History Manga / TheAncientMagusBride

''The Ancient Magus' Bride'' (''Mahou Tsukai no Yome'') is a [[{{Shonen}} shonen manga]] by Kore Yamazaki that tells the story of fifteen-year old Japanese orphan Chise Hatori, a [[SquishyWizard sleigh beggy]] who is bought as a slave by the enigmatic, inhuman British mage Elias Ainsworth. He announces that he will tutor her in the ways of magic...and then abruptly announces he's going to marry her.

* DropTheHammer: Chise decides to produce a hammer, instead of a staff, [[spoiler:when using [[MorphingWeapon Isaac's key]] in Chapter 88, figuring it would be more appropriate to stop Lizbeth's ritual with the Testament of Carnamagos]].

** Happens to [[spoiler:Elias]] whenever Chise is in danger, or even if he just gets jealous. He takes it to the maximum when [[spoiler:Chise is cursed by a dragon and he decides the best way to save her life is by ritualistically sacrificing 10-year-old Stella, one of Chise's good friends]].

It is published online in Japanese by Blade Comics [[http://comic.mag-garden.co.jp/blade/2781.html here]], and Creator/SevenSeasEntertainment (''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'', ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'') began releasing the official English translation in May 2015.

* OutOfFocus: As Chise goes to college in the second season of the anime for the College Arc, many of the established recurring characters such as Silver, Spriggan, Oberon, Titania, Lindel, and Josef from the first season are given significantly less focus as Chise's fellow students get the lion's share of the spotlight, with their lack of focus ranging anywhere between getting very few scenes/dialogue to only showing up as cameos. Any redemption story Josef could've had was also put on hold as he pretty much stayed in the well for the entire time Chise was at college and [[spoiler: only had a chat with her at the end of the season about valuing her own life]]. And while Alice Swayne makes it to college along with Chise, even she falls out of focus after a while in this particular arc.

* OutOfFocus: As Chise goes to college in the second season of the anime, many of the established recurring characters such as Silver, Spriggan, Oberon, Titania, Lindel, and Josef from the first season are given significantly less focus as Chise's fellow students get the lion's share of the spotlight, with their lack of focus ranging anywhere between getting very few scenes/dialogue to only showing up as cameos. Any redemption story Josef could've had was also put on hold as he pretty much stayed in the well for the entire time Chise was at college and [[spoiler: only had a chat with her at the end of the season about valuing her own life]].

* MeaningfulReleaseDate: The final episode of Season 2 was released on December 21 of 2023, the date of the winter solstice. The end of the episode is also set during the solstice.

Its Japanese name is not to be confused with ''VisualNovel/MahouTsukaiNoYoru''.

** Minor. Angelica has crystal fragments embedded in both forearms because early in her career she miscalculated while crafting an item and it exploded. She uses this example to show Chise what might happen if magic fails/is done wrong/is done above the practitioner's capacity.

** Chise's arm lengthens and swells when she manages to ManaDrain a rampaging dragon. Even with help, it still looks misshapen.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: In Rahab's words, a mage should be able to hide the truth while avoiding outright falsehoods.

* {{Bishonen}}: You probably wouldn't realize that Oberon was male until you heard him referred to as Titania's husband. This is actually quite common among fae creatures. Cartaphilus might count as well.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Chise's dad ran away and her mother committed suicide because they no longer could deal with the supernatural creatures attracted by Chise's power. She spent her childhood lonely and unwanted, sent from a foster home to another until she thought of commiting suicide. When Seth suggested she sold herself in slavery, she agreed because she was desperated to find someone who wanted her. After she goes to live with Elias, however, Chise makes tons of friends.

* AngryCollarGrab: Renfred towards Elias in Chapter 34. It starts to happen rather often during the College Arc:

* {{Animorphism}}: Marielle can turn into a bull for brief moments of time. This allows Chise to catch up to Cartaphilus when he was running away.

* BigBrotherInstinct: When Ruth becomes Chise's familiar, he becomes very protective of her and loyally stays by her side whenever she goes out, whether it's for errands or on a trip to the world of fae.

* CatsAreMagic: All of them [[CatsHaveNineLives learn how to talk the more lives they go through]].

* DamselInDistress: Stella. The poor girl ends up being kidnapped or hassled by something every few arcs.

* DeathGlare: Angelica gives Elias one when he says he bought Chise.

* DrivenToSuicide: Chise contemplated doing this via jumping off a roof.

* DudeLooksLikeALady: [[{{Elfeminate}} Shanahan]], husband of Shannon. They even have the same hairstyle. Oberon also fits.

* EvilPoacher: They definitely exist in the setting, with Cartaphilus at one point hiring some to grab a dragon from the Dragon's Aerie.
** They are also knows to target Gorgons. [[spoiler:Zoe]] actually mentions how sometimes they would come to their villages and snatch people away.

* {{Familiar}}: Mages seem capable of housing different fae as familiars, such Angelica's vodyanoi named Hugo, and Chise's grim Ulysse (who she renames Ruth). A familiar uses their master's magical power to move around, and shares senses, emotions, powers, and time as well, so when the master dies, so does the familiar, [[spoiler:though it is later revealed there are other ways to form a contract with a familiar that don't involve sharing their lifetimes]].

* FantasticRacism: Renfred is noted several times to have an intense dislike towards magical creatures.

* FantasyForbiddingMother: Sophie, the mother of Alex and Ashley, as featured in "Defender And Ash". She forbids them from speaking to their magus grandmother, destroys the magic books they are given, and gets rid of the herbs they grow in the garden.
** {{Deconstructed}}. They ignore her for so long that she eventually just [[IHaveNoDaughter stops treating them as her daughters]].

* ForcedSleep: Chise ended up doing this by accident with a lullaby on Elias.
** She later does it on purpose in order to stop Joseph.

** In Chapter 37, Elias warns Chise about giving away parts of herself once she is cursed, as there is no telling how her curse might react to another person. Then in Chapter 41, Chise is forced to exchange one eye with Cartaphilus, which had the benefit of keeping the dragon's curse at bay, thanks to Cartaphilus' curse of immortality.
*** However, some time later, [[spoiler:side effects start manifesting themselves as a result of taking Cartaphilus' eye, including the development of a new personality inside Chise]].

* GenderBlenderName: Chise names her male dog familiar Ruth. It is even lampshaded that it is a name usually given to girls, but Ruth appears to be fine with the name. Elias also brings up that the [[MeaningfulName original meaning]] of "Ruth" in Hebrew is "companion".

* GoodParents: [[spoiler:Chise's parents were this. Her father would protect them from spirits and work while her mother kept house and took care of them. Even after her father left, her mother still tried to take care of her until something literally pushed her into trying to kill Chise]].

* HeroicSacrifice: The King of Cats offers to accompany a restless ghost into the afterlife rather than destroy it. Averted when Chise manages to TakeAThirdOption and open the gateway herself.

* HugeGuyTinyGirl:
** Chise barely reaches Elias's ribcage. In fact, most people are dwarfed in comparison to Elias. The fact that Chise is a small Japanese teenager who at least one person thinks is around 10 also helps.

* IdenticalStranger: Elias's human glamour looks a lot like Simon, and an [[WordOfGod author's note]] says this is because Elias based it on Simon's appearance.
** Elias decides to avert this once he starts attending the college, since its more convenient to use a face of someone who isn't currently alive, so he starts using the same appearance he used during the auction for the dragon whelp.

* TheJailBaitWait: Chise is fifteen at the start of the story while Elias is hundreds of years old or more. However, while Chise is technically his betrothed, Elias does not even appear to have interest in engaging in any sort of sexual activity with her, and its eventually revealed that to him, [[spoiler:a bride is just a partner to spend your life with. The reason he chose Chise to be his bride is that he was seeking an apprentice, and a bride, and found it most expedient to have both roles fulfilled by the same person]].

* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: Chise's natural talents allow her to enter other people's dreams and memories, usually by being in contact with them, though it can even happen at a distance. Initially it only happens randomly and by accident, but in time she learns to control it to some degree. She is still unintentionally dragged into other's heads sometimes though.
** [[spoiler:The biggest example is when she ends up bringing herself, Philomela, Lucy and Isaac into a shared MentalWorld, composed of all of their minds and memories, in her attempt to save Philomela. Chise notes that her repeated viewings of other people's minds has probably caused her own to become prone to mixing with others']].

* LegacyOfService: Great Houses often have lesser houses that serve them.
** In particular, the Fowler family has served House Scrimgeour for generations. Same with House Sargant towards House Rickenbacker.

* ManaDrain: A Dragon Whelp does this to the crowd in the auction house to age itself up. [[spoiler:Chise does the same to calm it down]].

* MasterApprenticeChain: There is one that goes from Rahab to Chise.
** Rahab → Lindel → Elias → Chise
*** Lindel was also Adolf's mentor at some point.

* PowerIncontinence: Early on, Chise would end up drawing too much magic when casting spells, resulting in this.
** The first few times Chise overuses her powers, [[AsleepforDays it knocks her out for a few days at a time]].

* SecretPath: In ''The Golden Yarn'', its revealed that cities like London have secret paths the supernatural entities can take. In the case of Hazel, he travels though "back" roads reflected in pools of rain water.
** There are actually numerous paths hidden throughout the world. These can take you through different layers of reality, invisible to the normal eye.

* {{SpellBook}}: Alchemists have their own spell book. It contains their most used spells, or the most troublesome ones. Upon death, they are often recovered and examined by other alchemists. A lot of the most famous ones have made their way to the College.

* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Testament of Carnamagos, which contains information regarding the life and death of mortals. More specifically, it shows how to [[ManaDrain steal people's life force]], how to create and destroy immortals, and how to [[BackFromTheDead bring people back from the dead]]. The original is located in the United States, while a copy can be found in the College's English branch. Its from this copy that Elias learns of a way to transfer Chise's dragon curse to another person.
** [[spoiler:Some time later, said copy is stolen from the College's library, and is used to drain and almost completely deplete the LifeEnergy of several people]].

* TrueSight: Mages can see the fae by trade, as otherwise they would't even be mages, though it manifests in non-mages as well from time to time. There are also aids that allow others to see fae, like fairy salve. However, because fae intrinsically hate anything that puts them at a disadvantage, such methods can't be carried out with their help, as they literally can't muster the strength to provide assistance. Alchemists also have their methods to be able to see fae, if only temporarily.
** Even among mages, not all of their Sights are at the same level. Theo, despite being a mage, notes his Sight is rather weak by their standards.

* WizardingSchool: In theory, the College is supposed to be one. However, Renfred cynically points out the College is just a front for older wizards to exploit the young with magical talent and that they've forgotten their original mission in educating the next generation of wizards and mages.
** [[spoiler:When Chise starts attending the College, its actually not that bad, though the ugly underside that was alluded to earlier clearly exists]].

* TheJailBaitWait: Chise is fifteen at the start of the story while Elias is hundreds of years old or more. However, while Chise is technically his betrothed, Elias does not even appear to have interest in engaging in any sort of sexual activity with her, and its eventually revealed that to him, ||spoiler:a bride is just a partner to spend your life with. The reason he chose Chise to be his bride is that he was seeking an apprentice, and a bride, and found it most expedient to have both roles fulfilled by the same person||.

* IllGirl: Because of her status as a Sleigh Beggy, Chise frequently finds herself dealing with fatigue and getting bedridden. Then there's the fact that her days are numbered. [[spoiler: After getting inflicted with the dragon's curse, her lifespan became shorter.]] After [[spoiler:dealing with it, and with another curse, Chise became just as likely to live or die as any other person]].

* MuggleBestFriend: After helping save her brother, Chise becomes close friends with Stella despite their distance and [[IntergenerationalFriendship a six year age gap.]] She is only allowed by Elias to see his true form because of a contract they made, and can see Ruth because his Grim form isn't being hidden from humans; Chise briefly considers but ultimately decides not to cut ties with her despite occasionally being put in danger because of faeries.

** In a chapter about Yule, the child of the two appears and is thankful for the Yule offerings not long after.

** At several points Joseph mentions that Elias is as much of a monster as himself. Doesn't have much meaning until [[spoiler:Elias attempts to sacrifice Stella's life to save Chise's]].