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The Ancient Magus' Bride Manga Gets 3-Part Prequel Anime by Wit Studio

The fifth volume of Kore Yamazaki's manga The Ancient Magus' Bride (Mahō Tsukai no Yome) is announcing on Thursday that the manga is inspiring a three-part prequel anime by Wit Studio. The announcement notes that the Mahō Tsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito (The Ancient Magus' Bride - The Man Who Waits for Stars) anime tells a story from before Chise meets the Magus.

The cast includes:

• Atsumi Tanezaki as Chise Hattori
• Ryōta Takeuchi as Elias
• Kōki Uchiyama as Ruth
• Aya Endō as Silver

Yamazaki wrote the original story for the anime. Norihiro Naganuma (Hozuki's Coolheadedness assistant director, Yowamushi Pedal movie director) is directing the anime at Wit Studio, and Aya Takaha (Psycho-Pass episode 12 script) is penning the scripts. Hirotaka Katō (Empire of Corpses animation director, Hozuki's Coolheadedness) is designing the characters for animation, while Bamboo (Hozuki's Coolheadedness, Empire of Corpses) is handling the background art.

The three volumes of the anime will be bundled with the sixth, seventh, and eighth volumes of the manga. The first part will also have a limited two-week run in eight theaters throughout Japan, starting on August 13. A promotional video for the anime will begin streaming on YouTube on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. JST.

Mag Garden registered the 'Magus-Bride.jp' domain name in December.

Seven Seas publishes the manga in North America, and it describes the story:

Chise Hatori has lived a life full of neglect and abuse, devoid of anything resembling love. Far from the warmth of family, she has had her share of troubles and pitfalls. Just when all hope seems lost, a fateful encounter awaits her. When a man with the head of a beast, wielding strange powers, obtains her through a slave auction, Chise's life will never be the same again.

The man is a "magus," a sorcerer of great power, who decides to free Chise from the bonds of captivity. The magus then makes a bold statement: Chise will become his apprentice - and his bride!

Yamazaki launched the manga in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine in 2013, but the magazine ceased publication on September 1, 2014. The Ancient Magus' Bride moved to the publisher's Monthly Comic Garden magazine and is also published on the Comic Blade online website. Seven Seas will publish the fourth volume in April.