Summary
A review should only focus on the actual work itself, and not venture into the ambiguous territory of could, should, and would. That being said, it’s hard to avoid thinking about how much better episode 6 ofWistoria: Wand and Swordcould be if it hada much tighter drama and a robust story structure.After all, it has pretty much all the ingredients for an engaging episode.
But then the showrunners decided to sandwich the intense action between repeated flashbacks, which was a sure way to kill the audience’s engagement and ruin the watching experience. What a wasted opportunity. Episode 6 was supposed to be the lead-up to the climactic end ofthe Grand Magic Festival arc.Its main job was to build up the audiences’ expectations in order to boost the excitement for episode 7. Unfortunately, it didn’t do a great job at that. So hopefully, this episode can offer an interesting climax to this arc.
The Best Action Thus Far
Episode 7 focuses on the battle between Julius Reinber, one of the top threestudents in Regarden Magical Academy,and Will Serfort, one of the lowest-grade students who can’t cast a single magic spell even after six years in the academy. It’s a fight between a genius mage who specializes in ice magic and a swordsman with inhuman power and speed. The result is one of the best action sequences in this series thus far.
Fast-Pace and Dynamic Movements
Action has always been Wistoria’s strong suit. There are several reasons why the actions in this series are so good, but let’s focus on the ones that are displayed beautifully in this episode: fast-paced and dynamic movements.
The showrunners and animators who worked onWistoria: Wand and Swordknow how to craft fast-paced action sequences through the characters’ movements, action lines, extreme camera angles, and flashy special effects. This approach works especially well becauseWill is a fighter that moves a lot.He rarely stops dead in his tracks. On the contrary, his opponents usually stand still. After all, they are mages so there’s no reason for them to move when their spells can move for them. The contrast between the two enhances the sense of speed in the fighting scenes.
Moreover, Will’s movement is always dynamic. He’s not simply moving from A to B on a flat surface.He would utilize the air around them to jump for an evasive maneuveror even use the ceiling as a foothold to help boost his momentum. Additionally, the dynamic camera angle that mixes wide shots, extreme close-ups, and tracking shots also enhances the intensity of the fights even further. All of these techniques are utilized to perfection in the fight between Julius and Will.
The Arc of a Fight
A fight should tell a story or at least push the narrative forward. It can’t be a random encounter that doesn’t mean anything to the grand scheme of things. That’s why a good fight will also have an arc. There should be a beginning, a middle, and an end. When executed perfectly, it creates a pleasant journey that safely delivers the audience from the beginning to the end. The fight in this episode is the perfect illustration of this kind of arc.
The fight begins with Will jumping onto the scene and challenging Julius in front of hundreds of spectators.Julius showcases his proficiency in ice magicand unleashes a barrage of attacks that hurt Will quite a bit. But the swordsman soon displays his own mastery in close-quarter combat and manages to overwhelm the inexperienced mage.
From the moment Will appears in front of Julius to the moment he subdues the narcissistic prince, everything flows naturally and effortlessly. Thanks to this, we as the viewers are constantly at the edge of our seats and fully immersed in the fight. What an exhilarating fight!
How to Defeat a Character
In a fight between a hero and a villain, most people only care about who wins the battle. However, just like how the hero wins his fight matters,how a villain is defeated also matters.Both require careful consideration from the writers in order to do justice to the character and keep the audience immersed in the story. After all, different characters define winning and defeats differently.
Different Defeats for Different Characters
When it comes to winning, different characters may interpret it in a different way. Likewise, different characters may have different definitions of what it means to be defeated. Will doesn’t mind running away from a fight as long as he can save the people that he cares about. To him, surviving is a win. On the contrary,when Will saves Shion,the prodigious mage considers that not only a defeat but also an insult even though he is not physically harmed in any way.
Tailoring every win and defeat to suit the character’s personality is a surefire way to add a level of depth to every fighting scene. It elevates the battle to be more than a simple action sequence into an intense interaction between the characters that moves the story forward.
What Defeat Means to Julius Reinberg
So what about the opponent for this episode, Julius Reinberg? What is the condition for his defeat? Julius may be one of the top threemost powerful students in the academy,but that is not where his true strength lies. The other top three like Wendall or Lihanna can beat him and he won’t think much of it. It would just be another sparring session for him and he would get them next time. No, the way to truly defeat Julius is to strike him where it hurts the most, his pride.
During their fight, Julius whips up the brand new magic spell that he is so proud of, which is a re-creation of a Magia Vander’ssignature ice spell called the Ars Weiss.Facing Elfie’s spell, Will is a bit flustered and emotional at first, but as soon as he calms down, he dominates the fight. Will may beat Julius up, but what truly defeats him is when Will reveals that he knows more about Ars Weiss than Julius himself. As if that is not enough to hurt his pride, Will also mentions that the spell that Julius thinks so highly of is just something that Elfie created when she was two years old.
So in summary, to defeat Julius, Will needs to do two things. He needs to overpower him during combat and he needs to humiliate and shatter Julius’ pride. For an arrogant and narcissistic character like Julius, this is the best way to truly defeat him.
“Two years old? A toddler! I was elated when I grasped this spell. I’m on the same level as a toddler? You can’t be serious!”
– Julius Reinberg, Episode 7
Episode 7 is by far the best episode in this series thus far.There are heaps of actionsthat will keep the viewers on the edge of their seats while still offering a decent amount of drama that makes the fighting scene even more interesting. This is a new standard forWistoria: Wand and Swordand hopefully the subsequent episodes will be just as good as this one.
Wistoria: Wand and Swordis available to stream onCrunchyroll.
