Only a little attention was paid to an anime from the last season. Especially fans of wizard duels and exciting characters should get their money’s worth.
There are anime that you would never voluntarily endure if it weren’t for a long night without motivation and the “suggest something to me” recommendations from Crunchyroll. That’s how I came across “Reign of the Seven Spellblades.” A series from the summer season of 2023 that completely flew under my radar.
This may have been the case mainly because the series often received comparatively low ratings, such as 6.61 / 10 (myanimelist) or 6.4 / 10 (IMDb).
For me, the series is clearly underrated, as I was entertained more than just well. And especially Harry Potter fans, who are now a bit more grown-up and are interested in anime, should definitely take a look.
What is Reign of the Seven Spellblades about? A new school year begins at the Kimberly Mage Academy. The protagonist, Oliver Horn, teams up with some other first-year students to pass their training as mages. An incident at the opening parade, where a female student is nearly murdered by a troll, immediately bonds him with 5 other classmates.
This group then tries to support each other and help one another with individual problems. Because while one is a descendant of an important mage nobility with family pressure, a samurai classmate has almost no magical experience.
At the center are action-packed fights, which are mostly a mix of sword duel and magic – anyone thinking of “wand-waving” here will be disappointed. These duels even look surprisingly good and are likely among the higher-quality productions of this year.
Interesting approaches with clever ideas – somewhat rushed
In doing so, Reign of the Seven Spellblades opens up a world with plenty of conflicts, factions, and interesting concepts. A few examples?
- Under the Kimberly Academy lies a huge magical labyrinth that blends with the normal corridors of the school at night. Students often get lost here and find themselves in an almost lawless space where all sorts of nasty creatures await (including a half-succubus!)
- Half-humanoids, such as trolls or fairies, are considered livestock in this world. Mages can catch, kill, and experiment on them at will. A “pro-half-humanoid” group is gaining traction, but is clearly outnumbered. This leads to interesting moral conflicts.
- It’s common knowledge that mages die at the academy, it’s simply a fact. 20% of mages die during their training – either through murders, in research, or because they get “lost in magic” and are taken over by magic or their summons.
- A boy must cope with the powers of his “Reversi” abilities – his body switches between male and female, which causes social, hormonal, and magical problems.
The eponymous “Spellblades” are, by the way, special combinations of melee attack and magic that are considered “uncounterable” and virtually guarantee victory. So far, only 6 of these abilities are known, but a seventh could occur among the current students.
The perfect anime for magic fans who want an “evil” Harry Potter
“Reign of the Seven Spellblades” pleasantly surprised me and was an entertaining story from start to finish, reminiscent of Harry Potter in many ways but almost always taking a decidedly darker twist. Blood, atrocities, and revenge fantasies are prevalent here, and the anime is not exactly timid in its portrayal.
The only real criticism for me is that the series, with 15 episodes, is clearly too short to show all that is actually in the source material. As a result, some situations feel a bit rushed. The story never lingers long at one point, but quickly moves on – a bit more time for more character depth and expanding the world filled with so many exciting themes would have benefited the series.
Nevertheless, this is a clear recommendation. If you enjoy a magical story with a well-thought-out world and a dash of brutality during the holidays, you should give Reign of the Seven Spellblades a chance – and hang in there, as the nature of the story changes significantly starting from episode 6.
If you prefer darker anime, we have some series for 18 years old and above.
