This anime series is centred on fifteen year old Chise Hatori, a girl who can see supernatural beings. After a childhood full of sadness she allows herself to be sold to Elias Ainsworth, a mage with an animal skull for a head who later intends to marry her. She moves into his house in England. Here she is treated as his apprentice; learning more about herself and the supernatural world that interacts with ours. Some of the beings she encounters are friendly, others are mischievous and some are malicious. They are all drawn to her because of what she is; a Sleigh Beggy... a magus capable of drawing on the magic of her surroundings at the cost of her health.
This is one of the best anime series I've seen in some time; the story is interesting from start to finish and provokes a range of emotions from sorrow to joy. The characters have real depth with Chise making a great protagonist. Elias Ainsworth is an interesting character; sympathetic yet slightly ambiguous. The world shown beautifully combines the fantastical and the real; the creators perfectly capture the feel of the part of England in which it is set; when they go to town it isn't an imaginary place but a realistic view of the village of Bourton on the Water that anybody who has been there will instantly recognise. This doesn't mean there is no ugliness in this world; there is often a real sense of threat and even some gore that is likely to disturb more sensitive viewers. Overall I'd definitely recommend this beautifully rendered modern fairy tale.
These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
