The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2

Episode 23

Through both halves of this adaptation, its biggest weakness has been its action. While Studio Kafka and all involved have done an admirable job translating the original story's atmosphere and drama through season two, whenever things have to move with urgency or danger, it's gotten shaky, fast. That was alright through most of this season, where nearly every confrontation was short enough to be carried by the writing and music whenever the animation couldn't carry the weight. When 90% of the on-screen action is characters talking, it's easy to overlook the 10% that's awkward but serviceable. However, we've hit the story's big, indulgent action climax, and that weakness takes center stage.

It just doesn't look very good. Nothing abysmal enough to call out in particular, but it's impossible to ignore the lack of energy, urgency, or danger through this fight. There are too many static shots of characters standing rigidly still or moving with all the immediacy of a cat that just woke up from a nap. Narratively, this is a battle between literal Gods, with pivotal character moments and high stakes, but that gravity never comes through in the editing or pacing of a given moment. Couple that with how murkily they've rendered the dark dungeon it takes place in, and what should be a thrilling action climax for this episode turns into a muddy mess that can barely piece together individual cuts and keep the fight coherent, let alone communicate the tension or grandeur we're supposed to be feeling.

That really sucks, because every other building block of this fight is great. You've got Adam returning in the form of a vengeful hex. Alcyone sacrifices herself to return Philomela's memories of her family and childhood. Morrigan shows up to throw down with the weird eyeball eldritch god that Lizbeth summoned. Chise and Co. ride on Elias' back in his beast form, turn into dust to fly through the air, and all pool their power together to Spirit Bomb granny's entire resurrection plan to the other side of the astral plane. If done properly, this would be a fantastic bit of indulgence to cap off the arc, the violent chaos of magic colliding with the parasitic order of sorcery as the final fanfare after last week's more intimate personal climax for Philomela. As-is, it's a clunky and workmanlike punctuation mark that only gets by on the bits that pay off lingering character conflicts.

All that being said, there are still moments and story decisions here that work for me. It's great that Philomela takes an active role in the fight and is voluntarily given the power she was previously tasked with stealing. I love the tough but supportive love Lucy gives the girl, never letting her wither under pressure. It continues to be really god damn cool to see this interpretation of Morrigan go HAM for the sheer love of battle, and turning Adam's vengeful hex into her spear is a killer addition.

These are great little moments in isolation, some obviously more meaningful than others, but they don't quite add to the sum of their parts. It's an unfortunate time for this adaptation's Achilles Heel to flare up, especially so close to the finale, but I can at least take solace in this mostly being a victory lap for the story. The real impact was the previous episode, and if this extra bit of celebration doesn't hold up, it at least doesn't detract from what came before it.

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The Ancient Magus' Bride is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.