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The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest (manga) #1
The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 01
In this manga adaptation of the popular light novel series, the world's strongest sage will stop at nothing to get stronger...not even reincarnation!
His strength limited by the magical crest with which he was born, Mathias, the world's most powerful sage, decides reincarnation is necessary to become the strongest of all. Upon his rebirth as a young boy, Mathias is thrilled to discover he's been born with the optimal crest for magical combat on his first try! Unfortunately, the world he's been born into has abysmally poor standards when it comes to magic, and everyone thinks he's still marked for failure! Now it's up to Mathias to prove everyone wrong...world's strongest sage-style!
His strength limited by the magical crest with which he was born, Mathias, the world's most powerful sage, decides reincarnation is necessary to become the strongest of all. Upon his rebirth as a young boy, Mathias is thrilled to discover he's been born with the optimal crest for magical combat on his first try! Unfortunately, the world he's been born into has abysmally poor standards when it comes to magic, and everyone thinks he's still marked for failure! Now it's up to Mathias to prove everyone wrong...world's strongest sage-style!
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
133 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 20, 2023
3.5*
Fun and light, I have no complaints and am interested in reading the anime. I just hope this doesn't turn into a harem.
Fun and light, I have no complaints and am interested in reading the anime. I just hope this doesn't turn into a harem.
November 12, 2023
Ok, I think I can get down with this. I liked the world that was being build here. Not too similar to other fantasy worlds I ve read about but still working off some really stong established rules. I also liked the utilization of time skips to help keep the momentum of the narrative moving while still giving us enough exposition. I also liked all the characters that got set up and I'm excited to see how their relationship dynamics evolve in the next book.
December 20, 2021
Having read the first 3 volumes ... Eh. It's okay.
Since the protagonist is reborn keeping all of his previous knowledge, he's completely overpowered to the rest of the world - which makes for an insanely boring and smug power-fantasy. He's the wonder child that knows everything and there's not even the hint of a challenge ... Honestly, yikes. I'm also not very fond of the overly technical depiction of the magic/class system like it's based on a game or trying to lay the ground for an upcoming game ...
The only thing that somewhat saves the story is the fact that someone or something has been tempering with the world's magical knowledge over the past centuries to keep it on a lower level.
The characters designs are cute and the story makes for a very quick, mostly entertaining read, so it kinda evens out.
Since the protagonist is reborn keeping all of his previous knowledge, he's completely overpowered to the rest of the world - which makes for an insanely boring and smug power-fantasy. He's the wonder child that knows everything and there's not even the hint of a challenge ... Honestly, yikes. I'm also not very fond of the overly technical depiction of the magic/class system like it's based on a game or trying to lay the ground for an upcoming game ...
The only thing that somewhat saves the story is the fact that someone or something has been tempering with the world's magical knowledge over the past centuries to keep it on a lower level.
The characters designs are cute and the story makes for a very quick, mostly entertaining read, so it kinda evens out.
August 21, 2020
Damn, didn’t expect to like this so much.
August 3, 2021
I read this based on the recommendation of a customer at my work. It has some pretty standard fantasy manga tropes, overpowered protagonist, interesting but still being explained setting, variety of monsters and adventures who underestimate the protagonist.
I enjoyed the art style a lot. The pacing, characters, and dialogue were all decent but not stand out. I think the biggest thing holding the series back is that I don't know where is goes going forward. There isn't quite enough driving my interest to make me need to read further.
I don't know if I will continue the series, but I enjoyed this first volume.
I enjoyed the art style a lot. The pacing, characters, and dialogue were all decent but not stand out. I think the biggest thing holding the series back is that I don't know where is goes going forward. There isn't quite enough driving my interest to make me need to read further.
I don't know if I will continue the series, but I enjoyed this first volume.
September 2, 2023
At birth, mages randomly acquire one of the four "crests" that represents the extent of their magical capability. Equipped with a crest specializing in creation, a man named Gaius reached the ceiling of his potential, becoming known as the world's strongest sage. Despite his overwhelming power, he is unsatisfied with his abilities and desires to possess the mark suitable for close combat. Knowing that a person's crest is unchangeable, Gaius decides to reincarnate far into the future, hoping to alter his fate.
Thousands of years later, Gaius is reborn as Mathias Hildesheimer, successfully obtaining his long-coveted crest. However, he is surprised to learn that in these times, magic has vastly waned, and the techniques that were once widely used are now nothing more than just a speck of legend. Moreover, the crest that he painstakingly strived to attain is now considered the weakest—merely dubbed the "Crest of Failure."
Nevertheless, Mathias naturally exceeds all expectations. He enrolls into the royal capital's Second Academy, acing every trial that comes his way. But soon after, Mathias discovers the dark truth behind humanity's downfall into magical mediocrity—demons—and endeavors to remedy the consequence of his millennia-long absence once and for all.
All the magical techniques of humans now are just a binding weakness, such as the need to chant before use which is a fatal flaw. Because in Gaius's time, there was no need to chant to use magis, it was all related to the weakening by the demons, and it was even entrenched in the academy and could not be changed.
I really like this comic, the char is overpowered and knowledgeable from the start.
Thousands of years later, Gaius is reborn as Mathias Hildesheimer, successfully obtaining his long-coveted crest. However, he is surprised to learn that in these times, magic has vastly waned, and the techniques that were once widely used are now nothing more than just a speck of legend. Moreover, the crest that he painstakingly strived to attain is now considered the weakest—merely dubbed the "Crest of Failure."
Nevertheless, Mathias naturally exceeds all expectations. He enrolls into the royal capital's Second Academy, acing every trial that comes his way. But soon after, Mathias discovers the dark truth behind humanity's downfall into magical mediocrity—demons—and endeavors to remedy the consequence of his millennia-long absence once and for all.
All the magical techniques of humans now are just a binding weakness, such as the need to chant before use which is a fatal flaw. Because in Gaius's time, there was no need to chant to use magis, it was all related to the weakening by the demons, and it was even entrenched in the academy and could not be changed.
I really like this comic, the char is overpowered and knowledgeable from the start.
June 11, 2023
I like this series but not enough to keep the books (donated to a little library), mostly because the main character is just a battle junkie to the point where he basically killed himself so he could be resurrected with better starting stats, ALTHOUGH I totally appreciate how he is also aware that having a strong party is part of getting stronger, so most of his adventure is about gaining a harem*cough*I mean COMPANIONS who will become strong like him and go hunting the biggest, baddest bad guys.
Ignoring the power creep and how the main character (Matthias) barely breaks a sweat doing things that everyone else struggles to do, I do appreciate how he trusts his new friends and allows them to grow, vs. waving his proverbial penis around all the time (only MOST of the time). If not for that, I might have abandoned the story a while back. As it is, the "overpowered boss worker placement" stories are still interesting to me from a delegation standpoint.
There's also an element of, "Looks like the world got screwed over completely in the time I was not alive, so I guess I'd better work to clean up the mess I left" to it that I appreciate. The whole being a fight junkie is just convenient, since the clean-up by necessity involves a lot of violence.
The art is a little strange compared to the anime, though. It took me some adjustment and distance from having watched the show to appreciate the manga.
Still donating the books, though.
Ignoring the power creep and how the main character (Matthias) barely breaks a sweat doing things that everyone else struggles to do, I do appreciate how he trusts his new friends and allows them to grow, vs. waving his proverbial penis around all the time (only MOST of the time). If not for that, I might have abandoned the story a while back. As it is, the "overpowered boss worker placement" stories are still interesting to me from a delegation standpoint.
There's also an element of, "Looks like the world got screwed over completely in the time I was not alive, so I guess I'd better work to clean up the mess I left" to it that I appreciate. The whole being a fight junkie is just convenient, since the clean-up by necessity involves a lot of violence.
The art is a little strange compared to the anime, though. It took me some adjustment and distance from having watched the show to appreciate the manga.
Still donating the books, though.
April 21, 2025
This review is for Volume 1 - 20. I only started reading this to stave off my boredom, but this manga left me in a state where I was just turning pages for the hell of it. It's more or less the average slop isekai series, except the MC built up all of his cheats offscreen thousands of years ago.
At first, this was a story about a loner who learns to lean on the strength of others.... then it just became a tale about a loner with a worldwide fan club that will listen to and do anything he says. Every single 'conflict' boils down to "demons suddenly appeared," even though the MC eradicated 'all' of them in the past and then did something similar for the 'low level' ones. Despite his immense power and unrivaled knowledge, he somehow manages to miss juuuuust enough of them to set up antagonists yet unseen. The MC will never come close to actually losing a fight because of some magical doohickey he created in his previous that just so happens to be laying around.
There's just no passion here. It's so painfully boring.
At first, this was a story about a loner who learns to lean on the strength of others.... then it just became a tale about a loner with a worldwide fan club that will listen to and do anything he says. Every single 'conflict' boils down to "demons suddenly appeared," even though the MC eradicated 'all' of them in the past and then did something similar for the 'low level' ones. Despite his immense power and unrivaled knowledge, he somehow manages to miss juuuuust enough of them to set up antagonists yet unseen. The MC will never come close to actually losing a fight because of some magical doohickey he created in his previous that just so happens to be laying around.
There's just no passion here. It's so painfully boring.
November 11, 2020
The Cover Of This Volume Was Pretty Standard For The Genre But It Makes The MC Look Badass!
The Explanation At The Start Of The Volume Was Very Clear & Drew Me In Quite Easily & The Artwork Was Pretty Nice Too!
The Developments Of The Characters Was Pretty Good So Far, Matthias Is A Good MC & The Introduction Of Alma & Lurie Looks Like It Will Have A Good Impact On The Story
I Also Liked The Family Dynamic At The Beginning Of The Seires, Building To The Eventual Adventure At The End!
Its Hard To Judge A Series Like This After One Volume But Its Really Good So Far & I'm Looking Forward To Reading Volume 2
The Explanation At The Start Of The Volume Was Very Clear & Drew Me In Quite Easily & The Artwork Was Pretty Nice Too!
The Developments Of The Characters Was Pretty Good So Far, Matthias Is A Good MC & The Introduction Of Alma & Lurie Looks Like It Will Have A Good Impact On The Story
I Also Liked The Family Dynamic At The Beginning Of The Seires, Building To The Eventual Adventure At The End!
Its Hard To Judge A Series Like This After One Volume But Its Really Good So Far & I'm Looking Forward To Reading Volume 2
January 31, 2023
Rather than working around an actual weakness, this features an OP protagonist who reincarnates into the future of his own world where his crest is merely regarded as weak. So the biggest fight is with societal expectations and his own confusion at how the world actually changed 😮 over the course of several hundreds of years.
March 4, 2024
This manga is a fascinating tale of reincarnation into a world where magic has dwindled. Gaius, a powerful mage reborn as Mathias, seeks to surpass his past glory by acquiring the coveted fourth crest. However, in this new era, magic is a mere shadow of its former self, and his once-prized crest is now considered worthless.
Undeterred, Mathias excels l, gets placed at the prestigious Second Academy. Yet, a darkness lurks beneath the surface – demons. Now, Mathias must unravel the magic’s decline and achieve his goal so that he can fight the monsters in outer space.
Undeterred, Mathias excels l, gets placed at the prestigious Second Academy. Yet, a darkness lurks beneath the surface – demons. Now, Mathias must unravel the magic’s decline and achieve his goal so that he can fight the monsters in outer space.
November 19, 2022
The protagonist is a little cocky for my tastes, but this one is a fun twist on what this type of genre usually is. I'm interested to see where it goes, more than anything, and it feels like it could have a bit of a mellow out? Ultimately, decent enough fantasy, and the art is phenomenal.
July 25, 2020
Moderately interesting, but not much more than that.
June 1, 2021
It was great
It was a great read my friend recommended it to to me and he was right it was very good.
It was a great read my friend recommended it to to me and he was right it was very good.
February 2, 2022
I already love Matty so much and can't wait to read more
March 22, 2022
The romance thing is pretty the ridiculous.
The rest of it is quite fun.
The rest of it is quite fun.
March 23, 2022
Very cool introduction to a interesting world and an interesting main character
June 22, 2022
Wish the art were just a little better, but the story and pacing were great.
July 3, 2022
Loved it, an absolutely wonderful read. It's pretty cliche but I still found it very funny.
December 4, 2022
Was much better than I expected. An isekai that I think guys would enjoy a little more than I did.
January 7, 2024
Besser als der Anime
March 21, 2025
Mein Schüler wollte unbedingt, dass ich es lese! Und hab’s ihm versprochen
February 13, 2024
This kid seems like he’s OP but the world is just super lame and subdued and so his character arc is not even interesting. It’s only fun when the main character begins as a scrawny E-level something with only drive and a fierce desire to protect his loved ones, but this one was just like Yeah I’ll reincarnate myself just because I want to be stronger without any build-up or character intrigue. To be fair, I only read the first volume but it was way too boring to continue.
July 4, 2023
Mathias is “cursed” with the lowest crest, fourth of four, and he’s learned as much as he can within his limitations. He’s decided that if he reincarnates himself, he might get the strongest crest, or he’ll keep reincarnating until he gets it. As luck would have it, he’s successful on the first try! He has no idea how many hundreds of years into the future he’s gone, but he’s reincarnated into a young boy’s body, and everything is very different. His crest is thought of as the worst, while his “brother,” who has Mathias’ old crest, is considered the best. Combat skills have also declined, so Mathias, with all his knowledge of magic and fighting from his previous life, defies all expectations as a strong magic-wielder and swordsman.
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
September 14, 2022
This story is about Matthias but his strength is limited by the crest he was born with so he decide to be reincarnation is necessary to become the strongest. He end up in place where his crest is the weakest.
October 4, 2022
A wizard wants to have a different crest. He reincarnates himself and ends up in the future where magic and swordsmanship has taken a nosedive. He’s now oop.
November 12, 2024
Good light reading
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews