The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Part 1 Review – A Decent Continuation With Great Potential

Episode Guide

Episode 1: Live and Let Live. II -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 2: Birds Of A Feather Flock Together I -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3: Birds Of A Feather Flock Together II -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4: The Cowl Does Not Make The Monk -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5: First Impressions Are The Most Lasting -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 6: Better Bend Than Break -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 7: Slow and Sure I. -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 8: Slow and Sure II. -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 9: Conscience Does Make Cowards Of Us All. -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 10: Conscience Does Make Cowards Of Us All. II -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 11: The Small Leak Will Sink A Great Ship. I -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 12: The Small Leak Will Sink A Great Ship. II -| Review Score – 4/5

After being left on season one for six years, The Ancient Magus’ Bride returned with a new season. Many were excited to see what other routes this story offers regarding Chise and Elias’s endeavors. With Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World and Mashle: Magic and Muscles delivering shows set in a magic academy setting, this season had competition. While this season fails to capture the artistry, phenomenal world-building, or captivating experience as the first, it has some intrigue to grasp your attention.

Our tale continues following Chise, who attends a mutual aid organization for mages called the College. Adolf, an alchemist at the College, says he could find a way to remove Chise’s two curses. Elias accompanies Chise to the College to monitor her. Chise encounters and interacts with numerous people and creatures while attending this school. At the same time, Chise tries to strengthen the bonds she established in the first season.

Based on the premise alone, fans were semi-excited to see where this story would take Chise and Elias. This season was vastly different from what fans grew accustomed to in the prior season regarding its setting and intention. Instead of developing Chise and Elias’s relationship more, this season spent more time fleshing out its returning and new characters. It also introduces new subplots to keep fans speculating and intrigued.

From the Webster Family Tragedy to the magic power-draining assailant, many mysteries sprinkled in this season kept me interested. While the world-building was not as great as season one’s, this season incorporated some new creatures and locales that caught my attention with their designs and concepts. Chise and her companions’ interactions with these creatures led to many emotional and tense scenarios, making me worry for them.

While it all sounds good, the story suffered significantly this season from having slow pacing, repeated scenarios, many unanswered questions, and less emphasis on worldbuilding. Sometimes, the anime had our characters participating in less significant conversations that did not lead to new developments or were retreading old ground. For instance, the whole situation involving Alice and Renfred did not need to be focused upon as heavily as some of this season’s more drastic subplots.

Furthermore, the story addresses some neat aspects which are never fully explored. From Lucy’s hatred toward Philomela to Philomela’s past, there are many aspects of the show that would’ve been great to see examined further. Lastly, the first season’s strong world-building and adventurous aspects are lost in the second. This is due to the anime’s shift in setting and tone. Outside of the fun camping trip, it was a bummer that Chise did not visit many serene locales like in season one.

Despite the story carrying mixed baggage, the former characters, and new additions were fun to follow. While Chise and Elias didn’t receive as much attention in this season as the first, the story never did anything to ruin their characters for me. They still maintain their likable traits and receive some growth throughout season 2. From Chise’s heartfelt conversation with Hazel about protecting others over herself to Elias developing close bonds with others besides Chise, this season shows these protagonists still have room to grow.

The supporting characters bring something interesting to the table too. The standouts were Lucy, Zoe, and Philomela. All three characters added enough charm and intrigue to this season’s narrative and kept me glued to my screen. From Lucy’s dilemma with her brother and family’s demise to Zoe’s issues with making friends, these characters added more depth to the story and never bored me. Philomela has the best potential from this trio, considering her poor relationship with her grandmother and peculiar behavior around everyone.

With Wit Studio’s magnificent handling of The Ancient Magus’ Bride’s animation for season one, Studio Kafka had many shoes to fill with season two. Generally, this season’s presentation was okay. There was nothing about the visuals that stood out significantly, but there was never a moment where it felt like the studio did a poor job. The same case can be made for the anime’s soundtrack. The music fit this season’s tone well, and the voice actors pulled off some compelling performances to bring each character to life.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 delivers a narrative that isn’t as gripping, creative, or awe-inspiring as the first season. However, it features enough fabulous interactions, personal quests, and complex emotions to keep people invested. Hopefully, this season’s second batch of chapters will develop the splendid aspects established here. Otherwise, it could be curtains for this compelling magical series.

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