Creative Staff
Story: Sakae Esuno
Original story: Bokuto Uno
Character Design: Ruria Miyuki
Translation/Adaptation: Andrew Cunningham
Lettering: Brandon Bovia
What They Say
Kimberly Magic Academy has lived up to its shadowy reputation in Oliver’s first weeks as a student, with him and his friends encountering one mystery after another. Why did a garuda appear in the underground Colosseum? Why did the troll attack Katie during the entrance ceremony? As the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place, the stage is set for a deadly duel!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The mysteries of Kimberly Magic Academy are rising to the surface but can the characters live up to the hype? It’s becoming hard to see these characters meet the challenge of bringing this magical world to life. They haven’t created a hook to be fascinated by this world. There just isn’t much magic in this magical world. There isn’t any sign of emotions from most of the protagonists. Out of the protagonists, only one has shown that they have a genuine interest in the world which makes it easier to relate to. They don’t have a direct connection to readers but I want to feel that there is life coming from them. Two of these characters are warriors who go all out in their fights and one of them, Nanao comes from period of samurai warriors. It could lean more on that to make her seem like the outcast but it likes she fights right in with rest of the magical society. Another one of them, Katie, is an activist for the species that are considered subpar to humans, and the rest have just been standing on the sidelines for most of this series.
Katie has the potential to be a fascinating character with her views on how creatures should be treated but she is sidelined quickly. As this series gets off the ground, the main focus is going to be from Oliver and Nanao’s point of view. But once the ship takes off, there is tremendous room for her to stride higher as she suffered great loss. Her closest ally betrayed her and then she is taken off the playing field. She doesn’t have a chance to react to her reality breaking into pieces.
It seems like it’s happening fast but it’s a welcome change to see the rival learn humility. The rival would remain stuck in his misguided views for a long time but those views are dispelled rather quickly. Richard Andrews unwittingly unleashed more danger than he could handle and left a trail of blood by sneaking in a garuda to the battle. He challenged Nanao and Oliver to a battle but he has an unsuspecting surprise that becomes out of the control. Nanao and Oliver face the dangerous garuda to buy time for the others to escape. Seeing their heroic efforts spurs Richard to think about what he has done and what he could do stepping forward. He isn’t completely done with his lifestyle but he learned that his way may not be correct.
In Summary:
Reign of the Seven Spellblades is imitating the high school being magic and its succeeding in some ways. However, it also fails in other ways. Imitation is the highest form of flattery but it still has to take notes from other high school magical kingdoms. The cast is one of the things that it needs to shape up to make this book more notable than the rest.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: May 31, 2022
MSRP: $13.00 CAN $17.00
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
