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Title: Wisteria's Wand and Sword (a.k.a. Wistoria of Wand & Sword, Wistoria of Wand and Sword, Wistoria's Wand and Sword, Wistoria: Wand and Sword, ตำนานดาบและคทาแห่งวิสตอเรีย, 杖と剣のウィストリア, 지팡이와 검의 위스토리아)
Genres: Action, shonen, science fantasy, fantasy, action, adventure
Author: Oomori Fujino
Artist: Aoi Toshi
Publication: Published by Kodansha, serialized in Bessatsu Shounen Magazine
Start Date: 2020
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 30
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 30
Note: Oomori Fujino is also the author of DanMachi a.k.a. Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka a.k.a. Is It Wrong to Seek an Encounter in a Dungeon?
General Overview:
Will, a talentless sword, chases after Elfaria, a talented wand, in a world where humanity lives under a self-sealed sky. The world's fate marches towards a prophetic doom's day. A day when the seal breaks and the heavenly invaders descend to submerge the world in darkness. The Five Magia Wende (Supreme Magic Wands) renews the fake sky annually to extend humanity's grace time. But the boy's concern is only to stand beside a girl who stands numbered among the Magia Wende.
Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 9
Aoi Toshi is a very talented artist. His style is very consistent throughout the manga. His attention to details is impeccable. We see this in the design of the clothing and emblems. Aoi Toshi has to ability to draw sharp angle perspective (top down, bottom up) and line-of-sight (vanishing point) scenes very well. The only thing that I have seen which is an oddity is that Aoi Toshi doesn't add nails to hands and feet in most scenes (I counted 3 panels with finger nails and 1 with toe nails). Why detail faces, clothing, accessories, background but skimp on nails? And that's why it's an oddity. Like I said, Aoi Toshi's art style is impeccable save for that one oddity.
Plot: 8
The plot's beginning is reminiscent of Black Clover and contain many prevalent science fantasy themes like a magic tower and a dungeon. Will and Asta have no talent in magic or according to their respective societies conception of magic. Both characters wield swords. Wisteria's Wand and Sword begins at Rigarden's prestigious magic academy. Oomori Fujino's conception of the academy grading system is ingenious because it helps drive the plot. Rigarden's point system is an accumulation of points rather than a GPA system; in an accumulation system, it's technically impossible to accumulate all the points but passing requires a much lower amount. Will's goal is to reunite with Elfaria, but he needs 7,200 points to graduate Rigarden's magic academy. And even before meeting Elfaria, Will has to receive authorization to climb the tower which requires earning 12,000 points to enter into the Upper College. Being a shounen manga, typical school activities drive Wisteria's Wand and Sword's plot within the 30 chapters. The pacing for the plot is quick which has also quickly created plot holes. Personally, I enjoy the story telling of Wisteria over DanMachi. DanMachi and its side stories can have too much third person narration rather than have the plot tell the story.
Chapter 30 finishes the first season or introductory arc. It seems like the introduction has wrapped up so we'll see how Oomori Fujino progress the story.
Characters: 10
Will Serholt (Selfort) - The main protagonist of the story. He has no talent for magic, but makes up for that in physical combat prowess. He reminds me of Asta and Mashle. All three begin with no talent in magic whatsoever and all of them are physically strong. At the academy, he's called incompetant by other students. Will's design seems more realistic and relatable than Asta and Mashle; Asta and Mashle were also designed for slap stick comedy relief. I'm glad Will's design didn't fall in line with that. Will and Asta are also underdogs when compared to Mashle. Will exerts effort and his existential anguish can be felt.
Elfaria - Will's childhood best friend and one of the five Magia Wende. Her specialty is ice magic and she is called the Embodiment of Laziness. Elfaria has natural talent for magic and a genius from a very young age. Her design though is questionable. Girls around Will's and Elfaria's age do not have such the voluptuous body i.e. Colette.
Wakner - a teacher at Rigarden's magic academy. He acts as Will's academic counselor and coach. Wakner also gifted Will a carbuncle as a familiar. There connection as a teacher and student is very strong and Wakner is very proud of Will and his abilities.
Edward - a teacher at Rigarden's magic academy and a person whose magic prowess is closest to the Magia Wende. He climbed the tower, saw the truth, and descended. Edward has a very arrogant and snarky attitude but some may wrongly confuse his attitude as discriminatory. His favorite lines is "truly a lamentable thing." Edward wears black and has black hair making him similar to a Harry Potter character.
Colette or Corette Rowal - Will's school friend, and she hails from nobility. Colette is an honor student who defends Will from other students like Theon. She starts to develop a crush on Will.
Rosti Naumann - Will's room mate and a magic engineer. He has a romantic interest in Will and a love rival to Colette. Rosti developed tools and gadgets that help Will scour the dungeon.
Theon Ulster - a fire mage who utterly detests Will. There's a hint that Theon might have a crush on Colette but nothing really transpire. Theon agrees with Edward's stance that Will should leave the academy.
The other races are dwarves and elves. There appears to be no beast kins. There is a potential other-worldly race which is foreshadowed.
Theme:
Oomori Fujino adds in the usual themes such as a magic world, magic academy, bullying, tower, a misfortunate world, racism against non-humans, discrimination against non-magic users and you can't forget about the dungeon. The author was able to craft a story with a bit more realism than other stories. Having the strongest magic doesn't matter if you can't detect your enemies so there's more tactic to being a mage than blasting big spells. Wisteria's Wand and Sword has more emotional depth and realism than a typical shounen. Certain cast members are not quite as 2D as the readers are initially lead to believe. I think older teens and adults can relish the depth of the manga here than younger audiences.
Originality:
Oomori Fujino's inclusion of an accumulation point system as the primary grading system in a school system is very original. I don't recall an academy or school that primarily uses an accumulation based system. And in the manga, the accumulation point was able to drive the plot in crucial areas. I'm glad it was not overly exploited to create long drawn out sub-plots. And I appreciated the pace of the plot. In some other works, the author creates a rough transition in the plot that's hard to follow. What I like about Wisteria's Wand and Sword is what I really wanted from Black Clover: a protagonist whose power remains innate rather than relying on a deux ex machina plot device i.e. demonic power. And this innate power wasn't something like a spectacular power like a demon fox. What we have instead is where Will cultivated an uncanny spirit that never gives up and to face challenges head on despite lacking magical talent. Most notable about Will's character is his reliance on other people regardless of their disposition to him. These qualities about this main protagonist made reading Wistoria's Wand and Sword a breath of fresh air. Will is the underdog, he strength comes from his own personal resolve, and he relies on others from the very beginning.
Overall: 8
Wistoria's Wand and Blade is a fantastical story. It's a very enjoyable read that has depth to it. The plot moves fast but it's quite dense. I recommend this series to those that enjoy action and adventure and science fantasy.
Genres: Action, shonen, science fantasy, fantasy, action, adventure
Author: Oomori Fujino
Artist: Aoi Toshi
Publication: Published by Kodansha, serialized in Bessatsu Shounen Magazine
Start Date: 2020
End Date: Ongoing
Number of chapters at review: 30
Number of chapters read by reviewer: 30
Note: Oomori Fujino is also the author of DanMachi a.k.a. Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka a.k.a. Is It Wrong to Seek an Encounter in a Dungeon?
General Overview:
Will, a talentless sword, chases after Elfaria, a talented wand, in a world where humanity lives under a self-sealed sky. The world's fate marches towards a prophetic doom's day. A day when the seal breaks and the heavenly invaders descend to submerge the world in darkness. The Five Magia Wende (Supreme Magic Wands) renews the fake sky annually to extend humanity's grace time. But the boy's concern is only to stand beside a girl who stands numbered among the Magia Wende.
Category Ratings: (1-10 scale)
Art: 9
Aoi Toshi is a very talented artist. His style is very consistent throughout the manga. His attention to details is impeccable. We see this in the design of the clothing and emblems. Aoi Toshi has to ability to draw sharp angle perspective (top down, bottom up) and line-of-sight (vanishing point) scenes very well. The only thing that I have seen which is an oddity is that Aoi Toshi doesn't add nails to hands and feet in most scenes (I counted 3 panels with finger nails and 1 with toe nails). Why detail faces, clothing, accessories, background but skimp on nails? And that's why it's an oddity. Like I said, Aoi Toshi's art style is impeccable save for that one oddity.
Plot: 8
The plot's beginning is reminiscent of Black Clover and contain many prevalent science fantasy themes like a magic tower and a dungeon. Will and Asta have no talent in magic or according to their respective societies conception of magic. Both characters wield swords. Wisteria's Wand and Sword begins at Rigarden's prestigious magic academy. Oomori Fujino's conception of the academy grading system is ingenious because it helps drive the plot. Rigarden's point system is an accumulation of points rather than a GPA system; in an accumulation system, it's technically impossible to accumulate all the points but passing requires a much lower amount. Will's goal is to reunite with Elfaria, but he needs 7,200 points to graduate Rigarden's magic academy. And even before meeting Elfaria, Will has to receive authorization to climb the tower which requires earning 12,000 points to enter into the Upper College. Being a shounen manga, typical school activities drive Wisteria's Wand and Sword's plot within the 30 chapters. The pacing for the plot is quick which has also quickly created plot holes. Personally, I enjoy the story telling of Wisteria over DanMachi. DanMachi and its side stories can have too much third person narration rather than have the plot tell the story.
Chapter 30 finishes the first season or introductory arc. It seems like the introduction has wrapped up so we'll see how Oomori Fujino progress the story.
Characters: 10
Will Serholt (Selfort) - The main protagonist of the story. He has no talent for magic, but makes up for that in physical combat prowess. He reminds me of Asta and Mashle. All three begin with no talent in magic whatsoever and all of them are physically strong. At the academy, he's called incompetant by other students. Will's design seems more realistic and relatable than Asta and Mashle; Asta and Mashle were also designed for slap stick comedy relief. I'm glad Will's design didn't fall in line with that. Will and Asta are also underdogs when compared to Mashle. Will exerts effort and his existential anguish can be felt.
Elfaria - Will's childhood best friend and one of the five Magia Wende. Her specialty is ice magic and she is called the Embodiment of Laziness. Elfaria has natural talent for magic and a genius from a very young age. Her design though is questionable. Girls around Will's and Elfaria's age do not have such the voluptuous body i.e. Colette.
Wakner - a teacher at Rigarden's magic academy. He acts as Will's academic counselor and coach. Wakner also gifted Will a carbuncle as a familiar. There connection as a teacher and student is very strong and Wakner is very proud of Will and his abilities.
Edward - a teacher at Rigarden's magic academy and a person whose magic prowess is closest to the Magia Wende. He climbed the tower, saw the truth, and descended. Edward has a very arrogant and snarky attitude but some may wrongly confuse his attitude as discriminatory. His favorite lines is "truly a lamentable thing." Edward wears black and has black hair making him similar to a Harry Potter character.
Colette or Corette Rowal - Will's school friend, and she hails from nobility. Colette is an honor student who defends Will from other students like Theon. She starts to develop a crush on Will.
Rosti Naumann - Will's room mate and a magic engineer. He has a romantic interest in Will and a love rival to Colette. Rosti developed tools and gadgets that help Will scour the dungeon.
Theon Ulster - a fire mage who utterly detests Will. There's a hint that Theon might have a crush on Colette but nothing really transpire. Theon agrees with Edward's stance that Will should leave the academy.
The other races are dwarves and elves. There appears to be no beast kins. There is a potential other-worldly race which is foreshadowed.
Theme:
Oomori Fujino adds in the usual themes such as a magic world, magic academy, bullying, tower, a misfortunate world, racism against non-humans, discrimination against non-magic users and you can't forget about the dungeon. The author was able to craft a story with a bit more realism than other stories. Having the strongest magic doesn't matter if you can't detect your enemies so there's more tactic to being a mage than blasting big spells. Wisteria's Wand and Sword has more emotional depth and realism than a typical shounen. Certain cast members are not quite as 2D as the readers are initially lead to believe. I think older teens and adults can relish the depth of the manga here than younger audiences.
Originality:
Oomori Fujino's inclusion of an accumulation point system as the primary grading system in a school system is very original. I don't recall an academy or school that primarily uses an accumulation based system. And in the manga, the accumulation point was able to drive the plot in crucial areas. I'm glad it was not overly exploited to create long drawn out sub-plots. And I appreciated the pace of the plot. In some other works, the author creates a rough transition in the plot that's hard to follow. What I like about Wisteria's Wand and Sword is what I really wanted from Black Clover: a protagonist whose power remains innate rather than relying on a deux ex machina plot device i.e. demonic power. And this innate power wasn't something like a spectacular power like a demon fox. What we have instead is where Will cultivated an uncanny spirit that never gives up and to face challenges head on despite lacking magical talent. Most notable about Will's character is his reliance on other people regardless of their disposition to him. These qualities about this main protagonist made reading Wistoria's Wand and Sword a breath of fresh air. Will is the underdog, he strength comes from his own personal resolve, and he relies on others from the very beginning.
Overall: 8
Wistoria's Wand and Blade is a fantastical story. It's a very enjoyable read that has depth to it. The plot moves fast but it's quite dense. I recommend this series to those that enjoy action and adventure and science fantasy.
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