Wistoria: Wand and Sword was an anime this season that may have never caught my attention had it not been for Tatsuya Yoshihara directing it and handling its script. That being said, the series has grown on me exceptionally for a multitude of reasons after its series finale. It doesn’t go without some criticism because the series isn’t perfect but it felt like a fantasy action series that I enjoyed to the fullest. So it’s not surprising that Wistoria Season 2 was announced.
The series’ strong suits lie much within the creative direction and its characters. Learning that the series would be bringing in other staff members from the hit anime series Black Clover, my production mind was already intrigued to see how well this would turn out. And, I have to say, it was pretty damn solid.
Wistoria: Wand and Sword doesn’t go without its downsides. Rehashing the same character tropes and rushing certain storylines almost made it feel as if the original source material didn’t know if it would be continued for a long period of time or not. The battle between Sion and Will undoubtedly could’ve built up to something greater down the line while the Grand Magic Festival arc itself felt completely rushed in its entirety.
Moving from the bully that is Sion to another bully in Julius just to give Will another person to put on his back felt a little dull. The animation production, specifically in Will’s fight against Julius, was no doubt a spectacle to behold. But, like I said in my review of The Elusive Samurai, high-quality production can only take a script so far. Luckily, Wistoria provided audiences with much more than flashy animation and creative direction.
There’s an array of perks to Wistoria that many fans can gravitate to. The series has lovable characters. There’s a pinch of mystery to the characters and their origins other than simply love interests, despite it being there too. It has plenty of action for fans who enjoy some intense battles. And the story developments turned out to be entertaining. They’re not Attack on Titan level, but they’re exciting in their own ways—the music composed by Yuki Hayashi, Luke Standridge, and Asa Taylor only makes it much more hype.
Will is an easy-to-root-for main character and that’s huge for this kind of anime. If the main character isn’t interesting, the series falls apart from the jump. Unlike Mashle: Magic and Muscles, which this series has also drawn comparisons, the female characters are also much more than simply damsels in distress or basic love interests. Elfaria is Will’s love interest, sure. But she’s also part of the Magia Vender and a mage prodigy. Lihanna and Colette are both respectable mages in their own right.
Unlike other series from this season, we didn’t get a firm grasp on who the main villain is early on, and some could see that as a downside to the series. The flip side is that the villains in this don’t even consider themselves as “main” villains. Yet, they’ve shown how ruthless they are and there’s still much more to explore about them. Sure, Will had to overcome his bullies and others who looked down on him for not being able to use magic. But I feel like that should’ve been a running B-plot of something that could’ve been an A-plot of the story. So in that regard, it all depends on what a viewer likes.
Dungeon series aren’t necessarily my forte so perhaps someone that has a passion for these kinds of stories could shed a brighter light on its positives and negatives. But after watching DanMachi up until its latest point, also from the same creator (Fujinori Omori) as Wistoria, I can definitely make some side comparisons. That being said, I much prefer the cast from Wistoria than I do from DanMachi and it’s only in its beginning stages. So I think Omori has hit the nail on the head with that aspect of Wistoria‘s story.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that Wistoria had a drastic fall-off after the first few episodes but the dip in fan ratings from, say, episode 2 to the end of the season does reflect the series in a small way. Some episodes weren’t great, others were utterly incredible. All in all, Wistoria: Wand and Sword still held on strong this season as one of the summer’s best new anime and ended on a grand note. I wouldn’t outright say any series from this season was close to perfect, but at least Wistoria: Wand and Sword had many elements that could make it a summer fan favorite for some.
If you enjoyed Wistoria: Wand and Sword then make sure you vote for it in the Anime of the Season poll!
©Fujino Omori, Toshi Aoi, Kodansha/Wistoria: Wand and Sword Production Committee.
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