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!
Once the world's most powerful sage, reborn Matthias has gained the optimal crest for magical combat many thousands of years in the future. But with magical knowledge at an all-time low in this new era, no one recognizes his crest for what it is, and it will be an uphill battle for the twelve-year-old sage to prove his greatness to everyone!
It turns out that evil demons were the ones who sowed disinformation and confusion about crests and magic, and now, those very demons seek to invade the capital and destroy all humans who know this secret. Matthias still doesn't have the powerful spells and physical abilities that he did prior to his reincarnation, but it's time to use his wits and creativity to take down the mighty demons!
I think the main problem here is that there really aren't any stakes - Matty is so overpowered and awesome that nothing he faces is even remotely a threat, and his magical skill has pretty quickly taken away the stigma from his "weak" crest. When I'm feeling badly for the demons he keeps wiping off the face of the earth, we've really got a problem with how the story is being told.
There's a lack of stakes due to how overpowered the protagonist is, and the reason to justify it is some contrived perception of magic crests in-universe. Reading this series is like eating junk food in a sense: the art is nice enough to flip through mindlessly, even though the story is mediocre.
While the addition of the dragon (disguised as a human) to the party is interesting this is stepping a bit too close to harem territory. We need more gender balance in the group or for the girls to actually develop personalities, which they don't have. In fact, no one really has a personality which is where this volume is definitely showing some cracks in the story. Like by this point I should have developed some kind of attachment to the characters and be able to assign them titles more meaningful than, OP, girl with sword, girl with bow, and dragon. Like these characters are noting.
Also, the battle at the start of this volume and the one in the middle really highlighted a problem I have with the battles here. They have no stakes. Like our MC and his classmates are just to OP for the world that they exist in that nothing really matters. Anytime a fight starts I don't have to wonder who will come out on top since I know that the power balance is just not there. And on that subject Matty is bringing to become the bad kind of OP. Like OP characters can be done well but there has to be some level of development and scaling involved. Like I can get behind a character being so OP that they can reatatch/heal/grow back a severed limb, but it needs to take time. Like at least a few pages minimum preferably a chapter or more, not the very next pannel. That is just bad writing.
The possible romantic relationship building between Mathias & Lurie just got to be too much for me. It grosses me out with him being so much older mentally to be acting like a pubescent boy with a minor when he has been acting like an adult in all other scenarios. The dissonance irritates me. I also feel like it takes away from the action & fantasy with its random pop-ins that ruin the flow of the story. The excessive fan service also ruined it for me.
This volume throws a delightful curveball as Iris takes human form! The party rallies around their new member, helping her navigate everything from clothing to writing utensils. It's a heartwarming addition to their dynamic.