The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Volume 1 Review: A Different Take on the High School Gal Anime

Have you ever accidently put on a piece of jewelry that summoned a mage that made you his apprentice because all hell has broken loose? No? Well, too bad because “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Volume 1” has beaten you to it and it’s not as bad as you’d think.

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” written by Bwillet and published by P2manga, is an American style manga about a high school girl named Victoria Evans. She  finds a ring on the floor of a museum with the name “Ami” inscribed inside. She decides to go back to the museum the next day to return it when, while waiting for somebody about the ring, she accidentally puts it on, causing magical creatures and a mage named Allister Magi de Illumanais to appear. Victoria now has no other choice but to be Allister’s apprentice (the ring won’t come off) and defeat these magical creatures while trying to maintain a normal social life.

It’s your typical magical girl premise: high school girl finds magical item that gives her power and she has a quirky sidekick. Bwillet has managed to take that premise and make it interesting and not so cliché. For one, Victoria does not transform. She just normally dresses weird. One other interesting aspect is that magic in this world is based more on actual science (astronomy, chemistry and geology) than what passes for magic in occult books. That’s a clever take on how the character must use magic than in other stories.

It does fall into the typical high school story when we get the token love interest. Yes, it is normal for high schoolers to date, but is it necessary to make the female lead so bubbly around the guy?

The artwork is a mixed bag. The character designs are pretty nice although they do have some odd features like Victoria’s friend Bethany’s bust size is a little to big for her body. There are also some other minor complains that mostly have to do with how the human body simply does not move or bend in ways shown in the comic (Victoria’s head moving almost 180 degrees in one panel).

Despite the not so hot art, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” has a nicely written story that takes the usual magical premise and gives it an interesting spin to it. The characters are interesting, especially Victoria for those weird types and a take on magic that’s not normally done.