Manga is already inspiring 3-part prequel anime, 3rd part debuts in August

Kore Yamazaki's seventh The Ancient Magus' Bride ( Mahō Tsukai no Yome ) manga volume shipped on Friday with a flyer announcing a television anime adaptation slated for October. The visual contains the text "This is a story told so that you may know the beauty of the world," as well as a quote from the opening lines of the manga: "Beyond the dull walls of cement... deep, deep within the ancient, misty forest... There lies another world. That world is far closer to ours than you might imagine."

The manga is already inspiring a three-part prequel anime by Wit Studio titled The Ancient Magus' Bride: Those Awaiting a Star ( Mahō Tsukai no Yome: Hoshi Matsu Hito ). The first part had its limited two-week run in eight theaters throughout Japan starting on August 13, 2016, and was later bundled with the sixth compiled volume of the manga in December. The second part opened in seven Japanese theaters on February 4, and will ship with the seventh manga volume on Friday. After its two-week run in theaters starting on August 19, the third part will ship with the eighth volume of the manga on September 9. The Blu-ray Disc of the anime will ship this winter. Crunchyroll began streaming the first part last September.

Yamazaki wrote the original story for the anime prequel. Norihiro Naganuma ( Hozuki's Coolheadedness assistant director, Yowamushi Pedal movie director) is directing the anime at Wit Studio (Attack on Titan, Seraph of the End), 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. Film composer Junichi Matsumoto (Hidekazu Kore'eda's Like Father, Like Son film) is composing the music.

Wit Studio also animated and revealed a promotional video for the manga in March 2016 that showed select scenes from the manga's story.

Yamazaki launched the series in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine in 2013, and the series moved to Comic Garden in 2014.

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!

Seven Seas released the manga's sixth volume in January.

[Via Otakomu]