The Ancient Magus' Bride is coming back for Season 2! Since the first season aired several years ago, we're here to help you refresh your memory with our The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 1 recap before the new episodes come out!
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Chise Hatori's New Beginning
In an act of utmost desperation, Chise Hatori, an orphan teenager who has been rejected by everyone, sells herself at an auction, thinking it's the only way to find someplace to go home to.
Elias, an ancient magus, wins the auction but doesn't take Chise as a slave.
Instead, he takes her with him to his home in London where she becomes his apprentice.
We find out that Chise is a Sleigh Beggy, a mage who attracts all sorts of magical creatures for both good and ill.
While she has the potential to be a strong mage, her powers make her frail and shorten her lifespan.
ALSO READ: Why Did Chise's Father and Brother Leave?
New Friends
As Elias' apprentice, Chise makes many new friends such as Angelika, a Magus Craft Artificer; Uncle Nevin; a dying dragon slowly turning into a tree; Renfrend and Alice; a mage-apprentice pair with a grudge against Elias who still prove to be Chise's allies in the long run; and many more.
Chise also meets Titania, Queen of the Faeries, and her husband, King Oberon (yes, those ones) who become recurring characters.
Her most important new friendship, though, is with her new familiar, Ruth.
He is a Grimm -- a dog-human shapeshifter -- initially known as Ulysses. He is still grieving his previous human companion.
When the sorcerer Cartaphilus attempts to use Ulysses as part of his chimera project, the latter asks to become Chise's familiar.
Since then, he's always been near her, either as a dog or as a human.
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Elias and Chise's Past and Their Future Together
Chise knows little about Elias' past. Her best source turns out to be Linden -- an even more ancient magus who once trained Elias.
Linden reveals that he found Elias in a snowy forest several centuries ago. He had no memories of who he was, so Linden named him and took him in as his apprentice.
Elias is a mysterious being who doesn't entirely understand human conventions and morality. This occasionally complicates his relationship with Chise.
Despite that, Chise cherishes her life as his apprentice and dreads the prospect of losing him. She realizes that she's happy for the first time after a long while.
Side Quests and Deadly Curses
Much of The Ancient Magus' Bride is a wholesome, enchanting story in which Elias and Chise help their neighbors and make new friends as Chise learns more about magic.
However, these happy moments are marred by Chise's frailty. Due to her being a Sleigh Beggy, she's receptive to magic, but using it exhausts her to the point that she often has to sleep for days in a row.
This problem reaches a climax when Cartaphilus -- who proves to be the series' main antagonist -- kidnaps a dragon. Chise and her friends then attempt to save the dragon.
Cartaphilus performs a procedure that turns the dragon into a chimera and sends him into a rampage.
To end his suffering, Chise absorbs the curse. Now, she sports a monster arm, and her already short lifespan is reduced dramatically.
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Chise's Final Confrontation With Cartaphilus
Before Chise can find any solution to the Dragon Curse, Cartaphilus abducts her.
He forcibly performs corneal transplantation on her in hopes of reversing their curses, as he possesses immortality, which he loathes.
The procedure causes intense memory sharing between the two. Ruth, Elias, and their friends arrive at Chise's aid.
Cartaphilus is put to an enchanted sleep and Chise now possesses his curse of immortality to balance her dragon curse.
Life returns to normal, with Elias and Chise pledging to stay together.
The upcoming second season will adapt the part of the manga known as the College arc, wherein Chise will join a magical society.
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