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.
