The Fall 2020 Manga Guide

The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent

What's It About? 

Sei, a 20-year-old office worker, is whisked away to a whole new world. Unfortunately for Sei, the ritual that summoned her—meant to produce a “Saint” who would banish the dark magic—brought two people over instead of one. And everyone prefers the second girl over Sei. But this is just fine by Sei, who leaves the royal palace to set up shop making potions and cosmetics with her newfound magic. Business is booming, and this might not be such a bad life, after all as long as her supposed Sainthood doesn't come back

The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent is based on the light novel by Yuka Tachibana, the digital version of which is released by Seven Seas Entertainment on August 27, with a print version scheduled for November 24. The manga is drawn by Fujiazuki, with original character designs by Yasuyuki Syuri. Seven Seas Entertainment will release both print and digital versions of the manga's first volume on December 8 for $12.99 and $9.99 respectively.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

It's always a pleasant discovery when the manga adaptation of a light novel you've enjoyed proves to be nearly as good. The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent's original novel is also available in English from Seven Seas, and while it provides a lot more detail about the characters and the world (which makes sense, given the differences in format), its manga version does just as good a job at conveying how Sei is adjusting to her life in Salutania after having been summoned as a potential Saint.

That “potential” bit goes away fairly quickly, really, because Sei has barely begun to work at the Medicinal Flora Research Facility when it becomes clear that if only one of the two summoned ladies is the Saint, it's probably not pretty little Aira. But because Prince Kyle swooped in immediately after the summoning ritual and snatched up Aira (ignoring Sei completely), Sei's completely in the dark about her own unusual levels of magic. Maybe that's not entirely fair to say – she does have a vague idea that something's a bit off because her potions are all 50% more effective than anyone else's – but she seems to think that's just because she was summoned from Japan. Her boss at the research facility and other higherups in the palace clearly know that something's special about her (especially since they can compare how she's doing with Aira's development, about whom Sei knows nothing), but because Kyle pissed her off so badly, everyone's afraid that she'll just up and leave, so no one clues her in about the very real possibility that she's the Saint they've been looking for.

The result is that Sei's free to devote herself to what she enjoys doing (making potions and lotions) while also learning how to live a life where no one expects her to work herself to death. That's in many ways the most heartening part of this story – Sei can't quite believe that she's expected to actually rest or have fun on her days off or that her health could improve quite so much by living a normal human lifestyle. Putting the whole magic thing aside, Sei's finally able to just be Sei, and she's finding that she likes that. Yes, she still spends her free time researching at the library (although she also makes a friend there) and she's noticed that her cooking seems to attract people (because she hasn't entirely realized that her personality and looks may also be attractive), but mostly she's just finding out that she's pretty happy with her new life, and that's just nice to see.

This manga volume covers a little over half of the first novel, stopping just before her outing with Albert, the knight she saved and who is rapidly falling in love with her (she has no clue, naturally). There is a bit more of a hurry to the storyline, but it doesn't feel unduly condensed, and the art takes the novel's character designs and makes them a bit more fluid. It definitely still falls into plenty of the standard isekai traps, but Sei's a good, solid character who knows how to stand up for herself, and in an almost bog-standard plotline like this one, that really does make all the difference.

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Caitlin Moore

Rating:

Oh, I was so ready to like this one. Giving it such a low rating really hurts, but by the end of the volume, I had to admit I did not like it at all.

Sei Nakanashi was an office worker who was so overworked, she had no time for hobbies or socializing. She gets summoned to another world in need of a saint, but gets passed over for a younger, cuter girl summoned at the same time. With nothing to do but bum around the palace, she becomes an herbal researcher, where she discovers that her power as a saint makes her potions extra-powerful. She levels up quickly and is surrounded by a lot of handsome men, who are all very nice and appreciative of her skills.

I can understand the appeal as an escapist fantasy, especially to a generation of lonely women who are overtaxed and underappreciated in the workplace but understimulated in all other areas of their life. Far be it from me to deny other women aimed at them, especially one that is so gentle and harmless in every way. But I'll be damned if I didn't find this about as exciting as a bucket of warm spit.

After the initial scorning, Sei doesn't encounter any kind of conflict. None. She's good at what she does, and gets what she needs. She enjoys her work. She's instantly good at everything she tries. She's even starting to look better, with a more fulfilling, less stressful career path. She's surrounded by handsome, boring boys who are more than happy to help her out in any way and are impressed with her skills, but I couldn't even begin to describe their personalities or even list them by name because they'd consistently appear, say a nice thing, and then wander off. There is nothing of substance, nothing to hold onto, nothing to remember, so it all slips away instantly.

There's nothing bad here, nothing to make me advise people away from it, so if this sounds like what you need in a story, go for it. I just need something with a bit more tooth to it.