A distinctive feature of the all OVA series is the original plot, which in no way relate to the main picture. Thanks to this format, the author is able to reveal the main characters of the series and allow the viewer to plunge deeper into the universe, showing the latter some interesting aspects of the created world. Initially, Mahoutsukai no Yome is a manga, authored by Kore Yamazaki, whose publication began in November 2013 in the Magly Publishing House Monthly Comic Blade. The fifth volume of the manga announced the release of an anime prequel consisting of three episodes, Mahou Tsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito. Thecreation of anime was taken by Wit Studio. The series was sold on discs along with limited editions of the sixth, seventh and eighth volumes of the manga. The first series was also shown in cinemas for two weeks, starting on August 13, 2016. Let us dwell on this prequel in more detail.
The addition to the limited editions of the 6-8 volumes of the original manga tells about some events that took place before the meeting of Chise and Elias.
The action takes place in the modern world, where secretly from people there are spirits, dragons, fairies with which wizards, sorcerers and alchemists can contact. However, due to the urbanization of the earth's population, deforestation and the growth of the human population, the number of fairies is steadily declining, and for some reason wizards are on the verge of extinction.
The powerful ancient magician Elias Ainsworth buys at an auction for a huge sum of money the fifteen-year-old Chise Hatori, a girl with great magical powers, so that she becomes his student and bride.
So, Chise Hatori lived a life that was filled with alienation and violence, and also deprived of any form of love and care. Without family care and affection, the girl experienced all the hardships of life. Gifted by nature with magic, a girl once stumbles upon a mysterious library in the middle of a forest in which she meets a person like her, he also sees strange creatures and invites her to visit the library “every day if you like”, following some rules. Chise really begins to often come to the library, she enjoys reading and, after a while, she has less and less books to read, which is why she finds a strange book and asks the caretaker about it. Later it turns out that the man from the library was supposed to give this book to his beloved, but died while performing such a complex assignment. This is the main storehouse and source of the plot, and, in combination, the main collapse of the series.
The fact is that the drama in the plot is based on the absurd and stupid actions of the library supervisor called Riichi Miura. At first, his death can give some drama to the series, but in the final episode we will learn his story, and it makes you despise and laugh at this character rather than empathize with him. The same feelings are caused by his beloved Mayumi Niikura, for the sake of which he tried to fulfill his promise. She says that she “loves the last pages of the book most of all”, hinting that she does not love her future husband. Moreover, she makes an appointment on the platform where her new lover should bring the book. In this case, it becomes very interesting what was the number of her future husbands in the list of her suitors, and how much her nature is false, if she could go so far with a person whom, in her own words, she does not love so much that she is ready to leave for another man almost from the wedding crown. I rule out a forced marriage, since the actions of the two heroes took place not so long ago, in addition, Chise finds Mayumi old at the end of the series and she already has grandchildren. Also of particular note is the stupid death of Riichi Miura. It is extremely curious why he chose the way to the station through the forest with ditches, into which he safely fell and died in it. Obviously, this is one of the most stupid deaths that I have observed in the modern anime industry.
In the end, we have a stupid, nerdy, clumsy, awkward hero who wants to meet a married woman. Hero who has been stupidly (but deservedly) dead in a ditch, while carrying out the usual request to return the book. And the shameless harlot, a wife who wants to leave her future husband, spit on all concepts of morality. Empathizing with these characters is very difficult.
In all stories, plots, films, books, if the author pursues a goal so that to his heroes sympathize, feel sorry and worry about them, then the latter must be done in such a way that the observer can see in them a piece of a real living person, a particle of himself or Something like that. The character must be in a stalemate situation in which there are no simple solutions, only then it becomes really exciting for their fate. But when my gaze is offered the fate of a whore, who did not have another love affair due to an unfortunate (and very absurd) case with a stupid man, it becomes not interesting for me to watch this.
As a result, the last scenes evoke an absurd laugh rather than a sad smile.
iciconicmomo
January 17, 2018
Recommended
NO SPOILERS !!! I HIGHLY recommend that you DO NOT watch this OVA before reading the manga or watching the anime (after it's completed). Doing so will probably leave you confused and discouraged to get into the series. !!! One fairly common complaint I've seen is that this OVA doesn't explain much of what's even going on. It's not meant to. It's a prequel meant for those already familiar with the characters and the world to enjoy. Of course, there are many people who would enjoy the OVA without needing any background knowledge, but others, like myself, would have trouble appreciating many aspects of the story withoutsome prior knowledge.
I watched the anime (14 episodes have been aired so far at the time of writing this) and read the manga before watching this, and I totally enjoyed it. I think people who were put off by this OVA should read through some chapters of the manga and watch through some episodes of the anime, hopefully getting more into the story, then revisit this OVA. It should become more apparent that this OVA wasn't meant for people unfamiliar with the story.
STORY- 8
It's pretty amazing how magical this series actually feels. This OVA in particular gives of some strong Spirited Away vibes. Seriously, just watch it and see for yourself.
The OVA elaborates on some of the events in Chise's past that isn't in the manga. From my understanding, Kore Yamazaki still had a large role in the conception of this story. A very satisfying side story for fans of the series, though it can be just as captivating for first time viewers. I would understand if a first time viewer would find the premise of the OVA a bit cliche, so I'm still very much in favor of getting familiar the with source material first.
There were some parts of the story that did seem a bit confusing and silly even for me, but I won't go much into those because it might invite some spoilers.
ART/SOUND- 10
The art style is distinct and definitely my type. The animation is fluid. Just like this anime, it gives off a wonderful Ghibli vibe.
The soundtrack aids the visuals in giving off a sense of wonder.
Character- 10
Chise is such a complicated yet still very likable character. (I absolutely love her but that just me). Her complexity is more apparent with familiarity of the source material of course. This OVA serves as thorough explanation for her behavior and beliefs in the series. Her development can be seen as too slow or stagnant by others, but seeing what she went through in this OVA can provide a deeper understanding of her motives and such.
Enjoyment- 10
I love this series! I only got into it less than two weeks ago, and I love it to the point where I'm willing to write a review on it.
Overall- 9
If you're a fan of the manga, watch this OVA.
If you've never delved into the manga or anime but love fantasy and magical worlds, you might really enjoy this OVA anyway.
SeSesshomaru
November 30, 2018
Recommended
魔法使いの嫁 星待つひと - Mahoutsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito, the OVA gives a touching insight into the world of protagonist Hatori, Chise. Although this slice of life begins tragically, you will be deeply moved by the depiction of her childhood as an orphan. Story: tragic but beautiful and well paced, allowing the viewer to easily follow the plot (9/10) Whether you know the manga by Yamazaki, Kore or not, if you approach this OVA with an open mind, you will definitely enjoy it, if only because of the beautiful parallels to famous novels such as "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens, "The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende orthe play "Pygmalion" (better known as "My Fair Lady") by George Bernard Shaw. The story begins in foggy London and the first character we meet is Angelica Barley. She runs a workshop for magical tools and is a technician for the Magus Craft. Her little helper, Hugo, belongs to the genus of the Vodyanoi, or water fairies. The parcel that the two of them are preparing contains a very special gift. When it arrives at its destination, the estate of sorcerer Elias Ainsworth, somewhere in the west of London, it triggers a flashback that reveals Chise's forgotten memories. This is the world into which these three episodes seek to take us.
Character: Good, but too short to develop every personality (8/10)
The characters' behaviour is reasonably, self-contained and understandable, even if you don't know how it came about.
Chise as a little orphan is a good example. She behaves like someone who is alone and gets no help from anyone because no one understands her or even wants to listen to her. But Chise's world changes when she meets Riichi Miura. He is the librarian and the one who welcomes Chise to the library of the forest. Miura has a gentle personality, a bit awkward, but kind and honest. Incidentally, as Elias points out, the Library of the Forest is based on real Japanese folklore called Mayoiga. It can be read in "Legends of Tono" by Kunio Yanagita. You may need a little patience, but your reward will be a wonderful and touching story. Three episodes are not enough to fully flesh out all the characters, but the description of Chise and Elias does a good job of making them both understandable and sympathetic. It also makes you want to know more about their relationship and the other characters. The TV series "Mahoutsukai no Yome" will certainly satisfy that wish, and you might also be interested in reading my review of the TV series.
Visuals: Art and animation quality are simply beautiful and enjoyable (9/10).
Both the art and the animation are very pleasing to the eye. The experienced staff in the art department is certainly one reason for that. Directed by Takeda, Yusuke (other works: Shirobako, Eden of the East), the art impresses with beautifully detailed backgrounds, such as the forest library, as well as expressive character designs. It may seem like a small thing, but the increase in colour and brightness in situations where the plot takes Chise to a more beautiful setting is very pleasing. It reflects her emotional state very well. Certainly there are similarities with many other famous anime. I was reminded of Studio Ghibli's qualities by some of the aspects I noticed. For one, Tamura, Seiki is one of the art designers. He was also a background artist for the anime "Princess Mononoke". Then there is the mysterious creature with a shadowy body (in this case made of mice) that wears a mask. A similar creature called "No Face" also appears in the anime "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi - Spiriting Away". CGI is not usually my cup of tea, but here it was used very attractively. What matters is not whether CG has been used, but how. There are ways to use CG very well. The art and animation of this show is just beautiful to look at.
Sounds: Beautiful, supportive, accentuating and appealing (9/10).
The music underlines the atmosphere very well. For example, I liked the scene where Angelica starts to prepare the parcel, and as she talks to Hugo, the orchestral symphonic BGM begins gently. The music slowly increases and is complemented by some sound effects - in this case bubbles and water splashing. Anglica's own intervention stops the BGM, which makes this scenario even funnier. Just a small thing, but I like this kind of thing, and also that the speech performance is not disturbed by the music, but rather emphasises each other.
The voice acting leaves nothing to be desired. I especially liked the voice of Angelica, which was given to the character by Kaida Yuuko. Her voice is a little deeper and beautifully clear.
A beautiful and very rare case of a great realisation that combines the professionalism of understanding the story, its characters and a carefully imaginative adaptation of the very beautiful source material. Overall, a wonderful introduction to the world of "The Ancient Magus Bride".
Thank you for reading, and have fun watching!
Recommended
-Spoiler free review- I wouldn't usually feel the need to write a review, but the helpful reviews (at the time of writing this) are around the 6/7 mark. This OVA is, in my opinion, a masterpiece. I will start off by saying I've never read the manga, and the fully adapted anime is to be released shortly. Even with no prior reading I believe this show stands by itself fantastically, portraying a beautiful story with an almost Ghibli vibe. Story(9/10) What a beautiful story is was, endearing from start to finish. The premise of the story was very easy to grasp, and there was no need for anyprior knowledge to understand what was happening in the mc's (Chise's) life. The pacing is slow, but perfectly suited for the OVAs content. This pacing allows the viewer to fully absorb the beautiful world created infront of you, and it gives the viewer time to become emotionally invested in the characters. This emotional attatchment stems from the themes covered by the OVA, with themes such as loneliness, family and loss being hugely relatable to me on a personal level and Im sure many of you can relate to these themes. The story does touch on some overused classic "sob stories" to set up Chise's past, however, the portrayal of the influence these events on Chise have are beyond any anime Ive ever seen and the execution of these scenes are done perfectly.
Art(10/10)
It can easily be seen just how much time has been invested into making this one of the most visually stunning OVAs/animes I have ever seen. From the very first scene the art sets the standards high, and only improves from then on. This can especially be seen in particular highlight moments in episodes 2/3, where the art style compliments the story beautifully, bringing the whole OVA together as one.
Sound(9/10)
Personally, I found the sound track to compliment the OVA almost perfectly. I noticed almost every piece of music when it started, and I would say it managed to bring many scenes together beautifully. The soundtrack itself is not there to act as the centre of attention, it is there to reinforce the beautiful story and art and give a nice emotional touch (that might even tear you up) in many pivotal scenes.
Character(9/10)
The characters are fantastically made, with a deep intruiging backstory for Chise. The librarian's character is also incredibly well done, with his mentality and struggles being portrayed perfectly. There are, however, some virtually untouched characters due to the short length of the OVA. The only one of these I found to be an issue was the dog, with the skull-guy and the pink-girly being incredibly well introduced considering how little they feature. The dog, however, was not well done- so perhaps the anime (or manga) needs to be watched/read to do this character justice.
Overall (10/10)
This anime is a masterpiece, it will play with your emotions at many points throughout, and will leave you wanting more from this beautiful world. And good news! More is coming! I can only hope that the anime will do the OVA justice- especially in the art department- as it has set the bar high. If you were looking for a Ghibli-esque fantasy world and an emotional journey, youve found the right OVA!
