The Ancient Magus' Bride Vol. 14

魔法使いの嫁 [Mahōtsukai no Yome] #14

by Kore Yamazaki

UNUSUAL SUSPECTS First Lucy was attacked during the College camping trip. Then professor Simeon was caught unawares on the College campus itself. As the victim count begins to rise, it comes to light that a forbidden tome, thought safely stored in the archives, has been stolen–a tome that Elias once glanced through– The Testament of Carnamagos. As the College staff begins to suspect a connection between the two events, Chise and Lucy, a survivor of the Webster Tragedy, must contend with a pack of ravenous werewolves out for their lives!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Romance, Comics, Magic

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2020

About the author

Name (in native language) : ヤマザキコレ

Born in Hokkaido. Also known as Yamao Mitsu.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still struggling to keep straight the ever-huger cast and their various backstories, enmities, and lies, but this is certainly an interesting and complex world. The story and Chise's character are quite different from the early volumes.

[Ady Weasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me está costando mucho seguir con esta historia. Siento que perdió el ritmo que tenía al inicio. La trama dentro de la escuela no me está gustando hay muchos secretos pero el hecho de tener más personajes hace que me pierda en la trama. De los nuevos personajes realmente solo me gustan tres

[Alice4170 🌙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐️

[Pflanzis · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Die Schlangen, darf ich sie mal berühren?“ Diese Szene war so cute! ❤️
Auch die Schutzbestien der Akademie waren großartig! All die Charaktere und Wesen machen die gesamte Reihe so interessant!

[Moriah Venable · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not the biggest fan of the college arc when it first started but it is starting to pick up and now I am all for it.

So many secrets and mysteries happening. With staff and students getting injured, the Chancellor has decided to lock the school down until at least Christmas. Which also means that Philomena will be able to stay as her grandmother was trying to remove her.

Someone is stealing the magic of mages which is also tied to their life forced. A book from the restricted section has gone missing. And someone is attacking the remaining Webster siblings. \

Chise starts to realize how other felt when she would not wake or in danger.

Looking forward to the next volume.

[Zrzi čte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mám pocit, že od nastoupení na akademii se toho kolem Čise děje víc, ale zároveň je to mnohem pomalejší. Ale vůbec mi to nevadí. S tím množstvím nových postav v každém díle je to lepší, protože i tak mi občas trvá se zorientovat.
Čise má teď kolem sebe hromadu nových lidí, snad budoucích přátel, a mě baví sledovat jak se postupně dozvídáme o jejich minulost, tajemstvích i přáních. A stejně tak Elias, který se dál učí „lidštinu“ a uvedomuje si že má kolem sebe víc přátel než tušil.
Oceňuji jakýkoliv střípek z hodin které Čise absolvuje (tentokrát runy) a absolutně miluju jak Isaac odtáhl Philomenu když „přišla“ její babička a následnou scénu s kočičími démony. Kočky jsou láska.
Jsem zvědavá co nového se dozvím v dalším díle a hlavně, do jakého problému se Čise zase dostane.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 star read for me.

Lots more movement is happening and a lot with the kids at the college but I think we're starting to see something interesting here as it feels like this volume might be opening up to the next story arc, and maybe, a connection between the original Chise and Co. and her new friends at the college.

I do like that after so many volumes, Chise feels more and more fleshed out and her own person rather than what others make of her which is a really nice change as she's starting to be more outspoken.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book finally arrived in the post! Feels like I’ve been waiting ages for it to come out; read it in an hour. I feel like the plot has made some progress but there’s still so much that’s been left unanswered so now I’ve got to wait for volume 15. I’m very excited to see where that takes us in the story. 4.5/5

[Niina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meni taas vähän aikaa päästä kärryille, mitä edellisessä osassa tapahtui. Akatemian kellari vaikuttaa tosi kiinnostavalle paikalle!

[Ethelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 / 5

J’aurais du m’arrêter plus tôt car là je suis ultra déçu.
Je pensais qu’après le neuvième tome ça allait être bien mais au final je n’accroche pas du tout à l’histoire.

[Katja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars. 3 is kinda low because I love this series but this volume felt it was just treading the water. Yes, there are many threads in this Academy arc and because they are still more or less mysteries, it's not easy to judge them at this point. Waiting to see how they all will click together.

There are now so many characters that their development and stories are pretty slow, and while in general I don't mind, maybe I'd prefer a little more answers or actions at this point. That said, I really liked the scene with Lucy and Seth at the end of this volume. And I'm glad to see Zoey getting a bit more confident.

So, because the manga in general is good, I enjoyed this too but not the strongest volume by any means.

[Snail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if it's the author's writing style or my reading style -- probably a combination of both -- but with large casts of characters in a long-ish running series like this, I often forget who some people are, or forget important plot points from volume to volume. This tends to make me care about the series a little less, or conversations will feel less poignant because of it. But I thought that the conversation in this volume between the centaur mail carrier and Chise really stuck out as being clear and important. I think it was refreshing to only have two characters involved in a clear dialogue that lasted for a short number of pages. (I feel like a lot of the other conversations feel kind of muddled, especially when Elias is involved.)

... This kind of thought process always reminds me of reading Tamura Yumi's comment that her editor wouldn't allow her to have so many characters in her stories at first, because it can be a gamble. She, of course, went on to write Basara and 7SEEDS, both of which are notable for their huge casts of characters. I think she's an example of an author who's really good at juggling multiple characters and plots simultaneously. (Though I'm definitely biased!) I'll have to think about this topic a little more to figure out why Ancient Magus feels more muddy to me...

(I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that, translation-wise, Viz might have taken some minor liberties to make certain lines in Basara clearer to English readers. Ancient Magus has a lot of lines that just trail off without defining the subject or ending the thought, which is super common in Japanese (to many a translator's dismay), but in English I think unfortunately tends to read like "bad writing" or at least "unclear writing"... In my mind, maybe the audience of the English translation of Ancient Magus would benefit from fewer of those types of unclear lines... but I know that's a tricky business, and it's certainly easier (and safer) to just stick with exactly what the original did. I just feel the effect in Japanese is probably not as jarring or puzzling to readers as it comes across (to me) in English.)

[Barry Haworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my latest catch up on this series, I read it from volume 9 (the conclusion of the Cartaphilus arc) to the end of volume 17. This follows Chise and Elias as they join the school for Alchemists, and follows them as they meet a large number of new characters and learn about the situations they are living in. Volume 17 does not complete this arc, though it feels like it is getting close to a conclusion. I very much enjoyed the story, but there is a *lot* going on, with a lot of very different characters to meet who all have their own back stories and inner demons. Reading any one of the volumes in this set would be pretty confusing, and the story is not yet completed. While I read and enjoyed it up to volume 17, it would be more satisfying to wait until the current arcs are complete (volume 18? 19?) and read it all in one go.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me there is a small sense of frustration in feeling confused by the new (which I guess are not so new now) characters within the story...but I will say that it is starting to grow on me. There are enough moments where I find myself caring more for some of them and the interactions yield some cool moments. That said, Kore Yamazaki is doing a fine job on art and I am enjoying the story more volume by volume. Hard to believe with all these thoughts that this is only the 14th volume of the series! I love the title of this volume (as the Usual Suspects is one of my favorite films of all-time) and the issues that plague the current story are starting to show connections and characters are beginning to notice things we as the reader and even other characters in the story had taken note of...which is fun for the reader.

[OnTheSamePaige · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, the blurb on the back of the US edition is for the previous volume. I don't know why manga has a tendency to do that.

This story keeps getting bigger and bigger, adding more lore, more magic, more characters, more plotlines, more questions... I literally skimmed 6 pages that were just a lecture about runes. I felt like there was going to be a test. It's getting to the point where I can't keep it all straight. I don't know if I care to either. This volume is mostly a holding pattern. It would be a filler episode to skip when re-watching if it was an anime.

Not sure if I care enough to keep going and I'm not anxiously awaiting the next volume. Might wait until the College Arc is done, and check out the whole thing from the library. Won't be sad if I forget to do that. Shrug

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, I genuinely can't tell if the chancellor is going to be an ally or an antagonist at this point and it is incredibly frustrating. I want to trust her so badly, she really seems like she's got the kiddos welfare at heart, but like how often are people in power like that later revealed to be the big bad? Too often. Again, we're introducing characters at a rapid fire pace that feels a bit dizzying, but after three or so volumes, the students are at least beginning to feel like regulars and the backstories and allegiances that are beginning to be teased apart are really starting to grab my attention.

[Aleksandra Pilch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oblubienica czarnoksiężnika coraz mniej o oblubienicy i jeszcze mniej o czarnoksiężniku. Kocham ten cykl, ale ten tom pokazał mi, że fabuła Kolegium mnie nuży. Jest zbyt dużo pobocznych postaci, które ledwo pamiętam i ledwo mnie interesują. Wiem, że mangi mają to do siebie, ale Yamazaki zbyt rozwodniła tę wspaniałą opowieść. Nie mam pojęcia ile docelowo ma mieć to tomików, ale łudzę się, że Chise i Elias szybko dostaną więcej czasu na planszach...

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This arc is amazing! The complicated relationships between the Alchemist families brings even richer world-building to a series that wasn't lacking in that department.

Chise's growth and socialization with others her age? Um, yes please! It's wonderful to see! She's seriously coming to terms with her powers and understanding the seriousness of them and the magical world she inhabits. Kinda that awe tinged with fear you expect when encountering magical beasts.

[Catarina Prata · Rating 3 out of 5]

As per usual in the middle of arcs, this volume was a bit of a stagnation on the action plot points. There are still some things to uncover and since our characters are now forced into a new situation in close proximity, I am hoping for the beautiful combination of dark fairy tales and sadness of the human nature that we are used to in this series!

[Claudia Torkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je pravda, že som najprv musela preletieť 13tu časť, ale o to viac sa mi 14tka páčila.

Konečne sa toho dozvedáme viac, mám pocit, že ďalšia časť bude nadupaná pecka, ale dovtedy asi ostanem pri mojom filozofovaní o tom, čo sa vlastne stalo s Josephom a či prebýva v Čisinom tele alebo nie. Priznám sa, že z tejto linky z prvých časti som zmätená ešte aj teraz.

[Ivan Loginov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing really happened in this volume, but you can feel the plot thicken. I was sad to see less of Eliot and almost none of the other characters from the pre-school arc. Chise, on the other hand, finally begins to act like a real character. I seem to like this manga for some reason, even despite all its problems, so for a non-fan four stars would probably be an overkill.

[Raechel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series continues to spin its wheels with the college arc. The art is a little better from v13, but not good enough to save it from being boring. I've seen a lot of people complain about how there are too many side characters to keep track of (I agree), so why did the author choose to add MORE side characters in this volume?

[Natalya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though the school arc is not my favorite, I do enjoy what is being explored and that that means for the rest of the series. Hopefully, we get some more insight on Elias because I want to know what he is. I also want to see more of Elias and Chise relationship. That is what is lacking the most for me.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume has some great introspection on Chise's part regarding her willingness to sacrifice herself and what that would mean to her newfound friends. It also continues to explore the dynamics between Chise's classmates, while introducing some sinister mysterious forces. But it feels pretty exposition heavy and like it's setting up the next arc.

3/5

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was plenty of action. A handful of times I was confused by dialogue (most likely because I'm not familiar with the culture). There are a lot of interesting relationships developing, many of which are familial while others are questionably platonic (possibly romantic).

[Kassyreadsalot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things have started to pick up again although I feel a bit strange that Elias is not in it as muc but it does make sense considering Chise is in a school setting and now has more friends that she gets along with! Things have definitely been picking up and it’s not filler anymore!

[Sundee Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so addictive! I love the new twists, and am seriously in love with the cait sídhe! And there was so much family drama!

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been a fan of the college arch but I still enjoy every volume I pick up. So excited for the next one

[KathleenB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some more placeholder action and character bits but it’s definitely building up to a couple of possibly interesting mysteries.

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope this is the start of Lucy trusting her brother again ❤️❤️❤️

Also I really like the gorgon character 🥰🥰