Wistoria: Wand and Sword – End On a High Note

Important takeaways

• Closure: Episode 12 brings closure to the story and characters, especially the protagonist Will.
• Quiet Ending: After a chaotic penultimate episode, the finale ends peacefully with life returning to normal.
• New Faces: Episode 12 introduces new characters and stories, setting the stage for Season 2.

When we started looking at various new anime for the summer of 2024, nobody thought much of it Wistoria: Wand and Sword. It's just another action/fantasy anime for the season. As it turns out, that couldn't be further from the truth. This series is undoubtedly one of the funniest and most exciting anime of the season.

But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. After about three months in the air, Wistoria: Wand and Sword finally released its 12th and final episode. This series has its ups and downs, but overall it's been an enjoyable series to watch every week, especially the final story arc, All-Student Praxis. So what about the final episode? Can Wistoria end on a high note? The answer is absolutely yes.

A closure

One of the main goals of the final episode of a series is to provide closure, both to the story as a whole and to the characters, especially the protagonist. That's exactly what Episode 12 has done with this action/fantasy series.

Everything in its right place

After such a chaotic and exciting penultimate episode, Wistoria: Wand and Sword ending in a calm and peaceful way. Yeah, there's a pretty big brawl at the beginning of the episode, but for most of the episode it's about the aftermath of the big fight. It's all about the lives of the major figures in the story after the bloody incident in the dungeon.

Will and his teammates spend some time in the hospital until they are strong enough to return to their normal activities. There is a period of mourning to remember the fallen teachers. Other than that, everything has pretty much returned to normal at Regarden Magical Academy. Aside from Will and several others who have undergone massive changes, both in combat ability and their perspective on the world, everything else is relatively the same as it was at the start of the series.

“For some reason I couldn't bear to just sit. There's so much I don't understand. But I have to keep moving forward. After all, there's a place I want to reach.”

– Will Serfort, Episode 12

The story of Will Serfort

First season of Wistoria: Wand and Sword can be summed up as the story of a young man named Will Serfort. From his challenging day-to-day life at the academy to his rapid rise as one of the best combatants in the series, this season has done a great job of making viewers care about its protagonist.

The writer and showrunners put a lot of thought into developing Will as a character in the right way and that effort clearly paid off in the end. He is by far the most well-rounded character in the series. He has become more confident, his goals and motivations have become clearer than ever, and he is slowly but surely learning how to be a good leader. Considering how much he's grown in the first season, we're excited to see what's in store for Will in the second season.

New faces

The final episodes of a season are usually reserved to showcase the climax of the story and give the characters a proper closure. It's pretty rare for a series to introduce a new character at this stage, though Wistoria: Wand and Sword decided to do just that right in the final episode of the season. In addition, these new faces also bring new stories.

New characters

There are two seemingly important characters introduced in episode 12. An old man named Aaron Masterias Oldking and a young man named Finn. Aaron is the leader of Magia Vander and is widely considered the king of the realm. As the oldest and most experienced member of Magia Vander, he is known as the most powerful magician in the land.

As for Finn, he is someone shrouded in mystery. The only thing we know about him is the fact that he is a member of the Finn Tribe, a tribe of small people who have lived in the dungeon for generations. They know the dungeon like the back of their hand, which is why anyone who wants to explore the deepest part of the dungeon would always hire a Finn as their guide.

New stories

These two new characters also bring some new storylines. As the leader of Magia Vander, old Aaron is likely to reveal some of the secrets behind the false heaven and the tragedy that forced magicians of the past to create the massive protective barrier around the land.

Likewise, Finn also has some secrets for us, especially regarding Will Serfort, or as he called it, “The Sword.” Based on his conversation with the headmaster of Regarden Magical Academy, there seems to be information that has yet to be revealed about Will and his rare ability as a swordsman. These two stories are teasers for the upcoming season and we couldn't be more excited about it.

The road to season 2

Right after the end of the first season, the team behind the anime adaptation immediately announced the second season of Wistoria: Wand and Sword. Although the details regarding the second season have not been revealed yet, the road to season 2 has actually been paved in this season.

What to expect from Season 2

Based on what already happened in the first season, here are some of the things we can expect from season 2 of Wistoria: Wand and Sword:

• The secret behind Will's sword prowess. Based on the flashback in episode 11 and what Finn said in episode 12, there seems to be a much bigger secret behind Will's ability and role as a swordsman.
• The evil organization. For most of Season 1, the enemies are either dungeon monsters or other mages. But a couple of evil mages appeared during the All-Student Praxis arc. Based on their larger goals, it's safe to assume they belong to some sort of organization and will have a more prominent role in the second season.
• The secret behind the false sky. The massive barrier that protects the citizens from the evil outside has been mentioned several times throughout the first season. Considering how concerned Magia Vander is about the state of the barrier and the fact that the evil mages intend to smash the “Fake Sky”, it's clear that there is something more to this barrier, and we can expect to find out on some of these secrets in the second season.

In the meantime

Although it is true that the second season of Wistoria: Wand and Sword has been officially confirmed, there is no way to know the exact release date. A second season could take just a few months to produce, but it could also take years before fans finally get to see the finished product. The fastest we can expect to see the second season of Wistoria: Wand and Sword is sometime in 2025.

In the meantime, if you're a fan of this series and can't wait that long to find out more about Will and his friends, there's something you can do to satisfy that curiosity. You can read the original manga series, written by Fujino Oomori and drawn by Toshi Aoi.

The first season of the anime adapted the first 20 chapters of the original manga. So if you're wondering what happens to Will after episode 12, feel free to read chapter 21 onwards. As for those of you who prefer to just watch the anime, stay tuned as we'll be reporting all relevant news about the upcoming second season of Wistoria: Wand and Sword.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword is available to stream on Crunchyroll.