2014’s The Irregular at Magic High School is a fantasy anime based on the popular light novel series of the same name. With the new season already on the air, now’s the perfect time to look back at the first season with all its strengths and weaknesses.
Set in 2095, The Irregular at Magic High School presents a world where magic has not only been proven to exist but has been refined to new heights with emerging technology. While magic once existed as we typically imagine it—chanting spells and magical talismans—computerized systems have brought spellcasting to new heights. Now, instead of memorizing and speaking long incantations, you simply preprogram a CAD to cast the spell for you while drawing the magical energy from you like a battery.
Image source: 魔法科高校の劣等生 公式 on Twitter.
Not only does this allow spells to be cast almost instantly but also with a complexity never before seen. This has resulted in magicians becoming one-man armies—able to stand up to conventional weapons with little-to-no effort. Some are even on the scale of walking WMDs—which has brought the world into a state of cold war once more.
In this setting, it’s no surprise that magicians are coveted by their governments—with long-standing mage families wielding the power behind the scenes. Nor is it any surprise that they gather and train those with the gift of magic in special schools.
What’s doubly interesting, however, is how the growing importance of magic users has led to normal humans—and even the less powerful of magicians—wanting to rebel against the new order. While normal people are not oppressed, their unique gifts are most certainly overlooked in this new age of magic. It’s understandable that they could become upset—as many do at the dawn of any major social change.
Image source: 魔法科高校の劣等生 公式 on Twitter.
All this is why the setting is the most interesting aspect of The Irregular at Magic High School. It sets up a world full of political intrigue and social commentary that bleeds into every aspect of our heroes’ lives—even though they are high school students. The characters we follow are shaped by the complexities of their world—reacting to the dangerous situations they find themselves in rather than looking for danger of their own accord. The setting is a tool that lets us learn about each of them through their reaction while seeing and understanding their growth—well, except when it comes to the main character.
Tatsuya, the titular “irregular” is the overpowered hero of our story. Because his talents lay outside the normal testing apparatus for mages, he is treated as a second class magician—while his sister, Miyuki, is treated as an up and coming golden child.
As a character, Tatsuya is a mystery. The puzzle of why he is so powerful and what his limits are keep him interesting—at least at first. The problem is that, once his origins and powers are fully revealed, there is nowhere for him to go as a character.
Image source: 魔法科高校の劣等生 公式 on Twitter.
Because of his history, Tatsuya is literally unable to grow or develop. His personality has been stripped down to the point where the only thing he responds to emotionally is his sister. While this makes sense in the story—as it keeps him in line by assuring he can never oppose his sister or his family—it also makes his other interpersonal relationships rather meaningless.
While the girls throw themselves at Tatsuya one after the other, he is incapable of responding to them in the way they want. Moreover, he is incapable of empathizing with friends and foes alike. When it comes down to it, while he appreciates his friends, it’s only because of their usefulness and how they positively affect his sister (or his ability to protect her). It makes it hard to like Tatsuya no matter what cool things he does on screen because he is basically faking all of his relationships except the one he has with Miyuki.
This means that it falls to the supporting cast for likable characters that grow and change. And for the most part, The Irregular at Magic High School succeeds on this level. Seeing Tatsuya overcome his “second class” mage status again and again—basically proving that the system’s measurement is flawed—is often what is needed for his friends to recognize their own worth and get over their own fears or trauma.
Image source: 魔法科高校の劣等生 公式 on Twitter.
Even Miyuki, as dedicated as she is to her brother, grows over the series. At first, it’s clear that the only thing she cares about is her brother. But during her time at school, she makes lifelong friendships and builds her own support network. She also becomes more and more determined to live alongside Tatsuya as an equal—rather than just be protected by him. It’s no doubt an odd choice to have the main character be a tool for everyone else’s development but his own but in this case, it works.
In the end, The Irregular at Magic High School lives or dies based on how interesting you personally find the world within to be. If you find the world interesting, it’s delving into school life, national politics, and the criminal underworld keep you entertained. But if not, with its main character literally incapable of character development—and who is seemingly able to overcome any and all problems with little effort—you might find this one to be a bad match despite its popularity.
The Irregular at Magic High School can be seen on Funimation, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Aniplus (Asia), and Wakanim (EU).
I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his Patreon donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick anything up to an including a 13ish episode series to be reviewed–which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) So thanks again!
Top image source: 魔法科高校の劣等生 公式 on Twitter.
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