A Returner's Magic Should Be Special

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A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special is one of those rare manhwa that hooks you immediately with its premise and keeps delivering chapter after chapter. The story follows Desir Arman, a mage who, after witnessing humanity’s defeat in the Shadow Labyrinth, is sent back in time to his academy days with all his memories intact. This “second chance” narrative sets the stage for a thrilling blend of strategy, magic, and character growth.

What sets this series apart is its clever use of magic and world-building. Instead of relying solely on flashy power-ups, Returner’s Magic emphasizes wit, preparation, and teamwork. Desir’s intelligence and resourcefulness make him an ... unusually compelling protagonist, especially compared to the typical overpowered hero trope. His relationships with his friends—Romantica, Pram, and others—are heartfelt and bring real warmth to the story, giving weight to the stakes beyond just survival.

The good: The story starts great. I especially love the characters' development. The world-building took its time.
I started with this manhwa but then switched to the novel right after the third arc, then back to the manhwa. The manhwa author took some creative liberties with his adaptation. I'm glad to see his art improve during serialization.

Now for the bad: The manhwa author took his freedom too far, too many chapters, story, and plot changed significantly. Usually, I appreciate creative freedom as long as it can be tied together nicely at the end, but I don't understand why. I know this manhwa author can craft a ... good story; his storytelling is great! However, either because he is indecisive, too biased, or too lazy, the story of A Returner's Magic Should Be Special deserves a good ending.
Yes, the ending should conclude the story, whether it’s good, bad, or bittersweet. A Returner's Magic Should Be Special is all about Desir and his companions, so we should see how their story concludes. instead we got nothing.

Thanks to the A Returner's Magic Should Be Special manhwa, I’ve come to love this story, but I would 100% avoid any further adaptations by this manhwa author.

I "only" read 150 of the 268 chapters, so read my review with some scepticism.

Pros:
- It is colored, decently drawn, decent effects and distinguishable characters.
- The concept of redoing your life (even in a high magic society) is compelling.
- The character motivations are pretty clear and defined.

Cons:
- This is technically no an isekai, but it does follow a lot of the power fantasy tropes.
- The compelling twist of the main character Desir having prior knowledge due to having lived this life already, is quickly abandonned by his action changing the time line.
- The mahnwas go to surprise mechanic, is that Desir knows something the reader ... and his companions doesn't, uses this knowledge to win an encounter and then explain the details after. This gets stale rather quickly.

Conclusion:
- I rated this a 4/10, thus putting it in my "slob" range of 4-6. I will never finish it, reread it or remember it as anything worthwhile. After reading Solo Leveling (which I rated 6/10 and recommended) I can say that I am probably not the target audience for the modern eastern power fantasy, but I did enjoy Solo Leveling more than this, which is why I won't recommend it. If you are an above average enjoyer of isekais, then this title might sate your hunger.