In a medieval European setting, the story follows Lucas (earlier translated as Ryuka), who was abandoned by his parents and taken in by the leader of a mercenary group. He grows up to be the group's bugle player but wants to leave the group to become a musician. Lucas is also ridiculed by others in the mercenary group not only for his dream but his other two notable features as well – his claims of "seeing" the music he plays and the horn-like branch extending from his head. One day, the group is enlisted in a battle, but the opposing army is not quite what they usually fight. It is led by a guy with a very long helmet who sends a single fighter against an entire army. This fighter also has a branch like Lucas, can throw around horses, and takes on a whole army by herself.
The story establishes itself from this point onwards as a fantasy setting where warriors with superpowers exist. At first, I wasn't on board with it because I expected a grounded war manga (something like Berserk Golden Age arc) and thought it might devolve into mindless fighting series without taking advantage of its setting and such. But this manga didn't take long to dissipate these worries and establish its unique identity.
It immediately sets up the world's mysteries, the superpowers of these people called Rami, an end goal for characters to achieve and their unique motivations, political intrigue & faction politics, an overwhelming threat they need to combat, and an excellent cast of characters. Only a few have gotten the focus on them so far, but everyone has been compelling in the short time they have gotten. Lucas is a good protagonist because his circumstances force him to change and adapt to different situations in wars without removing his initial character as a kind boy who wants to be a musician. But as much as I like him, the standout character here is the Pope. He is at the forefront of all conflicts in the series, but everything about him is shrouded in mystery (even when something is revealed about him, it just raises more questions). I have always loved such characters who always have more going on than they let on (Makima, Askeladd, Johan, Koro Sensei), and his character is similar in that way.
I have to talk about this series' biggest appeal and pull: its fantastic power system. I love when the powers in a series are simple and straightforward. This reduces the room for cop-outs by revealing/adding something new to the existing vague powers and corners the writer to be more creative with the limited tools. Here, some powers are as simple as being able to levitate very light items, seeing at a distance without moving, and making others see lines in the sky – none very useful in a war, but the writer uses them in such creative ways that are mind-boggling but at the same time very much in the scope of reader's imagination. And some obviously strong powers like super strength and super-fast speed have serious drawbacks preventing their abuse. The writer has done a brilliant job of balancing out all these crazy powers, which is a big reason why all the battles in this manga are so interesting.
Sensou Kyoushitsu is not a very popular manga, but I can see it being popular in the future because it is a series rife with potential in-depth discussions about its characters and battles, as well as theorizing for its numerous mysteries. This is undoubtedly a series that demands readers' attention simply by being awesome. Hopefully, it gets out of its current "cult" status and finds more mainstream success soon because I haven't seen a series that deserves it more in a long time.
