A little out of left field for some anime fans, Wistoria: Wand and Sword created its Twitter account sometime in January of this year (2024). Today, it posted a key visual, a trailer, and staff as some of its very first posts on the social media platform. Further, it’s a collaboration between two studios (Actas, and Bandai Namco Pictures). Even more, it’s being directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara who’s finally directing something other than Black Clover (no offense, and I do like BC). And the icing on the cake? It’s from the author of Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?. It’s got a lot going for it, but how much is a lot? Well, allow me to lay out that information.
Created By
Omori Fujino (Story)
Aoi Toshi (Art)
Synopsis
The new, magical dungeon-adventure fantasy series from the author of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Seeking to fulfill a promise to a childhood friend, Will Serfort enters Regarden Magical Academy with the goal of making it to the top of the magical world. There’s just one problem: he can’t use magic! Will his sword skills be the key to unlocking his true potential?
Kodansha USA
Staff
Director: Tatsuya Yoshihara
I don’t think there’s much to say here. Yoshihara is known for their action and style (despite some of their history as a director), and that’s on full display already. Though, the challenge of communication between two studios is new to Yoshihara, so I’m curious to see how they manage it. Looking forward to seeing what they can do with a far tighter scope in Wistoria
Character Design: Ono Sayaka
This one is really impressive. This is only their fourth series (6th season) they’ve done character design for, and this is really outside of their style. Partially helped by color design and composition, Sayaka’s designs leave a striking memory thanks to their feeling of depth and the personality they exude (those glasses/goggles add so much). Really great addition in terms of staff, looking forward to seeing what they do.
Art Direction: Maeda Yuki
It’s relieving to see that Yoshihara is already bringing familiar faces around for Wistoria, as Yuki did art direction for all of Black Clover. Perhaps a bit spotty at times, but when at its peak it was truly impressive. Yet another staff member I can’t wait to see perform outside of Black Clover.
Photographic Direction: Ootsuki Ayako
This one’s a bit of a headscratcher. This is Ayako’s third ever Photographic Direction credit, and the first two aren’t that great. In terms of episode work, Ayako is very much a “go everywhere do everything” staff member, so they’ve accrued some impressive credits while using Yokohama Animation Lab as their home base. Truthfully, I have no concerns considering what was shown in the trailer.
Series Composition: Tatsuya Yoshihara
Hm, that’s weird, Yoshihara’s here too? Well, believe it or not they also get credited with screenplay. Already doing it all, I see. Impressively enough, this is their first credit for Series Composition and Screenplay, but I’m intensely curious as to how it’ll pan out. Handing off basically the whole structure of the series to one person, with strong vision I might add, seems endlessly exciting.
Monster (3) & Prop (1) Design: Akizuki Ryou, Harada Yoshirou, Sunaga Raita, Akizuki Ryou
If this was just one person to the Monster credits, I was about to be worried. Akizuki Ryou is very fresh in terms of Monster Design, but thankfully Raita has a good few years history. Definitely curious to see how the trio performs though, as the PV shows off something like a Minotaur-ish demon. Whether it looks good or not doesn’t much matter, but it moves really good.
Color Design: Nakano Naomi
What’s one more reassuring staff member? A P.A. Works favorite, Naomi’s worked with Yoshihara on Chainsaw Man, and (as of writing this) is doing color design for the incredible A Sign of Affection. A do-it-all color designer, Naomi certainly inspires confidence and distills plenty of style and appeal into Wistoria.
CG Direction: Abe Morihito
CG is painfully inescapable in modern day anime, but that doesn’t mean it has to be terrible. On the contrary, Morihito here might be new(er) to CG Direction, but having found their beginnings in the role with Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway’s Flash and Cucuruz Doan`s Island it’s hard to deny their talent.
So, How Good Does This Star-Studded Cast Make Wistoria: Wand and Sword Look Though?
Really good. Really damn good. I love the variable line weight on Sayaka’s character designs, and Naomi’s choice to really flatten the colors works great with how much shading and composition Ayako is displaying here. It immediately carves out a strong and stylized visual identity for the series, and feels like the perfect complement to Yoshihara’s smear-heavy styling. Wistoria: Wand and Sword sure is promising viewers with a great deal of good times in this preview alone, and I for one am willing to take the bait.
I might take issue with some of the core aspects of Is It Wrong To Try and Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?, but I also cannot deny Fujino’s writing ability. Sure, there might be a little a lot of stuff that bothers me with romance and silliness in the beginnings of the series, but Fujino has more than just a power-fantasy romance to offer in Danmachi. Because of that, rather than being pessimistic that the earlier sections of this story will be a bit of a drag, I’m optimistic that Fujino will be jumping right in to match their best work on Danmachi, and make the debut of Wistoria: Wand and Sword a hit.
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