The Ancient Magus’ Bride veers into new territory this week in more ways than one. Read on to see what Karandi and I thought of this episode, and catch up here if you’ve missed any of our commentary so far this season.
Weekend Otaku:
Perhaps knowing how many questions there would be from the previous episode, this one uses its first third as a sort of epilogue to the events in Ulthuar. It satisfies some curiosity about what happened during the cleansing, but does so in a way that raises even more questions. Does Renfred have some genuine concern for Chise? Was his hand (lol?) forced by the same sorcerer that took advantage of Matthew and Mina?
Even among these questions the segment did address one of the more intriguing points from last week when Elias admitted to Chise that he is using her. His explanation about how she’s an experiment to further his own understanding makes clear just how far from humanity, and human emotion, he really is. The scary thing is that even this doesn’t unnerve Chise because for her the operative part of Elias’ explanation is that she is wanted and needed. More than that though, she sees something in him that he is probably not aware of himself.
This is expanded upon in the meeting with the Faerie Queen, Titania. While this portion of the episode stretches the show’s ability to otherwise shift emotional atmosphere very well (almost entirely due to Oberon), it highlights some important aspects about how Elias and Chise are changing. If Elias seems a bit awkward here, it’s likely he’s starting to experience sensations that were otherwise foreign to him. Even as the rock creature Spriggan repudiates the notion of Elias ever returning to the realm of the Faeries, his reaction to the passing mention of Chise bearing children shows that he’s moving closer to humanity without even realizing it.
The episode thus marks the future direction of the story in several ways. The prospect of Chise learning to value herself and Elias genuinely feeling love toward her is still a slow burn, but it’s one that I’m excited to continue watching.
Karandi:
Contrarily enough I actually really enjoyed the episode this week. Tonally some moments this week were a little bit inconsistent and there were a lot more ideas being thrown around as we moved from finishing the story with the cats, to the sorcerers, to Simon and Elias’ relationship, to Titania and Oberon, before getting yet more of the relationship between Elias and Chise, but I actually kind of enjoyed the different aspects and ideas.
One of the things I really loved this episode was the very short interaction between Titania and Simon. I liked that they showed the conflicting nature of their religions and beliefs without really belabouring the point or dragging it out. It was just one more detail in this world that helped to add to its overall credibility.
Elias remains mostly an enigma, and the more we learn the more questions I have, but he is fascinating so I’m more than happy to slowly learn more about him and also watch as his relationship with Chise develops. All in all, I had a lot of fun this week with the episode. It didn’t have quite the emotional impact of previous episodes but the world these characters inhabit feels so rich and vibrant and they themselves remain so interesting that I’m left with the sense of wanting to know more.
That’s all we had for this week. There was a lot to cover and plenty we didn’t have the chance to talk about in 200 (or so…) words, so please do let us know what you thought of the episode and if anything caught your attention in particular.
Be sure to check out Karandi’s blog as well, where we are also reviewing Black Clover.
Weekend Otaku 
Thanks
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I actually can’t really get invested in their romance, but the relationship between Chise and Elias certainly is interesting.
Was very curious about how Elias is supposedly responsible for the deaths of many faeries.
This isn’t the first time he’s been referred to as half-baked, either. I’m still scratching my head over the whole situation despite receiving a few terse explanations, but maybe I’m a bit out of the loop here.
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I’m just guessing here, but I think he’s been trying to make himself mortal. Whenever they refer to him as half-baked it has something to do with him humanizing himself. So I imagine he started as a faerie, but tried and failed to make himself human. I think in the end we’ll have some sort of beauty and the beast scenario where he finally becomes human and can have a semi-normal relationship with Chise.
But as they are now it is weird to picture them romantically. What they have is sweet, but I certainly wouldn’t call it romantic.
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That sounds very feasible. Excellent points. We will have to see!
Mmm. I might have to write something about their relationship.
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Haha good luck! That’s a can of worms I don’t want to open just yet!
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I imagine my remains will be scattered to the winds as flowers after I get torn apart by the majority, but thank you!
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It’s not much of a romance, as one side is closer to obsessive curiosity and the other is closer to Stockholm syndrome than love, but there’s something charming there in a beauty and the beast way.
Elias and his exile from the faeries is sure to be revisted. Can’t wait to find out more myself
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Reblogged this on 100WordAnime and commented:
Weekend Otaku and I share our thoughts on THe Ancient Magus’ Bride episode 6.
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I said it last week, and I am going to say it again this week: I just don’t trust Elias. He has an endgame that we don’t know of. However I do think that Chise is going to be an influence on his emotional state. It moght just be that in the end she turns him into something that he is just not aware that he could ever become that. Whatever the case, this series continues to be intriguing to say the least. Every episode is just ride with new developments, and for me this series is so far the best of the entire season. Can’t wait to find out what happen’s next.
The only thing I found a bit annoying this episode was the over the top fanservice of Titania. Seriously what was up with that? I feel this series simply doesn’t need cheap stuff like that. Other than that this was another great episode 😊
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Titania was… yes, excessive isn’t a bad word there but honestly I was more distracted by Oberon’s antics. That, and aside from a short physics demonstration there wasn’t a lot of emphasis put on her body.
I might be giving it a pass because I really like this show, but large breasts are a sign of maternal quality. This works for Titania’s character because we see her refer to all creatures of the night as her children. So there’s some thought process there, rather than mindless fanservice.
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Hmm, didn’t think of it that way honestly. That is a great insight indeed, definitely puts things in a whole different perspective, thanks for sharing your thoughts 😀
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