Review | Kenja no Magician - Chapter 1

 Chapter 1
Even though it's already late, he's still working. Once finished, he is ready to return home, however, he is involved in a car accident, where he dies. Reborn in another world.
After 8 years, Shin Wolford lives next to his grandfather, Merlin Wolford, in the forest, where he goes to hunt animals to eat. In addition, Shin has memories of his past life, although he does not remember everything completely.
Over time, Shin learned a lot from the people around him, learning magic from his grandfather, magical reinforcement from his grandmother Melida, and training his body and fencing with his uncle Michael. When he was 10 years old, Shin was in charge of eliminating a demonized brown bear. And a few days later, his grandfather told him the truth about his origin.

 When he turned 15, Shin had already become an adult, so he was in a celebration together with all the people he knows thanks to his grandparents. That is when everyone discovers a small problem, because Shin's common sense is quite poor. That, along with his enormous magical power and sword training, make him a very dangerous being. So Dis, his uncle, suggests that he enrolls in the magical school of his country, so he would not only learn common things that he did not know until now, he could also meet people of his age to make friends.
Shin agreed, as well as a little surprised after learning that all the people around him are quite important.
Already in the capital, Shin wanders around the city to get to know her a little. And he runs into a small problem, because there are three men who are bothering two girls. Saving them in the act.

 There is a bit of plot in your cliché
I will be frank, for me, this story is replete with the most common clichés in Isekai genres. Starting with the typical way of dying from the accident with the truck, (a little altered, but extremely similar), his past life on Earth, his arrival in a fantasy world where there is magic, being a "cheating" character , and I could continue mentioning more, but I would finish detailing this first chapter completely. Although perhaps having that immense amount of clichés was what caught my attention in the first place.
I know he has a light novel and a manga, but to be honest, I have enough to read the manga, because, as far as I have come, there has not been a determining point that makes me want to read the novel. I can not say that I'm going with the manga, but I think I've read about three arcs.
And comparing it a bit with the manga, there are several changes, either by changing continuity, added details, and even omissions. While many may go unnoticed, there are others (especially those omitted) that had somewhat relevant information. For example, in the manga, the symbols that Shin uses in his equipment to prove what he has learned from his grandmother, are kanji, while those used in general are completely different symbols.

 There are many changes compared to the manga, however, I do not know if it is a more faithful adaptation to the novel and that is why I see it differently.
Too many names to process
I know perfectly well that the first chapters of a series focuses most of the time on presenting the most important characters of it, however, I think that the number of names that appeared in a single episode is exaggerated. So I will focus on Shin and his grandparents, while the others will just name them a little bit above, and I'll detail them more in the future.
Shin is obviously a cheating character, although he skipped the step of knowing a god (perhaps because his death was not exactly with a truck), still has a demential power. While their common sense is scarce, but not null. After all, he knows some basic behavioral things, or so it seems. Yes, I like his personality.

 Her grandparents, Merlin Wolford and Melida Bowen from the beginning had this love / hate relationship, so I was not surprised to learn that they were married before. The one that I think was the trigger for their break, is that their love for each other and their love for magic are of the same intensity, so a little discussion made them separate. By the way, the surname Wolford and the name Melida can appear in other ways depending on the translation (Walford and Melinda respectively), but I will use the former.

 His uncle Dis is a king who does not always want to be treated as such all the time. His uncle Michael (or Michel, again the translation) is a retired ex-general. Their cousins ​​/ brothers Chris and Sieg are soldiers of the army of the country of Dis, and I feel in them a love / hate relationship between them. And the merchant Tom, who is the least talked about, but how things are going will surely be the owner of one of the largest companies in the kingdom.

 A travel in the time
We're not going to cheat, the animation is not exactly what you expected for a series in this era. When I saw it, it was quite similar to those of 6 or 7 years ago. And it increased more with those transitions.
It's quite simple, despite being Silver Link, a studio that has animated a huge amount of anime, most with the fantasy genre in between. And that in fact, it's one of my favorite Japanese animation studios. But, comparing it with that used in Isekai Shokudou and Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku, two series very attached to the Isekai, the animation in them is much more detailed. Especially in the first, because being an anime food, the animation fell more in the details than in the fluidity of movements.
Of course, I can not say that it is bad, because although it is quite simple, the studio does not have a specific touch that makes you say that animation is yours. In my opinion, Silver Link adapts more to the work, that the work adapts to them. Otherwise, Kyoto Animation

 Being honest, what I always expect from a Fantasy anime is that the animation is pretty good, especially in the effects used in magic. Although I would also be very grateful if all the flora and fauna are well detailed.
For me, the animation used in this anime is more comic oriented. Since they maintained many moments like this, and among which it did not matter if the animation was a little deformed, it could be said that it was already like that in the original source. And of the CGI or say, I was the only one who saw the way the horse walks strange ?. In addition to a bit censored.
There's not much I can say ...
The sound is something that I have very high appreciation for anime in general, although depending on the genres, I pay more attention to some details than others. And since this is a fantasy anime, I expected the background music to transport me to those parts. This is why I was disappointed to see that not only did I have few moments with music that was adapted to the anime, but also that the sounds of the effects were too common. No sound came to shudder, no matter if it was the effects of the activation and use of magic, or that of the living flames of fire. Of course, the work of the seiyuus I think was pretty good.
The only support I found was in the opening. That although it has gone out until the end of the chapter, it is really the opening. Of course the support was not one that could balance the scales. The song Ultimate ☆ MAGIC (ア ル テ ィ メ ッ ト ☆ ☆ MAGIC), along with the animation used only held me for a moment. After all, it ended up looking like it's more for a romantic school comedy. One that only had those genres, without Fantasy or similar

In case there is someone who asks, yes, there is romance in the plot, and no, there is no harem. Or so I think. As far as I know there is not.
I just hope that as the anime progresses they will improve all the details, or it will end up being an Isekai cliché of the bunch. Although I may remember him as the king of clichés in the Isekai.