English Dub Review: Wistoria: Wand and Sword “Wand and Sword”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Led by wand and sword, Will strikes at the Grand Duke, but even its defeat may not be enough to grant them escape from the dungeon.  Meanwhile, Workner and Edward race to reach them in time, but things look bleak.  Still, Will isn’t the one to give up.

Our Take:   

Will’s profound power at the end of last week’s episode truly earned the subtitle “Wand and Sword” when he used it to defeat the Evil Grand Duke.  Despite this hard-earned victory, however, the praxis concluded on a dour note, especially with the death of eleven professors.  We also learned why the mysterious mages, Marze and Headless, have infiltrated the academy: to retrieve a mysterious sword called the “mage slayer”.  If my guess is correct, we could see these two again in the show’s second season, which was announced last month.

After the praxis’s thrilling conclusion, the season finale spends its remaining runtime on the aftermath and introduces what we could see in the next season.  Following the praxis, Will encounters Finn, a member of the Finn Tribe, a group that shares a common trait with him.  They can’t use magic, but they compensate with a vast knowledge of dungeons, making themselves guides for dungeon explorations.  At least Will won’t be the only magic-less person at the academy, which is enough to make him feel less lonely.  As for the “mage slayer” swords, Finn made it much more evident that these unique weapons were part of hidden experiments occurring in the dungeon.  

I doubted how I would feel about Wistoria after watching the first few episodes.  Obviously, it was due to the concept being similar to Mashle and even Little Witch Academia, mainly regarding its magic-less protagonist.  However, I started to turn around after the start of its second half.  Sure, its formula wasn’t unique, and the supporting characters are downright obnoxious, especially Sion and Julius.  However, its protagonist’s journey and surprisingly solid animation had enough merits to make Wistoria stand alongside other anime with similar concepts.  Is it enough for me to check out its second season?  I’ll provide that answer in my upcoming season review.