English Dub Season Review: Wistoria: Wand and Sword Season Two

When it comes to magic-school anime, there’s nothing more enticing than watching a student with no magic skills exceeding doubters’ expectations.  This was evident through my experience with Little Witch Academia, a show involving a girl’s relentless pursuit of becoming a witch.  Now, it looks like I may have found another favorite in the subgenre featuring magic-less protagonists, with its second season cementing this conclusion further.  Wistoria: Wand and Swordhas the familiar ingredients seen in other magic-school anime, including its coming-of-age tropes, magic battles, and a protagonist’s quest to reach the top despite their shortcomings.  At first glance, it may seem like another standard fantasy anime that’s copying off the success of familiar shows and even Harry Potter.  However, it turned out to be one of the shows that effectively uses those narrative ingredients to make it more engaging than it has any right to be.

With its likable hero, mix of fantasy action and comedy, and surprisingly impressive presentation, the first season of Wistoria proved that both wand and sword can be equally magical.  In short, I was pretty impressed at how much I liked this seemingly throwaway anime about a magic-less student carrying a sword.  This led to my anticipation for season two, which sees Will Serfort reaching the next chapter of his journey to reunite with his childhood friend.  Unsurprisingly, I wasn’t left disappointed with the result, though I would also say that this is a mild improvement over season one.  One reason is that the season didn’t slow down in terms of action and stakes, notably in the first four episodes, which involve an attack during Terminalia.  They highlight the formidable nature of Marze and Headless through the devastation they left on its residents, though they only appeared in those episodes and just disappeared for the rest of the season.  However, they also showcase Will’s development, with the crucial aspect being that he can use magic with his sword, which leads to his ascent to the tower with the other students.

You might be thinking that Will using magic defeats the purpose of his struggle to graduate from magic school with only his sword.  Fortunately for us, that’s not the case, as its driving factor is still his goal of reuniting with Elfaria. But of course, there’s still some hint of discrimination against Will, despite people acknowledging his courage and new power.  In a way, it still shows Will proving to the doubters that his swordsmanship has its place in the world of magic, mainly the Magia Vander, by adapting to the balance of his sword and the magic that’s hidden within him.  This element emphasizes not just the show’s compelling and refreshing approach to its familiar formula in terms of characters, but also its presentation.  Regarding the character designs, page-to-screen translations, and engaging action, the animation continues to dazzle me, much like Will shows off his impressive skills as a magic-infused swordsman.  Actas and Bandai Namco Pictures further proved to be the proper studios capable of adapting the source material without relying heavily on presentation shortcuts.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword became an unexpected, magical surprise for me when it first came out, given the trend of projects involving magic academies.  With its second season, it not only proved that there’s still some magic left in its storytelling but also delivered a mild improvement over what we usually see in the first season.  Marze and Headless don’t make much of an impact aside from the first four episodes, though they did drive Will to uncover more about himself.  Besides that, its character moments, including Will and Julius’s brief “partnership”, and stunning animation further cement the series as one of the most surprising hits of the subgenre.  Although it may not have ended the way we hoped, it left us eager for what awaits us in season three, which was recently announced near the tail end of season two.  So, we should expect the return of the magical swordsman pretty soon, though it would be interesting to see if the next season will continue the show’s ascent to greatness.