The Fall 2024 Manga Guide

I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman

What's It About? 

In this fantasy manga based on the light novel, a contract with the king of Hell makes one young woman's career change easy-peasy!

After forging a contract with Berial, the king of Hell, young Illya obtains an incredible education in the art of magic. Her skills grow by leaps and bounds, catching the attention of the royal court and qualifying her for an elite apprenticeship. But court life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Illya quickly grows tired of the manipulative machinations of nobles and the scheming of the high court wizard. Her only choice? To quit! Leaving her post and the entire country, Illya now searches something new. Could crafting magical items be her true destiny?

I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman has a story by Sei Kamiizumi and art by EDO, with English translation by Jessica Latherow and adaptation by Leah W. This volume was lettered by Roland Amago. Published by Seven Seas (September 3, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

When the title tells you everything you need to know about both plot and premise, execution becomes that much more important. I Quit My Apprenticeship as a Royal Court Wizard to Become a Magic Item Craftswoman is another in a long line of fantasy series with game-based mechanics that doesn't do a lot to distinguish itself from the herd. The plot is exactly as advertised: Illya does, indeed, decide to make a major life change of the sort the title outlines. But what it doesn't tell us is that Illya is one of the only commoners and women to earn a prestigious Royal Court Wizard apprenticeship, and she manages this with some help from Berial, a high-ranking demon she makes a contract with as a little girl.

There's some implication that even without Berial's help, Illya was probably naturally talented. When Berial, who'd very much like to stay in the human world, runs into a very young Illya, he finagles his way into what he thinks will be a contract strictly beneficial to him. But even as he's writing it, the contract changes its terms to be more equal, or maybe even a better deal for Illya than Berial. She learns spells with impressive rapidity, and when we jump forward about ten years, she's ludicrously skilled. The Royal Court Wizards are, to put it mildly, unhappy about this, hence the second half of the title. And hey, who among us hasn't had a job so terrible that we've considered faking our own death to get out of it?

The issue with this volume isn't the cookie-cutter nature of the plot, although admittedly that doesn't do it any favors. Illya's obliviousness to her own power isn't as bad as some other characters, and she does recognize that it'd be better for her to keep a low profile; being renowned for did her exactly zero favors before, and even left her open to gross predatory old men. But the story is in such a hurry to get where it's going that it doesn't take the time to let us enjoy where it starts. Why does Sevirino feel so attached to Illya? How much do the wizards know about her contract with Berial? How did Illya get to be an apprentice in the first place? None of those answers are forthcoming, and before we have time to ponder them, we've already been moved on to the next phase of the story. The game-based things are annoying, as they typically are, but if the plot slowed down a little, the book would be more enjoyable as a whole.

Is this the fault of the adaptation? Possibly, it's certainly happened before in the transition from light novel to manga. But the sad truth is that all the nice art in the world and a very readable translation can't save this from choppy storytelling.

I Quit My Apprenticeship has one great thing going for it. Ilya makes for a great protagonist: skilled, crafty, endearingly sweet, and generous. Her demon partner Berial doesn't quite come off as half as interesting, sadly, barely present in the story outside of looming over Ilya's shoulder whenever someone threatens her. It's very pleasant to see Ilya work her way up as a royal mage, heartbreaking to see her treated so poorly by her peers—and gutwrenching when her only possible means of advancement comes with her being propositioned by an absolute creep.

I wish I liked this story a lot more because it certainly has great potential. Ilya living in a quiet country, solving medical woes, and bringing smiles like a fantasy anime version of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman would be plenty appealing on its own (even if Berial only occasionally drops by to remind us that he's very tall, dark, and handsome). And it's very fun to see Ilya get into the nitty-gritty of her craftwork, breaking down the ingredients and processes for making her elixirs and potions. But this first volume is a very slow start, a prolonged introduction that only barely feels like things have gotten going. Poor Ilya doesn't even have her shop before the cliffhanger ending (though we're getting there). And for as important as Ilya's contract with Berial is supposed to be, it hardly ever gets brought up at all. I Quit My Apprenticeship has all the right ingredients; I can forgive it for being a slow burn, but I hope it picks up the pace a little. Too much action for this to be a cozy read, too slow to be a gripping narrative. Still, mildly recommended--if it can get the lead out of its shoes.