The Ancient Magus Bride Season 2

[Master_Yoma]

Well Philomela would have had such a normal life if it wasnt for her grandma

Well Morrígan is really getting closeup to Chise & Elias just to make a deal

[Twi]

Originally Posted by Kanon

So, is what Morrigan truly after Chise's baby? Elias said she was too young to give her a proper offering yet, and Morrigan mentioned the fruits of love. Solving the whole thing with a simple mistletoe seems way too easy.

She wanted Mistletoe. Remember in the first season Chise left a twig in her path? She cherished it and when they ran into the Spring Goddess (the smaller girl), she repaid their kindness by helping Ruth find Chise after Elias took her off somewhere on his own back when he was in his... clingy phase, to put it politely. She asked that another offering be made when she becomes the Winter Goddess again, which Ruth agreed to.

So now that she's the Winter Goddess again, she came to collect what was owed, since as Chise and Elias pointed out last episode, contracts are very important for mages to keep. Chise not having the offering prepared was something Elias pinned on her being young and the situation being as dire as it was, so in exchange for helping her become Morrigan by acting as a Shaman through the use of her true name, they made a new contract where she would deal with Chise's foes in exchange for the Mistletoe.

For non-mages or us, Mistletoe is just a plant. But for her, a Goddess of eld, it holds different significance and something she really wants. Elias shielding Chise's eyes as he did was something he also did the last time they crossed paths and what Silky did for Joseph, because there are some beings in the world you just can't look at directly. And among them the gods were very rarely good for humanity.

[Kanon]

Thanks for the explanation. I guess I was reading too much into it. Regardless of what she wants, she is still very scary.

[Frontier]

Zoe vs Wolf Mama! And it's taking all of his limited gorgon eye power to hold her back! But in a pinch he unleashes his inner gorgon (which is actually pretty scary) and frees Wolf Mama from her brainwashing. And now he's become her God, so...congratulations Zoe !

Oh jeez, not only is Philomela's body falling apart, but she hasn't even had a soul this whole time, Alcyone's been storing it in her body so Philomela could escape notice. But can you add any more misery on this girl? Not even getting her soul back helps anything .

To be honest Alcyone doesn't look great either, but she's still committed to making sure Philomela is taken care of, even if it means just letting the other kids pass because she expects they'll be willing to do more for her than Elias will .

Isaac with the sword! He's also very testy about his face, probably because of his wounds .

And of course Lucy spots her family's spiders in the grandmothers' room and no amount of scary Philomela can hold a candle to her wrath. It's actually kind of funny that Lucy is so intimidating she just straight up approaches Philomela and kicks her, demanding answers, and Philomela immediately goes back to her meek and guilty self. Hell hath no fury like a Lucy scorned .

But it seems like if we're going to get anywhere we need to go into Philomela's mind and watch as Smol Chise and Smol Philomela help put the pieces of her self back together by going through her childhood and all her emotional trauma (with a dash of Chise's mixed in). Poor girl once preferred being locked in a cell just because it meant she wouldn't have to listen to her grandmothers' verbal abuse. And Chise may not want to save Philomela just for Philomela's sake, seeing in Philomela her own vulnerable self, but she still wants to help her nevertheless .

Oh, so now we're doing the thing in the OP where Chise finds the gangs' kids form and helps them through their emotional trauma! I love how Philomela doesn't even hesitate to go to Isaac when they find him and Lucy channeled her tears into rage rather than sit around and cry all the time (though she did cry) .

Lucy and Philomela actually open up to each other! Lucy wants Philomela to be more honest with her feelings and how she feels now, if she wants anything to really change in her life, and even gives her Lucy's spider plushie. It's a rather sweet scene...and of course then they play out Philomela's involvement in Lucy's families death .

I mean, none of it is Philomela's fault. Her grandmother just made her go with the werewolves to get the spider and see how the Sargent family operates, right down to massacring an entire family. What was Philomela supposed to do? How was she supposed to talk to Lucy? But maybe she can't change the past, but she can be honest with how she feels now, and that might be enough. And she wants someone to help her! And she still really needs said help as the grimoire consumes her once again .

[Twi]

Okay, review is done and some cut content below.

Spoiler:

This episode covers from Chapter 85 to part of Chapter 87:

1. Morrigan is featured after killing the rest of the people in the manor, mentioning that she smells a scent even more vile than rotting flesh that can't be escaped.
   
2. The manga explains there's a Hexcraft that can achieve a goal even if the body perishes, and the soul can be split from the body or a copy of it can be created and implanted in a vessel to keep it safe-guarded. It was something Adam was well-versed in and what Philomela used to physically transfer it.
   
3. The soul is different than the will of the person, and the body is the cradle of the soul and can never distort its form. But if you have a soulless body it creates a loophole, allowing you to pull the stunts she has and get around Chise's nose.
   
4. Turning his hair into snakes is draining for Zoey in contrast to other gorgons and he ended up bedridden a lot because of it as a child. More so using his eyes, which led to him being bullied by all the other gorgon kids.
   
5. The Mother Wolf was speaking in a language that wasn't English, but Zoey could understand it since she comes from a people whose language is close to "The Very First Language". He isn't even sure how he knows that, but instead laments that his secret was found out by someone he didn't want to know when Zaccheroni comes by and picks him up after the fight.
   
6. Elias explains that Morrigan exists only as a mere vestige by being connected to the seasons and the moon. She had to be granted a name for her existence to be anchored and she had to accept it, with her only gaining a sliver of her former power due to not being worshipped like in the old days though witch covens still do.
   
7. With the Chise memory, a classmate of hers who was injured got hit by a car because the Japanese neighbors got angry since they wouldn't let them eat her. She has a delicious scent to them as they waver between chiding her for running away, saying it is and isn't her fault. She could only lament it always had to be her.
   
8. Chise also brings up how her father took her little brother and left both her and her mother before she died. She doesn't know where they are now.
   
9. Philomela saying a prayer over Lucy's dead family was a tribute to the departed since when a person is killed their soul still lingers. I suspect its meant to prevent them from turning into wraiths or something like that.

[grecefar]

I haven't liked this colleger arc that much, too much drama. I miss chise and elias adventures.

[Kanon]

I just want Philomela to have a happy ending...

[Master_Yoma]

Well that is a lot of Philomela's childhood trauma and a few peaks of Chise trauma

All these old families seem to be dicks to there kids if there not progenies

[Nachtwandler]

It's not the Japanese urban fantasy without old sorcerer families being power-obsessed dicks. Just remember Fate.

On related note, new manga arc will start in December but it moves from Monthhly Comic Garden to new Bushiroad online magazine (Comic Growl). May have to do something with mangakas editor moving there.

[Frontier]

Thanks for screwing up your app Crunchyroll! Now I can't watch any episodes on time because they're almost never available on time on your site .

I know there's still so much drama and emotional anguish going on with Philomela, as always, but I also can't help but notice how she spent almost this entire episode naked .

Dang it Philomela, you should've woke Chise up instead of running off .

Oh hey, Ruth finally does stuff! I can't even remember the last episode where he even had dialogue .

Is there anything of Philomela's her grandmother didn't corrupt? Be it her memory of her parents or corrupting Alycone's loyalty towards her into something Lizbeth could use. Thankfully it seems like Elias managed to fix her a little .

So this all goes back to Lizbeth as a mother. She was the prodigal daughter and scion of the Sargentfamily but had trouble conceiving a child, which only bothered her because of how it made others look down on her. And then when she finally has a child, Adam, she was not overt with motherly affection even though Adam craved it from her. She also found him cute and repulsive which is...probably not how you want your mother to think of you .

And then it all went awry when Adam met Iris and decided to free himself from the grip of his mothers' expectations and control over him and the rest is history...and Lizbeth became obsessed with her son, especially not having a body to even bury of him, and turned that obsession into her hatred of Philomela. Not only did Philomela remind her of the mother that Lizbeth hated, but she looked so much like Adam that any moment she didn't measure up to him was another reason for Lizbeth to hate her. Philomela could never win .

Philomela finally realizes that everything she did, all her efforts to make her grandmother proud, were pointless when she was only meant to be a sacrifice to bring Adam back. Her grandmother has become so vile that even her eyes are pure black, and there was no true love in that woman's heart. Philomela never had anything to truly live for .

But even so, she had people who wanted to give her the opportunity to use her own voice, to say what she wanted to say, do the things she wanted to do...and with that opportunity Philomela finally cries out for help. And Chise, being Chise, just hammers through a ritual to a frikkin' God to save her !

The first step to freeing Philomela has succeeded! And she's even sharing a tender moment with Chise and saying her name! Now it's time for the Boss Battle with grandma .

[Twi]

Review done.

Cut content

Spoiler:

This episode covers from part of Chapter 87 and Chapter 88:

1. While Elias was breaking the shell around Alcyone, he noticed that Chise's presence vanished but she came back. He shook it off thinking that if something had happened, Ruth would have come running. That meant the whole dream sequence happened in around a second or so.
2. The Sargent family specializes in sorcery that uses curses to control people's minds for interrogation and make them do as they want.
3. Alcyone thanks Elias, stating that the thorns that puncture the flesh of those who attempt to do them harm also protect those that they encircle, and thus "Thorn" is a fitting name for him as a protector.
4. Elias questions why the old woman didn't destroy her rather than tamper with her mind, but does the favor she asks and takes her to the basement.
5. The old hag's husband wasn't a saint either. His only good point was his lineage and he married her because she was rich, stating she wasn't that good-looking either. Hence she had him killed after she managed to have Adam, as he was a disgrace and she no longer had any more use for him.
6. Her brothers were cowardly and incompetent compared to her, and her younger sister left to marry into a different family.
7. When Adam sent that messenger bird to state he was running away from home, he stated their family was twisted and he couldn't take it anymore. However, he couldn't bring himself to leave without saying a word considering how she raised him after all these years.
8. He also explains she only thought of him as a puppet that followed her footsteps without question, a trophy she'd already earned, and despite that, he still cared about her even if she scared him while he was younger.
9. Philomela resembled Adam to an uncanny degree, to the point that she should have felt the same to her as Adam, but her eyes didn't match his. Then someone handed her the Grimoire and pointed her at Lucy's family, so they could make everything the way it should be.
10. Zaccharoni, after dragging Zoey out of the way, left him behind since he was unconscious so he could focus on the goal of finding the grimoire. However, he's attacked by the wolf's child with its face covered.
11. The reason Philomela went to the basement was that the grimoire shook her faith, questioning if she was going put her trust in her friends when it meant she'd be taken back to the College and never see her parents again or being punished for everything she did.
12. The old hag literally summoned a being known as Great Old One. Her guards were likewise several creatures merged like manmade beasts.

[grecefar]

the old hag wasn't even a good mother, I don't give a damn about her past and she should suffer a fate worse than death.

after nico robin, scenes of character asking for help doesn't feel the same. Still I cheered that she finally did it. I guess philomela pillars will be chise, isaac and lucy but there are still issues to solve with lucy until she learn the whole truth.

[Nachtwandler]

Her flasback was exactly to show she does not even have a redeeming backstory. So I hope she'll die horribly.

[Kanon]

I'm starting to think the OTP of this show is Chise x Philomela.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I'm starting to think the OTP of this show is Chise x Philomela.

She's spent more time building up relationships with Lucy and Philomela than spending time with Elias. They could very easily spin this into a Yuri anime .

[Master_Yoma]

So Lizbeth was treated badly by everyone so in turn she treats her son and granddaughter like crap its seem that whole house is fulled with a bunch jerks

[Twi]

Originally Posted by Frontier

She's spent more time building up relationships with Lucy and Philomela than spending time with Elias. They could very easily spin this into a Yuri anime .

I mean... you're not wrong. Even back when the chapters first came out in the manga a few people said they got that impression, whereas I'm thinking the real ship is Alcyone x Elias.

But these are merely the ramblings of a mind that is waiting for the manga to finally update later this month.

[SeijiSensei]

That scene with Elias and Alcyone was one of his most romantic thus far. Didn't have the patriarchal aspect of his relationship with Chise.

[Frontier]

You thought you just had to worry about Wolf Mama? Here's Wolf Pup! I'm scared what Zaccheroni might do to him though .

Philomela has finally said she needs help, and Chise is happy to provide it! And the pair share quite the tender moment together, and Alcyone can finally be affectionate and sincere with Philomela again !

Of course Lizbeth had to ruin everything and now SHE'S the one consumed by the curse, to the point where she now looks every bit the monster we all know she is. So consumed by her twisted and crazy possessiveness towards her son, she'll consume anything in her path to get him back. Good thing we've got Elias and Wolf Mama for support !

Alcyone, no! Not when you were finally free and able to be there for Philomela! You're like the one thing she has left of her parents! I mean, at least Alcyone gave Philomela all the memories of her parents that she lost, but Alcyone isn't even in them because they're from her eyes! And they had so much time to make up with each other !

But I guess this was all planned from the get-go, Adam injecting a curse that takes on his form into Alcyone so that if something ever tried to hurt Philomela it would activate upon Alcyone's destruction...and he knew it was going to be his grandmother who activated it. And now he's ready to turn all of Adam's resentment and anger towards his mother back at her .

Though everybody wants a piece of Lizbeth. Lucy for answers about her family, Curse Adam because of his programming, Wolf Mama because of her cubs, and even the God they were summoning that consumed her. Meanwhile of course the Morrigan smells all the strife and conflict going on and wants a piece of the action herself .

Man, poor Philomela. She finally sees her father again and it's just a curse that can't provide the affection and love she craves. Even when things go her way, she still loses .

Chise with that psychotic grin and shark teeth was quite the visual .

Aw, Philomela pushed Isaac out of the way to protect him! And Wolf Mama went out of her way to save him and Lucy! She does love protecting kids...even if Lucy is still angry about her family, though it seems like their deaths were linked to working on the very book for Lizbeth that caused all these problems in the first place .

The Morrigan is powerful and this God vs God conflict is exciting, but the main characters have to be the one to resolve this, which means Philomela has to get the book back. And while Lucy is happy to punch Philomela's noggin when she thinks she has to sacrifice herself again, the whole group is ready to pinch in and help her !

Look at everybody riding the two Elias'! And giving the Morrigan an opportunity to free the book! And now with the power of friendship, it's time for Philomela to bring this arc to a close .

[Kanon]

I was not expecting Morrigan to help some more... and for there to be so many shots of her feet I lost count

Lizbeth got what she deserved, although I'm not sure she's dead dead yet. It would make a lot more sense for Curse Adam to deal the final blow.

Alcyone finally got to fulfill her purpose. Philomela obtaining records of the happy times with her family is a small consolation.