Wistoria: Wand and Sword

SEASON 1

Could have finished this a while ago, but was determined to watch it all in Dub form, which has some solid voice acting throughout. But man was it hard to wait the extra 2 weeks once I started watching this brand new anime.

All I heard were rumours and suggestions on Crunchyroll. Saw a couple YouTube clips and was drawn by the gorgeous colourful animation, music score (hell even the "next week on" music is excellent) and the concept. Essentially a bit like an Anime Hogwarts, an academy of mage students strive to be the best, but Will's character cannot use magic at all, but instead bears excellent physical prowess and sword skills. Shunned by most other students, it's essentially the Hero's Journey but with a bit of a cool twist.

It didn't take long to be drawn in, with incredible action sequences, a good story, cool characters and a protagonist that you root for. I was hooked from the start and even though the season peaks in Ep 7 and doesn't quite reach the same heights in the final few beyond, all the episodes are generally solid whether by action or drama. Well maybe the finale isn't that great, but technically the finale is Ep 11 and 12 is more of an epilogue with setup for Season 2, which thankfully is currently in production so I get to see more eventually.

For a period this was a 10/10 for me, I think more realistically, it's one fewer, but big whoop. This is still one of the most enjoyable animes I've come across in recent years and definitely worth a watch if wizard settings are your thing. Lately it seems a good time to be into anime.

9/10.

I did really enjoy the first 7 episodes of Wistoria. In terms of story and numerous other tropes, it does feel like a generic shounen anime. But the blend of gorgeous animation, brilliant music and some thrilling, well directed action sequences made it enjoyable.

What I especially enjoyed in this show was the action. The director really knows the basics of what makes an action sequence intense and thrilling. Aside from the phenomenal animation, there are long, wide takes, with minimal cuts, capturing what's happening during an action sequence. The 7th episode in fact, is one of my favourite episodes this year. There is a brilliantly made action sequence where our protagonist, Will, takes down multiple clones of his opponent. And it was jaw-dropping. As always, Yuki Hayashi (the composer behind Haikyu and MHA) really knocked it out of the park with the soundtrack.

I think the story and the world-building is okay as of now. It definitely can be better. But there are certainly some mysteries surrounding it and I'm sort of curious to see what's to come.

That being said, there are things I didn't like about the show. And most of them are just generic shounen tropes. Like, if you've seen enough shounen animes, you can tell exactly the route that the action sequences are going to take. There are things to admire about Will. But still, that doesn't change the fact that he is still a generic shounen protagonist. The character writing is not good. Most of them are one dimensional and don't change at all across the episodes. And if they do, they completely change within just one episode. Things like this made most of the characters and their interactions unlikeable.

Episodes 6-7 were brilliant, but this season sort of went downhill afterwards and the final few episodes were a bit of a let down. There were a lot of things the author could have done with the characters or the plot given the setup of the finale. But the story just took the most generic shounen route possible.

Maybe this season might feel better once we have some answers in the story. But as of now it's just okay-ish.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword is a 12-episode anime that blends magic and swordsmanship in a way that instantly reminded me of Harry Potter. The setting, magical academy, spellcasting, and various magical sports/events all seem to take inspiration from it. However, it also has strong similarities with Mashle: Magic and Muscles, especially in how it portrays magic users and non-magic users in a strict hierarchical society. But unlike Mashle, where the protagonist is overpowered from the start, Wistoria takes a different approach by making the main character work hard to improve, which makes the battles and action sequences much more engaging.

The story writing is solid, with a well-paced narrative that gives insight into various characters' backstories. While there are some childish moments, the overall execution keeps things interesting. The balance between magic and swordplay adds an exciting layer to the fights, making it enjoyable for fans of both fantasy and action anime. While it might not be the most groundbreaking anime, it delivers a fun and engaging experience, especially for those who enjoy magical academy settings with a unique twist.

A simple premise, typical character archetypes, and conflicts you can easily predict the outcome of. It wouldn't be unfair to label this show, "The standard" of what you'd expect these kinds of shows to be like. Were there a benchmark for this genre and category, this would be par.

But it's still entertaining. The animation is pretty fantastic, for one. Obvious attention to detail, and combat sequences are done with deliberate care. Also, some of the humor is quite funny. Even within the expected confines of usual tropes, they throw a random curveball here and there just to keep it interesting. An overarching storyline is dropped in a little past halfway, with some mystery that'll be revealed in the seasons to come. Honestly, this almost feels like a test run. There's not much original world-building as if they're unsure anybody will be interested in more. We're dropped into this familiar storyline, and as the plot progresses things start to be introduced that makes it a little more unique going forward. There's definitely potential here.

Another user titled their review, "It's okay for now." This is probably the most accurate take in the fewest words possible. The true quality of this series is completely dependent on what comes next.

Rips off the setting wholesale from Harry Potter and tries to use this combined with some admittedly fantastic production values to cover its complete lack of interesting plot or characters. The protagonist is Generic Hard-working Protagonist Type 3 Subtype Beta, Pathetic but Overpowered variant, in pursuit of generic love interest girl (and that's the extent of his character so far). He is challenged by people on all sides opposing him due to Standard Anime Oppression Structure Type 1 Subtype Gamma, Mage Supremacy, in spite of the fact that his morning diet consists mainly of top tier mages and that he effortlessly overcomes every challenge set before him. In other words, under the thin veil of its setting it's as bland and generic as your average mass produced isekai.

This is the laziest kind of anime there is. The kind of plot based on inserting standard archetypes into a new setting built around some ideas the author finds interesting is already pretty lazy and far too common in anime and its source materials, but this isn't even doing that, preferring instead to lift its setting from another, far better story (and Harry Potter itself wasn't exactly the height of literature). As a result, you end up with something that simply has nothing of substance to offer at all.