The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2

Episodes 1-3

After a whole five years' absence, The Ancient Magus' Bride has at last returned from the land of fae, and it is in no hurry to explain itself. Like I said when covering the premiere, this season spends little to no time reminding viewers of all the wild stuff that happened in the last quarter of season one and fully expects you to know what's up with Chise's dueling double curses, her new school, and the revised status quo with her and Elias' relationship. Also, like the premiere, the following episodes are in no rush to give us a clear idea of where the story is going. It's all intrigue, set up, and atmosphere right now.

Not that I'm complaining. I am a total mark for a well-realized magic school, and the College fits the bill perfectly. While we've only witnessed a couple of classes, one of which was entirely a lecture on the philosophy of sorcery rather than anything practical, there's the same palpable sense of the supernatural that made Elias' countryside abode so engrossing as a setting. The dorm mothers are a pack of talking cats who are at once adorable and threatening, as all good cats should be. The school nurse is 70% caterpillar due to some very botched sorcery, and everyone just roles with it. There's even some fun to be had with the reactions from non-Mages seeing all the fae folk, with students rationalizing Elias' boney visage as a transformation, never suspecting that he might not be a human. Solid, natural world-building gives us a different perspective from the wild and whimsical magic Chise experienced in season one.

Along with that is some ever-building tension bubbling just behind the surface of it all. As a sleigh beggy, Chise was already a rare magical being, but her double curse has put her squarely in the sights of the College's top brass. It's unclear to what ends, but obvious power plays are happening among the staff and students alike. Teachers are constantly sneaking around to observe her. Her peers are either fascinated or fearful of her, and it's hard to say which is more dangerous at the moment. Also, it's enjoyable to see Kore Yamazaki try to come up with believably British names. Lazarus McGovern and Veronica Rickenbacker are my favorites so far, but I hope there are some Jacuzzi Splot-level names in there somewhere.

While the story has been deliberately slow to start, this season has still offered plenty for returning fans to chew on. AMB's greatest strength was always in its characters and how they changed – sometimes unpredictably – through their various magical misadventures. So even if the plot hasn't kicked in, it's rewarding to see how different Chise and Elias are compared to where they started. Episode three is especially charming in how we see their new, comfortable domesticity, resting in comfortable silence, harvesting pumpkins, and discussing the origins of Samhain. It's simple stuff that doesn't immediately seem to tie into any larger story but impresses how much stronger and connected the two have become as equals since everything went down with Joseph.

Moreover, seeing them as a more united front is interesting as they face so many unknowns. Elias is now a teacher to a whole gaggle of teens with a totally different perspective on magic than his own. Chise has to navigate not just the machinations of the College's adults but also the messy cliques of school – a constant reminder of the isolation that first led her to sell herself at the show's start. These are challenges neither would have to face if they stayed in their cottage, but they are important for their growth as individuals and partners. That's fertile ground that the show is gradually seeding for the long run.

A million little mundane moments throughout these episodes also communicate a lot to anyone invested in the characters. Sometimes it's just funny moments like Chise remarking that she's usually the one who faints after catching Philomela. Elias having no idea how to react to students' curiosity about his appearance is ridiculously charming. I adored Chise's slight hesitation before telling Rian that Elias is her “teacher” – obviously weighing how much to tell a stranger about her weird little home life. It's cute, little details that the show could easily have eschewed for the sake of getting to the plot faster, but they are invaluable now that they're here.

Of course, when the fae are involved, things can take a sudden turn without warning, and the end of episode three does just that. Ashen Eye, that old cuss, seems to be back with some new, trollish mischief (The internet kind of troll, for the record, not the other kind of troll. I'm pretty sure those exist here.) to mess with our leads. We'll have to see what's up with that next time, but for now, I'm just thrilled to be back with this cast and this world.

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The Ancient Magus' Bride is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.