Wistoria: Wand and Sword Episode 1 - A New Fantasy Series To Follow (2024)

Fantasy is one of those genres that always seems to exist in every anime season. Sometimes it comes as a pure fantasy, other times it is packaged as an isekai. One thing’s for sure, the popularity of this genre means the audience will always love a story about swords, magic, adventures, and monsters.

As you might expect, there are several new fantasy series for the Summer 2024 anime season. This article will focus on one of them, Wistoria: Wand and Sword. After watching the first episode and as an avid fantasy viewer myself, I can comfortably say that Wistoria: Wand and Sword is the fantasy anime to follow for this season. Here are some of the reasons why.

Familiar Settings With Familiar Premises

Although every fantasy anime has its own unique stories and settings, there are still several similar story elements that can be found in the overwhelming majority of them. After all, every genre has its own tropes and conventions, fantasy is no exception. So what are the fantasy tropes that are used in Wistoria: Wand and Sword? Well, there are quite a few actually, but let’s focus on two of the most notable ones.

A Story That Every Anime Viewer Will Instantly Understand

The first familiar trope in this new anime that will stick out like a sore thumb is something that every fantasy anime viewer, or even anime viewer in general, will immediately recognize, which is the Magic Academy. Yep, the story of Wistoria takes place mainly in a magic academy called The Regarden Magical Academy.

Anybody who’s ever watched an anime within the last decade will instantly understand what a magic academy is and what to expect from this setting, such as bullying, school romance, exams, training, etc. The good thing about having familiar settings is we know what to expect and can pretty much just sit back and enjoy the show. Whether or not the story will become too predictable (boring) or not depends highly on how the author uses these familiar tropes. But at least the story starts at a place that we all recognize.

Kaiju No. 8 With Magic

The main character is one of the students in this academy and, just like most MCs, he is an outcast who is not only different from everybody but also often bullied by his classmates. The only reason why he keeps on going is that he wants to fulfill his promise to his childhood friend who has now sat in one of the highest positions in the country.

If that premise and character motivation sounds familiar to you, well, that is because the same thing happened to Kafka Hibino from Kaiju No. 8, and to a lesser extent, Mutta from Space Brothers as well. Character motivation based on a “Promise” is fairly common in anime and, just like the settings, if you’ve watched quite a few anime within the last decade or so, you’ll feel instantly familiar with this one. So, once again, the story of Wistoria begins in a way that is familiar to a lot of its potential viewers.

A Lone Swordsman in the Land of Mages

A familiar place and familiar goal will enable you as potential viewers to tuck in comfortably and just enjoy the show. After all, you pretty much know the good things that you can expect from this series. But familiarity alone is not enough to keep the viewers stay for the entire season. That’s where the interesting main character comes in.

Swords vs Wands, Skills vs Spells

The main character of Wistoria, Will Serfort, is a teenage boy who enrolls in the most prestigious magic academy in the country despite his inability to cast any spell, which is one of the reasons why people look down on him and bully him. In exchange for having little to no magic, however, he was born with superhuman strength, agility, reaction time, and enhanced senses as well.

Will uses these abilities to do the only way a non-magician like him can earn credits for his classes, which is defeating monsters in the academy’s dungeon. The young man may not be able to cast a simple fire spell, but he can decapitate a ten-foot raging monster without breaking a sweat. He is living proof that when it comes to real-life combat, sometimes swords and skills are more important than wands and spells. Something that most RPG players know very well.

Toji Fushiguro in the Land of Magic

The idea of a lone swordsman in a country full of magicians or a strong non-magician who thrives in a place where magic is common is not unique to Wistoria. The first character that comes to mind that perfectly fits this description is none other than the Sorcerer Hunter from Jujutsu Kaisen, Toji Fushiguro. Another character that also fits the bill is Mash from Mashle.

Both characters lack something that most people in their respective universes have, Cursed Energy for Toji and Magic for Mash. Yet their absurd physical prowess allows them to defeat those pesky magicians. Needless to say, both are also characters that are loved by the fans. After all, they both evoke the spirit of an underdog who goes against the world, and who doesn’t love to support an underdog, right? So if you love Toji and Mash, chances are you’ll love Will Serfort as well.

Intense and Vibrant Animation

Other than the story and the characters, another notable thing about Wistoria: Wand and Sword is the animation. The animation in the first episode is sublime from start to finish, but it has two distinct flavors that appear at two different parts of the story. There are parts where it feels serene and vibrant, but there are also parts where it feels intense and blinding.

Serene and Vibrant

When the story focuses on what’s happening in the academy, we get to see so many mesmerizing visuals presented by a serene and vibrant animation. From the intricate academy buildings to the colossal tower and its surrounding greeneries, there are so many beautiful sceneries that deserve to be your wallpaper. This part of the story has a slow pace so there’s plenty of time to enjoy the breathtaking landscapes.

Intense and Blinding

Once we get to the dungeon, however, we get to see different kinds of visuals. There’s no stunning and vibrant landscape here. Instead, there are fast-paced action sequences with striking visual effects and blinding lights to enhance the intensity of the scenes. Furthermore, it’s not a PG-13 battle where the parties involved end up with bruises like in One Piece. There will be blood, broken bones, and missing limbs in these fights. It is brutal, it is ruthless, and it is awesome.

Conclusion

From its settings to its premise to its main character, Wistoria: Wand and Sword may feel like a paint-by-number fantasy story, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. On the contrary, that’s why it deserves your attention. Think of it like eating at your favorite restaurant chain. The place and the menu never change and that’s why it’s your favorite. You like it because you know what to expect. You know you won’t be disappointed.

There are times when we want to consume something fancy that’s never been made before, but there are also times when all we want is something fun and familiar.Wistoria: Wand and Sword is that fun and familiar anime that you can watch while eating your favorite fast food. So don’t hesitate to give it a try.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword is available to stream on Crunchyroll.