The Irregular at Magic High School (2014– ) User Reviews

good show, left me wanting more...

[joelherro · 7/10 · 28 September 2014]

High school students with magical abilities are a dime a dozen in anime these days, but this show made you care about the characters, and their magic was unique and interesting.

Tatsuya and Miyuki Shiba are new students at 'First High School', a school of top level magicians, set a few hundred years in the future. Miyuki is a 'Bloom', a top level magician (in the best magician school), while her older brother, Tatsuya, is a 'weed', a lower class of magician. Initially, Tatsuya, and most other 'weeds' are ostracised due to their limited ability to wield magic. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Tatsuya's magic wielding ability is anything but limited...

I really liked this show, but think it might be best to view multiple episodes at a time, as I watched it each week and seemed to forget what happened last week and was surprised by each episode. The characters all have distinct personalities and looks, but I did get confused occasionally, especially towards the end. Plus, the show seemed accessible to all ages, yet the last few episodes were very violent and maybe too much for young kids. Anyway, it's pretty cool...check it out

Interesting story & action with creative sci-fi type magic.

[ajrcvr · 8/10 · 8 September 2016]

The Irregular at Magic High School is an interesting display of very creative high tech magic, which is to say, magic which is brought into the science fiction realm and treated as if it had rules and formulae and can be modified by skilled technicians, which they call "magic engineers." A lot of the series time is spent delving into the mechanics of augmenting the magic, but then it is Magic High School, and the rest of the time is spent displaying the magic at work. The first part of the series dwells on integrating the irregular, Tatsuya, who is the major character, into the high school. He is a pretty cool character in every sense of the word: powerful, unflappable, dependable. He and his beautiful younger sister, Miyuki, who is also a powerful magician, have a very close relationship, which doesn't quite ever descend into inappropriateness, but the sister does always show her powerful feelings for her brother. Could it work into something more, possibly, but it never happens in the series, and we're left with two siblings who care deeply for each other. The second half of the series is spent with the good guy magicians fighting off bad guy other people, although we're never quite sure why the bad guy people are that committed to wiping out the magicians - probably just because they're magicians! The leads to lots of action, fighting, & battle scenes that are entertaining and fairly well done. It never gets heavy and one is left with an interesting show that moves along nicely with lots of action and creative sci-fi concepts, which is unusual for a story with magic in it. Definitely worth watching.

Too Technical and Cringeworthy

[kase-66716 · 6/10 · 8 June 2015]

I felt this anime could've had a lot more going for it. It has a good basis for a story but it comes off as cold and confusing. The hero isn't relatable to the viewer at all but somehow we are meant to pity him for not being able to cast practical magic like his sister. The interactions between the students are extremely cringe worthy and most of what they have to say embarrasses the hell out of them. Half of the episodes get in depth at all the mechanics of spell casting which might entertain some viewers but left me bored and surfing the web while waiting for a more interesting part of the episode to arrive.

I would only recommend this anime to people who are into the technical aspect of science fiction, otherwise I'd stay clear of this one.

Awesome!!

[sardarkoushik · 10/10 · 23 July 2020]

I loved this anime very much..one of my most favourite animes..i liked the story and MC very much..so cool and overpowered..waiting for the next seasons..hope this anime will continue..

It's not bad

[bdnahian · 7/10 · 1 April 2021]

This anime quite not bad actually. Though on the first season I wanted to stop watching. But somehow I ended season 1 and started season2. Season 2 is quite great compared to season 1 i must say. At the first I wanted to give it 5 or 6 * but because of second season I gave it 7*. Although it still didn't meet my expectations. It's not a must watch anime but if you have time you should give it a shot.

It's amazing!

[TheGreatGreenBadger · 9/10 · 17 September 2020]

This is one of the greatest animes of all time, on par with Monogatari and No Game No Life. It has a really good tory is really touching and amazing! It's so technical and mind blowing, yet it also has time to develop some really great and memorable characters. By mixing magic and sci-fi, this series is so unique and mind blowing, it leaves you wishing you went to a magic high school! The Irregular at Magic High School is really worth your time!

Edit: Season 2 is amazing!

If you like S1, you may dislike S2, and vice versa

[packor · 6/10 · 20 November 2021]

Personally, I'd give Season One 8 * and Season Two 3 * After reading some reviews, it seems like anime watchers today fall into 2 different camps: people that enjoy novels, and people that enjoy mindless action flicks. I fall into the first category. I loved season 1, for it gave the world and characters depth, while season 2 opted to skip details and give you plenty of scenery.

Season 1: This series is filled with what someone else has described as "technobabble". In a magical society, care has been taken to explain the science behind the mystery, so that things don't just "magically" happen. For a work where everything is magic, the scientific logic is well conceived. Since a lot of what happens onscreen is related to how magic actually works in this world, these explanations are necessary, and I find it quite enjoyable.

The story follows Tatsuya Shiba, who is the polar opposite of Naruto. Ironically, people who dislike Naruto probably also dislike Tatsuya, but I liked them both. The general audience seem to conceive him as "perfect", however, that he certainly is not. The anime hints at this, but you'd have to look up the novel it's based off of to actually find out that he has a major personality problem. Tatsuya ends up resolving a lot of major crisis that occur around the school, a lot of which actually happen because of him. In fact, because of who he is, Tatsuya invites trouble. Through the story, his capability does not change, but as the events become bigger and bigger, in the end you find out just powerful he really is. Again, ironically, this one-man-army concept is also something action flicks enthusiasts have no problem with when it's in an action flick. While Tatsuya is certainly a powerhouse. His problems are personal and political in nature, and cannot be solved with just that. However, at the end of season 1, all we had was a brief journey, and Tatsuya's problems were not really revealed or resolved.

Season 2: This series was designed to cater to the action flick crowd. Almost nothing is explained and scenes consist of Tatsuya shooting his CAD at things just to shoot at them. Most of the show revolves around giving you action scenes, or giving you low level fan service. Almost every episode manages to squeeze in fan service in some shape or form.

In its effort to provide gratification, very little background is given to the story. They're in such a rush that they do not bother to set the mood, and you're thrust from scene to scene with little or no explanation. A lot of the times, they even offhandly give you a 1 or 2 liner about what happened offscreen to get to the current point in time. Details are just non-existent, so that the audience can try to figure it out themselves, or don't, since we're only actually interested in people trying to kill each other. I can only hope that this was done in an attempt to squeeze 20 episodes of content into 13, but based on reception, maybe this was intentional.

Many new characters are thrown into this season, none of which are given any introduction. There's plenty of character development, all of which was done off screen, so you don't actually see any. Now that I think about it, this is just like those flashback episodes you get in the middle of long shows telling you what happened through 50 episodes in the timespan of 2.

Excellent Cross Genre Anime

[jwfritz · 9/10 · 30 March 2016]

When I searched for new anime to watch, the lead character of this show popped up many times as not only a great hidden power character but one that was just cool. And he is. His confidence or lack of emotional display rather, may give the impression he is overpowered but he is not though it is implied he could potentially reach that plateau, but so could dozens of others with the same kind of great powers he has. This anime shines mainly because it is anything but an atypical nor overly clichéd anime yet it brilliantly skirts the surface of many anime icons and popular genres without falling into those tired clichés that so often fill each of those genres. It does some of them in a rather skillful reverse gimmick like the harem theme. He is so socially awkward and unskilled such a thing does not even cross his mind but he is so smart and good at magical programming that he attracts girls' interests and guys as friends. Or the magic power theme, he has great and diverse power but he is not allowed to show it even if he wanted to which he doesn't since he isn't a showboat. His sister is essentially the princess of her class/grade but she is so dependent upon her brother she lacks confidence to take advantage of that position. He is a top notch martial artist as well but he doesn't flaunt it like in many other martial art focused anime. Characters are a bit more realistic who all have some flaws but not something so detrimental or unrealistic that could spoil the appeal of the anime or the main characters. You can see many themes portrayed in one way or another in the series like: High school; magic; mecha; espionage; martial arts; gunfights; sword play; sports; and more. The major drawback is the uneasy brocon aspect of Miyuki, which she always denies. It could do with a more in depth back story explanation that is only hinted at in the opening sequence. It does seem unfinished because it needs another 2 or 3 seasons. At the end we are left wondering how the others would react to all this new information and never quite get that satisfied probably because the studio must have planned more seasons and did not prepare an ending to slip in if no additional seasons were to be forthcoming. It is however one of the best animes, despite a few flaws, I have ever seen in part because it isn't the same as most and has few if any tired repetitive clichés. It is one of the few animes, I can also watch over and over or even more than once without getting overly bored or tired of it.

Good? Bad? I hope this review will help you decide!

[bill_allison · 6/10 · 27 June 2022]

The first 3 episodes seem muddled and confusing and may discourage some viewers. Western viewers will find the passionate love between the starring brother and sister rather disturbing. (As a side note, the anime series does not explain that the brother and sister are genetically engineered to be bonded and are not normal siblings.)

Once the series begins its story arcs, we have engaging stories, complex battles and technical strategizing. The plots involve magical-science theory, espionage, gangsters, and foreign invasions. The fighting becomes more intense and eventually rather gory. Depending on the magic used, some bodies simply vanish, while others may explode in a shower of blood and body parts.

I hope this gives you the info you need to decide whether to watch this or not. I expect some will love it and others will hate it!

One of the great anime

[akarunkumar-48613 · 9/10 · 4 August 2021]

The main character is very powerful, because of that their is no space for other magics. The past of the MC is not yet mentioned till second season. Tatsuya and miyuki are brother and sister. Both loves each other. The story is great. Seems like little bit underrated.

no... I was whrigt from the start, this is bad as hell

[gaslei · 3/10 · 8 December 2020]

I saw one season and 5 episodes. I am not gonna tire you by mentioning what you can find in the official review. The Good: Lovely animations. Nice idea for story (magic and tech) The OK: It somehow manages to survive the harem tag, since there are some males B protagonists, but just barely since, nearly every girl is in owe by our awkward and (wanna be) socially distanced Main Character. There are some well written characters too. Tries to give personality to them all also. The flow of the story I haven't decided if I consider it bad or ok, it is kind of giving the impression that there is order in the chaos, but I can't put my finger on it, so I leave it here. The Bad: I will start with simple bad things... Brother & Sister(are they?) romance and an awkward as hell one at that. So many characters that you lose track after 7 or 10 episodes. Over powered M.C. just for the heck of it I asume, since I haven't after all those episodes come to understand why. AND my two biggest complaints... I saw over 30 episodes The story is a damn mess since sidestories interact with each other and then get out of the picture only to get back when the writer needs them. The M. C. alone has over 4 different occupations (student, bodyguard, magic mechanic, soldier, relations with high profile clan, ninja, you name it) and is not like the other characters are far back on that subject. We are talking about 15-16 year old people here may I remind you. After over 30 Episodes I know NOTHING! I don't know how he became so strong, how he became so "weak", how he has the connections that he has, what are his connections, I have only a very abstract idea of how the magic that the whole show stand upon works, making it feel like the whole magic power is just broken and new spells get drown out the hero's hat every time is needed. The show tries to sell it as Sci Fi but no, is just magic, and a soft type (with little understanding) to say the least. Conclusion: I started and saw 5 episodes back in the day and didn't like (mostly because of the brother-sister relationship) I considered it a joke. Now that it started again I decided to give it a real chance since it would pop up in every recommendation... I feel I wasted nearly 10 hours of my life. I leave it with the only second thought that if it has a manga it might solve many of the story's issues. That's all from me.

One of the best and underrated anime

[lalitchauhanjioo · 10/10 · 3 June 2021]

One of the best anime I have ever watched. Amazing characters Deep story thriller mystery romance and lots of action this anime got all of this and with so many twist and turns and with high quality animation. It's is a amazing and a very deep anime with one of the coolest mc. Both session 1 and 2 are fabulous can't wait for season 3.

One of the Worst and Boring Anime with High School Setting and Boring MC

[shuvongkor · 1/10 · 17 March 2024]

First of all, the writer of this anime need help. What's with the weird brother-sister romance! This is the worst thing of this anime. But there are more. The MC is totally boring and uninteresting. He never smiles, never get afraid, he is like a robot. And he can beat up anyone. I mean we love OP MC. But there are settings for that. I know looks don't matter much. But this MC, he looks boring. Then there are Fake Magic ! The writer confused advanced technology with magic and made this hybrid sh**t. He thought it might be cool. Well, it's not cool, it's boring and nonsense. Isekai, Adventure Anime Fans beware, this Sh**t of anime does not have any Adventure in it. It is mostly unnecessary boring talking and some boring fight scene, the weird brother-sister romance shi**t. All within the school. There is no actual story here, that you can follow. Just by looking at the anime name, I thought there is a MC who is different and interesting, who study in a Magic High School in order to fulfill his mission or dream. No such thing exists in this anime.

I guess, the Irregular is the brother-sister romance.

God! I got bored real fast with just watching the first five episode. I managed to survive watching all the episode by fast forwarding. Don't waste your time with this shi*t Trash of a anime.