Forum - View topicWistoria: Wand and Sword (TV).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11388 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Wistoria: Wand and Sword (TV) Source: Manga (ongoing @ 10 volumes by Fujino Ōmori) Demographic: Shounen Animation Studio: Actas Bandai Namco Pictures Genres: action, adventure, comedy, drama, fantasy Themes: aristocracy, bullying, discrimination, medieval, monsters, school, social stigma, sorcery, superpowers, swordplay Plot Summary: Will Serfort dreams of keeping his promise to a childhood friend by becoming a Magia Vander, one of the mighty magicians who sit atop the Wizard's Tower. However, he is unable to cast even the simplest of spells, leaving him to fight dungeon monsters to earn credits at Regarden Magical Academy. As if that weren't enough, he finds himself putting his sword skills to the test against a bullying professor. Air Date & Platform: July 7, 2024 (Sunday) Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Pending Last edited by Tony K. on Sat Jul 20, 2024 3:38 am; edited 3 times in total |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2396 |
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And there is the third surprise of the season. From the description of Wistoria: Wand and Sword I kind of expected an okay anime at best filled with lots of cliches and some okay animation. What the first episode offered was a setting that indeed has plenty of cliches yet it still manages to be interesting enough (though not anything amazing either) despite them. As for the animation and presentation...they sure went a hell of a lot harder than I expected them to. Everything looked very crisp/charming with lots of effects and the movement with in particular the fights looked damn good.
It also occurs to me that we have a lot of anime with dungeons this season: Wistoria, Dungeon People, Exploration Hero, Failure Frame and from what I remember of the manga Raising Kids While Adventuring too. |
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Edjwald
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I think I might have been in a bad mood when I watched this anime, or it was just one of those cases where things didn't vibe, but I wasn't feeling this first episode at all, and I'm going to rant here a bit. Anyone who wants to accuse me of overreacting is welcome, because I probably am.. The animation is awesome, and the overall look is slick, but to me, the show got knocked out by a one two punch of poorly portrayed good guys and bad guys. And make no mistake, it was good or bad, with nothing in between.
The Harry Potter look was so derivative that I found it a little annoying. I also kept fervently wishing for a pair of animated hands holding garden shears to reach out of the side of the screen and snip that forelock or hind lock or whatever that bizarre hair growth was coming out of the MC's head. The MC came across more as a theme with arms and legs to move him around than a real person to me. Bel annoyed me at the beginning of Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, but he had more personality than this lump, and I rooted for him because he really was weak and persisting in spite of that at the start. This guy isn't starting out weak. He's a monster feeling sorry for himself. The bad guys were so over-the top despicable that it seemed less like scenes to have emotions about than openly manipulative button pushing. The Snapes wannabe teacher did everything but grab a claw hammer and smash the MC's hands on the table in front of the class. It was #$%$ing ridiculous. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2396 |
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Yeah, the show is as subtle as a hammer to the face in regards to the characters. You either support the mc and are thus a good person or you are Hitler with not a shred of decency in regards to the Harry Potter look-a-like. I suppose it is written that way to have them later change and thus make that development a very obvious one? Maybe it would have been nice to have a bit more build up to get to know some of the characters a bit before dividing them between good guys and Hitler.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11388 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Based on the key art, I was expecting low-to-mid budget production, not to mention the designs and color scheme give me (A) Returner's Magic Should Be Special vibes, but wow. Don't let the poster fool you! The animation is legit.
So far, this feels like a less comedic/satirical and more dramatic version of Mashle. Mash is ridiculously overpowered, which I feel adds to the fun and zany nature of that franchise. Will in this show, however, seems to have more of a chip on his shoulder with the whole promise-to-fight-by-my-childhood-girl theme and actually reminds me of a mix between Kafka from Kaiju No. 8 and a little bit of Rock Lee from Naruto. I do enjoy me a good underdog story, so it'll be cool to see how a warrior amongst a society of magicians works out. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23997 |
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Episode 1
This show has the potential to bite me in the ass. I enjoyed it enough that I'll watch more, but I get a dread feeling like it might have enough gas to get me to episode 6 before it starts to irritate the living hell out of me by which time the fallacy of sunk cost kicks in and I watch it to the end only to solidly curse myself for once again letting a So-So title slurp up some of my precious time. We'll see. I hope they explain why a willowy reed like Harry Potter has super human strength. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2396 |
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Not Snape sure had his panties in a bunch this week. I get part of why he does not want to accept the mc since he is rather devout in his belief that magic should reign supreme above all else. That said, he still went too far and to not give a swordsman a sword to fight with is just plain unfair when said person has no magic to use either. Satisfying end to the fight though and the animation looked spectacular once more.
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Gisan Otaku
Posts: 97 |
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Well, Seven Spellblades it isn't, but it is still a better magic school series better than HP. I think I may watch this for another couple of weeks to see how it develops before I decide to drop it or not.
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Tony K.
Subscriber Moderator Posts: 11388 Location: Frisco, TX |
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I think this is a very compelling series, so far. The high production value helps a lot, but I personally find the discrimination and social stigma elements to be the meat and potatoes of Will's endeavor. Earlier, I said he reminded me of Kafka from Kaiju. At this point, however, when Will said he wanted to be by the one he loves, I actually felt this big sigh of relief in that he was just so blunt about it. I like that he doesn't beat around the bush and just drives himself on pure determination. Kafka's a bit like that too, only way goofier. Will's contrast of un-goofy is a nice change of pace.
I'm kinda' wondering how Elfie looks a lot older than 15, though. Did the Magia Vander ascension mature her body a little? Because she seems awfully stacked for a 15 year-old. Then again, that could also just be anime/manga fan service logic. At any rate, I'm hoping Sion gets his comeuppance. Although, I suppose his humiliation of being saved by Will is just eating away at him. Wouldn't surprise me if he turns a new leaf, at some point. I get a feeling that this'll turn into a similar kind of situation as Returner's Magic, where a small group of the students will eventually have to come together against a greater evil or something, then let their differences be bygones. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2396 |
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Huh, the third episode is a bit of a weird one in that it feels like the proper introduction in some ways yet the calm before the storm episode at the same time. Given the pace of things and the alarming news at the end I very much suspect that shit will hit the fan relatively soon. I somehow doubt that the relatively calm school days will last all that long.
Otherwise the episode had more amazing animation, Will used one heck of a cool magic tool to counter a high rank ice monster and it seems like their society if very much a class based one. Finally, I am a sucker for magical items such as an animated newspaper. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1380 |
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Welp, facing an anime wasteland between Sunday and Wednesday, I went back to Wand and Sword on the off chance that I was too harsh on the first episode, and I kind of think I was. I still don't know if I was in a bad mood or if the first episode really did feel like it was written by an AI. Combine these popular elements, push these buttons, make these characters look like Harry Potter illustrations, etc.
All I can say is, I enjoyed episodes 2 and 3 a lot more. Personally, I still think that this show's writing is run of the mill, juiced up by incredible animation, orchestral arrangements, and extremely polished voice acting. But it is juiced up, and that's a good thing. Anime can't be isolated to one mode of storytelling. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2396 |
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I can't argue with you there, episode 4 very much showed that the animation is indeed the main selling point. That is not to say it is the only thing that is interesting though, I find the setting and the whole sky barrier to keep eldritch horrors out pretty interesting too. Less interesting is the constant appearance of entitled magic a-holes and the way Will has to deal with unfair situations. I sincerely hope that not every arc is going to be another asshole of the week plus having to deal with him/her.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1380 |
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The tower council thing has the potential to be interesting. I thought the way the tower spy (yes, I've forgotten her name during the delay between episodes) completely changed personalities on a dime was pretty cool. And it's good to know that Elfaria isn't being completely passive but is starting some gears in motion to start working the Will vs conservative mage factions problem.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1380 |
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Well, I'm glad I tried to give this show the benefit of a doubt now that it's gotten over that whole thing with ridiculously one dimensional bad guys I was initially complaining about. Y'know, where Will was saint-like and the bad guys were demonstrating over-the-top trashy, unrestrained behavior in an academy setting to the point where it was just stupid and annoying. Maybe even to the point where I'd have to kill a bunch of braincells with a clawhammer just to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it and not feel cheaply manipulated by lazy writing;.
Whew. Thank goodness. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15545 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Episode 6
I kind of hate that it tried to make us sympathise with the fire guy, such that he just wanted to be seen by Will. I don't have any empathy for someone who bullies, regardless of the fact he thought some junk like trying to make him quit would be doing Will a favour, or he is just so frustrated at not being paid attention to by his victim. The sort of thing that people don't think outsiders get enough crap just by existing. |
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