With its unique blend of horror, mystery and romance, The Ancient Magus' Bride is a sleeper hit anime and manga series. Beginning publication in 2013, the original manga is the work of Kore Yamazaki, and its success saw its story receive an OVA and a full-length anime a few years afterward.
Despite its popularity, there's yet to be a new season for The Ancient Magus' Bride. A set of three animated specials, however, will end that streak and continue the story. The Ancient Magus Bride: The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze is an upcoming trilogy that follows the anime's continuity, and its production team is specifically focused on the project. Though it might not be a conventional Season 2, it is set to advance the anime's story in a wholly original way. Here's what we know so far about the trilogy, who's working on it and when it's coming out.
The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze's Plot
The three-part series will tell an original story in the same universe as the anime series, taking place after the show's beloved first season. The main focus is a new character named Gabriel, who just moved to the area from London. A lonely and friendless boy, he longs to maintain connections, despite being forced to move constantly.
In his boredom, he sees mysterious purple smoke rising out of the corner of his eye, and he follows its trail in curiosity. From there, his world begins to intermingle with the magical happenings of wizards and other creatures. Also occurring will be Spriggan's visit with Elias and Chise right before the latter leaves to go to the College. This results in a brand new Wild Hunt event that's stranger than ever.
The Ancient Magus Bride's OVA Trailer
An unsubbed trailer for the first entry of The Boy From the West and the Knight of the Mountain Haze was released last month, giving a glimpse at characters new and old. Elias and Chise are both seen, as is Gabriel and a mysterious, macabre-looking magical horse. Despite being done by a different animation studio, the animation style and quality don't miss any beats from what fans of the show have come to expect.
News to Know About The Ancient Magus Bride's OVA
The series was announced earlier this year in March, and with the announcement came the revelation that the three-part series is the "first part" of a new anime project. This suggests that similar methods of storytelling, such as movies or more mini-series, could be used in lieu of a traditional Season 2. Kazuaki Terasawa, who has previously worked on anime such as Doraemon, Little Busters!, Overlord, Toriko and Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal will be directing the project. Kore Yamazaki wrote the first draft of the scripts being used, which will be further fleshed out by Aya Takaha and Yoko Yonaiyama.
Hirotaka Kato and Junichi Matsumoto, the character designer and composer from the main series, will be returning to those roles. Handling the animation isn't Wit Studio, however, but Studio Kafka. In fact, the studio was formed specifically to work on The Boy from the West. Other staff members include Kohei Tokuoka, Yuko Kobari, Seiki Tamura, Mayo Suzuki, and Katsuaki Miyaji, who will serve as the Chief Animation Director, Color Designer, Art Designer, Director of Photography, and CGI Director.
The Ancient Magus Bride OVA's Release Date
These original animation discs won't be released individually, but instead be packaged together with the 16th, 17th and 18th volumes of The Ancient Magus' Bride manga. These bundles will be limited editions, and since it's not said otherwise, it can be assumed that these will be Japan-only releases. Any release of the OADs themselves outside of Japan, or an English dub is unknown at the time.
What is known, however, is when these bundles will be coming out in Japan. Volume 16 of the manga will ship on September 10, with Volume 17 hitting on March 10 and Volume 18 releasing next September 10. This is quite a bit of space in between each part of the series, so hopefully, by the time one comes out, the previous entry will have been dubbed or at least released online.
