The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 1

I Remember Almost Nothing

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 1 comes 5 years after the end of Season 1. In those 5 years, I’ve watched a lot of other anime. And, I don’t have the best memory anyway. So, I barely remember anything that previously happened in this series.

One thing I did remember was that the old dragon died. But, I didn’t even remember that Chise absorbed his curse of immortality. And most of the other stuff mentioned in this episode I have no recollection of. Chise got stabbed in the stomach? That’s news to me.

Normally, I’m not a fan of recaps. But, that’s often because we’ll get a recap episode between cours in the middle of a season. That’s not necessary. However, this is one instance in which I believe a recap would have been helpful. Does anyone remember what happened in Season 1?

And, no, I’m not considering what we got to be a recap. Chise telling the school nurse about her past in 20 seconds isn’t enough. And I got no information from the superimposed flashback images during this scene. What I needed was an actual recap.

Now, the recap didn’t need to be long. I’m not asking for a full recap episode. All I needed was the first 5 minutes of the episode to go through what previously occurred. And while I get that would have cut the new content by 5 minutes, it’s worth it, to me.

Still, a full recap episode also could have worked in this situation. Though, if the series was going to go that route, the recap should be “Episode 0,” not Episode 1. There’s not much I dislike more than recap episodes being advertised as the first episode of a new season.

The School Arc Begins

Right from the start, I’m not very interested in The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2. Why? Because I don’t care about the whole magic academy setting. What I liked about Season 1 was that it had more of a fantasy setting.

Sure, a fair amount of the season took place at the Ainsworth cottage. But, Chise also traveled to a variety of other magical locations. I worry that we’re not going to get that change of scenery in this Season. Instead, the vast majority of the season will likely take place within school grounds.

I guess I should say that it’s not just the “magic academy” setting I don’t like. I’m not a big fan of most anime that have a school setting. A school isn’t a very exciting or engaging setting. And as someone who hasn’t been in school for quite a long time, I don’t exactly identify with the characters.

When I see the drama and problems anime characters have within a school setting, I don’t see them as issues. When I think about things high school-aged anime characters think are big deals, I have 1 of 2 thoughts.

Either, I can’t relate to the situation at all at this point and it’s not even something I would consider. You know, like worrying about what your crush thinks. Or, it’s something so mundane in adult life that I don’t even notice it at this point — like always being stressed.

And sure, a magic academy throws some extra spice in there. But, at the end of the day, it’s still not an exciting setting. We’ll probably see some bad actors at the school try to take advantage of Chise. And if we’re lucky we’ll even get some kind of school festival. I can’t wait.

Lucy and Alice

I haven’t said much about the actual episode in this review yet. That’s partly because not that much happened. We were introduced to the school and met a few new characters. That’s about it. And when I say a few new characters, I mean 2 new characters.

I have no idea who the guy who invited Chise to the school is. But, based on how Chise and Elias interacted with him, I assume he was in Season 1. That means the only new characters we met in this episode were Alexandra Heath and Lucy Webster.

Alexandra Heath is the school nurse. She’s a horrific combination of a human and a giant caterpillar. But, despite calling her horrific, I like her design. I think my favorite part is how her top ties around her caterpillar body. It really makes you think how someone with her body type would wear clothes.

Lucy is Chise’s roommate. She seems cute even if she does have a bad personality. Lucy doesn’t like talking to other people and would prefer to be on her own. It’s pretty clear that she’s not too thrilled about having to share a room.

However, what’s interesting is that Lucy is Chise’s roommate at all. Remember, Chise had to choose what dorm she would live in based on a description of what she values. The dorm she picked values freedom. So, it’s very possible that she and Lucy have a lot more in common than they may believe at first.

We also get the name of one other girl, Alice Swayne. Alice texts Chise and tells her to come to the training room. And on the way, Chise runs into a girl with white hair who collapses. I’m going to guess this isn’t Alice. Maybe we’ll meet her next week.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 1? Do you remember much from Season 1? Are you looking forward to this magic academy arc? And, what’s your first impression of Lucy? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 2 is available now.