terasawa

PV Collection for Sep 11 - 17

'Mahoutsukai no Yome Season 2' Second Part Premieres in Fall 2023