October 30, 2024 12:27 pm
Tired of all-powerful heroes? This one is nothing like that.
Author Kurokata wrote the light novel series The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic in 2014. Media Factory subsequently published twelve volumes of the novels.
Studio Add and Shin-Ei Animation began working on an anime series in 2021, and the first season was successfully released from January to March 2024. And this isekai will even appeal to those who can't stand this genre.
What Is The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic About?
On an ordinary rainy day, high school student Ken Usato runs into his school idols – student council president Suzune Inukami and her vice president Ryusen Kazuki. It turns out that they are really cool, and a random fight over a forgotten umbrella almost turns into a friendship.
Suddenly, a mysterious light transports all three to a parallel world. In this reality, people really need heroes, which is why the choice fell on Suzune and Ryusen. Ken was captured accidentally, but since it happened, they also test what he is capable of.
While the new friends got a strong magical aura, Usato got a weak green healing aura. For some reason, this frightens everyone – and they immediately try to send the young man away. But they don't have time: Rose, the commander of the rescue team, finds out about the healing magic and takes Ken to a training session.
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Breaks the Typical Image of the Isekai Hero
Yes, that is isekai as it is. The three friends did not have to die or be reborn, they were just dragged to another world.
It is usually assumed that the protagonists of such stories are first and foremost real heroes. Usato is not like that: not even in his wildest dreams does he claim the position of the protector of the whole world, leaving this function completely to his new school friends. He deliberately chooses a secondary role to help them.
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is a mostly down-to-earth series: if it weren't for the isekai premise, it could easily pass for a standard fantasy.
It's worth mentioning an interesting detail: Usato's "ordinariness" is also emphasized by the way he interacts with the world, the characters, and the environment. Unlike many genre characters who take the new reality for granted, the young man continues to think about his own place – and whether it's worth returning at all.
The same goes for Suzune and Kazuki, with whom Ken rarely crosses paths: he is preoccupied with his physical development, while real heroes are actively prepared for achievements. He can only watch them from the sidelines, even though the three of them become closer against the background of a common misfortune.
Even When Anime Follows the Isekai Rules, It Does So in Its Own Way
The second half of the story picks up speed: after completing his training, Usato begins his duties as a healer. This is where the anime almost breaks its own rules, trying to follow the laws of the genre.
The young man, though not declared a hero, becomes one: after all, he is the only one who can stop the most dangerous evil. But this is not annoying at all – perhaps because Ken's deeds seem very ordinary and the protagonist himself does not turn into an all-powerful and all-conquering hero of humanity.
Tired of all-powerful heroes? This one is nothing like that.
Author Kurokata wrote the light novel series The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic in 2014. Media Factory subsequently published twelve volumes of the novels.
Studio Add and Shin-Ei Animation began working on an anime series in 2021, and the first season was successfully released from January to March 2024. And this isekai will even appeal to those who can't stand this genre.
What Is The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic About?
On an ordinary rainy day, high school student Ken Usato runs into his school idols – student council president Suzune Inukami and her vice president Ryusen Kazuki. It turns out that they are really cool, and a random fight over a forgotten umbrella almost turns into a friendship.
Suddenly, a mysterious light transports all three to a parallel world. In this reality, people really need heroes, which is why the choice fell on Suzune and Ryusen. Ken was captured accidentally, but since it happened, they also test what he is capable of.
While the new friends got a strong magical aura, Usato got a weak green healing aura. For some reason, this frightens everyone – and they immediately try to send the young man away. But they don't have time: Rose, the commander of the rescue team, finds out about the healing magic and takes Ken to a training session.
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Breaks the Typical Image of the Isekai Hero
Yes, that is isekai as it is. The three friends did not have to die or be reborn, they were just dragged to another world.
It is usually assumed that the protagonists of such stories are first and foremost real heroes. Usato is not like that: not even in his wildest dreams does he claim the position of the protector of the whole world, leaving this function completely to his new school friends. He deliberately chooses a secondary role to help them.
The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is a mostly down-to-earth series: if it weren't for the isekai premise, it could easily pass for a standard fantasy.
It's worth mentioning an interesting detail: Usato's "ordinariness" is also emphasized by the way he interacts with the world, the characters, and the environment. Unlike many genre characters who take the new reality for granted, the young man continues to think about his own place – and whether it's worth returning at all.
The same goes for Suzune and Kazuki, with whom Ken rarely crosses paths: he is preoccupied with his physical development, while real heroes are actively prepared for achievements. He can only watch them from the sidelines, even though the three of them become closer against the background of a common misfortune.
Even When Anime Follows the Isekai Rules, It Does So in Its Own Way
The second half of the story picks up speed: after completing his training, Usato begins his duties as a healer. This is where the anime almost breaks its own rules, trying to follow the laws of the genre.
The young man, though not declared a hero, becomes one: after all, he is the only one who can stop the most dangerous evil. But this is not annoying at all – perhaps because Ken's deeds seem very ordinary and the protagonist himself does not turn into an all-powerful and all-conquering hero of humanity.
