English Dub Season Review: The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Season One

Based on the Japanese light novel series written by Kurokata and illustrated by KeG. The story follows Ken Usato, an ordinary high schooler, who wishes for something fantastical to occur in his unremarkable life. Such an opportunity arrives when he is transported to another world alongside Kazuki Ryuusen and Suzune Inukami, two prodigious members of his school’s student council. Arriving in Llinger Kingdom, the three are deemed to be the heroes tasked with stopping the impending invasion by the Demon Lord’s army. However, this is a misunderstanding—Usato was summoned by accident and, unlike his two friends, is not one of the heroes.

Despite this disheartening revelation, Usato learns he has an aptitude for the extremely rare healing magic. This catches the attention of Rose, the intimidating captain of the kingdom’s Rescue Team, who forcibly takes custody of Usato to mold him into a full-fledged healer. As he undergoes grueling training under Rose’s supervision, Usato resolves to become capable enough to protect his friends from the dangers of this world.

On the technical side, This Anime adaptation was produced by Studio Add and Shin-Ei Animation and directed by Takahide Ogata, with Shogo Yasukawa in charge of series composition, Keiji Tanabe as character designer, and Elements Garden as music composer. The opening theme song is “Cure”, performed by Waterweed, while the ending theme is “Green Jade”, performed by ChouCho.

In the grand tradition of isekai tales, the story centers on Ken Usato, an unassuming high school student yearning for something extraordinary to break the monotony of his ordinary life. One day that particular desire sort-of comes true when he and his two classmates Kazuki and Suzune all get transported into a magical medieval castle setting with magic and monsters. While initially mistaken as one of the heroes destined to save Llinger Kingdom from the Demon Lord’s army, Usato’s true role becomes apparent: he possesses a rare talent for healing magic. This discovery catches the attention of Rose, the formidable leader of the kingdom’s Rescue Team, who takes it upon herself to train Usato into a capable healer.

You’d think in a fantasy/adventure setting, being a healer would be a low-level shit-job or useless in physical combat, yet the most interesting aspect is Rose’s unorthodox training methods which push Usato’s healing powers along with his physical abilities to superhuman feats. Realistically, the way you build muscles in a workout depends on how fast your muscles heal after they get damaged during hard physical activity. Now try to imagine how strong you could become if you could instantly heal yourself after a workout. It’s a clever idea that certainly lives up to the show’s title as it’s an unusual yet creative solution nobody thinks about when it comes to this particular genre.

While the plot occasionally succumbs to predictable tropes, the strength of the show itself lies in its characters. Usato’s journey of self-discovery, coupled with his evolving relationship with Rose, forms the emotional core of the series. Heck, within 13 episodes of this season, two whole episodes are dedicated to showing the backstory of Rose, which is an emotional one. Thankfully this backstory helps the audience understand her personality better and makes her character even more likable. The relationship between Usato and Rose exemplifies an ideal master-disciple dynamic. However, some side characters lack depth, in terms of narrative cohesion. For example, I found the princess’s character lacking. She had very little impact on the story, apart from being flirtatious toward Kazuki whenever she appeared on screen. Unfortunately, their relationship had practically zero progress.

The animation isn’t anything spectacular with the occasional random still-shot or shaky-cam in certain episodes, but it maintains a clean and functional style throughout. The sound design, including well-animated insert songs and a creatively crafted end-credits song, helps elevate the viewing experience as a whole. 

Overall, while this show may not completely offer anything new that the Isekai genre hasn’t already done before, At the very least, the story and characters were delivered with solid execution with an emotional episode or two. At the time of this review, Season Two hasn’t been announced. But if it ever becomes a reality, I look forward to seeing Usato’s Journey and how far him and his friends will go in their respective pursuits…