English Dub Review: The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World “The Boy Who Became the World’s Strongest Sorcerer Begins His Practical Exercise”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Ray begins his life at the academy and the baptism in the ways of the noble folk. Having decided to fully experience all that he set out to do, he applies to the Environmental Research Club and the Gardening Club. At first, his request to join the Gardening Club is rejected on the basis that he’s not of noble birth. But then the student council president, Rebecca Bradley, extends the offer for him to do a test instead. Meanwhile, a spy from the empire has infiltrated the academy…

Our Take: 

It’s no surprise that Ray made it through the first day at the academy without any problems. Sure, he does get ridiculed a lot due to his normalcy, but at least he gained some friends who quickly accept him for who he is. More importantly, he does so without revealing himself as the missing Iceblade Sorcerer. Although, it appears that Abby is the only one who knows Ray’s identity due to her working with him in the past. This week’s episode shows Ray tackling another huge obstacle as an ordinary student in an all-magic school: joining a club.

The episode consists of Ray joining two clubs to fully embrace his everyday life. One of them is the Environmental Research Club, consisting of fitness enthusiasts called Hunters seeking dangerous environments to train in, thanks to Ray’s Gold-class hunter license. The other is the Gardening club, with Ray turning a field of weeds into a flower garden to impress club secretary Dina and student council president Rebecca. The plot also has Ray competing in a forest skills course with the other students while learning of an imperial spy infiltrating the academy from Abby. 

The previous episode delivered a fine start to the series, even though its formulaic elements constantly plagued it. One of those elements, in particular, is the similarities between Ray White and Ard Meteor from Greatest Demon Lord, the characters who reincarnated into ordinary humans following their tragic lives as powerful beings. Unsurprisingly, the trend continues with other similarities, including Abby knowing Ray’s real identity, similar to Demon Lord’s Lady Olivia recognizing Ard as Varvatos. But, if that’s not enough, the episode sees Ray maintaining his powerful abilities to a minimum and concealing his true nature to avoid suspicion, with him passing himself off as an ordinary country boy.

It’s a safe bet that these similarities might continue to be a nuisance as the season progresses. However, what matters is how much the enjoyability of its plot and scenarios can overshadow the show’s derivative narrative. While I’m still not convinced about the direction the show’s going, the second episode maintained my interest in the series for a tad longer regarding Ray’s guilt from his past and its humor. Additionally, Amelia seems to be catching on to Ray’s secrets when she sees that he defeated the monster in the forest alone. However, that would have to wait, as a mysterious spy already made things difficult for the former Iceblade Sorcerer.