Wise Man's Grandchild

Have you ever felt burdened by your lineage? Each generation has dreams and aspirations, which may only sometimes align with what our families expect of us. Titles, expectations, and duties are placed upon us thanks to our ancestry, something far beyond our control. These can have positive and negative effects on our lives, and we must be prepared to accept or reject both. As such, life is complicated from the get-go, and it’s not easy carrying the weights of generations past…

“Wise Man's Grandchild,” also known as “Kenja no Mago,” “Philosopher's Grandson,” or “Magi's Grandson,” is a 12-episode TV Anime series that aired from the 10th of April until the 26th of June, in Spring 2019. It was produced by Sotsu, Docomo Anime Store, ABC Animation, and Kadokawa, licensed by Funimation, and brought to life by Studio SILVER LINK. It features the genres of Action, Comedy, Fantasy, and Romance alongside the themes of Isekai and Reincarnation. It received a rating of PG-13, being best suitable for teenagers 13 years or older.

The Anime is based on the Light Novel series of the same title, which started publication back in July 2015 and is still ongoing. Woven together by Author Yoshioka Tsuyoshi and Artist Kikuchi Seiji, Kenja no Mago began as a Web Novel on Shousetsuka ni Narou in January 2015. Kadokawa took the helm afterward, releasing a revised and illustrated version of the series under its Famitsu Bunko label.

The series is set in the kingdom of Earlshide, a world teeming with magic and wonder. The “Wise Man” Merlin Wolford was once widely regarded as a near-unparalleled national hero, hailed everywhere for his great power and numerous achievements. But after all was said and done, this man wished to live a quiet life somewhere, choosing to seclude himself deep within the rural woods. Here he dedicated his time and energy to raising an orphan he had saved instead.

This orphan, Shin, used to be a very average salaryman in modern-day Japan (in typical Isekai MC fashion) who reincarnated into Merlin's world with all his memories intact. Years begin to pass, and Shin displays unparalleled talent in magic casting and martial arts, much to Merlin's continued amazement.

Shin’s 15th birthday soon arrives, revealing that he has only developed his combat skills and nothing more. This leaves him in quite the blatant socially awkward situation as Merlin’s protégé, as he now lacks common sense coupled with a tolerable sense of responsibility. In search of a solution, he enrolls in the kingdom's Magic Academy, where he plans to hone his skills and mature amidst other teenagers.

His dreams of living an everyday life are crushed, for he gets labeled as a local celebrity the very second he arrives. Thus, Shin Wolford's High school life set within the capital is truly a unique one, to say the least. Delight, as he forges new friendships, learns about this Isekai world and battles numerous evil forces surrounding him and the city.

Is Kenja no Mago a great anime? Honestly speaking, no. It suffers from far too many overused tropes, in typical Isekai fashion, no less. It keeps overusing the cliches we got tired and sick of ages ago and doesn’t even seem to realize how bad the result is. As usual, this salary-man MC dies in the real world for no good reason whatsoever and gets reincarnated into a fantastical world of our dreams (yada yada yada). After his rebirth, he meets the most powerful beings in that world.

He then proceeds to forge a familial relationship with this OP character way too conveniently and thus becomes an extremely OP person himself. You already know the drill from here on out. Every other character unfortunate enough to appear on the screen is in complete awe at the MC's sheer awesomeness and unparalleled prowess. All the supporting characters are entirely bland, predictable, and useless beings with generic designs, personalities, and roles. It gets worse, though: there’s no good plot either!

We get to watch how Shin, an OP MC hailing from an insanely influential and powerful family, enrolls in a Magic High School in typical boredom. Surprise, surprise; it’s revealed that he is, in fact, the most powerful creature in their known universe. He is unmatched to the point that he creates all new types of Magic and Magic Gear from scratch while being unrealistically proficient at martial arts. His brilliance is such that all other characters have no choice but to stand on the sidelines and gawk at his greatness, with any hopes of ever competing with him crushed. If you love watching extremely incredible OP MCs in action within a show dedicated entirely to showing off his awesomeness, you might enjoy this Anime.

Some of these aspects might even remind you of “The Irregular at Magic High School” or “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,” but trust me, this one is eons below them. This series is almost indistinguishable from the plethora of bad Isekai Anime bombarding us in present times. The show doesn’t have much of a soul either, and it honestly feels like the creators were aiming to make a quick buck by catering to some leisurely escapism with an OP blank slate self-insert MC at its core.

What about the comedy aspect, though? Well, the fan-favorite should be how irrelevant side characters keep asking the MC to hold back his powers. This is swiftly followed by Shin completely annihilating his foes and surroundings and saying, "Oh, sorry! I was holding back, though!". If this isn’t the very pinnacle of comedy, I don’t know what is! It’s refined and perfected to the point that you will drop the show then and there.

The Art and Animation are far too typical for modern-day Anime; you've seen it once and a thousand times. There’s nothing that stands out, completely lacking in creativity and liveliness. The visual aspect is just too generic and uninspired. The Sounds and Music are easily forgettable, too, with nothing special to note. The Opening theme is "Ultimate☆MAGIC" by i☆Ris, and the Ending theme is “Attouteki Vivid Days" by Nanami Yoshi.

Kenja no Mago's creativity and uniqueness peak during that one episode where the main antagonist’s backstory is revealed. Who could have ever thought this Villain used to be a truly good person in the past but had turned to the dark side after a series of unfortunate events? What a genuinely tragic and tear-inducing drama that was… Yes, this is what you can expect from this Anime. However, if you’re okay with the tropes, as mentioned earlier, you can give it a spin, but I do not recommend this one.