I honestly should not have liked this show/manga.
The basic premise sounds like the cringiest of urban fantasy books. An ancient fae mage purchases a young woman with magical abilities and declares she will be his apprentice… and his bride. In any other context, I’d be throwing this book at the wall/shutting off the TV.
So why haven’t I? Because of these two:
Elias – the big adorable dork in the background – is a relatively young fae who becomes a practicing Mage in the English countryside. But he does not get this whole ‘human’ thing and the idea of relationships are weird to him. When he says Chise will be his bride, it’s because a mentor described marriage so badly he didn’t realize what he said when he took Chise on as an apprentice/bride.
Chise lived a life of horrible abuse, to the point where slavery and eventual death as a ‘magic battery’ was a relief. Elias taking her home gives her a chance to rediscover her worth. She encounters a ton of English fae, other mages and sorcerers, and finds herself a place where she is loved and can become more than a self-destructive reaction to her abuse.
Do the two fall in love? Yes, but very slowly and in the most tender way possible. They teach each other, comfort each other, and help each other enjoy life. Elias gets to lie down and see the sky only because Chise’s holds his head, so his horns don’t dig into the ground.
The second season has Chise going to a magical college, learning more about the politics of magical families, and finding friends beyond the house. Even moreso, she finds another girl – Philomena – who’s suffered the same kinds of soul-breaking abuse she did.
Philomena’s story had me crying. The constant taunts of worthlessness – the reminders that love and comfort and family are conditional on you not being such a useless failure – hit home for me. They made overt what was often implied in my nice home. I can only imagine what it was like for anyone who suffered this kind of abuse directly.
But, in the end, Chise, Elias, and all the others they connected with at the magical college helped free Philomena in so many different ways. They had the best of Christmases, together, as friends and family.
If that isn’t worth a weep or two, I don’t know what is.
Biomechanoid Blues 