English Dub Review: Wise Man’s Grandchild “The Mightiest Corps of Magicians Ever”

They really couldn’t think of a better episode title?

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Shin and his Magical Research Society have revealed themselves to the kingdom and vowed to serve as the protectors of the people. They will be the bulwark that stands against the demonoid threat. Not long after their announcement, a flare goes up signaling that a nearby town is under attack from a demonoid threat. Without hesitation, the Magical Research Society dons their gear and flies to meet battle with the demonoids.

Once they arrive, they see that the town is already in ruins and demonoids are roaming the streets. The squad splits up to cover more ground in teams of two. The pairs of mages soon encounter all the different demonoids populating the ground. They take them head on and, one by one, defeat the demonoids without much difficulty. That is, however, except for the case of Fabro, a demonoid who has a magical item that lets him cast barriers to defend himself from the attacks of August and Maria. However, by sending blast after blast against Fabro’s shield, he eventually falls.

With the lesser demonoids defeated, reinforcements soon arrive in the city. Miria, a particularly powerful demonoid, shows up to test the mettle of the Magical Research Society.

Our Take:

This episode of Wise Man’s Grandchild is, as you might expect, just as wretched as all the rest. Unoriginal, vanilla and poorly executed, this sad excuse for an “action episode” is just a reminder that it doesn’t matter how many flashy effects you put on the screen if your cast of characters is as memorable as a packet of toothpaste. I couldn’t care less about anyone present in this battle, even though there is some focus placed on the accessory members of the Magic Research Society. They are so unimportant that I have constantly refresh myself on who these people are since they have so few distinguishing character traits to help me remember their names. Unfortunately for Wise Man’s Grandchild, having a unique haircut doesn’t make you a good character.

One thing that immediately alerts my critical senses this episode is the piss-weak excuses for “Demonoids” this show has decided to go with. Though I don’t expect much from this series, already, there has been some implication that demonoids are creatures of some intimidating presence, as everyone seems to be terrified of them. Yet, despite having every opportunity to do something cool with the design of these creatures, this show has opted to make them little more than angry thugs with red eyes. I can’t think of lazier art design that I’ve seen in a show. Anime is a medium that prides itself on its creativity and ambition. You can do things here that other forms of animation in the west are often incapable of. But this show decides to waste a potentially cool monster by going with the budget-friendly option. I can’t say I’m surprised, but it’s just another indicator that this show isn’t about telling a good story, it’s just about making some cheap money.

This episode is ugly, boring and pointless. Nothing of note happens to save for the easy destruction of a few goons by some of the most overpowered teenagers in history. There’s no tension, the pacing is terrible, and the animation keeps taking every cheap shortcut possible to save on budget. Which, of course, means that we have an episode that looks as cheap as the story is. It’s fitting, I suppose, that the visuals are as melancholy as the rest of the show is, but it doesn’t make them any better to watch. The best thing now would be for a freak dimensional shift in the multiverse to erase this show from existence, so we wouldn’t have to suffer through any more of its episodes or be burdened by the memories of its terribleness.