Summary
Summer 2024 is largely dominated by new slice of life, comedy and romance anime; however, in this crop of new anime there is a series that might just be a contender for best animation production.
With a brilliantly-animated first episode,Wistoria: Wand and Swordis a must-watch, especially for fantasy fans, and fans of anime titles centred ona powerless protagonist in a super-powered world.
“Imagine a sword aiming to become a wand…”
– Headmistress Cauldron, Wistoria: Wand and Sword episode 2
What is Wistoria About?
A New Fantasy Anime By The Author of DanMachi
Hundreds of years ago, the world was attacked by invaders from the sky.Five mages joined their powersto erect a barrier atop a tower called the Mercedes Caulis to ward away the invaders. From thenceforth, the mages were referred to as the Magia Vander. The Regarden Magical Academy is an institution where magicians are trained with hopes of becoming powerful enough to continue the legacy of legendary mages and become Magia Vander themselves. Will Serfort is a boy at Regarden who is cursed with an inability to manipulate or use magic, which is unfortunate for him because he wants nothing more than to become a Magia Vander so that he can reunite with his childhood friend Elfaria, the youngest Vander in history.
Will has only managed to hang on to his place at the school through his perfect test scores and the extra credit that he earns from killing monsters in the school’s dungeon. His lack of magical aptitude has made him the target ofrelentless disrespect, bullying and ostracizationbecause no one knows that his true talent lies in his swordsmanship; a talent that enables him to take down monsters that even the most skilled mages cannot.
Production Information
Who’s Making Wistoria?
The anime series is based on the manga written by Fujino Ōmori, the author ofIs It Wrong To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (DanMachi), together with Toshi Aoi who does the art. The manga was serialized in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from December 2020 to May 2023, with the chapters being collected into 10 volumes as of June 2024. The anime series is produced by Actas (Girls Und Panzer) and Bandai Namco Pictures (multipleGintamaprojects), with direction, scripts and series composition by Tatsuya Yoshihara (director,Black Clover); character designs by chief animation director Sayaka Ono (key animation,Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection); art direction by Yuki Maeda from Studio Easter; CGI direction by Morihito Abe, sound direction by Hiroto Morishita from Jinnan Studio and music byMy Hero Academiacomposer Yuki Hayashi. Cast members include Kōhei Amasaki (Masachika Kuze,Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian) as Will Serfort; Satomi Amano as Colette Loire; Masaaki Mizunaka (Keisuke Baji,Tokyo Revengers) as Zion Alster; Tomokazu Seki (Sakata Gintoki,Gintama) as Workner Norgram and Kōji Yusa (Gin Ichimaru,BLEACH) as Edward Serfence.
Why Should You Watch Wistoria?
Incredible Production Quality
The main reason anyone should get intoWistoria: Wand and Swordthis season is the immense production quality of the show. Beyond the great-looking character designs and backgrounds, the various magical effects are great to look at, and whenever there’s action, it becomes a brilliant visual feast with highly dynamic movement and interesting camera work that makes things exciting. Will’s lack of magical ability is well represented in fight scenes, especially in the second episode in his duel against Professor Edward, which was a very dazzling exchange that shows the precarity of being a sword in a world of wands. Will’s movements in combat are easily the best part of the anime thus far, and forthose who are fans ofDanMachi, it’s all the more interesting to learn of his combat skills in the first episode as he takes down a minotaur-like creature, much like Bell Cranel did at the end of the first season ofDanMachi.
The story is fairly interesting, but nothing we haven’t already seen, and with its presentation of a powerless protagonist in a world defined by said power, it’s automatically reminiscent of hit shonen titles likeMy Hero Academia, and more closely,Black Clover.The setting being at a magical school is something that usually incites comparisons toHarry Potter; however, in this case, some of the instructors inWistoriahave major similarities to those who have taught many students at Hogwarts. For instance, the aforementioned Edward has a character design and abrasive attitude reminiscent of Professor Snape played by the late Alan Rickman, while the head mistress is reminiscent of Professor Minerva McGonagall; not to mention the school uniforms also being somewhat similar to the robes seen in the film adaptations of JK Rowling’s books.
Wistoria: Wand and Sword is available to watch onCrunchyroll.
