The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 2

Chise’s New Friend

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 2 introduced some new characters. It also introduced some old characters whom I had completely forgotten about. Of course, the old character I forgot about is Alice. And, in my defense, she looks different now.

But, back in my Episode 1 review, when I was assuming she was a new character, we hadn’t even seen her new hair yet. Still, even if we had seen Alice, and she looked the same as she did in Season 1, I wouldn’t have remembered her.

Alice’s old appearance was pretty generic. It reminds me a lot of one of the new characters from this episode, Veronic Rickenbacker. Just by looking at Veronica, you can tell she’s a rich girl with an unpleasant attitude. And, while I don’t remember if Alice was originally that way, I have no doubt that Veronica is.

Another one of the new characters is Philomela. We don’t know what her last name is. But, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before we find out. Philomela is a nervous girl who’s connected to Veronica in some way. It looks to me like Philomela is basically Veronica’s servant.

If I had to guess, I’d say Philomela is going to become one of Chise’s close friends at school. I’ll actually be shocked if that doesn’t turn out to be the case. The ED features Philomela as one of the major characters alongside Chise and Lucy.

Based on first impressions, I can understand how Chise and Philomela could be friends. It’s Lucy who’s the outlier. But, as I explained last week, Lucy and Chise are in the same dorm, which means they both value freedom. Do you think Philomela is also in the same dorm?

Sorcerers and Mages

Since I don’t remember anything from Season 1, I don’t know if we already knew about sorcerers. Elias is now teaching the magic class at the school, and he explains how sorcerers and mages differ. I would have assumed they were the same thing. But, apparently not.

Most of the students in Chise’s class are aiming to be sorcerers. There are a few who want to become mages. And then there’s Chise, who is already a mage. Chise’s friend Alice is also a mage, but she’s not in the same class as Chise since she’s older.

So, what’s the difference between sorcerers and mages? The big difference is in where their abilities come from. Sorcerers are able to use energy from within their bodies to do things. Mages, on the other hand, are able to use energy from their surroundings in the form of spirits.

It is much harder to be a mage than a sorcerer since it requires more than your own power. But, the tradeoff is that mages have far more power. They aren’t limited to what their own body can provide. And if they forge contracts with powerful spirits, that’s even better.

The thing is, working with spirits is dangerous. If you do something a spirit doesn’t like, there’s a good chance it will kill you. We saw this almost happen to May, one of Chise’s classmates. He insulted a salamander by calling it a lizard and it tried to burn him to a crisp.

When working with spirits, there’s a delicate balance to maintain. As the mage, you are the one in control. But, you have to respect the spirit and work with it instead of relying solely on its power. This is what it means to be a mage.

The First Lesson of Being a Mage

Due to May’s actions, the first magic class had to be cut short. But, the lesson the students learned in this class may just be the most important one of all. They learned that being a mage isn’t for everyone.

If you don’t want to be a mage or don’t feel you have the aptitude for it, you shouldn’t even try. Because of the dangers associated with magic, there’s no safe way to learn. So, if you don’t have what it takes, you’ll only end up hurt or dead.

At the end of the class, Elias asks the students who believe they have what it takes to be a mage to raise their hands. We see a few of the students put their hands up. But, we don’t get to see which students they were.

After class, Chise and Alice run into Rian Scrimgeour, one of Chise’s classmates. During the class, we saw Rian get rejected by a fire spirit. But, unlike May, he didn’t throw a temper tantrum. So, you’d expect that this would have made Rian feel that he’s not fit to be a mage. However, that’s not the case.

He asks Chise to teach him magic, which is where the episode ends. But, this leaves me with a question. Was Rian one of the students who raised their hand when Elias asked? I have a feeling that he wasn’t since the spirit rejected him publicly.

Raising his hand may have made him look like a fool who didn’t understand he’s not cut out to be a mage. My interpretation of these events is that Rian wants to learn from Chise instead of from magic class. And that could end up being very dangerous for all involved.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 2? Which dorm(s) do you think Veronica and Philomela are in? Which, if any, of Chise’s classmates do you think have what it takes to be a mage? And, what are your thoughts on Rian’s extracurricular pursuit of magic? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 3 is available now.