The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 1 ended its run on March 24, 2018. Since then, the only anime adaptation we’ve had of Kore Yamazaki’s dark fantasy manga masterpiece is a 3-episode OVA in the form of The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze. With no sign of a second season in sight, mind you. Now though, after 5 long years of waiting, season 2 of this anime has finally arrived. Under a different animation studio, no less. Fortunately, Studio Kafka is doing a marvelous job with this long-awaited new season, starting with Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”: Details

'The Ancient Magus' Bride season 2' NA key visual.
It’s been so long since we last saw Chise. Let’s see what new adventures she gets up to this time in magic school.

As the name implies, The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II” is the first episode of the latest season of this dark fantasy supernatural mystery anime. Said anime in turn is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Kore Yamazaki (Frau Faust).

In a big change from season 1, The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 is not by Wit Studio (Attack on Titan season 1-3, Ranking of Kings, Spy x Family). Instead, starting with Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”, season 2 is by the very new Studio Kafka, who were responsible for the 3-episode OVA The Ancient Magus’ Bride: The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze, but otherwise seems to have nothing else under their belt. Even the production staff for The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 differs from season 1. For season 2, we have Kazuaki Terasawa as the director (and writer), with Naokado Fujiyama, Takeharu Sengoku, and Kyouhei Shinfuku producing. The only production staff staying from season 1 is composer Junichi Matsumoto, who is composing the music for season 2 as well.

Speaking of music, JUNNA returns to sing the opening theme music “Dear” in The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2. Meanwhile, “Mubansou” by edda is the ending theme music.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 stars the voices of Atsumi Tanezaki (Dani Chambers in English dub) as Chise Hatori, and Ryōta Takeuchi (Brian Mathis in English dub) as Elias Ainsworth.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II” premiered on April 6, 2023. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll.

Warning: spoilers for The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II” below. If you want to watch this first episode of a new season of the anime after 5 long years, then stop here and come back once you’ve experienced Chise’s first day of magic school with her for yourself.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”: Plot Summary

This trailer really lets you know that this anime is a dark urban fantasy.

As the title implies, The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II” picks up right where we last left off in the final episode of season 1. Adolf has just offered Chise a chance to attend the College: an academy where more or less human magic users are protected and taught. Chise ponders and discusses the offer with Elias. They reach the conclusion that it’s a bad idea, but it’s also a chance to help Chise grow as a person and learn more so that she doesn’t have to sacrifice herself so often. Plus, Chise is actually eager to go to school again. So in the end, Chise accepts Adolf’s offer, but with Elias and Ruth accompanying her as bodyguards.

Chise and co. accompany Adolf to the College, where they meet the President of the College: Liza Quillyn. Quillyn welcomes her to the College, giving her one of her roses (growing on her own body, no less) as a welcoming present. Quillyn also gives Elias a teaching position to explain his presence and let him stay close to Chise. With that out of the way, Adolf then steps in to introduce Chise to the College’s internal layout, and then takes her for a medical examination by the College’s nurse.

Said nurse is Alexandra Heath, who appears to be a half-caterpillar chimera woman. Eh, Chise and co. have seen weirder, and Alexandra seems nice. Alexandra even kicks Elias and Adolf out while she does Chise’s medical examination. The examination mostly goes without a hitch, save for someone attempting to spy on Chise. But now that’s done, Chise can now finally enter the College as a student.

Chise Hatori: New Magic Student

'The Ancient Magus' Bride season 2' Ep. 1 "Live and let live. II" screenshot depicting Chise in her new College female uniform.
Chise looks pretty handsome in her new uniform, doesn’t she?

With her medical examination out of the way, Chise can now finally get assigned a dorm room. As it turns out, the dorm rooms are assigned by magical talking kitties. The kitties give Chise the dorm rules and asks her to pick a kitty who bests fits her needs. After thinking about the choices and what she wants, Chise decides that Freedom kitty is the best, and picks the one named Rose-Lyn. Rose-Lyn takes her to her dorm room, which she will share with another girl. Chise has a moment of doubt and anxiety in front of the door before finally gathering her courage and opening it inwards…promptly smacking the other girl in the face with the door.

After some apologies, the other girl introduces herself as Lucy Webster and describes herself as antisocial before promptly demonstrating that by declaring that she will snooze right up until the next class and telling Chise not to wake her up before collapsing back into the bed she got up from. Chise very quietly put on her new College uniform before just as quietly leaving the room to find Elias.

Before she can find Elias though, Chise discovered a silver-haired girl stumbling along in a garden. Her stumbling quickly turns into a collapse, but a lightning-quick Chise uses her superhuman speed to catch her before she can hit the ground. Who is this mystery girl? Well, we’ll presumably find out in the next episode of The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”: The Good

'The Ancient Magus' Bride season 2' Ep. 1 "Live and let live. II" screenshot depicting Chise speaking to the silver-haired girl amidst a flurry of flower petals.
Is it just me, or is anyone else’s yuri senses tingling at this scene?

If you’re a fan of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, then you’re probably excited about everything about The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”. The story is definitely the best thing about this anime since it’s all faithful to Kore Yamazaki’s original story. However, the animation is also drop-dead gorgeous. Studio Kafka spared no expense in the animation department. Every single detail is so well-animated, you feel like you’re watching a high-quality anime film like Your Name and Suzume rather than an anime series. In particular, Studio Kafka seems to really love their well-detailed eyes. Chise’s eyes are animated in such lush detail, with reflections and irises being the most noticeable. The story combined with the beautiful animation makes this a treat for both old and new fans alike.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”: The Bad

'The Ancient Magus' Bride season 2' Ep. 1 "Live and let live. II" screenshot depicting Chise and Elias standing together, staring in awe(?) at the College's interior.
They’re shocked that anyone would think this episode was bad.

Let me put it this way: I’ve been waiting for The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 for 5 long years. Upon seeing Ep. 1 “Live and let live. II”, I immediately felt that all those years of waiting were worth it. I am giving this episode a 100/100. If you want to disagree, then you’re free to do so in the comments section.