The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 15: Tough Healing and a Glimpse into Silky's Past
In The Ancient Magus' Bride episode 15, "There is no place like home," Elias Ainsworth follows Oberon's advice and takes Chise Hatori to the fairy realm for treatment. Doctor Shannon seems like she has Hatori's best interests in mind, but does she really? They're no longer in the human world, after all, and Shannon's behavior at the pond is, well, suspect… Meanwhile, Silky becomes restless as she waits for her family to return. She drifts into sleep and dreams of her past, where see a surprise guest from previous episodes!
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
3 Favorite Moments
Interested in the OP?
"The Ancient Magus' Bride" Original Soundtrack 1
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Insult him? Call him names? Elias doesn't care. Try to touch Hatori? Lucky to get away with your life! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Want evidence of how Elias feels about Hatori? As Elias carries her into the fairy world (3:38), some of its denizens berate him, calling him "the failure," "half-assed," and foul-smelling. He walks past them without comment. But when one of them tried to touch Hatori, he crushed it, saying, "Don't touch" in as hostile a voice as I've ever heard him use. He might not be able to articulate it, but I think it's pretty clear how he really feels about her. And he didn't hesitate to show it to the unfortunate creature who wanted to touched his "beloved child."
As Hatori lost consciousness, Shannon transformed into an image of Hatori's mother — strangling her. Freud would have something to say about that… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
In retrospect, I get what Shannon was trying to do in the pond (10:16). Trying to ignite Hatori's will to live by using an apparent murder attempt would be, let's say, quite bracing! But I can tell you this: If I were Hatori, I'd have a hard time trusting the good doctor after an apparent attempt at drowning! That aside, what I liked about this scene was this: Hatori showed another step forward in her development of her strength and independence. How? Well, the scene was packed with symbolism. As Hatori begins to lose consciousness, Shannon seems to transform into Hatori's mother, hands still around her throat (11:10). Then, on the edge of death, Hatori sees Elias, the one she's falling in love with, and remembers his words of encouragement. It's important here that he didn't take action to help her. She helped herself. By herself, she rose up and threw Shannon into the water. That's what I liked about the scene. And what's more? She didn't try to drown her attacker. I have one complaint about the scene, though. Shannon should have apologized profusely!
Look at that amazing smile! Doesn't that just warm your soul? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Would be cheating if I declared the entire second half of the episode as my third favorite "moment?" It might be cheating, but I'm still sorely tempted… But I'd lose respect for myself if I broke my own rules. So, for my third favorite moment, I'll pick when Silky hung up the bells over the door, so that wherever she was in the house, she'd hear when Elias and Hatori came home (14:18). What followed seconds later was the latest Caw Out Award for Most Awesome Expression of Surpassing Adorableness as Silky imagined how happy she'll feel when her family returns home. Have you ever seen such a happy smile? It's no wonder she's my favorite secondary character in the show. Heck, she just might be my favorite character, period!
Am I the only one who thought that Shannon looked a lot like Cartaphilus? Must be the hair style…
And I know it's cheating, but if I may beg your indulgence, my fourth of three favorite things this episode was the hug Silky gave her family when they came home. That hug was so heart-felt, so warm, and so appreciative that it took my breath away.
In terms of hugs, this is Olympic Gold. Silky was so happy to see her family that she could barely contain herself! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
It's been one of the themes throughout the entire series, but with Shannon's bedside manner being what it was, I think it stood out for me in this episode. I'm talking about the differences in perspective between the human world and world of the Fae. A massive collision of cultures, as it were.
Shannon put it succinctly when she said, "The people of this side have trouble understanding certain things with humans" (7:08). I think it could just as easily be said in the reverse, but the key is, both come from very different worlds, so it's hard for members of one world to understand the other.
That was very clear when Shannon decided to drown Hatori in order to save her. I'm sure that from a Fae's point of view, that was a reasonable thing to do. Even as a human, I understood her thought process when she explained herself to Hatori. But as a human, I also know this: I would not have been nearly as quick to trust Shannon, much less forgive her, as Hatori was.
Maybe I'm just a petty old man, but Hatori forgave Shannon way faster than I would have! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Am I being unreasonable? How would you have reacted to a near drowning?
The other illustration of the cultural clash theme was Elias and the world of the Fae. Remember how poorly the Fae spoke of Elias as he followed Oberon? Between human and Fae, I would have expected the Fae to show more sympathy and understanding of Elias, but that's not the case at all. As Elias told Titania, even though humans feared him, they sometimes accepted him — unlike the Fae. And yet, as Elias made that statement, he did so in the context of Titania asking him to come with Hatori to the Queene's world, where she thought they both might be happier.
Seems like bigotry isn't confined to humans. Nor does it completely rule those in either camp. There are those like Titania and Angelica Varley in both worlds who accept Elias or Hatori for who they are. There are those who rise above the clash of cultures and try to understand and accept even those who appear "strange" (whatever that means!).
That's the sort of thing that gives me hope!
What were your favorite moments in this episode? Let me know in the comments!
Other Anime Sites
Lost in Anime: Mahoutsukai no Yome – 15
The Reviewer's Corner: The Ancient Magus' Bride Ep 15 Review: Home
This Site (Crow's World of Anime!)
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 1: April Showers Bring May Flowers
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 2: One Today is Worth Two Tomorrows
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 3: The Balance Distinguishes Not between Gold and Lead
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 4: Everything Must Have a Beginning
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 5: Love Conquers All
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 6: The Faerie Queene
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 7: Talk of the devil, and he is sure to appear
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 8: Let sleeping dogs lie
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 9: None so deaf as those who will not hear
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 10: We live and learn
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 11: Lovers ever run before the clock
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 12: Better to ask the way than go astray
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 13: East, west, home's best
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 14: Looks breed love
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 16: God's mill grinds slow but sure
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 17: Look before you leap
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 18: Forgive and forget
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 19: Any port in a storm
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 20: You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 21: Necessity Has No Law
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 22: As you sow, so shall you reap
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 23: Nothing seek, nothing find
The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 24: Live and let live
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