The Fall 2022 Manga Guide

Wistoria: Wand and Sword

What's It About? 

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!

Wistoria: Wand and Sword has story by Fujino Ōmori and art by Toshi Aoi, with English translation by Alathea and Athena Nibley and lettering by Sara Linsley. Kodansha Comics will release its first volume both physically on November 29.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

From the creator who brought you Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? comes…another story about a fantasy world with a dungeon and a mysterious tower! Not that that's enough to write Wistoria: Wand and Sword off as a DanMachi knock-off; it's more to say that Fujino Ōmori clearly has a thing for a very specific type of sword-and-sorcery fantasy. This one isn't quite living up to his previous heights yet, but it's also very early days, and there's certainly enough here to pique the interest of a reader.

The protagonist this time around is Will, a sixteen-year-old student at Regarden Magical Academy who faces a very specific challenge: he can't use magic. Since magic is looked at as the all-powerful source of world domination in the story – and there's something to that, since the false sky is held up with it – Will's lack of spellcasting ability earns him the ire of most people, especially since he dares to be at the academy. From snooty Sion and his cronies to the truly horrible Professor Edward, Will has to let a lot wash off his back from day to day, and the reveal that he's the world's sole talented swordsman only makes his life worse. In the case of Sion, that's because he doesn't believe Will should be better at anything, but when it comes to Professor Edward, the issue is thornier. Edward is steeped in the traditions of his society and truly appears to believe that Will's sword-slinging abilities are an affront to world order, a belief that stems from the lower social strata occupied by dwarves. Dwarves, unlike elves, can't use magic, so Will's being linked to them via racism because of his abilities. It's nauseating, but sadly not unfamiliar.

Fortunately Will does have some allies, such as Professor Workner, his classmate Colette, and the inevitable buxom childhood friend with whom he made a promise. I'm getting some major Freya vibes from Elfie and the way she's “watching over” Will, and that's what I find most intriguing about this volume right now, along with the fact that some of the similarities to DanMachi's world might actually be an indication that this story is taking place in a past or future version of it. The art is a bit too reliant on Harry Potter for my taste and doesn't do a great job with female bodies, but I trust the author enough to give this a second volume. And even if you're not a Fujino Ōmori fan, this looks like a reliable start to a decent non-isekai fantasy series.

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MrAJCosplay

Rating:

What if Harry Potter was a muggle and just carried around a big fuck-you sword instead of wand? That is basically the premise of Wistoria; or rather, that is probably the best selling point that I can give the series. This isn't a condemnation by any means, as there are a lot of enjoyable elements to be found here. The action sequences are kinetic, the magic looks striking, and the overall world-building is engaging right out the gate. The problem is that despite its fantasy setting, the overall story structure is very reminiscent of what you see in a lot of modern-day shonen series, so if you're looking for something original, then this might not necessarily be up your alley. However, just because something isn't original doesn't necessarily mean it's bad, and Wistoria is far from that. Maybe it's because of how earnestly the series plays a lot of its tropes, but I did personally find myself being drawn into this underdog story. Trying to make it as a mage through physical combat in a world where magic is so prevalent is always going to make for an interesting story, as long as the writer continues to find creative ways to build up our hero. I definitely see a lot of potential here, and I'm curious enough to check out later volumes.