The Ancient Magus' Bride (魔法使いの嫁) is a super natural drama based on the manga of the same name by Yamazaki Kore. The second season ran for 24 episode and aired in the Spring and Fall of 2023. The review for the first season can be found here.
Chise has convinced Elias to allow her to attend the alchemist college in London. He agrees but also if they allow him to be a quest teacher while she attends. The college is as far away from her life in the quiet hamlet as you can get. It was established long ago by 7 prominent alchemist families, who still hold sway over aspects of the institution. The massive underground complex holds everything one could possibly need regarding training children to harness their supernatural talents. Chise's past experiences in school left little to be desired and she finds herself a bit of an outcast being the only enrolled mage, that she is aware of. Fortunately the alchemist apprentice, Alice, who she has befriended, is also attending the school. She and Elias have arrived at a dangerous time as powerful forces begin to move, intentions unknown. Chise is thrown headlong into the chaos due to a few select coeds she has become close to. Her roommate is a anti social serious girl named Lucy, who is one of the only surviving members of a powerful alchemist family. Her family was ruthlessly murdered before her, only her estranged brother was able to keep her safe from the attackers and tries to hide her away as best he can.
Another girl that Chise is trying to open up to is a member of another great family, one who specializes in espionage and subterfuge. The girl, Philomela, struggles with her place in the world as she is seen only as a tool for her grandmother ambitions...ambitions that could threaten the very existence of the academy and its attempts at organization and order. A dangerous and powerful grimoire, housed in the college, is targeted by an unknown group. After it's theft various people within the college are attacked, leaving them in a comatose state. Believing the attack and the missing tome are linked, the school is locked down in an attempt to prevent the culprits escape. It's a race against time to find the grimoire and contain the threat to the students and faculty.
I don't think I enjoyed the second season as much as the first. The shift to a Harry Potter style setting seeming to collapse the world building into its self, limiting the amount of story that could be spun out. While the first season was largely a collection of loosely related stories that were more to build the world and expose the viewer to a variety of folk lore, that exploration is what felt so special with the story. Instead we are trapped in the narrative of the alchemist college, only seeing world building tied to the institution, instead of the wondrous world of the magus. Not to mention the start of the second half of the season finds the characters actually trapped within the college as the plot unfolds around them. The story shifts to being one of intrigue and conflict between the various alchemist families. One aspect of the world of Ancient Magus Bride that is brought into focus more than in the past is the casual acceptance of slavery and indenture in the world of the alchemists and magi. The great alchemist families have other families serving under them, families they use as they see fit, usually as servants and disposable assets. While members of the lesser families may not like their situation, there is little in the way of resisting the entire patronage system that is fully entwined in their society.
Aside from my dislike of the direction the story moved into, the show was good over all. Artwork is middling for current standards, but it doesn't deviate from the original series. My biggest complaint with the design was how dark many of the settings were done, making it a struggle to pick out some of the details. Just how moody does an institution need to be? The real strength of the show is the deep connection with European folklore made into living forces of the story. While there is some fast paced action and physical/magical combat, this is really a story about the characters recognizing their place in a world where humans are not the apex predator. If the story can shift its focus back to this dynamic instead of falling back on using inter-human conflict as the primary source of danger future series' will be greatly welcomed. This season felt like a faltering in the way the live action adaptation of The Walking Dead faltered, where the aspects that made the story enjoyable were put on the back burner and the world building was reduced and focused on an aspect that came from a mostly natural place, instead of a mystical/super natural position. The machinations of humans with an eye on power are easily understood. Whats fascinating is exploring the space of humanity trying to exist within the fickle and alien motivations of forces that are neither malevolent or benevolent but are utterly over powering in their strength.
Both halves of this season were simulcast on Crunchyroll and are still available for streaming.
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