It's been a very long time since a series could make me feel so fixated and interested in a world. I have been meaning to make a review on "Magus of the Library" or "Toshokan no Daimajutsushi" in quite a while, but never really had the time, but now that i have, i will write to my hearts content.
STORY (10/10)
The story it's one of the main traits of this manga. "To protect the books is to protect the world", said the "Great Magus" of the past, doing exacly that. Knowledge is the most powerful weapon in the world, however, knowledge alone does not suffice to create a better future for us all. Something this manga does great in demonstrate is how the "powerful" and "wealthy" tend to try and manipulate the flow of information and create a "doctrine" by sorting the books the masses can or cannot read. And thats where the "Kafnas" of the "Central Library" comes in, punishing said acts with an "iron fist".
The "Central Library" is stationed in "Aftzaak, the City of Books", where most of all books reside, and also, the people that "tend to" or "protect" them, the "Kafnas", who are divided into 12 offices, each with an individual duty related to the books.
"Knowledge alone does not suffice to create a better future for us all". Indeed, and thats where "Magic" comes into play, however, at the moment, the story have not explained about it in great depth. But, thats understandable, to a certain point, because most of the people in this world either does not have or have a very "small" amount of "mana". I feel like the manga, at the moment, is approaching a very important part of its story, especialy in the latest chapters, with the appearance of certain characters. I am very enthusiastic to what comes next in this journey.
ART (10/10)
This series have one of, if not the most amazing background illustrations that i have ever seen. How does anyone have the time to draw all of the tiny details, it is unreal. It's downright inspiring to look at the deserts, the tall buildings, the small shops here and there, the wildlife, the mountains and the rivers. Especially with the various races of people that existes, all of them have different cultures and folklore, which is even more work to make all the different styles and customs for each.
Definitely an easy 10/10 for this part of the review.
CHARACTER (10/10)
All of the characters have their own personality and interests, that is to say, they feel unique. Well, at least the main ones anyway. They are all lovable and charismatic, even the ignorant and rude bunch exist to create a sense of adversity, that the world is not such a sweet and pretty place, and that the races once had wars with each other, which can still be felt after these dark periods with the discrimination shown by them.
The protagonist is also extremely interesting. He is very inteligent, to the point that it becomes scary, however, its a different kind of inteligence. He has a impeccable way of making people like him. Part of his success in that sense comes from his interests in learning othes cultures and costumes, even the language. That way, he's seen as someone very open-minded and friendly, even to others discrimination towards his ethnicity, as he is a "very rare" kind of mix between two other races that hated each other.
ENJOYMENT (10/10)
I really enjoyed and will probably continue to as this series progresses. As i said, a long time has passed since a "Fantasy" series like this one made me so interested in it. Now, i don't know if my interest in this manga comes from it really being a incredibly written story that holds it's on whatever other series it tries to compete against, or if it is because, in this day and age, a "Fantasy" series that is purely fantasy, with a deep world building and characters is so rare that it ends up inflating my interests due to a lack of others series of the same caliber.
Well, whatever it is, my emotions for this one in particular are not a lie, and i indeed believe that its one of the best mangas out there and definitely a must read for anyone.
