Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria

Imagine going to computer science and pretend to write novels. Even if you're the best novelist ever, it still makes no sense.

Just like in Mashle, a kid without magic powers attends a magic school, however there are subtle differences.
First, the protagonist doesn't try to hide the fact that he cannot use magic, yet he is allowed into the school because "it is fun" (a.k.a. lazy writing), and, most importantly, the show takes itself way too seriously. You can build a fun comedy on top of stupid premises, but a tragedy needs solid and believable ground, to create empathy with the viewer.

Characters are so stereotypical that, ... by now, you may have already seen them in 4 or 5 different shows. Dialogues are dull, they explain each other things they already know, and music is as uninspired as it gets.

The only reason to watch this show is animation, which is quite good. Everything else, tho, is absolutely boring, I am watching episode 3 right now, and writing this review is the only thing keeping me awake.

If you're looking for a sleeper hit, look no further than Wistoria, the new addition of this Summer. You might find this anime quite surprising, as it serves as a mark that having good staff can often make a difference in making a good adaptation.

Why you might enjoy Wistoria:
1. Good animation
- If you're familiar with the director of this anime, you'd also know he served as the director of Black Clover. This show had many instances of great animation (unless you're looking for constant quality). In Wistoria however, you are seeing the director's prowess to his fullest, the staff he managed to garner to work ... on this anime is astonishing, so you're blessed with good visuals and characters making multiple expressions.

2. Main character just throwing hands
- An odd character who gains an unlikely power that betrays the foundation of the anime's setting and proceeds to use it to fight against every obstacle he finds? You had me on the word 'odd' because it is precisely that anime. In exchange for superhuman strength, his restriction is to never be able to use magic and have to rely on tools that can pierce through magic itself (reference intended). If you're a huge fan of Black Clover or even JJK, you're going to enjoy this MC throwing hands on his foes anytime.

Flaws found in Wistoria:
1. A formulaic process
- I'm not exactly the person to say that cliche = bad anime, but if you want to resort to familiar premises, you need to spice things up a bit or make the story a bit different for a shot of identity. To me, Wistoria feels like a fan-fiction that was done to commemorate the other great things that have been created before its own, so it means you're going to see plenty of common cliches without twists in them.

2. Tropes confirmed
- Classmate girl who just supports the main character? Check. Headmaster somehow allowing the main character to enroll in a supreme magic school? Check. The main character has a big dream to achieve? Check. So clearly, it further cements the point you're not going to watch something out of the ordinary in plot and originality, it's just an anime that has good animation going for it. Typically like Jujutsu Kaisen in general.

In the end, you should give it a shot if you're a big fan of spicy animation and choreography, which the anime does exactly. I think the story and characters have way more to go than just having animation in its book of merits, but it is the ideal example of what an adaptation should be done. It scores a perfect 10/10 in adaptation in my book.

The animation quality was really good for the first few eps but that was about it. When it comes to the story, it never really does anything new. The best description I could give the series is that it's "baby's first shounen". Any new anime fan would love this series but as someone who has watched his fair share of shounen, it just doesn't hit for me. Not to mention the villains which admittedly don't have a lot of sauce due to some of their actions unfortunately not being as graphic as they could've been. Will himself is a pretty heroic person and he doesn't ... really have a lot of flaws. He has some intrusive thoughts leak out here and there but it's not big enough to make a dent in his character.

What a waste of incredible animation. Despite having a beautiful fight scene every episode so far I can’t help but be incredible bored the entire watch. An extremely generic premise and world that beats you over the head with the tired trope of a “talentless” protagonist (who is never actually talentless) coupled with some pretty grating performances and childishly on-the-nose dialogue. Even the action that LOOKS amazing never actually makes me FEEL anything. The first and third fights are just against generic golem-ish monsters, while the second one actually had him fight a mage, it’s marred by the setup which was just plain stupid. It’s ... guised as a test but he doesn’t even get a chance to grab his weapon? How is that supposed to be fair in any way? And then his friend ends up tossing it to him like I’m supposed to be feeling something when the big moment of triumph is just him getting a good item that beats magic. The hero did not accomplish anything there. He just got lucky that his buddy was around to give him his anti-magic sword.

This anime is a pleasant surprise.

The 2024 year has been FILLED with great fantasy anime with famous manga/novel background; Mushoku Tensei, Tensura, Konosuba, Dungeon Meshi etc. Wistoria in other hand as far as i know, is not that famous. This anime surprise is that not so famous novel/manga has animation quality that rival those with a famous manga/novel background.



The bad:
-The premise of this anime is really cliche; "the seemingly useless guy is actually really strong and he wants 'the strongest people' tittle." (but this time they add "so he can be together with his girl" but that doesn't really matter). It's not very interesting.


...
The good:

-The direction. This anime has a cliche premise but the way they wrap it, makes it 'good' to watch. The direction also helped the world building by not explaining it in a long scene, but rather chopped it and spread it between episodes and with argueably short sentences plus great visual and animation and effect and the object they decide to pan or animate is very good and make it fun to watch. But it doesn't end there. those things i just said also apply to the fight sequence.

-The Fight. The fighting/action also uses good; visual, animation, effect, sound plus the direction to create amazing fight sequence.

-The Animation. The first thing you prolly gonna realize is that the animation is absurdly good. They picked the correct color to animate this and the minor detail of the world get a lot of care and attention, and the most surprising is how the keep that quality through out the episode and it makes you feels like you are watching a sakuga the whole episode.

conclusion:
This anime is really worth the watch if you are not an elitist who really only care about story and physically can't watch anime with cliche story.
even though you consider yourself as an elitist, i still recommend you to watch at least a single episode.

Last words:
this is an early review and im really wondering if they can manage this kind of quality the whole anime and not just the first three episode.

even tho i put this as 9/10, i really think this anime is as for now 8/10. But just because this anime is really enjoyable for me, i put it as 9/10

Have you ever imagined what Black Clover with consistently good animation would be like? Well, look no further. Wistoria:Sword and Magic is unapologetically inspired by the popular Jump series and Oomori’s other work Danmachi. It’s an underdog story featuring a protagonist who has all the odds stacked against him and finds a way to persevere, refusing to settle or compromise on his ambitions. Everyone loves a good underdog story and this is one of the best ones you’ll see. If you liked the idea of Black Clover, but maybe couldn’t get into Asta screaming so much at the start or the God awful production values ... from Pierrot for most of the season, Wistoria is a great option. Conversely, if like me you loved Black Clover and Danmachi and just want more of both of those worlds mixed together with great characters and amazing fights, this is the way to go.

Wistoria’s episode 1 is hands down one of the best episodes of anime I’ve ever seen. Directed by Yoshihara Tatsuya who worked on you guessed it, Black Clover, it is truly a feast for the eyes and a visual spectacle that perfectly sets up the magic and wonder of this world and makes you want more. Wistoria takes place in a world where magic is everything and those without it are looked down upon. Will’s journey to follow after his childhood friend and ascend the tower as a magia vander is compelling and you can’t help but root for him in the face of all the discrimination he endures. As usual in these sorts of shows, the MC gets bullied at the start and then ends up saving everyone who doubted him’s asses and that trope will never get old to me. The idea that people treat you poorly and look down on you just for being different and then next thing you know, they need your help. Will and other MC’s are better than I because I’d have left all of them to die in those dungeons, but I digress. Will is an incredibly kind person, at times to his detriment but he’s faithful to his values and determined to get to his friend’s side at the top of the magical world.

There’s the obvious Black Clover and Danmachi shades, but Wistoria also has a lot in common with another of my faves, Nanatsuma or reign of the seven Spellblades. Taking place in a magical school with a dungeon underneath where students often go to explore and push themselves, underdog MC, emphasis on the importance of teamwork, etc. When watching this I couldn’t help but wonder how Nanatsuma would’ve faired with this sort of animation quality. The studio really did bring this magical world alive and make you want to know more and more about it each week.

A big part of the appeal of this show is how good the animation is and it really is great. the action scenes all have film quality, they’re fluid, weighty and convey the sheer scale of power that’s used in this world. Episodes 1, 5 and 11 being my favourites with 11 being on par with 1 if not surpassing it thanks to the incredible OST. The standard art and designs of the show also look great though. Even when characters are just hanging out and doing mundane stuff it feels like you’re watching a movie. Staff did an incredible job here and I can’t wait for the second season.

Wistoria’s not the most original story, like I said it’s got shades of a few existing shows, but it frankly looks and handles a lot better than them which gives it an advantage. Let’s face it. This is ANIME, so animation quality is just as important as storytelling in this medium. Artistically, this is one of the best shows of the year and pushes the envelope on what we can expect from seasonal adaptations. Even with that though, I like the story as well, generic as it may be. Will, Colette, Sion and the others grew on me a lot as the season went on and by the end I found myself desperately wanting to know more about the antagonists and who was behind certain events in the show. It’s definitely got a lot of story left to tell and I’m looking forward to season 2!

Wistoria gets 9 wands out of 10.

Yet another show with school setting and competition as main event. Yet another character who is blue eyed angel working five jobs, is loved by everyone, making no mistakes what so ever, living his life without a speck of anger even though he's bullied daily. Yet another blatant and obvious love interest for our ever-so-blind main character who is secretly overpowered but people don't know that because they are all judging fish by its ability to climb a tree.

Problem is, this fish is stale and it's starting to smell bad. Same idea regurgitated thousands of times with slightly better execution which is not a result ... of talent but repetition. From episode to episode nothing will happen. We will see a speck of daily life, our main protagonist will get bullied in every episode guaranteed, then we'll get some glimmer of his power and thirst for revenge but he'll once again bend over and make yet another rage inducing cliff hanger.

Art is the biggest trait here. Everything indeed is pretty to look at, but that's about it. The rest is not bad, but it's uninspired and uninteresting. Even predictable because this story has been told hundreds of times. It's "Mashle" but without good humor and self-awareness, it's "The Irregular at Magic High School" but without actual action, it's many shows without their actually interesting parts. It's boring and stale.

Only reason am giving this a mixed feelings review is that show keeps promising something will happen, but then it never does. Who knows if this ends up being 24 episodes and suddenly becomes not boring. Unlikely but possible.

Right off the bat:
Animation – 10/10 (guys, just teach me how to use Maya like that, damn...)
Music – 6/10 (well, it's not bad)
Story – 2/10 (very typical but if that was the case I would've given it a 4 or 5; however, in this case it pretends to be super serious and becomes pure cringe)
Overall – 5/10

Ok, so the MC, Will. Will, will Will will Will Will's will? Anyway... Kind of like the guy from Mashle but at least he has a positive IQ. But in exchange for his positive IQ he's a crybaby, and yet the strongest student physically. How does that work? Don't ... even ask me, jeez. So he can defeat a freaking SS-rank monster (speaking in the MMO terminology) but can't give a good beating to some of his "friends" so that they stop fucking around with him. Why? Oh, that's because he's K__I__N__D. His heart is bigger that your M... Actually, no, nothing can compete with that, you're right.

The teachers at the academy are annoying af, but that's kind of realistic, I guess, at least for me, because in my country you can only be on good terms with your university teachers if you bribe them (or if you're female – do some "pillow job", so to speak). Thefore, respect for realism.

Every student around Will just seems to pay too much attention to him – if he's as useless as you claim, then why don't you just leave him alone? All his so-called "friends" are also very stereotypical: there's a guy who's all high-and-mighty because he thinks he's cool, there's another guy who's a hothead and always wants to fight with the MC (oh, god, that's why I don't like Shounen, bruh), then there's are girl who is in love with the MC and nobody knows why, let alone explains it somehow. And, finally there's his roommate who is indeed a REAL MAN, and together they could do some REAL MEN'S STUFF, but unfortunately the MC seems to be into girls. Oh, wowsers, zomg teh drama.

When I was watching it, I was skipping some parts because I was like: "Yeah, I know where this is going. Ok, skip, skip..."

If I were to over-simplify this anime, I would call it a non-funny version of Mashable.

MC goes to a magic school but is magically inept, however
People look down on the Mc Because he cannot use magic.
MC is extremely OP without the use of magic. This time, instead of punching things, he slashes things.

What drives the MC is to find a way to graduate to be with his love interest, who already graduated at a young age. Thus, he must endure the humiliation and struggle of not having magic, and of course, he gains the girls' interest along the way.

Overall, this anime is like many ... this season, average.

What stands out is that I enjoy the art and the combat scenes. They are very well done, and I wish the story could help carry them.
The story is what I would call.. "playing it safe." It is nothing unique, nothing controversial, just a standard anime with nothing to get excited about. I would like to see where it goes later; maybe there are some dark twists and turns that bring it to life.

For now, it's okay. It might jump up in my ratings or stay in the average world.

MID Season update: Actually no real update, the plots and twists are predictable and nothing has yet to keep me excited to watch the next episode. I suffer so you do not have to, my friends.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword — An infusion of many battle Shonens that both impresses and disappoints, I'm having a ridiculously hard time trying to mix those elements together.

Ever since the release of mangaka Yuki Tabata's Black Clover onto the anime scene in Fall 2017, that has since become the NEW de facto standard of the once-Weekly Shonen Jump juggernaut that grew into the big franchise as it is today, it was the camel that broke the straw's back to set expectations for new Shonen works from that point forward. And from that point on, the Shonen genre market has been flourishing all the more, for ... better or for worse, with series like Shingeki no Kyojin a.k.a Attack on Titan reaching its conclusion, Jujutsu Kaisen still raking its fame (though at this point is nothing but the butt of jokes on mangaka Gege Akutami), and the lil' ones like mangaka Hajime Komoto's Mashle: Magic and Muscles having its parody take on the Shonen formula.

And if you need any reason to doubt that the Shonen genre is on its way to death and beyond because of its tried-and-true tropes that authors didn't want to reinvent that formula too much, look no further than Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria a.k.a Wistoria: Wand and Sword, serialised in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shonen magazine, and written by one of AniManga's most successful authors: Fujino Omori of Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka a.k.a Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? fame. DanMachi, like Black Clover, has cemented its own success as a long-running franchise since the anime came out back in Spring 2015, and is easily one of the best Shonen series that I've ever experienced for the past decade (regardless of its different AniManga mediums from the LN, manga and the anime), and the masses would agree despite its stumbles along the way. So, before the anime series returns this Fall for its long-awaited Season 5, let's take a gander at this side project that he and illustrator Toshi Aoi have cooked for us, that is the bonding of Black Clover and Mashle: Magic and Muscles to become Wistoria: Wand and Sword, which started its serialisation after both series in December 2020.

If you're not one to get invested into its story and world-building too much, all you need to know is that the world of the series is essentially Mashle, with its Divine Visionaries plot being the full authority of its school to protect the peace in the land, and that its world is defined by magic and magic alone; nothing else could replace the system as it is. For if someone has the qualities of Mash Burnedead, who's all strength and no magic, or even Asta, who's got the bad luck of a five-clover magic sword that only imbues masses of evil, that person would be immediately singled out, chastised, tormented, and bullied for all their life. And said person is yet another of VA Kohei Amasaki's MC trifactor maestro mainstay for the Summer season, Will Serfort. His lack of magical aptitude (much like Mash and Asta) made him the butt of all jokes within the magic school that he attends: Rigarden Magical Academy, even going as far as his infamy around the academy for wielding not magic wands, but swords instead. The academy that pretty much functions like Mashle's Easton Magic Academy, serves to train, develop and harness future Divine Visionaries called Magia Vander to succeed those who've gone before them and continue that legacy of prior generations. And Will is one of the many in the myriad of its 6-year-generational students who hope to become the next Magia Vander, more so for the fact that one of his childhood friends, Elfaria Albis Serfort, is one such Divine Visionary for being the youngest Magia Vander who specialises in ice magic and created a dozen original spells that's unheard of, thereby labelling her as a prodigal musician and leading the Ice faction of said group. It's a cliche plot for crying out loud, but at least it's a unique and very good setting, if a touch too safe for its own good.

And what's the goal between the two childhood friends? Will must rise above the ranks to become a Magia Vander, all while Elfaria (or Elfie as nicknamed) just sits at her high throne in the Tower, doing nothing but slack as her responsibilities gets pushed to her subordinates, awaiting the day when she can be reunited together with Will as not just her foster brother, but of a very clear love interest. One thing's for sure, these two characters were certainly made for each other, like DanMachi's inseparable hero-deity-duo of Bell Cranel and goddess Hestia.

Alas, this is where I find most of my problems with the series: it's just stereotypical cliches and tropes done time and time again, that nothing is ever done to feel it being unique outside of the Shonen formula. At first, I thought that Fujino Omori, after gaining the experience to write a compelling MC like Bell Cranel, would do the same for Will Serfort, but it turns out that he, more than the inklings to Mash Burnedead, or more similarly with Asta for that matter, is just written like a stereotypical Shonen character, with nothing that truly makes him stand out other than his "justice righteous" character of note that his hard work precedes even the strongest magic. I was actually hoping that Will would have more of a brethren in comparison to Bell Cranel, but I was completely fooled at that thought as Fujino Omori didn't really leverage anything to show him as the underdog that while could defy expectations, just did not have a hint of personality (other than his awkwardness and strive under pressure that's just like Bell) that could get us to root for him, even in the worst of adversaries, while in his ultimate goal to ascend the Tower and reach Elfie, thus making them a bona-fide power couple. Will's just a flawed character, but a REALLY flawed character, who WILL throw hands if he needs to bring down the people who underestimated him.

And as if this offending easy mistake couldn't get any worse, just look at the supporting characters around him, which is just things that you CAN do in a Shonen series, but that you CANNOT remain the status quo in a Shonen series as well. Even series like Black Clover and Mashle had this recurring issue, but at least the sum of their problems isn't this egregious enough to cause a rift in the enjoyment factor of their series. You have the usual characters ranging from the usual love interest of classmate and close friend of Colette Loire who takes care of Will when everyone shuns him; to the various infighting of egoistical, one-dimensional "villany" students the likes of classmates Sion Ulster (specializing in fire magic), Julius Reinberg (specialising in ice magic, just like Elfaria), as well as Wignall Lindor (specialising in wind and illusion magic). I'd argue that Wignall at least has a character standout moment as someone like Will who is shunned by his elf dwarvens because of his weak magic, and he too mirrors his relationship with Elfaria with one of the fellow Magia Vander, so there's that. Even with the teacher professors that both recognised and hated Will's prowess to do the near impossible, they still see a potential to push him and oversee his progress in the magic amalgamation that is not just all about wands, but a lone sword as well that makes Will different from the rest. For sure, Will carries the series along its tug of plot devices in the big picture, and that act of justice and righteousness to accept "the enemy of my enemies" as they are, proves to the masses that Will Serfort is someone not to be underestimated nor trifled with, using the Power of Friendship to rally his cause forward, just like any other Shonen series.

I'd always see the day when the known adage of "animation carries the show" will come to strike many Shonen series that has come and gone, the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen, and Wistoria has done this trope, but to perfection. And you can thank the person who made all of this possible: Tatsuya Yoshihara. The director now famous for his work on Black Clover, he's the reason why this show works in the production department, with slick animation and bombastic Sakuga to boot, even if he hard carries the show both in its directorial input and series composition with his staff team, with the collab between Bandai Namco Pictures alongside one of the many subsidiary studios of Actas. And it wouldn't be a mistake to say that Wistoria definitely needed someone the likes of Tatsuya Yoshihara to even out the playing field with what J.C.Staff has been doing for DanMachi for years now, and what can I say? It's great and shows how the famed director has come thus far since his days directing Black Clover.

If you need a music composer who can execute the Shonen feels, look no further than Yuki Hayashi. The music composer famous for his work on Boku no Hero Academia a.k.a My Hero Academia's OST, and a fair few others the likes of Haikyuu!! to Gundam Build Fighters, he's your go-to when it comes to understanding what makes a Shonen series stand out regardless of their content, and he did Wistoria justice with a captivating OST that just feels oh-so-similar to Black Clover. I have nothing but the biggest praise for Yuki Hayashi, because like animation, music also does help provide the atmosphere for the series they are stemmed upon, and he just nailed the anime like he so does with prior series and franchises under his belt. But what I can't say aptly is the choice of the OP/ED songs. Penguin Research's OP song is just typical Shonen standard fare, and is honestly quite forgettable, as much as TRUE's ED is alright but nothing noteworthy.

In the end, I find myself conflicted at what Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria a.k.a Wistoria: Wand and Sword want to achieve being part of the now oversaturated Shonen AniManga playing field. On the one hand, while its animation prowess cannot be denied, everything else is just cookie-cutter standard Shonen things that you've seen time and time again. And honestly, IMO, it just gets boring of new seasonal shows doing the same-in, same-out, and Wistoria is one of the many shows bucking the trend that it ends up being the victim of its own success.

It's either for you if you're the type to like stereotypical Shonen shows, or it's just not for you if the standard Shonen trope isn't to your tastes.

I'm not the type to absolutely hate something very often, but when I do, it's overrated garbage-heap anime that are generic but try to be different, but then do the exact same formula as all other basic reversed roles action fantasy anime.

"Wistoria: Wand and Sword" is mainly bad since it had potential, some of the best anime are ruined by their unrealized potential by the original Manga/Light-Novel authors or by the main director of the anime adaptation. I'll be honest, I never read the manga for this anime, and I hope that the manga is different from this anime, since this has immense potential that ... I never seen fully utilized.

I will start with the good:
1. Great Animation and Fight Scenes:
The animation is, without a doubt, superb. Whether it's the dynamic fight sequences or the meticulous detail of each setting, the art does an excellent job of setting the mood and immersing the viewer. I have to commend the team for this—it’s visually engaging and fluid, especially during the battles.

And... well, that’s where the praise ends.

1. Cliches, Tropes, and Generic Personalities:
Wistoria feels like a mishmash of every overused shounen fantasy trope thrown into a blender, and the result is something that’s both unoriginal and frustrating. This is like a smoothie, but you put in a bunch of weird ingredients to try and be different, and one of those ingredients spoils the entire drink and ruins the enjoyment from it's consumption. In essence, this means that this is just an MC that's just shoved into another environment to just be different, not to make an interesting story.
Lets think this over first eh? The MC is a sword-fighter who dreams of becoming a wizard, but he’s completely inept at magic. So why is he enrolled in a magic academy that emphasizes magical combat? It makes no sense. His teachers acknowledge that while he’s intelligent, he’s not suited for battle magic. They even suggest he’d excel as a theoretical mage, focusing on research or writing instead of combat.
To put it in simpler terms: it’s like a high school teacher who’s great at explaining physics but can’t conduct groundbreaking experiments themselves. They might be excellent at teaching concepts, but that doesn’t mean they should be competing with top-tier physicists on actual experiments.
The problem here is that the MC’s situation feels contrived and lazy. He doesn’t really evolve as a mage; he remains primarily a sword-fighter throughout. So why is he at a magic school rather than a school for swordsmanship?

2. Horribly Generic Characters:
The characters are just as lackluster. The protagonist, your typical “poor-but-kind” underdog, gets bullied because of his lack of magical prowess but somehow scrapes by due to his sword skills (plot armor, anyone?). He’s essentially a stock “different but special” character we've seen many times before. His struggles don’t add depth; they just feel like a rehash of familiar tropes.
Then we have the school’s antagonists, a parade of copy-paste arrogant mages who look down on non-magical people. Their disdain is so over-the-top that they feel less like characters and more like caricatures. It’s lazy writing that manufactures cheap melodrama instead of creating compelling conflict. These antagonists are insufferable not because of clever writing, but because they’re predictable and one-dimensional.

3. Could've Been Better:
This critique applies mostly to the characters. They all come off as one-dimensional and lack the depth needed to make them truly engaging. Are they the worst I’ve ever seen? No, not by a long shot. But the characters, much like the rest of the show, feel limited and underdeveloped. Because of this, I can’t recommend Wistoria to the average viewer—there are simply too many better shows out there that offer more in every category.

5/10, Wish it was better.
[Thanks for reading!]

Look Wistoria is the most stereotypical Anime alive. It contains every Shounen anime trope imaginable: Lame MC who is actually a sleeper OP character, childhood orphan love story, side chick who loves MC just cause, boy's love, mean side characters who end up becoming friends with MC through MC being a saint, etc etc

BUT, that's what makes this anime so great. It's like going back to a cheeseburger after eating all this gourmet, weird anime that's been going around. But this cheeseburger is the best damn burger created. The stereotypes come in but you don't feel they are forced or unnatural. The visuals are movie-quality ... in the first few episodes and the Harry Potter/Mashle/Black Clover plot is done well without much fluff. Action scenes are hype and well-animated. Story progresses at a nice pace leaving you wanting to watch the next episode.

People talking like they are above anime tropes remind me of the food critic from Ratatouille. Yall need to get off your high horse and stop looking down on anime just because it's not deep.

I'll be honest idk why this has a high rating at all. One of the most boring MCs I've seen in a hot minute, with the same "I can't use the main power system in my world" gimmick that seems to be so popular recently. Meets the same "you can't use __ so I'm better than you" that's also present in every series like this. Immediately shoves harem in asap. The art is fine I guess, but even though it looks nice it still feels like its missing something.

Character design is boring visual novel garbage, reminds me of a mobile gacha game. Music ... isn't really bad but its just bland which is a bad thing in any piece of media because being forgettable is bad. The story is so boring, without spoiling, its just "climb the tower because I told you to." Which is normally fine, like I love naruto, onepiece, black clover etc, but I mean they literally just want to climb a tower. Again the MC is SO boring like, I would literally bully them.

TLDR: It has the same tropes as every other fantasy anime with a mc that can't use magic. Only difference is that the other shows that use this cliche actually have interesting characters, side goals, unique fun art. It looks fine but still feels lacking, the music is okay but unmemorable (bad), Basic ass story too.

Every anime that exists has an "Artistic Style" in its production, while some often copy others, there are rare animes that try to become unique.
If I had to say something that Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria has of "unique artistic style", it would be the composition present in the animation, with a certain fluidity in moments of action and along with a striking soundtrack, the anime in itself becomes pleasurable to watch, even though the plot is average at best, If you're not picky enough, this anime is the one for you.


Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria is an anime that has a generic plot, the ... story focuses mainly on Will and his goal of reaching the person he loves, while he does not have the same requirements as the other characters of this magical world (he can't use magic), ends up being neglected by some students and teachers, with its potential being underestimated for much of history.

This type of plot is something quite typical in shounen animes, it's almost as if it were a "copy" of some other animes, where there is always a protagonist who suffers from not having the same requirements that most of the characters have, so the others decide to intimidate the main character, but he surprises them later in the story showing that training can make them strong, and soon after this type of protagonist would surprise everyone... Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria it's that kind of anime, only in a fantasy world. This type of story is so common in isekais and fantasy anime, that honestly when this type of story comes out as an anime adaptation I'm like: why? Again this?

I just made it clear what type of story you will watch and as justification for my rating later to of read this in full. In short, the story is boring, it seems like a copy, there is no originality in the plot, and if it weren't for the animation, soundtrack and direction, this would be a terrible anime in all.

The characters could save this...but that doesn't happen in this anime. From dialogues aimed only at belittling the protagonist, or in interactions that are shameful to follow, the characters They can't hook you in any way. Basically the interactions between the characters are: one character hates Will, so intimidates him, wants to fight against him or simply wants to get in the way of his goal(reach the person she has loved since childhood), Soon after this the fight occurs, and Will proves that he is strong leaving that character who wanted to harm him speechless; already others, those who accept Will, act with sympathy and do their best to help him in his goal.And that's it, there's not much more to say about other characters besides Will, none of them deserve to even be mentioned here, as they don't have much importance to the point of you liking them, I read the manga a little, and given the current chapter I'm in, I can say,no secondary character is explored enough to be "interesting", basically they exist only to help or hinder Will, there is no clear development in these characters. The only "notable" character among them in the story, in terms of development, is Will, the author simply doesn't care much about exploring other characters' writing.

Now talking about the animation style,I personally like the visuals of this anime, from the fights that have an above average level in their composition in the fight scenes, with a constant movement of the characters in scenes like the one described, as well as in moments where the angle of characters while talking gives the anime a visually beautiful style, and also what I liked most about the animation: the shading style, I like how the studio at times in the anime, there is shading in the character design, giving them a sophisticated appearance, basically the animation mixes light and dark tones in the characters with a certain polished animation during the process which made it, for me, something visually beautiful and unique. In general, the animation is great, the studio involved put excellent effort into composing the artistic style of this anime, being the main highlight of Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria, its animation being fluid and exotic.

About the sounds:Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria also stands out in its sound composition, from the soundtrack played during fights or in tense moments, placing emphasis on precise moments like these, making, for example, fights in epic moments.The dubbing is average, personally I didn't really like the voice of some characters, like Will's voice, which sounds like a child's, even though he's a teenager, but overall it's not something that is terrible. The opening song I also don't think is very striking, even though the visuals are beautiful, as for the closing song, I found it more "good" compared to the opening. Talking about anime sounds, whether they are bad or good, is It's something personal, it depends on each person, but in general the sounds of Tsue to Tsurugi no Wistoria are acceptable, especially the soundtrack, which is beautiful.

In general, When I think about the positive and negative points of this anime, I think that this anime, even though it is generic, with bad characters, the artistic style of the anime makes it worth watching, It's more like a "pass time". I recommend this for people who like fighting anime with above average animation. but in writing value, if you're expecting something intellectually interesting, this isn't for you, it's a good anime to watch because of the animation and fights, just that and nothing more.

This show is painfully generic, to the point where it feels like a project designed purely for an animation house to flex its muscles, without any thought given to substance. The characters are boring, the plot is boring, it's just Mashle mixed with Black Clover, played 100% straight. There are occasional moments where the plot shows a few signs of life, but it's almost instantly buried under a mountain of insipid dialogue. I really cannot imagine why more thought was not given to how to make this show interesting, given how much love and care clearly went into the animation, which brings ... me to the basis of my tenuous recommendation-

The animation is truly gorgeous, to the point where I would recommend anyone watch the first 3 or so episodes purely for the animation if they care even a little bit about that kind of thing. The animation quality dips very hard at episode 4 anyway, with a modest return to form in 5.

The cat is also very cute. I will probably finish this show based on the animation alone, which is impressive given that I'm usually a story and character first kind of guy. I'm mostly just sad that so much love and care didn't get poured into better material.

This anime has been a huge let down for me. The world is interesting, the animation is rarely 3D and generally pretty good imo, the fights are nice... but the premise and characters, MY GOD the characters. This is basically a Mashle clone in the sense that our MC has muscle instead of magic in a world where casting spells reigns supreme, but he has the personality of Midoria instead of dense-as-fuck Chad Thundercock.

I really was excited when this anime started, because I hoped it'd scratch the itch Mashle left me with upon seeing s2 being more comedy than action. I wanted to ... see a serious OP MC knock the shit out of some spell casting prissies, but instead we get twink "I'm sorry for standing in your way" four-eyes WHO ISN'T EVEN ALLOWED TO USE HIS POWER HALF THE TIME! Imagine if all your classmates got to walk around with guns, but the school said you couldn't carry a knife because it's too dangerous- that's the logic Wistoria is operating on. I'm gonna give this another ep or two to see if the MC actually grows a pair, but I'm probably gonna drop this by ep 6.

This anime has been really enjoyable. It's one of those animes that just sneak up on you and in time you're like wow.

It's one where I'm not necessarily like "I need to know what happens next now." But I have watched it every week and have not been disappointed.

It's kinda like if My Hero was a My Hero Magic Academy and Mashle without the comedy. But still very different from those shows.

I think if you enjoy fantasy academy type animes with a dungeon aspect to it you'll enjoy this. It's a great anime and if it's for you you will like it. ... If it's not for you I think you'll know by the 1st or 2nd episode and that is okay!

I truly don't understand all the praise that's coming this show's way. There's no way anyone who watched past the 3rd episode would give this anything above a 5. It's so very average that it can only really qualify as kind of entertaining. I guess. Will is a pretty standard good hearted shonen protagonist. The only defining qualities that he really has is that he's really submissive and pretty pathetic. His character doesn't do much development over the course of the show aside from some moments where he gets a little angy. He's just this kind of effeminate, floaty, and kind kid who serves as ... an underdog the whole show. His motivation is pretty weak as well, it seems to just be that he's in love with the ice girl (I don't remember her name) and that he wants to stand beside her, which is pretty plain to me. He also is just this kind of tank in the show, where magic attacks don't really have much effect on him besides scratching him and making his mouth bleed for some reason. He can also Break through metal and ice pretty easily. They never really give a good reason for his tankiness, which makes for some pretty eye-roll moments during many of the fights where magic attacks basically just bounce off him or go right through him. The other characters are pretty much copy pasted from other magic school battle shonen. You have the hot headed bully that secretly respects the mc, the airheaded, but genius/super powerful love interest, the secretly gay, but popular friend, and the powerful mages that just smile all the time because of their confidence in their ability. Show unfolds in a pretty predictable manner in which will proves himself through various battles in front of his classmates, but the pacing isn't bad. What really disappointed me was the drop off in animation from the first couple of episodes. It started off with this beautiful animation, stuff on par with black clover and takt op destiny, and then it drops down to basically average animation. That was the main draw of this show for me because the art looked amazing at first. Overall just an average shonen, entertaining, but nothing of substance here really.

Oh! A simp driven story, here it goes.

Story: Will Simp Serfort, a magic less 16 year old boy dreams to become a great magician (magia vander) with a sword instead of a wand, just so he could reunite and be lovey-dovey with his childhood friend/crush AND WATCH THE SUNSET TOGETHER!!!! WTF!?

No wonder the professors and the other students who have actual dreams of becoming something meaningful in their pathetic lives are mad at him. Naruto and Asta would be ashamed.

His actions would be understandable if the female protagonist is in grave danger waiting to be saved, but no, she's sitting pretty atop a ... tower like a princess waiting for her simp knight on a date!

The author could learn a thing or two from Subaru Natsuki or Guts.

The set-up is good; underdog mc, the childhood friend, the childhood promise, the academy, the bullying, the looming danger, antagonists that you would actually hate, friends, etc., but, the only concern is the main character's drive ~ he's a certified simp. 🤦‍♂️

It hurts to watch female side characters who has more character development, who will give their all, who would sacrifice for a simp that won't even look their way. At least our virgin boy Bell Cranel is a ladies man.

Hopefully, still, the story would turn into something good, given that it's not finished yet, if he could just change his dreams and aspirations to be more meaningful as he grows older.

For now, lets give him the benefit of a doubt because he's still quite young.

2/10 depends on the outcome.

Characters: the story is too early for me to judge, except for simp mc.

Art: loved it, the character designs, the background, the fluidity, it's good in it's own way.

8/10

Music: So so..

7/10

Overall: Meh, enjoyed the first episode, but after his declaration that he's a certified simp in the second episode, I suddenly lost interest.

3/10. I don't even know if I'll continue this.

Laid out masterpiece in the making.
Yes, this anime have potential to be the masterpiece classics level in the making. With very high quality and passionate staff, good laid out story, and very strong world building. This anime got everything good throwing at it.

Recommend for: World building, Directing, Production Quality, Character, Story
Not Recommend for: If you don't like the bullied but secretly OP character troupe.

Full review:
First of all, let me praise it world building, because since the first episode has aired, it got me thinking every time I watch this show of how incredible the world is. It's not a reach for me to say that ... in 1 ep it's event (in my bias opinion) better than Frieren for the whole season. Coming from the writer of Danmachi, I knew this will be a good world building, and it is. If you like mixed mythology, un-answered lore, and classist social system and history to strive for, this is the world for you. [10+/10]

Next, the directing and production quality of this show is STUNNING. I do not say this lightly when I tell you that this show got some of the best directing, pacing, framing, camera work, and lighting of this season. Sure this might not got the most flashiest of scenes, or animation so fluid that Archimedes would be jealous of. But every single second of this show is beautiful in its own unique way. The moving fabric of character cloth details, the sky, the architecture, and the scenery, is breath taking. [10/10]

Lastly, the story and the character. Right now, it's pretty average. I can see people don't like this story and character styling, because it's the same ol secretly OP got bullied in a classist society where some arbitrary skills define your worth (aware). But this feels different, and that's wholly because of the cast. The Protagonist is the main reason of this, he's not some overlly dumbo, nor overyly good, he just, himself. This make many character in this anime shines through in its own way. The close friend are just there cuz the writer want them to be their, there's some reason to it as well (se ep 2), so overall feels very natural writing and story development.
For the future of the story, I can see this expand into a truly wonderful one, because there's an established "end goal", foreshadow big event and lore, and established characters for it to take places. [9/10]

There's not really a con in this show, other than if you don't like the troupe, or you walk in expecting something you shouldn't, like comedy or something. So Overall, this is a very enjoyable show to watch, great potentials, great visual, and impactful story.

My rating as a fantasy anime: 10/10
My rating as overall anime: 9.2/10