I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic – Episode 1-2

Content Warning: romanticized enslavement, misogyny

What’s it about? An unknown middle aged man reincarnated into the body of Liam Hamilton, the youngest son of a noble family on the brink of ruin.  While he’s perplexed about his situation, he takes this opportunity to gleefully learn about magic and gain his independence from a family that doesn’t care about him.

I was really annoyed when I found out that this was a double premiere.  For some stories, it makes sense to get a lot of background information out of the way before starting the main story, but this was not one of them.  Every minute of each episode felt way longer than it should’ve been and I often found myself checking for the time.  If this series simply premiered just one episode, I think I would’ve been kinder since for the most part it’s another boring reincarnation story about an overpowered magician. Then episode 2 takes a massive turn.

Liam’s personality is boring, which is a word that I’m using a lot in my reviews this season.  While I don’t expect every new series to be a knockout, it’s becoming increasingly frustrating how little originality is often found in this subgenre.  Liam is the usual genius who masters magic at lighting speed and everyone around him is just awestruck at his abilities.  Hell, even a mysterious magician named Raymond decided to teach Liam (who he barely knows) because he found him to be “interesting.”  Everything just comes easy for Liam, from defeating monsters to figuring ways to earn money; I yearned for the series to give him an obstacle to overcome.  

If I had just seen the first episode, then I would’ve simply just said “it’s another tame and generic reincarnation story that you might enjoy”.  Instead, episode two reveals slavery is going to be a recurring theme in the show.  It’s extremely insulting how quickly Liam’s women friends agree to the idea of becoming his familiars, knowing full well they’d lose their free will in exchange for increasing their powers.  These girls don’t even know him for very long, and they’re ready to give up all of their autonomy to him? It all feels like far-right talking points about how women are naturally weaker beings who need to be protected by the benevolent strength of a male protector, and they should serve him happily in exchange.

If that wasn’t enough to infuriate me, then one of the girls immediately, no joke, makes a sandwich for the men around her. I gagged. The whole slavery narrative is quickly put to the test when outside forces want Liam to showcase his familiars, which he isn’t willing to do.  The entire thing reeks of the “good master” narrative that frankly is terrible.  While I love that Vinland Saga exists, it can’t be the only thing that critiques the systematic violence of slavery.  I want more stories that take it seriously and for the life of me I can’t fathom why we don’t have an array of anime shows depicting oppressed people (maybe ones besides beastpeople even) fighting back.  I understand that plenty of folks watch anime to escape reality and sometimes overpowered characters can be fulfilling.  But at this point, I’m just tired of seeing the same thing every season.  

This is a hard pass from me folks.  If anything, do yourself the favor and start either reading or watching Vinland Saga instead.