Fans of The Ancient Magus Bride woke up to a special treat on the 10th in the form of the first episode from the brand new three-episode OAD series. It premiered on Crunchyroll at 3 a.m. Pacific, everywhere around the world (excluding Asia)!
For those who need a reminder, news broke about the new three-episode OAD series titled The Ancient Magus’ Bride: The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze back in March of this year. At the time, it was revealed that the production studio was being shifted to the relatively unknown Studio Kafka rather than sticking with the producers of the original television series, WIT Studio. This was along with a brand new director (Kazuaki Terasawa) and writer (Yoko Yonaiyama) joining the previous writer of the television series, Aya Takaha. Some returning names include Hirataka Kato as character designer and Junichi Matsumoto as background music composer.
If you’re wondering why Crunchyroll has only uploaded the first episode, it’s because this new mini-series is a genuine, good, old-fashioned OAD (Original Anime Disc) which means it’s being bundled one episode at a time with three volumes of the manga. The first episode was released in Japan in September 2021 and the next two will be bundled in March 2022 and September 2022, respectively.
In this mini-story, which takes place after the events of the television series, the story begins with Chise preparing to leave her home in order to attend the academy. Those plans get interrupted, however, by a spriggan bringing news of a strange event occurring. Apparently, a young man named Gabriel has become bored while in London. So bored, in fact, that one day when he runs out of his house to chase after some tobacco smoke, he found that his own real world had started to become intertwined with the world of the mages.
This is amazing news for those who enjoyed the contemporary fantasy that this series has become so famous for. While I’d much rather have a second season, getting to experience this OAD series will certainly suffice as a “next best thing”.
Source: Crunchyroll
